David Atkins

I’ve written here and at Hullabaloo about the myth of the “independent” voter, noting that most self-declared independents are actually fairly strong partisans who prefer the “independent” label for a variety of reasons. Polls that shows “independents” as having centrist views are deeply misleading: if you throw a mix of liberals and conservatives together as […]

There has been a lot of back and forth among progressives about Charlie Hebdo, whether progressives should stand in solidarity with a magazine that prints admittedly racist images, and whether it should be OK to show pictures of the prophet Mohammad–or whether such imagery should be avoided in order not to cause offense or inflame […]

Pew has once again confirmed what many prior studies have shown: the rich and well-to-do think the poor have it too easy in America: Those who face the greatest financial insecurity are the most reliant on government benefits; more than half of the least secure group reports receiving at least one type of means-tested government […]

The usual reaction around savvy political intelligentsia to the continued high profile of Mitt Romney as a possible 2016 candidate is mockery and disbelief. After all, no one has won the Oval Office after losing twice, and Republicans generally nominate the person who is considered “next in line”–which in this case would be a Jeb […]

Lo how the mighty have fallen: The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against David H. Petraeus, contending that he provided classified information to a lover while he was director of the C.I.A., officials said, leaving Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to decide whether to seek an indictment that could […]

I’ve often described myself as a political pessimist, if only because I’m skeptical of the power of politics as usual to resolve the multiple crises facing the nation and the world at large. I think significant upheavals and disruptions are likely. That having been said, I’m actually an optimist in terms of the longer trajectory: […]

GQ did a humorous roundup of some of the craziest politicians in America. They included most of the ones you might expect: Ted Yoho, Joe Arpaio, Joe Barton, Virginia Foxx and the like. Of their twenty politicians listed, seventeen were Republicans. The New York Post took great offense to this, throwing up an article about […]

One of the problems with economic politics generally speaking but particularly in America is that it’s based on arguments that are supposedly theoretical and impossible to prove. Keynesians and supply-siders go back and forth about basic economic theory, and no hard data ever seems to be able to settle the argument. That’s starting to become […]

Don’t look now, but President Obama’s approval rating is going up: President Barack Obama is ending the year, and his sixth year in office, on a high note — even performing better than his predecessor. A recent Gallup poll shows Obama with a 43 percent December approval rating at the end of his sixth year […]

America’s tax code is filled with breaks of questionable morality and economic utility. But the tax break you get when you support the quality commentary and journalism of the Washington Monthly is an exception. Like much of the rest of the economy, journalism is in a state of flux, trying to find its way through […]