Outside the Beltway

Newt Gingrich and his wife had a quarter million dollar line of credit at Tiffany’s. A story, a scandal, or much ado about nothing? I’ll take Door Number Three.

With so many Republicans wringing their hands over the 2012 field, one name that keeps popping up as a possible game changer is Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Republicans tired of the current slate of presidential candidates can rest easy: Thaddeus McCotter may offer up his services.

Voters in New York State may help move the budget debate on Capitol Hill.

Jon Huntsman made his first stop in New Hampshire as he explores a presidential bid. So far, so good.

Wall Street says raise the debt ceiling. The Tea Party says no. What will the GOP do?

Bill Clinton thinks some sort of government agency should do somethingorother about rumors on the Internet.

Republicans seem to have realized that the Ryan Plan’s Medicare reforms aren’t going anywhere.

There are signs that the Ryan Plan isn’t playing well with the public.

Trump continues his antics: pulling out 2008 campaign memes and doing his best to paint Obama as a mysterious “other.”

What is Donald Trump up to? Only he seems to know for sure.

In all honesty, much of what is coming out of the mouths of self-described conservatives is actually pretty darn radical.

Mitt Romney forcefully said Tuesday night that he believes President Barack Obama was born in America and that “the citizenship test has been passed.”

As yesterday’s budget negotiations began, the GOP had a choice – appease the base, or make a deal. They made the right choice.

Games legislators play…

Rather than fighting over the remnants of the FY 2011 budget, the GOP should make a deal and get ready for the bigger, and more important, battle ahead.

Politico’s Matt Wuerker illustrates the funding disparity between the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

A handful of young male bloggers have launched themselves to the head of the line, leapfrogging those who’ve spent years playing the game by the old rules.juice

Quite improbably, Mike Huckabee seems to be positioned at the top of the GOP field right now. The only question is whether he really wants to run for President again.

Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson is running for president.

With minor exceptions, all of the potential candidates for the GOP nomination in 2012 seem to have accepted the idea that defense spending, and the Bush-era interventionist foreign policy, are off the table when it comes time to talk spending cuts.

Republicans are starting to sour on Sarah Palin, meaning that they’re finally starting to catch up to the rest of the country.

Mitt Romney starts his 2012 run as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. But, in reinventing himself yet again, the “authenticity” issue that troubled many of us in 2008 looms again.

Florida has again scheduled its primary ahead of the deadlines set by the Republican and Democratic parties.

You don’t have to be Admiral Akbar to suspect that the President’s refusal to deal with entitlements in his budget proposal is a trap for the GOP.

Politico (Jay Carney got $270K from Time magazine after leaving) has uncovered a major payola scandal. Or is hyping a complete non-story.

Ron Paul has won the CPAC straw poll for a second straight year. But YAF has voted him off its board over his opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.