A few commentators, including Rachel Maddow, have taken pessimists to task for suggesting that the chances of actual meaningful gun safety legislation in the wake of the Tucson assassination attempt are quite low. I think it’s more accurate to describe those pessimists as realists. And joining them is one of the most ardent gun safety [...]

Rep. Diana DeGette got a lot of publicity for generating a letter vowing to vote against any bill that returns to the House from conference committee with the Stupak amendment intact. She claims to have at least 41 names on that letter, more than enough to block the bill from going forward. But days after [...]