David Atkins

It appears that Scott Walker is still the man to catch in the Republican presidential primary: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has expanded his early lead in Iowa, while former Florida Governor Jeb Bush continues to face headwinds and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida shows upside potential in the state that hosts the first 2016 presidential […]

Jesse Singal at New York Magazine wrote up one of the more disturbing stories I’ve read in some time, about the curious case of academic fraud perpetrated by one Michael LaCour, political science grad student at UCLA and (until recently) destined for a job at Princeton. I haven’t followed the story closely until now, but […]

As Political Animal readers are no doubt already aware, Beau Biden has passed away after a series of struggles against brain cancer. Beau was many things in his life: a soldier, an attorney general, a husband and a father, and a star fixture in Democratic politics. Before his cancer returned he was preparing to make […]

Martin O’Malley has done the expected and joined the 2016 Democratic presidential race. His weaknesses are obvious: lack of a national platform and persona, as well as a troubled legacy in Baltimore. There’s not necessarily a whole lot of room to maneuver between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton–but then again, in a race where the […]

As globalization, mechanization and Reagan/Thatchernomics continue to take their toll on the middle classes of developed world, society has come up with a range of innovative, destructive and sometimes downright silly ways of dealing with the problem. Among the better-known answers have been to inflate asset bubbles to make up for wage stagnation; to lower […]

Politico ran a piece yesterday on the FCC’s proposed rules to allow Americans to block robocalls, that might have sounded like inside baseball and over-the-top caterwauling to those who aren’t in the research or polling industry. But it’s a far more important story than you might at first expect: unless some significant exemptions are made […]

Here at the 2015 California State Democratic Convention, the hottest topic of conversation is Congresswoman and Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez’ shocking and offensive gaffe mocking a Native American war cry: Two days after entering the race for the U.S. Senate, Rep. Loretta Sanchez met with an Indian American group on Saturday and mimicked a racial […]

If secular policymakers should have learned anything over the last decade in the Middle East, it’s that religious fundamentalist blowback can be very severe, and that actions should be taken only after calculating not only the short-term potential gains but also the long-term risks and consequences. For instance, when the United States instigated a coup […]

Elizabeth Warren was the keynote speaker here today at the California Democratic Party’s statewide convention in Anaheim. The speeches, as at most conventions, tend to be a way to motivate the crowd in between bouts of serious business from caucus meetings to endorsements to resolutions and what not. As such, they tend to be high-energy […]

Timothy Egan’s column on Pope Francis highlights what he calls Francis’ “Art of Joy”: the Pope’s sunny, humorous upbeat disposition and confidence in his ability to change both the institution of the Church and the world at large for the better. I’ve written about Pope Francis’ important impact both here and at Alternet, emphasizing his […]