Posts by Doug Mataconis

Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Mitt Romney Goes To Trump’s Right On Immigration And DACA

Mitt Romney staked out a position on DACA that is to the right of the President, and to the right of a majority of Utah voters.

Trump’s Biggest Legal Headache Is Finding Lawyers Who Want To Represent Him

Normally attorneys would be jumping at the chance to represent the President of the United States. With Donald Trump, the lawyers are distancing themselves from him as fast as they can.

Linda Brown, Plaintiff In Brown v. Board of Education, Dies At 75

A woman who was at the center of one of the most important Supreme Court cases in American history has died at the age of 75.

Democrats Need A Big Wave To Take Back The House. They Might Not Get It.

If the polls are any indication, Democrats may fall short in their bid to take back the House in November.

New Poll Shows Strong Support For A Variety Of Gun Control Measures

New polling shows that public support for several gun control proposals continue to increase in the wake of February’s shooting at a Parkland, Florida High School.

U.S. Expels 60 Russian Diplomats, Closes Seattle Consulate, In Retaliation For Skripal Poisoning

The United States has joined Great Britain and much of Europe in retaliating against Russia for the attempted murder of a former Russian spy on British soil.

Stormy Daniels Talks To 60 Minutes

Stormy Daniels spoke to 60 Minutes last night about her relationship with Donald Trump and the agreement that was made on the eve of the 2016 election to keep her quiet.

Donald Trump Wants A Line Item Veto. He’ll Need A Constitutional Amendment.

Like many Presidents before him, Donald Trump wants a line-item veto. Getting there won’t be easy, nor should it be.

John Bolton Has Long Standing Ties To Anti-Muslim Blogger Pamela Geller

Not surprisingly, John Bolton has some links to particularly shady people on the right.

Rick Santorum: Parkland Students Should Learn CPR Instead Of Marching

Does Rick Santorum really think that learning CPR can stop school shootings?

Spurred By Parkland Shooting, Students March, But Will It Lead To Any Actual Change?

Organizing protests was the easy part. The hard part for those who would seek to expand gun regulations is yet to come.

Justice Department Issues Proposal To Ban Bump Stocks

The Department Of Justice is proposing a rule change that would ban bump stocks, but it could run into legal problems.

Trump’s New Transgender Troop Ban Is As Unconstitutional As The First One

The President’s new attempt to ban transgender Americans from serving in the military is as legally defective as the original ban was.

Roy Moore Supporters Tried To Bribe The Attorney For One Of His Accusers

Supporters of Roy Moore tried to bribe the attorney for a woman accusing the former Senate candidate of sexual assault when she was just fourteen years old into repudiating his client.

Trump’s Selection Of John Bolton Has The World Rightfully Concerned

From Europe to the Middle East, to Asia, America’s allies are concerned about what the selection of John Bolton as National Security Adviser means going forward. They should be, and so should every American.

Congress Passes Spending Bill, But Trump Threatens Veto

Congress passed a funding bill to avert a shutdown with time to spare early this morning, but now the President is threatening a veto.

Chief Of Staff Donald Trump?

Donald Trump may be getting ready to act as his own Chief of Staff. That would be a huge mistake.

Republicans Should Spend Less Time Worrying About Leaks, More Time Doing Their Job

Republicans on Capitol Hill worried about all the leaking coming from the Trump White House would be wise to actually do the oversight the Constitution compels them to do.

Former Playboy Model Sues To Be Able To Tell Her Story Of Affair With Trump

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal is suing the publisher of the National Enquirer for the right to tell her story of an alleged affair with President Trump in 2006.

New York Judge Says Defamation Suit Against Trump Can Go Forward

A state trial court Judge in New York has ruled that a defamation lawsuit filed in Manhattan against President Trump can go forward.

Republicans Are Failing The Profiles In Courage Test

Profiles in courage? With Republicans in the Trump Era, it’s more like profiles in cowardice.

Mississippi Governor Taps Cindy Hyde-Smith To Replace Thad Cochran

Mississippi’s Governor has chosen a replacement for Thad Cochran, but the White House isn’t too happy about the pick.

Trump White House Requires Staffers To Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements

A new report confirms that the White House has indeed required staffers to sign non-disclosure agreements that are clearly not enforceable.

Holocaust Denier Wins GOP Congressional Primary In Illinois By Default

A gadfly candidate who has denied the truth of the Holocaust won a GOP primary in Illinois because nobody ran against him.

Breitbart News Sees Big Drop In Readership

Breitbart News appears to be fading in terms of readership, but the alt-right politics it represents is not going away.

Trump Congratulates Putin On ‘Election’ ‘Win’ Against Advice Of National Security Advisers

President Trump continues to obsequiously praise Russian President Vladimir Putin

Justices Appear Skeptical Of Law Requiring ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ To Provide Information About Abortion

The Supreme Court appears ready to strike down a California law requiring Crisis Pregnancy Centers to provide information on abortion.

Ben Carson Defends Purchase Of Dining Room Table For His Office, Blames His Wife For Cost

I hope Ben Carson has a comfortable couch at home.

Mississippi Enacts Law Banning Abortion After 15 Weeks, Immediately Gets Sued

Mississippi has passed a law that seems designed to directly challenge the underpinnings of Roe v. Wade.

Opponents Of New Pennsylvania Redistricting Map Suffer Two Big Setbacks In Court

Challengers to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling on Congressional redistricting suffered two big setbacks in court yesterday that suggest that they’ve reached the end of the road legally.

Former ‘Sex And The City’ Star Enters New York Governor’s Race She Will Most Likely Lose

A famous name enters the race to challenge Andrew Cuomo, but it’s unlikely she’ll have much of an impact.

House Intel Committee Found No Evidence Of Collusion Because It Wasn’t Looking For Any

The head of the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation admitted yesterday that the committee was never focused on any potential evidence of collusion.

Trump Required White House Staff To Sign Confidentiality Agreements, Report Claims

A report in The Washington Post says that White House Staff under President Trump have been required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Vladimir Putin “Wins” “Election” For Fourth Term In Office

To nobody’s surprise, Vladimir Putin has won re-election to another term as Russia’s President.

Member Of D.C. City Council Blames Recent Snowstorms On Jewish Bankers

A D.C. lawmaker latches on to an insane conspiracy theory.

Trump’s Attorney Has Been Trying To Keep Stormy Daniels Quiet Since At Least 2011

New reports indicate that Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen has been involved in efforts to keep Stormy Daniels from telling her story for at least the past seven years.

2018 Continues To Look Good For Democrats

Things continue to look good for Democrats as we get closer to the midterm elections.

No, Andrew McCabe Is Not Losing His Pension, At Least Not Completely

The fact that Andrew McCabe was fired before he could retire means that he will lose out on some significant pension benefits, but. contrary to some media reporting, he won’t lose his pension completely.

2018 Is Looking Good For Democrats, But What About Nancy Pelosi?

Things are looking good for Democrats in 2018, but there’s some speculation that Nancy Pelosi’s position at the head of the party in the House could be in danger.

Trump Lawyers Assert Stormy Daniels Is On The Hook For $20,000,000 Damages

Attorneys for the Defendants in the lawsuit filed by Stormy Daniels, including the President, have removed the case to Federal Court and are claiming that Daniels owes $20 million for her alleged breaches of a settlement agreement.

Russia Retaliates For British Retaliation, Kicking 23 British Diplomats Out

Not unexpectedly, Russia has retaliated for Great Britain’s retaliation for Russia’s apparent assassination attempt on British history.

Conor Lamb’s Win Sets Off Debate Inside Democratic Party

Conor Lamb’s win in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District has set off an inevitable debate inside the Democratic Party about how to approach the upcoming midterm elections.

Attorney For Stormy Daniels: Client Was Physically Threatened To Remain Silent

A new bombshell allegation in the Stormy Daniels affair.

Trump Has Reportedly Decided To Remove National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster

H.R. McMaster appears to be on the way out as National Security Adviser. The important question is, who replaces him?

Stormy Daniels Interview To Air On 60 Minutes On March 25th

The Stormy Daniels/Donald Trump story will break open wide on 60 Minutes next weekend.

Mueller Subpoenas Trump Organization Regarding Russia Ties

Robert Mueller’s investigation appears to enter a new phase, with a focus on the President’s business dealings with Russia.

Scott Kelly’s Year In Space Apparently Caused Changes In His DNA (Updated)

After a year in space, Astronaut Scott Kelly was no longer 100% genetically identical to his twin brother. However, the changes are not as significant as initial media reports made them out to be.

No, Conor Lamb Didn’t Run As A Conservative

Republicans are claiming that Conor Lamb won Tuesday’s Special Election in Pennsylvania because he campaigned as a conservative. These people are either deluded or lying.

Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump, And The Iran Nuclear Deal

The selection of Mike Pompeo as the next Secretary of State makes it more likely that President Trump will take the foolish and dangerous step of withdrawing the United States from the nuclear deal with Iran.