From Dolphins to Democracy: Joey's Bold Senate Run in Florida

David B. Wheeler: 00:00:06

Hey, folks, David Wheeler here with Muck U. Happy to be with you on a lovely day up in the mountains. And with me is my co host and good friend, Colonel Mo Davis to introduce our guest today.

Take it away, Mo.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:00:20

Hey, thanks, David. And welcome back, everybody. And as David said, it is a beautiful day here in the mountains of western North Carolina.

And today we've got Joey Mendoza Atkins on. Joey is running for Senate down in the great state of Florida. He's an attorney, a sports agent down in the Miami area.

Democratic candidate back in: 2024

th district back in: 2020

I ran up here in the mountains against Madison Cawthorn and he's down, I guess a neighbor of yours now in the 19th district in Florida running for office. But I'd like to. I'd like to refer to that as getting even.

Florida sent us Tom Tillis and Mark Meadows, so we've returned the favor and given you guys Madison Cawthorn.

Madam Muckraker: 00:01:14

I appreciate that. Yes. Your best and brightest down here. Always, always, always, always, you know, happy to hear that. Thanks.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:01:23

Yes.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:01:23

Yeah, whatever we can do to help for that gift. We'll keep sending you hurricanes then, huh?

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:01:29

Oh, thanks. Yeah, we're. Yeah. What a difference a year makes. This time last year we were really, really hurting, but things are getting better.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:01:37

Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:01:37

It's a special election coming up down there. The. The Senate race.

It's the seat that Marco Rubio held and Governor DeSantis appointed Ashley Moody, who I guess is the incumbent running on the Republican side, and Joey's running on the. The Democratic side. So. Hey, thanks for taking time to join us.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:01:57

Of course. I gotta say, actually, I, I was up in an Asheville area this.

About this time last year, so actually maybe almost to the day, I might have returned today, one year ago back to Florida. So I was there just after, you know, seeing the effects of the, of the hurricane or the flooding, I guess it was. Right.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:02:15

Yeah.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:02:16

You know, I just, even. Even though it had happened, I think, you know, weeks or so before the, the way that the economy was still affected, certain roads were impassable.

I remember I stayed in Airbnb and there was, you know, basically disclaimers that the, hey, like, don't drink the water. It's still not. It's probably not a good idea. So hopefully it recovered.

And as I think before we got on, I expect to Be up there in about a week or so to go visit a couple players at Western Carolina University who won quarterback. They're having a phenomenal year.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:02:43

Yeah. Great.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:02:43

Yeah. So be up there soon.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:02:45

Yeah, Good deal. Yeah, we, you know, I think you'll see when you come back. You know, we've made a lot of progress over the past year. Still got a ways to go.

Things aren't. Aren't like they were before, but, you know, every day you see progress and it's getting better. So. Yeah, come on back. We need more people coming.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:03:01

Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:03:01

Back to the mountains of western North Carolina.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:03:04

When, as an aside, when I was a child, I lived in Banner Elk, North Carolina.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:03:09

Oh, yeah.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:03:10

Yeah. Bottom of Beach Mountain, I believe.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:03:12

Yeah. We. My wife and I have a house up at Beach Mountain. We just came that back Friday. Yes. We're. We would have been taping from.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:03:20

Yeah. Learned how to ski, learn how to snowboard there. And my mom likes to tell this story because I went up there for.

I was four or five years old and it might have been kindergarten. And, you know, growing up being a Florida boy. Right. Going up to the, to that part of the state. I remember. And I kind of remember this, actually.

And I know my mom likes to tell a story. So I came home from like the first day of school and. And she goes, how was it?

And I said, like, mom, I can't understand anything these kids are saying. Such heavy accents, you know.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:03:48

Yeah, we do kind of have our own dialect up here.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:03:50

Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:03:50

Yeah. Well, listen, that you have to come back up and go skiing it.

I was reading today they're hoping to open on November 24, but, you know, it just depends on. On how the, how the weather goes.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:04:02

Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:04:02

Hey, well, listen, let's start with the important stuff. The dolphins are 2 and 7. People. People. We don't have video, but you are wearing a Dolphins cap.

When we were talking earlier, they're currently ranked. Ranked 29th out of the 32 teams in the NFL and they're playing the Bills next Sunday. How much longer is Mike McDaniels got left there in Miami?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:04:27

You know, I know somebody might look at me today and say, well, you know, why are you wearing a hat? As you know, why are you. Why are you showing love today after, you know, all they put you through, not just this season, but past 35 plus years?

And I said, well, because today, as of this last couple of days, they appear the owner finally decided that, hey, when you haven't won a playoff game since, you know, he's been the owner of the team.

And when you have the same GM who's been in charge of building the team for, you know, however, like, the better part of a decade plus, maybe we should change that position, you know? And I'm thinking, oh, my gosh. My. My. My expectations are so, like, so low that I'm looking at this as, like, genuine progress.

So I was just talking to a client before I got on the phone as well. Like a legal client of mine, a law. One of my. One of my clients in a lawsuit. And, you know, he was like, hey, man, so, you know, what do you think?

And I'm like, hey, listen, maybe about six, seven years from now, we can start competing again. So that's optimism. It might sound like cynicism, or this is optimism again. So, you know, this is how bad it is.

So I actually attribute maybe my growing. Not my growing, but maybe my cynicism in life and my sort of expect the worst to happen. I'm pretty sure I can track that to being a Dolphins fan.

It's my entire worldview.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:05:47

Well, you're too young to remember, but I remember the glory days, you know, back when you had Don Shula and Dan Marino and Larry Zonka and had the perfect season. So there's great history down there. Of course, you know, we're sympathetic.

We got the Carolina Panthers here, and we're doing better than we've been doing.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:06:05

But you've seen them in the super bowl, at least. I. The Dolphins. Last time they were in the super bowl was, like, the year before I was born. So my. My glory days.

And I was a. I was a quarterback in college, and Dan Marino was my hero growing up. That's why I became a quarterback. And so, you know, my glory days were still basically getting punished by the Bills to go to a Super Bowl.

But that's thinking that, hey, at some point, we'll kind of cross that bridge. And we have definitely not crossed that bridge. So, you know, I'm beginning to think that this may never happen.

I might not ever actually see my team in the Super Bowl. Like when I was 7 and 8 and I would cry myself to sleep, and my mom worry they'll be maybe next year. I believed her. Now I'm.

I'm maybe a little bit spiteful and resentment, resentful, because I don't know if that's going to happen, so.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:06:52

Well, hang in there. I mean, you remember for. For years and years, Bill's fans thought that they were just cursed.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:06:58

Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:06:58

And, you know, things will turn around. Hey, let's talk about the, the Senate race. What, what compelled you to, to jump in and, and run for the Senate down there in Florida?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:07:08

Yeah, no, it's. So, you know, of course they ran last year in a, in a sort of being pulled in to a very highly uncompetitive race.

So I had no, you know, no illusions about that.

It was, at the very least, I figured I'd try my best, get my feet wet, sort of learn the game, create a bit of a network and, and, and, and, you know, go on as far as I can take this. And so in terms of this election, I was really excited just for so many reasons. Number one for this race is because it's, it is a midterm.

You know, midterms. They, you know, we tend to, you know, the party, non power tends to, to do well.

You know, you have Ashley Moody in that seat who was unelected, was appointed and, you know, to say she has a sort of a checkered history politically is an understatement.

And number three, I think most importantly, which is why I got in and want to stay in as long as I can is because I'm genuinely, I'm genuinely afraid, man. I'm not going to lie. Like, I'm kind of scared for where this country's headed.

And you know, you know, I could try to sound positive and optimistic and I, you know, we can be. If we can make the right changes and, and win some elections here, I'll feel exponentially more optimistic.

But we have to do those things because if we don't, I'm genuinely scared. And so for where this country's headed. I'm a student of history, like I suspect you guys probably are as well.

And I've seen this story before, and I think a lot of people think, well, like, well, this is the US it's, it's different here. Well, it's different because it's just never really happened here, but it's not because it can't.

And I think people need to take this a little more seriously. So for me, it's, I'm not like, I can't. You wouldn't want me to come, maybe change your oil or if you have a plumbing issue.

That's just not my skill set. I'm a lawyer, you know, I, I'm a policy geek. I know how to solve problems. That's what I get paid to do. And this is the only skill set.

This is a skill set I have, and this is the skill set I have in which to try and make my Country a better place to make my state a better place. And, you know, I feel like this is just something I have to do. It's just a compulsion.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:09:12

Yeah, Yeah, I know what you. I know what you mean. I. You know, I think people, my generation, you know, looked at Germany. I mean, I've been to Germany a couple of times.

They're great people. And you. You look at it, you go, how in the hell could they have fallen for, you know, Hitler and the whole Nazi movement back in the 30s and 40s?

And, you know, suddenly we're. We kind of got the answer because we're. We're living, you know, in similar times where it's happening here.

So it kind of, you know, you'd like to think those kind of things can't happen, but, you know, here we are. On the Republican side, I know Ashley Moody was appointed by my old friend Ron DeSantis. Sure. Yeah.

Ron was a. I was the chief prosecutor down at Guantanamo Bay, and Ron was a young naval attorney, so we overlapped there at Guantanamo a bit. I never imagined back then he'd end up where he is now, but he appointed Ashley Moody.

It's like she has a primary opponent named Jake Lang, who was one of the January 6th domestic territory terrorists. So quite a choice there on the Republican side.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:10:13

Sure. And, and as you may know, that's. That's sort of interesting for her to have a, you know, a.

A primary opponent with that background, given Ashley Moody's headed up a dark money group that funneled. Funneled cash to the. To the. To the rioters, you know, to the. To the traders. And so. And then.

And then afterwards, you know, would later go on to, you know, join, I think was Texas in terms of trying to overturn the election, even though she knew. And there's. It's so interesting. There's. There's leaked emails and.

Or public leaked, but there's emails where she and her office were completely aware of the bogus nature of the suit and then the next day joined anyway, knowing how full of shit it was. So this is what we're dealing with.

And, you know, and, and the idea that somebody's going to come challenge her as part of that, as two birds from a feather, Right?

David B. Wheeler: 00:11:06

Yeah.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:11:07

So this is the Republicans best and bright. As I say, this is what they're all about.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:11:12

Yeah. And on the Democratic side, I think they're.

David B. Wheeler: 00:11:14

They're.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:11:14

You and a couple of others have officially announced, but there's some other folks that have at least expressed some interest, like Alan Grayson, Alex Fenman, Jared Moskovich. So how do you, how do you, you know, you're going to have. It's like at least the potential for a pretty crowded field on the Democratic side.

How do you rise above that and get your message across and win this thing?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:11:37

Yeah, no, I appreciate the question. You know, we're running our own race, right?

You know, I think in many ways, truthfully, I want as many, you know, good candidates in the race as possible. I think this is what's good for the party to show, to show the country. Like, let's be honest, the party isn't overly popular and for good reason.

And so, you know, so I'm. I'm.

Whether it's this race or any other race around the country, I want as many good Democratic candidates to get in there and at least show the country, like, hey, listen, you know, whatever image you might have of us, whether it's, you know, valid or not, like, here's who we stand for. Here's what we are. Here's who we stand for. We're not like that image you have of us. We just. We mean well.

We care about the country, we care about our state, and we just want a better place for everybody because we're a bit nervous about the direction we're headed. So I'm all for a good candidates getting involved, and we're going to run our race no matter what. And I just think there's whoever going to jump in.

There's nobody quite like us, you know, given our background, just the energy, the spirit, the motivation, you know, the, The. The one thing that both parties or.

Or constituents of both parties can agree on and which is abundantly clear after the most recent presidential elections, that both parties desperately want young new blood in politics. And who could blame them, right? And so, you know, I'm young. I don't have a. I didn't grow up in politics. I am an outsider.

You know, my job is to solve problems. I'm a policy geek. I'm a history nerd, and, you know, and I'm an attorney, right?

And so while I have the qualifications and the background and the relatability that, you know, most don't, I'm also not maybe, to lack of a better term, sort of corrupted by the system and way of doing things. And I think this is what people want.

And, you know, you know, you know, Grayson or, you know, Vincent and whoever may jump in, you know, they're not going to be able to say those things, right? They've. They've sort of been in and around politics for quite some time. And again, I think what the, what the people want is something different.

They want fresh new blood, new ideas. And that's exactly what we are.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:13:39

ok back, Rubio when he ran in: 2022

So if you make it through the primary, how do you overcome, you know, what seems to be a pretty, you know, fair sized Republican advantage in the state of Florida?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:14:10

Sure, yeah.

I mean, so it's important to sort of look and understand maybe, you know, I think we're, there's, there's a, there's an instinct and, or a compulsion to give a great deal of credit to Republicans for, you know, the, the, the strides they had made in the state. And there are certainly things that they have done and they were very proactive in ways that the Democratic Party was just not specifically on.

Reaching out to young people, specifically to young men, to men generally, whether it be Hispanic men, black men, white men, whatever it may be.

They made a lot of important strides there because they saw an opportunity in a window to, to sort of create some space and, and capture some constituency.

And the Democrats that like wholeheartedly being full stop, you know, so, so for us, I think one of the things that we can strive to do and like, and I, I just think there's a, we have an inherent ability and in authenticity, in the way we're going about this is that we can talk to these people. You know, I grew up in a Republican household. My, my family is very much Republican. Right.

Still to this day, I don't know if they would consider themselves MAGA or not.

You know, I don't, A lot of people are sort of embarrassed to, to sort of claim that but, you know, do everything and support every policy MAGA puts forward. But I very, I know, I know how they think. I know how they, what makes them tick. I know how to talk to them. I have, I spent my entire life.

If I want to have a conversation with them, I, you know, it's, we can talk about these things and you have to do it in a really careful way. But I can do those things. I can. And this is just the way I was brought up.

And so the idea is that, listen, the Democratic Party has a messaging problem and a messenger problem. That is their biggest issue. I will probably be more critical of the Democratic Party than anybody else out there. Right.

I, I've seen these problems, and I've seen what they've done is such a failure that it's, you know, cost, you know, millions of people. You know, ultimately there, there's consequences to their failings. Right. And we're seeing it play out now.

And I believe I can sort of help, you know, rectify this, bring this back, and I can capture and recapture and reach out to a lot of the voters that we have either lost or certainly help gain new voters for young people who have maybe never voted before. I think I can do that in a way that nobody else can in the state. And so we're.

There's a way to sort of recapture some of that ground that we've lost and even gain new ground in areas that any, no other candidate or politician is going to be able to do in Florida.

David B. Wheeler: 00:16:24

Joey, it's great to meet you and, and thank you for coming on our show here. Tell folks where they can learn a little bit more about you and, and if they're inclined to make a donation.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:16:36

Yeah, yeah, I appreciate that. So, you know, anybody could go onto the website. It's pretty easy.

Is joey4florida.com and four is spelled so f o r joey4florida.Com or on Instagram, you know, Joey for Fl or Joey for Florida, again with the number four that time. So check the website, check Instagram, search by name. And I'm pretty, you know, send me a message, act blues there.

So, yeah, you know, sign up for the emails. There's pretty simple, pretty clean website there for everybody to go to.

David B. Wheeler: 00:17:11

Okay, so that's joey4floridafolks.com and it's j o e y o r Florida. So, Joey, so what motivates you? You know, running for office. Mo and I both run. Both lost. Mo should have won. I never should have run.

What, what motivates you, man? I mean, what gets you out of bed in the morning and makes you go out and talk to people that don't necessarily want to talk to you?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:17:38

Yeah, yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:17:40

So you personally.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:17:42

But yeah, yeah, no, yeah, well, well, in a, in a, in a, in a very literal sense, you know, sometimes, I mean, I probably like you. Sometimes I'll watch the news or read an article and my, my heart's racing, right. Thinking about this because I'm either.

It's just so angry or frustrated what I'm reading or hearing, and that I'm like, I got to do something because it would be easy for that to turn me off. Idea that we should, a system that we know creates winners and losers.

We should, you know, maybe do our fucking job and at least make sure the, quote, people who aren't winning in the society also have like, the basic, you know, sort of mechanisms in life to like, have a roof over their head, to be able to eat, make sure their children can eat, and they can therefore have an opportunity. People should have health care, right? Like, we understand that this is a win and lose society.

Well, let's at least do our best and try and make sure that people who aren't necessarily winning right now at least have an opportunity and have some dignity. And so part of the system that we have, which is really scary, is the idea that we all know and that, you know, I think I'm like a millennial, right?

And I just miss sort of growing up in, you know, in high school. Like, I remember my, I first heard of Facebook, like my second year or second or third year of university was first time I heard about it, right?

So I just sort of missed that time of growing up with, let's say, social media a major influence in my, like, developmental, you know, the development of my life. And, you know, now we fast forward 20 years or so and, you know, we, we have a society now where we monetize and, and make profit off of engagement.

And we also know that these people who run these social media platforms, which are like the primary ways that people are consuming information now, is not focused on truth and, and reality and accuracy. It's just focused on engagement, farming and, and, and, and, and, and validating people's own insecurities and promoting their own insecurities.

So you might be saying, well, what the. Does this have to do with an election or what you're doing?

I said, well, because even sometimes when I'm really feeling a bit like letting these people sort of live in the world that they're choosing for themselves, I do empathize with them. And I do understand that the way we obtain and disseminate, disseminate and obtain and hold on to information is all of us over, right? It is.

And therefore the decisions that we make are predicated on this information, right? So I do have sympathy.

Even when I see the most MAGA of MAGA out there, I kind of know the, the bubble that they're living in, and I know how difficult it is for them to escape that or to even know of another world. So the point is that even with people that I really have a hard time empathizing with, sometimes I find myself still Doing it. Right.

Because I understand that through whatever life circumstances they have, often through no fault of their own, and the choices that they make are often predicated on, you know, information that is being funneled to them deliberately for them to make a decision that might be against their interests. So to the extent that I can be aware of this and maybe do something about it, I'm going to do it.

Maybe it's the competition, me as an athlete, that this is just my sort of the next phase of where I feel like compete and, and, and push and push myself and push boundaries and push limits. But ultimately it's on me because, you know, when I'm on my deathbed, I need to be at peace with what I've done and who I am as a person.

And for whatever reason, I want to look back and say, I tried my very best. I tried to do good. I tried to create the most amount of good for the most amount of people.

So hopefully when I am on my deathbed, I'm not afraid and I'm at peace with it. And well, let's hope, let's hope that.

David B. Wheeler: 00:21:16

Deathbed isn't for another 80 or 90 years, but. So interesting. You sound like an interesting guy and very passionate. You know, I, I posted the other day, actually yesterday, you know, who gives a.

Whether immigrants have health care and benefits that, you know, the tax difference between what they pay in and what we pay out is, is consequential. I mean, they, they pay a lot more in than they get back.

And God forbid that we feed some kids and, and give somebody some health care so they could have it a decent life. But yeah, I don't know how we got to this place.

You know, the Democrats didn't necessarily contribute to it, but in some ways they did because of the candidates they put forth and the way they've run campaigns.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:22:06

Yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:22:08

How do you feel about, you know, Democrats hitting back hard? Mo and I talk a lot on this show about how Democrats are kind of wimps. Mo always says they bring a quinoa salad to a knife fight.

And so, so how are you gonna, how are you gonna beat the, out of the, whoever the Republicans put up.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:22:30

Yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:22:31

And win, more importantly, not just beat people up, just beat them up, but win.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:22:35

Yeah, Well, I think there's, you know, a connection to beating them up and winning because, you know, you know, even myself, you know, I've looked at the, the impotence in which the Democratic Party has just conducted themselves and over the last decade or so, and, you know, they've always Been the party of process, you know, which is in procedures, which is sort of fine, unless you are the one manipulating the game, which is what the Republicans do. Now, the process doesn't matter.

But, you know, I mean, just look what, you know, John, is Mike Johnson's not even swearing in elected Democratic politicians, right? You know, they're so. Who gives a shit about that?

You can complain about the process, but this is why it's so important to recognize that politics is about power. You know, I hate to, you know, call it what it is, but it. That's exactly what it is, right?

And I think people out there, part of the image and the branding issue that the Democrats have is actually quite, well, quite justified, you know, and they're, they're sort of specific examples that I have in mind. But just, you know, this is the brand and the image of the Democratic Party. And honestly, it's well earned.

And I think people in a game of power, which politics is, if you are not projecting power, people, you know, in our sort of like, you know, recently evolved ape brains see this as well. Why should I trust you? You know, why should I trust you?

You know, it's like in a relationship, if you're, you know, if you're a partner, you know, let's say in a, in the, let's say a heterosexual relationship, let's just say. And, you know, you, you, A wife wants to, you know, have a man, a husband that they can think to protect and provide for them, but you're a wimp.

Can she trust you to protect and provide for them? No. No, she can't.

You know, and so sometimes maybe the, the, the demonstration of beating the other people up, you know, metaphorically or not, is maybe a bit silly and maybe a bit over the top and absurd to do. I mean, you don't want to just beat the. Out of people because, you know, that's your way of communicating.

But I think there is sort of validity and being able to project power and strength and confidence, which the Democratic Party has not seemed to do.

They seem like they're always asking, you know, you know, for somebody to come down and, like, talk to them versus just grabbing the microphone themselves. And so when you talk to people out there, a lot of people think that the Republicans are nuts. Maga's certainly crazy, right? But.

And while they might not vote for Trump or whoever or support, you know, some of these Republican candidates, they feel a bit weird about throwing their force, you know, voting for a Democrat because they honestly just think it's a weak impotent party. And again, I can't blame them.

So to answer your question, as you probably tell by the way I talk and, you know, maybe my background as an athlete and this and that, like, I just am not cut the way that a traditional Democrat, or at least the image of a traditional Democrat is sort of cut or built. This is who I am, this is how I talk this. You can probably hear me getting fired up because I am like, when I talk about this.

And so I think that sort of confidence and, and, and, and, and that determination might actually instill, in a weird sort of way, a bit more trust and, and relatability to the common man out there who just wants somebody to fight for them, right? That's all they ask. Just fight for me. Like, fight for me, bro. Like, I, I, I can't be there doing this myself. I need you to do it for me.

And if you cannot project that type of strength and confidence, why would they think you're going to fight for them, right? And so it is a branding thing, it is a message thing and a messaging thing, messenger thing and a messenger thing, but like, it is a real thing.

And remember these people, as much as a big, I might read, you know, about the, I might go to sleep reading about the, I don't know, you know, so the, the economic policies of Azerbaijan for fun, like, I'm a policy geek, but that's just how I'm sort of built. And I have the time and energy to do it.

But I recognize most people in this country, you know, they work 8, 9, 10 hours a day for a job, for wages, and they're exhausted. They've got 12 bosses who tell them what to do and make them feel emasculated or, you know, unimportant.

And they go home for a couple few hours, they hang out, watch a little tv, watch a little Netflix show, sort of check out for a bit, and they go to bed.

They don't have the time or energy to simply read all these policy papers and, you know, understand the dynamics and dimensions of fiscal policy and how it relates to a growing economy. They just don't. So they needed to trust us to do it.

So they need to trust that we're both competent enough to do it and also have the determination to fight for every inch in front of us. And the Democratic Party until recently, has seemingly not understood that in the way the Republicans do.

David B. Wheeler: 00:27:13

Hey, Mo.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:27:14

Over to you.

David B. Wheeler: 00:27:14

Mo.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:27:15

Yeah, Joey, I, I totally agree with you. There's an article in Politico a couple of days ago it was based on an in depth analysis by a Democratic super pac, American Bridge.

And in the article said working class voters see Democrats as, quote, woke weak and out of touch. How do we, you know, as David mentioned, he and I have, you know, fought tooth and nail here in the mountains of North Carolina.

The Democratic Party, you know, seems to embrace being woke, weak and out of touch. Yeah, I mean, how do, how do we, how do we change that? We got to, you know. Yeah, we gotta fight.

I mean, yeah, just literally, but figure not figuratively. Literally, we've got to fight or we're going to lose this country. So how do we change that mindset in our party?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:28:01

Yep. Listen, it's, it's an answer that a lot of people I, I don't certainly within the party and party establishment are just not going to like.

And you know, before I think we got on, we were probably, you know, and maybe, maybe earlier in this convo, I, I black out thinking about this because it's. But when I think about the Dolphins. Right, the Miami Dolphins. Right.

ears, I think he made, was it: 2008

And the NFL is so interesting because it's designed in such a way to, you know, where you can have quick swings between being really bad and really good, then really good and then really bad.

And it's almost designed for teams to be pretty average with, with outliers on, you know, like almost like an evenly stratified sort of outlier or deviations of good and bad.

The Dolphins have like remarkably been, you know, between incredibly average and incredibly terrible with really nothing, nothing else, which is kind of fascinating. Right. And so every year you can point, you know, over the last 20 plus years, I think their last playoff one was, I was in high school.

And every year you can say, well this year, you know, we had a good team, just some bad luck, you know, with a couple calls from a couple refs. And then this year we had a good team where quarterback just got hurt and da, da, da. This year, that year we were just terrible.

Then this year our coaching and then this year we one or two field goals that we would have made or the other team miss and we're blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, you can always find something. But when you kind of zoom out and you look over the last 20 plus years and say, yeah, you know, whatever the reasons may be from Year to year.

The fact of the matter is that over those 20 plus years, we haven't won a playoff game. There's a inherent problem.

You've had different coaches, different managers, different players, different, you know, GM is, different players, different scouts. And somehow, somehow the problem remains. So what does that mean?

It means there's a cultural problem, maybe like a, a psychological problem with the club. And unfortunately, to change that, you need to like quite literally hit a reset. You could do it quite quickly.

And, and, and you know, from the top down. It, you know, my, my concern with the Dolphins that you still have the same owner.

That same owner is the one who's been responsible for hiring the person to build the team. And I'm just not convinced anymore that he can do it because he hasn't yet. And so my, to answer your question, I think we just need new leadership.

New leadership and new candidates and new, you know, new blood is going to say, you know, hey world, see, listen, we sound different, we look different, we speak differently, and we actually, you know, are more focused on maybe a few different types of policies that are, as you put it, which I agree don't appear to be as woke. Right.

And I think the woke sort of image of the party is a. I don't want to say it's like unfair because I think a lot of, you know, between social media and how Republicans have just make everything into a culture war and they're super disingenuous and if not just outright lying, you know, they're always going to have a little advantage when they're not playing by their own rules that they make up as they go. But the Democratic Party has sort of allow this to happen by not being stronger in other areas. For example.

And I bring this up, you know, I ran for Congress last year and so I was kind of more intimately involved in the elections generally and campaigns and working with candidates and elected officials. And I got to admit, you know, and I get into the nuance, I don't just let this. I don't watch CNN and shit like that. Right.

And I have to admit, and I brought this up before, and this, and this might be my own intellectual failings, but I am a person too.

When I close my eyes, when I close my eyes and I say, and somebody says, hey, David, like, or Joey, hey, what do you think, you know, the, the Democratic Kamala Harris campaign in the party stood for during the last election? What comes to mind? If it's like a Rorschach test? And I close my eyes, I think women's issues, which isn't a bad thing, that's great. But if I'm a.

Any kind of a man out there as an example, and I believe, and I believe that the Democrat, and this is me, that when I close my eyes, I think of the Democratic Party kind of, that we're here to support women's rights and X, Y and Z. And I'm thinking, that's cool.

But imagine if you're a guy out there, right, and you have one party that appears to be all in for women, then you have the other party saying, hey, man, bro, dude, we're here for you. Like, you need to be on top again. Because, you know, right now that party over there is trying to make you, you know, inferior.

Listen, all they talk about is abortion. All they talk about is this. All they talk about is that. And if you're a good man, you're gonna. You're gonna. Women. You're going to support women.

That's what I've seen Democratic commercials sort of saying. So, like, that it's like, if you're a good dude, a good dude supports women. And that is technically true. A good dude does support women.

But from a branding and messaging standpoint, it is very easy to take that message and just turn it into something else much more toxic and is also effective and touching on people's insecurities and primal natures. So this is a problem. And I think, you know, even sometimes when, when I, as a younger person and I'm around, I work with athletes, right?

I work with college, you know, young pros. I work with group all the time.

And if you ask a Chuck Schumer or Hakeem Jeffries to start talking a little bit differently, start coding their language a little better, it just doesn't feel right, does it? It doesn't feel authentic and genuine.

I remember hearing, you know, I was listening to Chuck Schumer the other day or, you know, on the Morning Joe or something, and he said, what? You know, wtf? And it sounded so forced and cringe. Yeah, I know. Young people had been saying that for the last 20 years.

And somebody told you to do that to make it sound like you're more relatable, but it just doesn't come off. And it will never. Because at the end of the day, he's an older guy who's been in politics and since I was a child, right? He's. He's.

He doesn't remember, I suspect, what it was like recently to have, you know, negative $48 in your bank account. And I got rent due in six days and I don't get paid for 12. He doesn't know that feeling. He just does it right.

And a lot of this country knows they, they live this day after day.

And if you don't know the feeling or you don't remember how the could you possibly relate to them or communicate with them in any sort of authentic way where they can say, hey man, that guy, he's kind of like me and he's going to support me. They just can't do it. So to answer your question, we need a revamp and fresh politics and politicians and candidates and fresh ideas.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:34:22

Yeah.

ad to see, you know, I ran in: 2020

And I support like, you know, at my house, I've got, you know, solar, I drive an electric vehicle. You know, I believe in the Green New Deal, but parts of it were notion. I mean, you couldn't define exactly what it meant.

But if I wouldn't promise to support, you know, all 52 provisions and, well, we can't support you. And my argument was, well, you know, your option is me or the little Nazi boy. And it didn't matter.

So I was really pleased to see that the party, Bernie Sanders, there's an article, interview with him in the New York Times yesterday, and this is a quote from him. He said, so you've got to be tolerant. I mean, so what, you don't agree with me on every issue. What am I going to do? Give up?

We got to work together and come up with the best plan that we can.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:35:18

So. Right.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:35:19

I'm glad, I'm glad to see that some in the party are beginning to see that we've got to, you know, you can't say, hey, we agree on 24 out of 25 issues. That means I can't support you.

And on the other side, I mean, if you look at, you know, on the Republican side, you can be an ardent Zionist or you can be an anti Semite, right. And they'll still embrace you and welcome you in the party where ours has been.

Well, if you don't agree with, with us on every issue, you're not welcome here. So how do we change that? How do we make our tent bigger?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:35:48

Yeah, and forgive me, there's a bit of a fire alarm going off. So I don't Know if you guys. But yeah, so it's. Right. And again, what you're.

My understanding what you're describing is a sort of a branding messaging issue. And, and I agree, like, I generally support whatever, you know, was in the, quote, Green New Deal.

Like a lot of that's just good policies, you know, to be sort of. Can you guys hear that?

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:36:08

No, I did a minute ago.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:36:11

Can you hear the background?

David B. Wheeler: 00:36:18

You can edit this out, Joey.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:36:19

Don't worry.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:36:20

Okay, cool, cool, cool. Yeah, so. Or not. It's all good. It's all good.

David B. Wheeler: 00:36:27

So we're seeing how you react in, in real time.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:36:31

Well, so, yeah, and if you need.

David B. Wheeler: 00:36:33

To go, man, go.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:36:34

I mean, no, no, no, we don't want you.

David B. Wheeler: 00:36:36

Although that would make for a good show.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:36:38

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I, I, I, I, I told the, I told the fire chief downstairs.

I said, hey, when I'm, when I'm losing this, this convo to pull the alarm and get me out of here. So. No, no, no.

They've been testing out the fire alarm in my building for like the last two days and it just seems to come out at the lit, like literally the worst time.

David B. Wheeler: 00:36:55

Oh, it's Desantis. Oh, it's a conspiracy.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:36:59

Yeah, no, he's on it. Which, you know, hey, listen, that means they're scared, right?

So, but, you know, you're, what you're describing is I, and I understand this is, and I feel this way, is that, and again, this is a, this is a psychology, right?

It's a, it's a wiring of our brain as individuals, as candidates and politicians in the Democratic Party, which is going to be sort of manifested as the party itself, Right? It's going to be sort of attached to that or transmitted through the party itself.

And what I think you're describing is that we as both, as not just just candidates and, and, and, and, and, and, and elected officials, even voters. We need to be pathological about winning. Have to be like, this is not a time for games and anymore where we can have these purity tests, right?

Where it's like, well, I like everything, but, you know, I, I think they're, you know, they support Israel a little too much for my liking. Like, yeah, yeah, listen, we can have that debate.

All good, but like, we need to win elections because millions of people are going to get hurt if we don't.

And it's like right now, like, they need to understand this, and so we have to wire our brains differently and this needs to be communicated to them differently. We need to be folk, we need to be absolutely pathological and obsessed with winning. Right.

And we need to make sure that this message is effectively communicated because what the Republicans do, they just scare the out of everybody.

That's their whole goal, is making you think that every person who doesn't look like you is going to slit your throat, you know, when they bump into the street.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:38:18

Eat your pets.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:38:18

Yeah, exactly, your pets. Like, oh, that doesn't scare you?

Well, they're going to eat your pets and your dogs and your cats and then if not, you know, they're going to, you know, rape your kids or they're just. They're terrible. So I'm not saying we do that. We don't need to.

But the point is that it needs to be effectively communicated by the right communicator. Remember, not everybody can just simply communicate something. Just they can say the words. But that's not enough.

That this is not for around anymore, man. Like, we've allowed that to happen too long.

If we lose these next couple elections, if, if we don't start getting our together, like starting today, I am afraid to think of what this country is going to look like in 10 years. Like, I'm generally genuinely terrified. So this, we need to get over our. We need to put as a party policies on the table that are not.

That are gender neutral, that are, you know, racially neutral, that are just common sense. They just affect what everybody's going through.

And right now there are so many things that Republicans, Democrats, Independents are getting on, which is the economy, prices of gas, prices of groceries. These idiot fucking tariffs are going to be killing us more and more by the day. Wages are not.

One of the reasons why we're getting screwed is because at the end of the day, whatever the reason, that the cost of goods may be rising across the board, but our wages have not increased in any meaningful way in like decades, Decades. Which means we're working more, we're more productive now than ever and effectively getting fucking poorer.

And that is a function of the system that we have chosen to be in. So let's do something about it. And also, and again, in a way that we're not focused on, like, hey man, trans people are cool.

I have no personal problem with them. I think they should just be treated like anybody else.

But we don't need to make these items campaign policies either, or at least allow them to be sort of connected to us in that way. Not that we, we trans people are also having a hard time with paying a rent, paying a mortgage, buying a car.

Like, let's Help them, support them in these ways that are sort of one size fits all. The only people who are not going to like me and my policies as I go forward are billionaires.

So if you're not a billionaire, I think you're going to like what we have to say.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:40:20

Right? Yeah, I agree with you. I think for too long our party has been more concerned about decorum than about democracy. Right.

And if we don't win elections, you can't do about policy. You got, you know, you got to win.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:40:33

Doesn't matter.

Yeah, yeah, you've got to, you've got to win first and win by any means necessary at this point because the other side, our opponent, that's what they're doing. And if we don't step it up, they're going to keep doing it like it is. There's an unfortunately, there is no other way.

You know, we either meet the moment or we don't. The decorum is going to cost people lives, literally millions of American lives.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:40:55

Yeah. Let me ask about one more thing and I'll kick it back over to David to close us out.

You know, I've been a member of the supreme court bar for 36 years and proud of it for most of that time.

And you know, it seemed like, particularly like during the Bush administration, the kind of like now Congress was not particularly willing to exert their authority to constrain the, you know, abuses of the executive branch. But the judiciary came through and kind of held up the guardrail, it seems like now the, the Supreme Court.

I'm not as proud as I used to be of having that certificate on my wall.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:41:33

Yeah.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:41:33

I'm just curious, you're an attorney, what's your take on the state of the judiciary, that third branch that's supposed to be a check and balance on the other two.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:41:42

Yeah. It's horrifying and depressing. It really is. And unlike other sort of areas.

And this I think goes to more of what we were saying about why it's so vital every election to be pathological.

Absolutely pathological is because while elections and, and you know, the House and the executive can change from, you know, election to election, it tends to, and hopefully, hopefully we'll get a change here soon.

But you know, if you just happen to be, let's say, the president at a time when, you know, a couple Supreme Court justices either pass away or step down or what have you, well, you might have just shaped the fabric of the, the, of the country for, you know, generations. Right. So there are long term effects that we really, really need to recognize going forward and hope.

Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully we've learned our lessons about this.

But when we get complacent, even for one round or one year of elections, whether it be a presidential or midterms, what have you, there are long term consequences that are hard to quantify and understand until it's too late. And this is why we cannot take any election for granted. Any election for granted. At the state level the same thing occurs, right? You can't.

And at the federal level, this is what happens, right? Like this is, this is a massive, massive problem that we are, that is, that is generational in nature. So I'm, it's unfortunate. It is what it is.

You know, hopefully, you know, if anybody is spiritual as, or believes in some divine intervention, hey, I'm willing to sort of be a believer. Like let's start with the Supreme Court and create some sort of of, you know, opportunity to get new judges on there. But, or new justices.

But yeah, it's, it's one of those things that just goes to show you that unfortunately there are long term consequences if we are not, you know, pathological about winning in the short term. And you know, the, the makeup of the Supreme Court is, is, is a great example of that.

And, and there's not a whole lot we can do except for learn a lesson moving forward.

David B. Wheeler: 00:43:42

So Joey again, Joey. J O E Y f o r florida.com folks, learn more about Joey. If you're inclined, please donate to his, his campaign. He's in, he's running.

And the fact that he showed up on our show is enough proof for you that he's a good guy. Plus he, he now has the record on this show for the most F bombs. I stopped counting, I stopped counting.

But I think we should probably, probably go back and count all of them. And you're my kind of guy, you know, the world use that word. Why can't politicians?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:44:23

Yeah, yeah, you know, I, I, whoever created the word, I appreciate it because there's very few words out there that kind of can encapsulate a feeling that you really communicated other than the F word.

And so, you know, special shout out to my mom and dad for, you know, using that word against each other every time they got into an argument, you know, so, which was daily almost, but, but no, I appreciate it guys. Have a, like I said, I hope at least you guys can, you know, you, this is who I am.

And I think one of the issues that understandably most Americans have with Congress generally is, you know, there's this image that everybody's so slimy and self interested and full of. I might be a lot of things, right, but inauthentic and is not one of them. And, and I think who I, this is who I am, for better or for worse.

But you get what you, you get what you see, I guess, right? Or you see what you get. So I had a great time, guys, on here. I, I was trying to set the record for the longest, you know, show.

But hey, listen, I'll take the records where I can get them. And you know, I am an athlete and a former athlete, a sports guy. So records are good as long as you get into the books, you know.

Colonel Moe Davis: 00:45:33

There you go.

David B. Wheeler: 00:45:33

Well, I was, I was just a little bit speechless.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:45:37

But.

David B. Wheeler: 00:45:39

So Joey.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:45:42

Yes, my guy.

David B. Wheeler: 00:45:43

Yeah, yeah, I agree with you, I agree with you. I think being authentic is great.

I tried to be authentic and people didn't really like me, so I wouldn't necessarily run on authentic Again, personality change.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:46:01

But, but you know what they say, like if, and I do agree with this is everybody likes you, then I'm a bit suspicious that person.

David B. Wheeler: 00:46:07

Yeah, exactly.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:46:07

Exactly.

David B. Wheeler: 00:46:08

All right, so a guy we do like and a friend of this show he's been on a couple times is David Jolly. And I just have so much respect for him. I think he's a great person, a great politician. How is he doing in that Democratic primary race for governor?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:46:24

I think he's doing okay.

I got to, I think I was present at his, where he made his announcement that he was going to run because, because it, I mean, the, the venue he announced was I, I mean, maybe 200 yards from where I live in, in Miami, in this, in my neighborhood in Miami. So I got to see him firsthand there and I think he's got a lot of great qualities. I think he's doing fine.

I, I've, you know, speaking with some of the heads of certain party at the party at different county level, I think even recently spoken with some of them and they're always, they've been very impressed or encouraged by the turnout for some of the events, which, you know, include, you know, sort of paid events. So I think that's a good sign of things to come.

I just hope he can continue to, you know, work on or, or continue to sort of connect with different demographics and different groups throughout the state, important voter blocks.

So, you know, I'm not sure how he feels about it, but so long as he can kind of continue to, to be a man of the people, I think he will set himself up to be in pretty good shape. So it's still early, of course, but seems like a good enough guy.

I think it takes them balls to, over the last year or so to be able to jump, you know, from the Republicans or, you know, NPA to becoming a Democrat or an independent Democrat. I think that takes some courage and, you know, unlike, I think it takes cowardice to be a republic or a Democrat that your whole life.

And then at this stage in the game to, to sort of jump to the Republican side as a way to win and grift. So he did the opposite. And I, and I, and I'm, I, I very much respect that.

So I hope he continues to sort of, you know, grow, grow his race and, and, you know, continue forward to get a good guy up there in Tallahassee.

David B. Wheeler: 00:48:10

Yeah, that would be. Boy, could you imagine if, if David won?

That's, that's the kind of message we need to send to the country that Democrats can be good people and win and, and not be about it.

And, you know, David is not a little, he's not as harsh as probably you and me, but, you know, we'll, we'll do some of that work for him hopefully in that election next year. And, and again, we really appreciate you joining us, Joey. David Atkins, joey4florida.com A terrific guy.

And anybody that comes on this show obviously needs a, a good look. And if you, if you're inclined, folks, please do donate to Joey's campaign. He's running for the United States Senate in Florida.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:48:54

Yeah.

David B. Wheeler: 00:48:55

And he will have a primary, I assume. What's that look like so far? Very quickly.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:49:01

So there's a couple people that I'm sort of familiar in. You know, a lady out of Brevard County, I believe, jumped in.

I think she was a, like a school board background, you know, so, so there's some, some good younger people, my understanding, sort of getting into the race. You know, like I said, I, I'm happy about that.

I want great candidates to be in here and show the state and the country that, you know, you, the image and idea you have of us are, is, is a bit off base. So, so I'm, I'm pretty pumped about that. But like I said, I, I, we just, we have our own race here to run.

And, you know, I'm not overly really concerned what they do. There's no other candidate with the background and, and, you know, the energy that we have. And so I think we just continue to do what we're doing.

We'll be fine. But, yeah, Like I, I've heard the good things about some of the candidates that have jumped in.

I just haven't had a chance to really meet them personally or anything, but hoping to do all right.

David B. Wheeler: 00:49:52

Said like, said like a true politician. You never say your opponent's name. Yeah, that's My mother told me and well, Joey, Joey David Atkins, it's been a pleasure having you on. Muck you.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:50:06

Yep.

David B. Wheeler: 00:50:06

And did you know that Mo Davis has a lovely wife, Lisa, and he completely married up. He's such a lucky guy. Did you know that, Joey?

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:50:18

I didn't know that, but you know what I mean, I can. It all sort of makes sense now because, you know, had a smile on his face and seems to be in good spirits and now it now attracts completely.

David B. Wheeler: 00:50:29

So yeah, she's. She's quite the woman. And he's. Well, he's. He's an okay guy too.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:50:35

Yeah. Hey, you know, he must. He at least faked it enough. Right. And that's all. That's a skill set in itself. So. Hey, you know, my, my praises to you sir.

And if I may just add one thing, just. Yeah, go ahead out there.

Just you know, you know, obviously visit the website, follow me or on Instagram or social media because what we're going to do in the next month or so is we are going to announce and have a. We're going to visit every single county in the state. So in a. In a pretty nice tour. So we'll make, we'll make our round.

So if anybody's in any county, I don't care where you are in Florida, the north, the south, the panhandle, Jacksonville area, wherever it may be, we're going to be visiting. So if you want to, if you have any ideas, places to go, if you're gonna interested in showing up, volunteering or just.

David B. Wheeler: 00:51:24

Or hosted, maybe even host.

Joey Mendoza Atkins: 00:51:26

Yeah, host. Grabbing a beer, having a cigar or an espresso, whatever it may be.

Just you know, join, you know, join us on Instagram, join us social media and you know, shoot me a message and we'll make sure that we get together and make the most of this.

David B. Wheeler: 00:51:41

All right, cool. This is David Wheeler with my co host Mo Davis and we thank you for joining us on Muck you.

Madam Muckraker: 00:51:51

This has been Muck U co hosted by Colonel Mo Davis in Asheville and David Wheeler in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Thanks to our guest today, Mr. Joey Mendoza Atkins, a sports attorney and candidate for United States Senate for Florida based in Miami.

merican Muckrakers. Copyright: 2025

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