Got a really late start on these headlines, so this is going to be brief.
Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne holds up Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett as the kind of mayor who talks sense about gun control. That's the kind that makes the gun lobby nervous.
Harry Reid says that gun safety advocates will "settle" for legislation leaving gaping holes in the background check system. Harry Reid is very wrong.
Marco Rubio wants the president to "demand the IRS Commissioner’s resignation, effectively immediately" over news that the agency gave special attention to Tea Party groups seeking tax exempt status. The problem: there is no IRS Commissioner. The previous commissioner's term ended during the last election year, meaning nominating a replacement was completely impossible. "The Republicans would block anybody that Obama sent up." Jeff Trinca, a former chief of staff for the National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service, said at the time. So Rubio's demanding a resignation from a position that's empty because of Republican obstructionism.
Democrats are fighting over what to do with California's $4.5 billion budget surplus. A problem you want to have. Liberal economic policies work. Here's living proof.
Finally, John McCain becomes the latest Republican to thank Fox News for all their help in hyping Benghazi.
[cartoon via Truthdig]
