Last week Bill Kristol tweeted that he had found a candidate to rescue the Republican establishment from Donald Trump. After a childish Twitter feud between Kristol and Trump, reports surfaced that Kristol’s knight in shining armor was none other than high-powered and well-connected but relatively unknown GOP lawyer David French. After a some widespread and […]
David Atkins
Follow David on Twitter @DavidOAtkins. David Atkins is a Washington Monthly contributing writer, activist, and research professional living in Santa Barbara as well as an elected DNC Member from California. He is president of The Pollux Group, a qualitative research firm.
Posted inPolitical Animal, Politics
Trump’s Narcissism Makes It Hard for Him to Tack to Center
In the weeks following Trump’s mathematical lock on the GOP nomination, the candidate and party establishment have attempted to come to a detente and make overtures toward tacking to center in the general election. We have seen high-profile politicians say that Trump’s political racism and bigotry is an act he put on to win the […]
Posted inPolitical Animal, Politics
Universal Basic Income: A Revolutionary Idea That Could Gain Bipartisan Support
When most politicians talk about bipartisan consensus, they generally mean policies that business-friendly centrists in both parties get behind. These include the usual Bowles-Simpson style shibboleths so beloved of corporate supremacists like Pete Peterson: deficit reduction, the slashing of earned benefits, welfare reform, tax “simplification” designed to benefit the wealthy, and the like. Sometimes even […]
Posted inPolitical Animal, Politics
Elizabeth Warren, Superdelegate, Gets It Right on Opposing Superdelegates
Elizabeth Warren is one of the hottest stars in politics, in large part because of her blunt honesty and her willingness to directly oppose the predatory financial industry in a way that few other politicians dare to. Hillary Clinton is said to be strongly considering Warren as a potential vice-presidential pick, a move that would […]
Posted inPolitical Animal, Politics
The Electoral College Will Be Trump’s Downfall, Even if Clinton Falls Flat
I can say with some satisfaction that I have never underestimated Donald Trump. That’s important. While most every other pundit was writing his political epitaphs, I was predicting early on that Trump or Cruz–and probably Trump–would take the nomination over anyone in the establishment lane. (I also predicted that Sanders would do better against Clinton […]
Posted inPolitical Animal, Politics
The Big Split Among Democrats is by Age, not Race
The latest polling out of California shows some eye-popping numbers in the Democratic primary race. Standard analysis of the primary battle is that Clinton performs well among women and minorities, while Sanders support is confined to white men and college students. But that’s not really the case. The truth is that there is a stunning […]
Posted inPolitical Animal, Politics
GOP Tries to Game California’s Jungle Primary by Using Deceptive Dirty Tricks Against Democratic Voters
Last weekend I noted that the ongoing presidential primary between Sanders and Clinton is benefiting Democrats in California. That’s not just because of increased voter registration, but more importantly because of California’s awful top-two primary system. To recap, in 2010 California voters enacted Proposition 14, which eliminated partisan primaries in all but the presidential race. […]
Posted inPolitical Animal, Politics
Get Ready for a Long, Very Ugly Election Won on the Ground
Yesterday I wrote that the politically obsessed should not pay attention to general election polls right now, because the GOP primary is over while the Democratic one continues. That in turn has given presumptive nominee Trump a consolidating boost, while Sanders supporters still resist supporting Clinton. That phenomenon will dissipate within the month, and Clinton […]
