Slate political reporter and MSNBC contributor Dave Weigel discusses the Kerry confirmation hearings, filibuster reform, and state GOP strategies.

Worries about the fiscal cliff are beginning to sound like predictions from the Mayan calendar. Dave Weigel, political reporter from Slate, tries to demystify the smoke and mirrors of Washington politics.

This week, the media decided that the juiciest line of inquiry about the GOP’s newly minted vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan, was how deep his allegiance was to the late novelist Ayn Rand. Brooke talks to Slate political reporter Dave Weigel about Ryan’s relationship to Rand.

In the days since the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, the National Rifle Association hasn’t engaged with the debates about gun control. But the organization has been busy elsewhere: At the United Nations.

Slate political reporter and MSNBC contributor Dave Weigel and It's A Free Country blogger Dorian Davis discuss Mitt Romney's position on the situation with the Chinese dissident--and the candidate's relationship with social conservatives following the resignation of a gay aide, Richard Grenell. Read Davis' latest post on the topic here. 

The results are in. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney edged a narrow victory in Ohio, the most hotly contested state, and Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, Idaho and Alaska. Elsewhere, Rick Santorum won Oklahoma and Tennessee and Newt Gingrich won his home state of Georgia. But what do these results mean for the rest of the GOP campaign? And do they tell us anything about how the country will vote in November?

After Super Tuesday, the GOP contest is no longer all over the map. The candidates' speeches last night reflected their current status: Romney as the tentative frontrunner, Santorum the conservative with a headwind, Gingrich a factor but probably not a player, and Ron Paul as the embodiment of voter anger.

Dave Weigel, Slate political reporter and MSNBC contributor, and Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent for the Washington Post, talk about Super Tuesday, the delegate race and the role of women voters and other key demographics.  

Political reporter for Slate Dave Weigel discusses what impact the month-old Occupy Wall Street action is having on the political debate.

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David Weigel, who covers politics and policy for Slate magazine, Reihan Salam, columnist for The Daily and blogger for National Review Online, and Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent for The Washington Post, discuss the deal on the debt ceiling and deficit. 

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Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman announced his candidacy this week. Political reporter Dave Weigel says that Huntsman's only constituency is the press, and that for a Republican candidate, that's more of a kiss of death then a boon.