Outside the Beltway

In the end, there appears to be very little, if anything, the GOP can do to stop or roll back the executive actions the President will announce Thursday evening.

Based on the available evidence, there’s very little evidence that Voter ID laws had a significant impact on the midterm elections.

The Keystone XL pipeline bill is dead until the next Senate. Mary Landrieu’s political career, on the other hand, is basically dead for the foreseeable future.

Every member of the Supreme Court graduated from an Ivy League Law School. That kind of homogeneity is not healthy.

Another round of election losses is leading Democrats to contemplate the direction they should take going forward.

Much like the disease itself, Ebola panic seems to have disappeared as the midterm elections become ever more distant in the rear view mirror.

Same-sex marriage advanced in Kansas and South Carolina yesterday, and will soon be law in Montana, but the Supreme Court is what matters now,

Mary Landrieu’s Keystone XL Hail Mary isn’t going to save her.

Mike Huckabee seems to be making the moves necessary to run for President again, For reasons only he can understand.

The GOP’s big wins last week seem to be just guaranteeing that this year’s battle between the Tea Party and the “establishment” will continue.

A popular idea that does nothing useful while simultaneously violating the Constitution.

The GOP is dominant in the Southern United States, but it’s unlikely to last as long as Democratic dominance of the region did.

Obama proposes four ‘net neutrality’ rules.

Republicans performed better among Latino voters this year than they did in 2012, but that doesn’t mean they’ve solved their problems.

Looking into uncontested and partially contest House districts from the 2014 cycle.

An unsurprising ruling from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that only seems to bring closer the day when same-sex marriage will be legal nationwide.

Good news that ought to quiet people’s concerns significantly, on the Ebola front.

Another setback for the radical fringe of the “pro-life” movement,

The Republican wave extended even to Governor’s races that, in any other year, they should have lost.

The GOP added to its majority in the House, giving it the biggest majority it has had since Truman was President.

A pair of accidents has led some to wonder if we are at the end of commercial ventures in space. Clearly, we are not.

The B.C.S. was far from perfect, and the College Football Playoff system will be, at best, only slightly better.

Mandatory quarantines are a massive violation of personal liberty. We ought to be careful in how, when, and why we impose them and who they are directed toward.

The Koch Brothers are putting money behind an effort to reform a part of the legal system that is ignored far too often.

A new outbreak, or hopefully just an isolated case.

As usual, politicians and pundits are helping to create a climate of fear and concern about Ebola that is not justified by the facts.

America’s “Patient Zero” doesn’t appear to have spread Ebola very far, but continued vigilance is called for. And, we need to focus on the part of the world where there really is an Ebola Crisis.

Another pre-election stay ruling from the Supreme Court.

A travel ban sounds like a simple solution to a complex problem. Like most simple solutions, though, it becomes far less appealing when you think about the details.

President Obama has appointed an “Ebola Czar,” but it’s unclear why we need one when there are already people who are supposed to be in charge of the Ebola response.

More Ebola news that could have a negative impact on public opinion.

A victory for the opponents of Voter ID laws that will be untouchable by the Supreme Court.

We’ve become aware of failures in how we’ve handled the Ebola situation. The response is to figure out what went wrong and do our best to fix it, not to panic.

Someone needs to remind the City of Houston that the First Amendment applies to them.

After a setback, Texas will be allowed to enforce its Voter ID law. At least for now.

Another health care worker in Dallas is being treated for exposure to the Ebola Virus.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has made an incredibly weak argument in favor of his state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

Democrats are starting to worry that low turnout could turn a good year for the GOP into a very good year.

A District of Columbia Judge has ruled that photographs of women taken in public do not violate the law.

It’s way too early, folks.

A second case, and the first person to apparently contract Ebola on U.S. soil. But, that’s no reason to panic.