David Atkins
@davidoatkins
Contributor @washingtonmonthly.com. Bylines @theprospect & elsewhere. Elected DNC Member from CA. Progressive reformist. Dad of two. I run a qualitative research firm.
Remember this image when people whine about how much money the DNC has in the coffers to spend on ads. Mobilization and real grassroots support matter much more than money.
The CA Dem eboard meeting where we endorsed the Billionaire's Tax was a tense and combative affair, with some amazing moments. After the first vote failed to get 60%, the no side tried a No Consenus vote. (I spoke against it.) That failed. Then two from the No side switched and moved for Yes.
Here was my speech against the "no consensus" position on Prop40 during the debate.
Ken Martin is doing exactly what we sent him to do: invest in the organizing we need to win instead of late-campaign paydays for DC consultants. I write about it today at Washington Monthly: washingtonmonthly.com/2026/07/31/t...
People desperate for accountability, and want candidates who will promise it.
Rarely has there ever been a more cursed headline than "Meta Plans to Release AI-Powered Prediction Market App"
One of the core tasks of Project 2029 / Second Reconstruction is to make sure no President is ever allowed to use these corrupt mafia tactics against our own people ever again.
Say what you will about Platner, but the gender crosstabs here are genuinely hilarious.
Concerning the longtime rumors around Swalwell, I am reposting here with permission a FB post last time from longtime organizer Michael Trujillo. This history goes way beyond what is reported publicly.
The DNC Resolutions Committee has passed my resolution to hold Trump Administration officials legally accountable for their crimes. Assuming the whole packet passes on Friday, it will become the official position of the national Democratic Party.
Western civilization is principally the product of: 1) Ancient Greek philosophy and culture 2) Ancient Roman law and infrastructure 3) Enlightenment philosophy And *distantly* 4) "Christian" teachings mostly as a thin overlay to justify oppression of women and obedience to lords and kings.
A real country with a real, working Congress would have removed this debilitated would-be tyrant long ago.
"All the work he has done to strengthen the NATO alliiance." Roflmao
What kind of person looks at the world Musk, Ellison and Zuckerberg have created and comes up with this addled take? Even if you take a neoliberal approach to the money, it's not about the money. It's about the power to control the electoral and media environment.
I love how the NYT has infinite capacity to tut tut and tone police the language being used on the far right, without really making it clear what the content of the fight is about: open Nazism versus merely Nazi-adjacent politics.
Note for all the DNC haters out there that there was loud and boisterous applause at the DNC meeting just now when Kamala Harris mentioned the victory of Mamdani as New York Mayor. The DNC is not what you think it is.
The DNC Resolutions Committee just passed my and co-author Michael Kapp's resolution condemning the unlawful strikes on boats in the Caribbean and West Pacific.
If MAGAs thought they had any juice at all in their movement they would toss the (alleged) Pedophile in Chief overboard and move on with Vance. They know they can't win elections without Trump, and are committed to covering up his historic crimes instead.
If Mamdani were bad for the party, Republicans wouldn't be wetting themselves in terror over him.
All of this is loony tunes, of course. But worth noting that Trump's definition of "cheated and rigged the election" is "made me look bad somehow."
The use of "surge" here is so fucking grotesque. Trump is using Iraq War language against the citizens of his own country.
I don't care much, but I find this deeply amusing, as I am simultaneously being blocked on a list of AI haters *and* AI enthusiasts. It's illustrative of the problem with block lists.
This is of course an impeachable offense, and anyone in the chain carrying out such an order against American citizens can and should be prosecuted to the *fullest* extent of the law.
Irony poisoned 4chan bros are out of control. This is a social problem we have to deal with, and quickly.
I know we are way down the rabbit hole, but remember when Republicans got outraged over Bill Clinton simply meeting AG Loretta Lynch on a tarmac? This Truth Social post all by itself is a massively impeachable offense.