Outside the Beltway

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?

A plan finally starting to come together?

The House wasted a day yesterday, now it’s crunch time.

Well, so much for that plan.

It looks like the House will be making its move before the Senate acts, but that may actually help resolve this faster.

The deal emerging out of the talks between Senator Reid and Senator McConnell is about what you’d expect, but it’s probably the best we can expect right now.

As long as we’re tacking on unrelated measures in order to secure a deal to end the government shutdown-debt ceiling standoff, why not some related measures?

The presence of politicians like Sarah Palin at yesterday’s “Million Veteran March” was not appreciated by the people who organized the protest.

Are these four men our last, best hope for a deal that will end the shutdown and avoid breaching the debt ceiling?

Conservatives gathered on the National Mall today to protest the closure of memorials, but their message seems really intended for Republicans in Congress to not back down.

Talks between the two Senate leaders haven’t exactly gone so well.

A little noticed rule change in the House is arguably one of the main reasons we’re in a government shutdown crisis.

Harry and Mitch to the rescue?

Divided government is the worst political system ever, except for all the others.

With the House’s proposed deal reaching an impasse, the Senate is now taking center stage.

The Whack-A-Pol Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

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

There seems to be at least some hope for a temporary deal in Washington to end the shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, but don’t count your chickens just yet.

Being Speaker of the House has become much more of a difficult job than it used to be.

Republicans appear to be uniting behind a short-term plan to deal with the debt ceiling, but seem okay with keeping the government shutdown going forward.

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.

The real world impact of what’s happening in Washington is becoming apparent.

The Finding Nemo Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Signs that investors are starting to get nervous about the lack of action coming out of Washington.

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

Contrary to the White House’s arguments, negotiating over the debt ceiling is not at all historically unprecedented.

The government shutdown seems to be having an impact on the one competitive statewide race in country this year.