Political Courage

Leonidas Dyer, a white Republican US Representative from Missouri, courageously took a stand and fought against Southern Democrats and indifferent Republicans to establish anti-lynching legislation. He fought alongside NAACP representatives to enact this legislation for 16 years in the US House beginning with the 65th Congress up until the 72nd Congress.

The intelligent and entertaining Charlie Sykes joins me in this episode of Political Courage. Charlie is a longtime radio talk show host and the founder and editor-at-large of The Bulwark news outlet. We discuss the Biden and Trump administrations, the parties and where they are headed, elections, and the books It Was All a Lie and How the Right Lost its Mind.

The Founding Fathers endured hardship, danger, risk, and sometimes death to form a new nation. This week we look at the risks the signers of the Declaration of Independence endured as they were branded traitors by the British government. In this episode, we try to understand them, their devotion, and their risks.

Today I am joined by political strategist and Renew Democracy Initiative Advisor Lucy Caldwell. Lucy and I discuss the importance of empowering people to fight for democracy and constitutional values. We discuss equal justice, the two political parties, and promoting democratic principles.

Author & Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins me to discuss authoritarian political leadership. She discusses her book, Strongmen, and helps us understand the motivations and the ”playbook” of authoritarians. She discusses how we can spot them and get rid of them. Join us and learn!

Rina Shah, an advisor to the Renew Democracy Initiative (rdi.org), discusses her time working on political campaigns and in political advocacy, the current threats to democracy, the Biden administration‘s promises of unity, and her role against the Trump campaigns of ‘16 and ‘20. We talk about election fairness, and the mission of the RDI, and the need for its mission.

Greg Jenkins, Co-Director of the Franklin Project and former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, is today‘s guest. We discuss the goals of the Franklin Project, civility, community, courage, the fight for democracy, and pre-partisan politics. Join us for this fascinating and encouraging discussion!

Today we deviate slightly from politics and dedicate our discussion to the courage of the Revolutionary War soldier and compare this courage and service to our current servicemen and women. We look at the Battle of Kings Mountain which took place in South Carolina in 1780. We also look at how courage doesn‘t mean hate; it can also mean compassion.

Historian & political science professor Eddie Zipperer and I talk John Quincy Adams and his fight in the House of Representatives against slavery and the unconstitutional Gag Rule which was put in place by pro-slavery Southern Democrats.

Eddie Zipperer and I discuss John Quincy Adams and his life prior to serving in Congress. He spent much of his childhood in France and Russia before attending Harvard and beginning his life in public service. This leads us up to Episode 34 wherein we look at his time in the House of Representatives and his fight to restore the constitutional right of petition and against slavery.