Outside the Beltway

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry is going to be looking for that elusive second act in American politics.

The House has passed a bill that would place real restrictions on the National Security Agency’s data mining program. Now, it moves to the Senate.

Iraq seems to becoming a political headache for yet another member of the Bush family.

Jeb Bush told a group of supporters that his brother is his top Middle East policy adviser. This strikes me as being a bad idea.

Break out the sweater vests, Rick Santorum is getting ready to enter the race for the Republican Presidential Nomination.

A new poll has some bad news for Jeb Bush in the Hawkeye State, which leads to the idea that maybe he shouldn’t waste too much time there to begin with.

There must be something odd in the water in the Lone Star State, because a bizarre conspiracy theory seems to have taken root there.

Mike Huckabee’s back, but the 2008 magic is gone.

Ben Carson is running for President.

Even for political junkies, the thrill seems to be gone.

Another poll shows that Republicans are largely out of step with public opinion on the question of whether businesses should be free to refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings.

Ted Cruz and Steve King think the Court should be prevented from hearing any case involving same-sex marriage. Because they know they’re losing.

Senate Republicans are working on legislation to fix the PPACA’s subsidies if the Supreme Court rules against the Federal Government in June.

For months, Ted Cruz said the nomination of Loretta Lynch must be blocked. Then, he failed to show up when the Senate voted on her nomination.

Less than two weeks after entering the race, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is at the top of the GOP field in a new poll.

Former Hewlett Packard CEO, and failed Senate candidate, Carly Fiorina will be running for President for some reason.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is now appealing to the worst aspects of economic populism on the right.

The GOP race remains tight, but some candidates have benefited from their entry into the race more than others. Overall, though, Hillary Clinton continues to dominate.

And the fun part is that his main motive for running appears to be the opportunity to troll Rand Paul.

The “racism” debate brought about by Barack Obama in 2000 is getting a spin-off.

After declining to run in 2012, Mike Huckabee’s entry into the 2016 race seems fairly certain.

Five years after it became law, the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act appears to be over.

Ben Carson will be entering the race for President next month, but don’t pretend for a minute that he’s a serious candidate.

Marco Rubio is the first Republican in the race who actually has a plausible chance to win the nomination, but it’s not going to be easy.

So, she’s in.

His poll numbers are down, the GOP base is not hospitable, but Chris Christie still seems to be thinking about running for President.

The Heifer the Hills Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

To the surprise of few, Hillary Clinton is running for President

Rand Paul is the latest Republican to enter the race, but his path to even becoming a contender is a difficult one at best.

The political media is breathlessly reporting on every event in a campaign that is just beginning, and voters aren’t really paying attention to it at this point.

Jeb Bush is leading the latest poll of the 2016 Republican race and Ted Cruz has surged since he entered the race, but the race is just beginning.

Rand Paul has been cozying up to social conservatives lately, but he risks alienating the people most likely to support his campaign for the White House.

Carly Fiorina seems to be inching close to a Presidential run for some reason.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is getting ready to jump into the race for President, but he has an uphill fight ahead of him.

Do we really want to put another first-term Senator with no executive experience in the Oval Office? Because beyond the mere legal requirements, it does not appear that Ted Cruz is qualified to be President.

Just in case there’s any question, yes, Ted Cruz is Constitutionally eligible to serve as President.

Ted Cruz kicks off with the first of what is likely to be a string of candidates getting into the 2016 race in the coming month.

Despite the ongoing email controversy, Hillary Clinton remains well positioned heading into 2016.

As expected, Republicans have caved in the showdown over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Now that they control all of Congress, some Republicans are suddenly deciding that the filibuster should be repealed.

Rand Paul is carrying on a family tradition, winning the CPAC straw poll won many times by his father Ron.

Scott Walker surged to the top of a new poll of Iowa Republicans, but Iowa is not a very good predictor of success in the race for the GOP nomination.

Conservatives finally seem to be waking up to the truth about Sarah Palin.

Advantage: Hillary.

The Tea Party may be the most vocal wing of the GOP but most Republicans seems to favor candidates that aren’t quite so right wing.

He’s tan. He’s rested. And, apparently, he’s ready. Mitt Romney seems very interested in 2016 all of a sudden.

The terror attack in Paris seems likely to undercut GOP efforts to use the DHS budget to attack the President’s immigration policies.