David Atkins

Texas governor Greg Abbott had choice words for President Obama and his plan to use executive power to expand gun safety laws: “Obama wants to impose more gun control. My response? COME & TAKE IT.” Grover Norquist went farther, comparing Obama to Darth Vader. So what is the President planning to do, exactly, that makes […]

The big story of the day is the armed seizure of an empty federal building in rural Oregon by a group of domestic terrorists, some of whom are the sons of federal tax cheat and freeloader Cliven Bundy. They’re apparently upset at the conviction and upcoming jail sentences of a couple of fellow domestic terrorists […]

Those with sharp memories will recall not long ago when Hillary Clinton said that Donald Trump was ISIS’ best recruiter during the last Democratic debate (that almost no one watched): Former Secretary of State Clinton was asked whether Trump’s thousands of fans are all wrong in their support for him. “A lot of people are […]

I’ve written frequently about the abject failures of the Brownback administration in Kansas, showcasing not only the immorality but also the practical incompetence of conservative economic theory applied. Scott Walker has also famously been failing in Wisconsin, where the state’s economy has been in a tailspin as a result of his disastrous policies. Yesterday’s news […]

It happened yet again: a trigger-happy homeowner hears something go bump in the night, pulls the trigger of a gun, and an innocent victim dies. This time it was a mother gunning down and killing her own daughter: A woman in St. Cloud, Florida, woke up just before midnight Tuesday and fired a shot at […]

Ben Carson’s presidential campaign is imploding. One could argue that that’s the result of a candidate in freefall: things always get ugly when a campaign is losing ground in the polls, and staff shakeups are inevitable. But the way that Carson’s campaign has imploded is yet another window into the way the GOP has allowed […]

Here’s more for the “establishment is doomed” files: Ted Cruz maintains a strong lead over Donald Trump in Iowa, according to the results of a poll released Sunday. The Texas senator, in the CBS poll, grabbed the support of 40 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa. Trump is at 31 percent, followed by Marco […]

It’s hard to find feel-good stories coming out of Congress these days, but this is one of them: Plastic microbeads used in soaps, body washes and other personal-care products will be phased out starting in 2017 under legislation approved by Congress and sent to the president. The Senate approved the bill Friday following House approval […]

The third Democratic debate is in the books, having been conveniently held on a night that featured both college football bowl games and the opening weekend of the new Star Wars movie. It’s just as well, though, because it was a largely uneventful night. Politico has a decent rundown of the main highlights, from Sanders […]

After a spat lasting just over 24 hours, it appears that the top news story of the day is already resolving itself: the DNC has come to an agreement to return voter database access to the Bernie Sanders campaign after top staffers were caught snooping into the Clinton campaign’s records. The brouhaha over this little […]