Outside the Beltway

Chris Christie’s decision to take a tactical retreat on the issue of same-sex marriage raises some interesting questions for 2016.

Will the GOP learn the right lessons from the just-concluded showdown? That remains to be seen.

Immigration reform may be the next big battle on Capitol Hill, but it’s going to be far different from the one that just concluded.

The shutdown debacle seems destined to lead to a battle between the Tea Party and the more business oriented elements of the GOP

Ted Cruz isn’t ruling out a reprise of his foolish, quixotic, crusade.

Absent an unlikely major change, it looks like the Democrats will win the Governor’s race in Virginia

John Boehner’s position as Speaker of the House seems quite secure.

Nearly two-thirds of House Republicans voted for default. They lost.

The GOP’s shutdown was about as pointless as a show about waiting for a table in a Chinese restaurant.

Would you trust the men and women in this building?

Much like the Tea Party, David Frum wants to make the GOP tent smaller.

The GOP’s approval numbers have fallen like a stone, but it’s unclear whether this will matter in 2014.

There’s no denying it now. The GOP is being harmed by the events in Washington far more than the President and Democrats in general.

Paul Ryan is back, and he has a plan his party ought to be paying attention to.

If one considers oneself to be conservative, ask if the the actions of the GOP at the moment conform to that term..

Recent anti-corruption measures have contributed to making American government worse.

Ted Cruz wants his fellow Republicans to follow him down the rabbit hole again.

The Republican candidate for Governor of Virginia wants a quick end to the Government Shutdown.

The first poll taken after the shutdown began has little good news for the Republican Party.

The situation we currently find oursevles in is very much driven by structural issues.

Reasonable members of the House GOP caucus are fighting back. Are they outnumbered?

President Obama had some potentially market-moving news for Wall Street.

If you want to understand why Republicans in Congress are acting like they are, just look at the polls.

What are the implications of the GOP winning this confrontation?

With key conservatives pushing for sanity, the grown-ups have a chance to take back the GOP.

If nothing else, Ted Cruz’s quixotic mission has succeeded in cementing him in the minds of Republican voters.

Nazi comparisons are only helpful when discussing actual Nazis.

Ted Cruz is holding the Senate floor “until I can no longer speak,” but he still won’t be able to stop the Senate from going forward.

The GOP’s plan to defund reality becomes even more disconnected from reality.

The world changed significantly twelve years ago today. Will it ever change back even a little bit?

The political polarization we saw during the Bush Presidency has continued throughout the Obama Presidency.

Down in Alabama, the Stupid Party is being particularly stupid.

Some conservatives don’t seem too troubled by Vladimir Putin’s repression.

Would conservatives learn a lesson if they got everything they wanted in 2016?

There seems to be a divide developing between Republican leadership and the Tea Party over the idea of shutting the government down over Obamacare.

The president’s 2008 rival has gone from bitter foe to go-to deal broker.