Outside the Beltway

Trumpism is a direct by-product of the poisonous populism of the Tea Party movement, and they’ve both taken over the Republican Party.

A new round of Congressional Ballot polls seems to put Democrats in a strong position for the ‘blue wave’ they’ve been hoping for all year.

Delaware Democratic Senator Tom Carper beat back a challenge from a ‘progressive” challenger in Thursday’s primary.

With Martha McSally pulling off a decisive win, Arizona Republicans managed to avoid the disaster that likely would have occurred had either Kelli Ward or Joe Arpaio won last night.

Just hours before Senator McCain died, one of the candidates running for Jeff Flake’s Senate seat claimed that the McCain family released a statement about the late Senator’s health to hurt her campaign.

Here’s what will happen regarding the selection of a successor to Senator McCain.

One moment at a campaign rally in October 2008 defines better than anything else what American politics lost when John McCain passed away.

Recent reports have indicated that doubts are growing about the wisdom of keeping California Democrat Nancy Pelosi at the top of House Leadership.

Russia’s real goal in interfering in American elections may not have anything to do with favoring one candidate over another.

Tuesday’s election results were a defeat for the progressive effort to remake the Democratic Party in their image.

Corey Stewart rose to become the Republican Party’s Senate nominee in Virginia with blatant appeals to racial division. Now his party fears they’ll be the ones who end up paying the price.

President Trump is reportedly considering the 47-year-old Utah Senator to replace Anthony Kennedy.

In a significant First Amendment ruling, the Supreme Court has held that a Minnesota law barring “political apparel” at polling places is unconstitutional.

Virginia Republicans took a hard-right turn in yesterday’s primary. This is likely to benefit the Democrats.

Whether Don Blankenship wins or loses in West Virginia, his success is yet another example of how Donald Trump has changed the GOP for the worse.

Regrets, he’s had a few.

Not surprisingly, Mike Pompeo was confirmed as America’s 70th Secretary of State today. Now, the hard work begins.

A longtime “Hillary Beat” reporter ruminates on what she and her candidate could have done differently in 2016.

Kyrsten Sinema, the likely Democratic nominee for the Senate in Arizona, is leading all three of her potential Republican challengers. This could spell trouble for the GOP.

Joe Arpaio is saying he might reopen his “investigation” into former President Obama’s birthplace if he’s elected Senator.

The Trump presidency is the latest step in treating commentators like policy experts. It is all a manifestation of how the modern GOP is a populist party.

Rex Tillerson was an awful Secretary of State who simply had to go, It’s quite possible his successor will be an even greater disaster.

Next up: Pompeo

Once again, there’s speculation in Washington that Justice Anthony Kennedy could retire this year.

On OTB’s subjective, inconsistent enforcement of its policies designed to promote civil discussion.

The 80-year-old Mississippi Republican, who was first elected to the Senate in 1978 after serving six years in the House, has been in poor health.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case pitting the First Amendment against the right of states to regulate elections.

The Tea Party is dead, but it was never really alive to begin with.

Will Joe Arpaio cause the GOP to lose an otherwise winnable Senate race?

It’s been seven years since Congress eliminated earmarking, and what we’ve seen has provided good evidence for the argument that it should never have been eliminated.

The deal that led to the end of the Federal Government shutdown isn’t sitting well with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

Whatever goodwill may have existed between the Trump Administration and Steve Bannon appears to have evaporated.

After nearly twenty years, the Republican domination of the Virginia House of Delegates came to an end thanks to a single vote.

Roy Moore’s loss in Alabama is bringing out into the open a civil war that has been going on for seven years now.

There are no good outcomes for the GOP in Alabama.

Most Americans are unlikely to remember John Anderson, but he was a harbinger of things to come.

The early numbers in the battle to control Congress look good for Democrats, but there are are a number of caveats to keep in mind.

The differing reactions among Republicans in Washington and the base of the Republican Party to the charges against Roy Moore have enhanced a civil war inside the Republican Party.

The Moore situation illustrates the nonhierarchical nature of US parties. This is nothing new.

Republicans have a Donald Trump problem, and they can’t run away from it.

It’s been two years since John Boehner stepped down as Speaker, and he’s got a few things to say about his former colleagues and the state of American politics.

House Republicans haven’t released their tax bill yet, but it’s already unpopular.

Forget all the talk about a civil war in the Republican Party, the truth is that Republicans and conservatives have already surrendered to Trump and Bannon.

Due mostly to cowardice and naked self-interest, you shouldn’t expect many other Republicans to speak out against Trump in the near future.

One of the few Republicans willing to speak out against Donald Trump is retiring at the end of his current term.

At least for now, Republicans seem to be giving up on repealing and replacing the PPACA. That’s not going to make the base happy.

Former Trump aide Steve Bannon is declaring war on Republicans in the Senate.

Roy Moore’s victory in Alabama is raising fears of a wider battle in the Republican Party heading into 2018.