Purple Political Breakdown

What would you actually change about American government if you could? On this bonus episode of Purple Political Breakdown, Radell Lewis runs through a full personal policy wish list built live on stream, covering Supreme Court reform (term limits, ethics enforcement, and a cautious lean toward court packing), presidential immunity, pardon reform, filibuster reform, House expansion, voting reform (STAR and approval voting), a proposed federal Election Day holiday, billionaire tax reform and closing the stepped up basis loophole, a mandatory or incentivized civil service program for eighteen year olds, an overhaul of public education toward financial literacy and critical thinking, foreign lobbyist transparency, and a values based approach to international alliances. This is Radell's own running list of political solutions, unfiltered and evolving, in the spirit of the show's core mission: political solutions without political bias.

Standard Resource Links & Recommendations

The following organizations and platforms represent valuable resources for balanced political discourse and democratic participation:

PODCAST NETWORK

Check Out the Podcast Website: https://www.purplepoliticalbreakdown.com

ALIVE Podcast Network: Check out the ALIVE Network where you can catch a lot of great podcasts like my own, led by amazing Black voices.

Link: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/

CONVERSATION PLATFORMS

HeadOn: A platform for contentious yet productive conversations. It's a place for hosted and unguided conversations where you can grow a following and enhance your conversations with AI features.

Link: https://app.headon.ai/

Living Room Conversations: Building bridges through meaningful dialogue across political divides.

Link: https://livingroomconversations.org/

UNITY MOVEMENTS

Us United: A movement for unity that challenges Americans to step out of their bubbles and connect across differences. Take the Unity Pledge, join monthly "30 For US" conversation calls, wear purple (the color of unity), and participate in National Unity Day every second Saturday in December. Their programs include the Sheriff Unity Network and Unity Seats at sports events, proving that shared values are stronger than our differences.

Link: https://www.us-united.org/

BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION

OtherWeb: An AI based platform that filters news without paywalls, clickbait, or junk, helping you access diverse, unbiased content.

Link: https://otherweb.com/

VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY

Equal Vote Coalition & STAR Voting: Advocating for voting methods that ensure every vote counts equally, eliminating wasted votes and strategic voting.

Link: https://www.equal.vote/star

Future is Now Coalition (FiNC): A grassroots movement working to restore democracy through transparency, accountability, and innovative technology while empowering citizens and transforming American political discourse.

Link: https://futureis.org/

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

Independent Center: Resources for independent political thinking and civic engagement.

Link: https://www.independentcenter.org/

GET DAILY NEWS

Text 844-406-INFO (844-406-4636) with code "purple" to receive quick, unbiased, factual news delivered to your phone every morning via Informed (https://informed.now)

Check Out the Unfuck America Tour & National Ground Game: https://www.nationalgroundgame.com/

Check Out the CIVICS App to Know More About Your Politicians: https://www.civicpolitics.com

Subscribe to the Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/purplepoliticalbreakdown

ALL LINKS

https://linktr.ee/purplepoliticalbreakdown

The Purple Political Breakdown is committed to fostering productive political dialogue that transcends partisan divides. We believe in the power of conversation, balanced information, and democratic participation to build a stronger society. Our mission: "Political solutions without political bias."

Subscribe, rate, and share if you believe in purple politics, where we find common ground in the middle!

Also if you want to be a part of the community and the conversation make sure to Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/ptPAsZtHC9

This week on Purple Political Breakdown: Trump's financial disclosure shows over 1.4 billion dollars in crypto related income tied to a company nobody can find on paper, the FBI has surged 260 analysts into re examining a Georgia election that's already been counted three times, and Russia hit Kyiv twice in five days right before a NATO summit. Radell connects the dots between all three, then digs into new Pew polling showing the world's confidence in America and Americans' confidence in their own democracy collapsing at the same time. Plus, a full breakdown of this Supreme Court term's biggest rulings on immigration, citizenship, and presidential power over independent agencies, the 2026 midterms landscape including a progressive upset in Denver, and the good news stories the rest of the media isn't covering.

Standard Resource Links & Recommendations

The following organizations and platforms represent valuable resources for balanced political discourse and democratic participation:

PODCAST NETWORK

Check Out the Podcast Website: https://www.purplepoliticalbreakdown.com

ALIVE Podcast Network: Check out the ALIVE Network where you can catch a lot of great podcasts like my own, led by amazing Black voices.

CONVERSATION PLATFORMS

HeadOn: A platform for contentious yet productive conversations. It's a place for hosted and unguided conversations where you can grow a following and enhance your conversations with AI features.

Living Room Conversations: Building bridges through meaningful dialogue across political divides.

UNITY MOVEMENTS

Us United: A movement for unity that challenges Americans to step out of their bubbles and connect across differences. Take the Unity Pledge, join monthly "30 For US" conversation calls, wear purple (the color of unity), and participate in National Unity Day every second Saturday in December. Their programs include the Sheriff Unity Network and Unity Seats at sports events, proving that shared values are stronger than our differences.

BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION

OtherWeb: An AI based platform that filters news without paywalls, clickbait, or junk, helping you access diverse, unbiased content.

VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY

Equal Vote Coalition & STAR Voting: Advocating for voting methods that ensure every vote counts equally, eliminating wasted votes and strategic voting.

Future is Now Coalition (FiNC): A grassroots movement working to restore democracy through transparency, accountability, and innovative technology while empowering citizens and transforming American political discourse.

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

Independent Center: Resources for independent political thinking and civic engagement.

GET DAILY NEWS

Text 844-406-INFO (844-406-4636) with code "purple" to receive quick, unbiased, factual news delivered to your phone every morning via Informed (https://informed.now)

Check Out the Unfuck America Tour & National Ground Game: https://www.nationalgroundgame.com/

Check Out the CIVICS App to Know More About Your Politicians: https://www.civicpolitics.com

Subscribe to the Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/purplepoliticalbreakdown/p/welcome-to-the-purple-political-breakdown?r=3z2cmw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

ALL LINKS

https://linktr.ee/purplepoliticalbreakdown

The Purple Political Breakdown is committed to fostering productive political dialogue that transcends partisan divides. We believe in the power of conversation, balanced information, and democratic participation to build a stronger society. Our mission: "Political solutions without political bias."

Subscribe, rate, and share if you believe in purple politics, where we find common ground in the middle!

Also if you want to be a part of the community and the conversation make sure to Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/ptPAsZtHC9

Ohio sold fifteen thousand acres of public wildlife land to out of state frackers this week, days after officials killed a solar farm in Clark County. Meanwhile, over two thousand provisional ballots got thrown out in the May primary, and only 23 percent of Ohio's 18 year olds are registered to vote at all. The Supreme Court also handed down three rulings this week that land right back in Ohio, on mail ballots, birthright citizenship, and campaign finance. We close out with the two U.S. House races the whole country is watching this fall: Kaptur versus Merrin in the 9th District, and Turner versus Knickerbocker in the 10th.

PODCAST NETWORK

CONVERSATION PLATFORMS

UNITY MOVEMENTS

BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION

VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

GET DAILY NEWS

ALL LINKS

The Purple Political Breakdown is committed to fostering productive political dialogue that transcends partisan divides. We believe in the power of conversation, balanced information, and democratic participation to build a stronger society. Our mission: 'Political solutions without political bias.'

This week is a different kind of Purple Political Breakdown: a solo, chat-driven deep dive on one question. Do you support packing the Supreme Court? Before you answer, Radell Lewis walks the entire board, because the honest version of this debate starts earlier than most coverage admits.

You do not need new seats to pack a court if you control who fills the seats you already have. In 2016, Justice Scalia dies and Mitch McConnell blocks Merrick Garland for nearly a year on a "let the voters decide" standard he branded the "Biden rule." In 2020, weeks before the election, he reverses himself and confirms Amy Coney Barrett after tens of millions of Americans have already voted. The frame other coverage skips: the Garland blockade and the Barrett rush were already a form of packing the existing nine through procedure.

From there, the history that undercuts the idea that nine is sacred. The number is not in the Constitution. Article III leaves it to Congress, which has changed it seven times, from six justices in 1789, to Lincoln adding a tenth seat in 1863, to the nine we have settled on since 1869. Then the cautionary tale: FDR's 1937 plan to add up to six justices died 70 to 20 in his own Democratic Senate, even as the Court quietly started upholding the New Deal anyway.

Then the mechanics. Expansion is an ordinary statute, but it runs straight into the filibuster, which means ending the filibuster first. The Judiciary Act would take the Court from nine to thirteen, one justice per appeals circuit, though the strongest advocates argue less from circuit math and more from a bench they call rigged. We break down Brian Tyler Cohen's pitch to Gavin Newsom, and why messaging that makes people lose faith in the institution itself can backfire.

Here is why Radell would start somewhere else: term limits and an enforceable ethics code. Eighteen-year staggered terms with a senior status off-ramp that may be achievable by statute, supported across the aisle by Federalist Society co-founder Steven Calabresi and liberal scholar Akhil Amar, echoed in John Roberts's own early writing, with 49 of 50 states already limiting their high-court judges and bipartisan polling supermajorities (PRRI: 85 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of independents, 67 percent of Republicans; Marquette: 73 percent of Republicans). On ethics, we cover Senator Whitehouse's SCERT Act, the Court's toothless 2023 self-written code, and the Fix the Court finding that Justice Clarence Thomas reported gifts valued near 4.2 million dollars over two decades, far more than the rest of the bench combined. Radell is careful throughout to separate what is documented from what cannot be proven.

The bottom line: if the goal is a Court the public trusts again rather than one your side controls for a single cycle, term limits and ethics come first. Court packing can follow, but only with airtight, bipartisan messaging and the number locked into the Constitution so the country does not spend the next decade adding and subtracting justices. Steel-manned, receipts on the table, live chat the whole way, and an honest landing spot at the end.

Standard Resource Links & Recommendations

The following organizations and platforms represent valuable resources for balanced political discourse and democratic participation:

PODCAST NETWORK

Check Out the Podcast Website: https://www.purplepoliticalbreakdown.com

ALIVE Podcast Network: Check out the ALIVE Network where you can catch a lot of great podcasts like my own, led by amazing Black voices.

Link: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/

CONVERSATION PLATFORMS

HeadOn: A platform for contentious yet productive conversations. It's a place for hosted and unguided conversations where you can grow a following and enhance your conversations with AI features.

Link: https://app.headon.ai/

Living Room Conversations: Building bridges through meaningful dialogue across political divides.

Link: https://livingroomconversations.org/

UNITY MOVEMENTS

Us United: A movement for unity that challenges Americans to step out of their bubbles and connect across differences. Take the Unity Pledge, join monthly "30 For US" conversation calls, wear purple (the color of unity), and participate in National Unity Day every second Saturday in December. Their programs include the Sheriff Unity Network and Unity Seats at sports events, proving that shared values are stronger than our differences.

Link: https://www.us-united.org/

BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION

OtherWeb: An AI-based platform that filters news without paywalls, clickbait, or junk, helping you access diverse, unbiased content.

Link: https://otherweb.com/

VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY

Equal Vote Coalition & STAR Voting: Advocating for voting methods that ensure every vote counts equally, eliminating wasted votes and strategic voting.

Link: https://www.equal.vote/star

Future is Now Coalition (FiNC): A grassroots movement working to restore democracy through transparency, accountability, and innovative technology while empowering citizens and transforming American political discourse.

Link: https://futureis.org/

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

Independent Center: Resources for independent political thinking and civic engagement.

Link: https://www.independentcenter.org/

GET DAILY NEWS

Text 844-406-INFO (844-406-4636) with code "purple" to receive quick, unbiased, factual news delivered to your phone every morning via Informed (https://informed.now)

Check Out the Unfuck America Tour & National Ground Game: https://www.nationalgroundgame.com/

Check Out the CIVICS App to Know More About Your Politicians: https://www.civicpolitics.com

Subscribe to the Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/purplepoliticalbreakdown/p/welcome-to-the-purple-political-breakdown?r=3z2cmw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

ALL LINKS

https://linktr.ee/purplepoliticalbreakdown

The Purple Political Breakdown is committed to fostering productive political dialogue that transcends partisan divides. We believe in the power of conversation, balanced information, and democratic participation to build a stronger society. Our mission: "Political solutions without political bias."

Subscribe, rate, and share if you believe in purple politics, where we find common ground in the middle!

Also if you want to be apart of the community and the conversation make sure to Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/ptPAsZtHC9

A war the country thought was over is back on, a housing bill almost everyone in Congress agreed on is frozen on the President's desk, and the Supreme Court just told the courts to stay out of its own immigration rulings. This week on Purple Political Breakdown, Radell Lewis connects one thread through all of it: a President who keeps choosing the fight over the people.

In Nuanced News: the Iran ceasefire that already looks broken as fresh U.S. airstrikes hit this weekend, the Senate flip-flop on the Kaine War Powers resolution, and the Republican civil war brewing between Vance and Rubio for 2028. Then the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed 85 to 5 in the Senate and 358 to 32 in the House, and why Trump is holding it hostage for the SAVE America Act. Plus two 6 to 3 Supreme Court rulings that end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians, restore border metering, and quietly strip the courts of the power to review any of it.

In Breakdown in the Public: who gets to decide what is true now, from NewsGuard's AI news chatbot to AI cloning child performers' voices for Peppa Pig, to Russian money flowing into Europe's far right. In Research on a Dime: a wave of DSA and affordability-first primary wins, and Radell's read on whether this is a socialism revolt or just a country that is done overpaying for rent. We close on good news: mushrooms cleaning E. coli out of English rivers, a tooth-regrowth drug clearing its first human trial in Japan, and a Somerset farm roaring back to life.

Listen, then drop your take in the chat. This is political solutions without political bias.

Listen here: [EPISODE LINK]

Standard Resource Links & Recommendations

The following organizations and platforms represent valuable resources for balanced political discourse and democratic participation:

PODCAST NETWORK

Check Out the Podcast Website: https://www.purplepoliticalbreakdown.com

ALIVE Podcast Network: Check out the ALIVE Network where you can catch a lot of great podcasts like my own, led by amazing Black voices.

Link: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/

CONVERSATION PLATFORMS

HeadOn: A platform for contentious yet productive conversations. It's a place for hosted and unguided conversations where you can grow a following and enhance your conversations with AI features.

Link: https://app.headon.ai/

Living Room Conversations: Building bridges through meaningful dialogue across political divides.

Link: https://livingroomconversations.org/

UNITY MOVEMENTS

Us United: A movement for unity that challenges Americans to step out of their bubbles and connect across differences. Take the Unity Pledge, join monthly "30 For US" conversation calls, wear purple (the color of unity), and participate in National Unity Day every second Saturday in December. Their programs include the Sheriff Unity Network and Unity Seats at sports events, proving that shared values are stronger than our differences.

Link: https://www.us-united.org/

BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION

OtherWeb: An AI-based platform that filters news without paywalls, clickbait, or junk, helping you access diverse, unbiased content.

Link: https://otherweb.com/

VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY

Equal Vote Coalition & STAR Voting: Advocating for voting methods that ensure every vote counts equally, eliminating wasted votes and strategic voting.

Link: https://www.equal.vote/star

Future is Now Coalition (FiNC): A grassroots movement working to restore democracy through transparency, accountability, and innovative technology while empowering citizens and transforming American political discourse.

Link: https://futureis.org/

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

Independent Center: Resources for independent political thinking and civic engagement.

Link: https://www.independentcenter.org/

GET DAILY NEWS

Text 844-406-INFO (844-406-4636) with code "purple" to receive quick, unbiased, factual news delivered to your phone every morning via Informed (https://informed.now)

Check Out the Unfuck America Tour & National Ground Game: https://www.nationalgroundgame.com/

Check Out the CIVICS App to Know More About Your Politicians: https://www.civicpolitics.com

Subscribe to the Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/purplepoliticalbreakdown/p/welcome-to-the-purple-political-breakdown?r=3z2cmw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

ALL LINKS

https://linktr.ee/purplepoliticalbreakdown

The Purple Political Breakdown is committed to fostering productive political dialogue that transcends partisan divides. We believe in the power of conversation, balanced information, and democratic participation to build a stronger society. Our mission: "Political solutions without political bias."

Subscribe, rate, and share if you believe in purple politics, where we find common ground in the middle!

Also if you want to be apart of the community and the conversation make sure to Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/ptPAsZtHC9

What does it take for a young, progressive Democrat to run for the Ohio Statehouse in a district that leans Republican? This week on the Purple Political Breakdown, Ohio Edition, I sit down with Daquan Neal, the Democratic nominee for Ohio House District 39, covering Northern Montgomery County and the Dayton area: Vandalia, Englewood, Huber Heights, Clayton, Northridge, Fort McKinley, Harrison Township, and Butler Township.

Daquan is 30 years old, a Central State University graduate, and a former staffer in both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly. He won his May 2026 Democratic primary and is running under the slogan "Our Time Is Now." We get into his core argument that Ohio is not a red state so much as a non-voting state, with more unaffiliated voters than registered Democrats and Republicans in his district, and what it would take to actually turn those voters out.

From there we break down his policy stack: a state public option as a first step toward universal health care, a percentage-based "livable wage" built on the MIT Living Wage Calculator with price-gouging protections attached, a progressive marginal income tax to replace Ohio's new flat tax, and the bill he says he will introduce first, universal free school lunch for K-12. We also talk political messaging, why "progressive" lands differently than "socialist," and how he uses his Forever Curious civics program to close the political knowledge gap.

This is a real voter-information conversation about who represents you in Columbus and why the Statehouse may matter more to your daily life than Washington. Political solutions without political bias.

Learn more about Daquan Neal and his campaign for Ohio House District 39 at https://www.daquanforstaterep.org/

RESOURCES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

PODCAST NETWORK

CONVERSATION PLATFORMS

UNITY MOVEMENTS

BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION

VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

GET DAILY NEWS

ALL LINKS

The Purple Political Breakdown is committed to fostering productive political dialogue that transcends partisan divides. We believe in the power of conversation, balanced information, and democratic participation to build a stronger society. Our mission: "Political solutions without political bias."

The Iran ceasefire was supposed to be the win of the year. Three days after the signatures, the Strait of Hormuz is closed again, Lebanon is still burning, and the only people who seem sure it is holding are the ones who signed it. This week's Purple Political Breakdown pulls one thread through everything: the decisions that shape your life keep getting made in rooms you are not allowed to see.

We get into the Iran memorandum and why a deal neither Israel nor Hezbollah signed is now supposed to end their war. The Justice Department turning toward Gavin Newsom, and what it does to all of us when prosecution becomes a tool either party reaches for. The leak of Peter Thiel's invitation-only Dialog society, the senators, cabinet officials, and generals who registered for it, and the one real conflict worth your attention. Then the inward turn: is AI actually coming for your job, the collapse of "learn to code," and the rise of the optimized, lonely, enhanced self. Plus four Senate races you should actually understand (Massachusetts, Georgia, Alabama, Maine) and three pieces of good news, ending with a man living with ALS who got his voice back.

Political solutions without political bias. Listen, push back in the chat, and let us drag some of it into the light.

Standard Resource Links & Recommendations

The following organizations and platforms represent valuable resources for balanced political discourse and democratic participation:

PODCAST NETWORK

Check Out the Podcast Website: https://www.purplepoliticalbreakdown.com

ALIVE Podcast Network: Check out the ALIVE Network where you can catch a lot of great podcasts like my own, led by amazing Black voices.

Link: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/

CONVERSATION PLATFORMS

HeadOn: A platform for contentious yet productive conversations. It's a place for hosted and unguided conversations where you can grow a following and enhance your conversations with AI features.

Link: https://app.headon.ai/

Living Room Conversations: Building bridges through meaningful dialogue across political divides.

Link: https://livingroomconversations.org/

UNITY MOVEMENTS

Us United: A movement for unity that challenges Americans to step out of their bubbles and connect across differences. Take the Unity Pledge, join monthly "30 For US" conversation calls, wear purple (the color of unity), and participate in National Unity Day every second Saturday in December. Their programs include the Sheriff Unity Network and Unity Seats at sports events, proving that shared values are stronger than our differences.

Link: https://www.us-united.org/

BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION

OtherWeb: An AI-based platform that filters news without paywalls, clickbait, or junk, helping you access diverse, unbiased content.

Link: https://otherweb.com/

VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY

Equal Vote Coalition & STAR Voting: Advocating for voting methods that ensure every vote counts equally, eliminating wasted votes and strategic voting.

Link: https://www.equal.vote/star

Future is Now Coalition (FiNC): A grassroots movement working to restore democracy through transparency, accountability, and innovative technology while empowering citizens and transforming American political discourse.

Link: https://futureis.org/

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

Independent Center: Resources for independent political thinking and civic engagement.

Link: https://www.independentcenter.org/

GET DAILY NEWS

Text 844-406-INFO (844-406-4636) with code "purple" to receive quick, unbiased, factual news delivered to your phone every morning via Informed (https://informed.now)

Check Out the Unfuck America Tour & National Ground Game: https://www.nationalgroundgame.com/

Check Out the CIVICS App to Know More About Your Politicians: https://www.civicpolitics.com

Subscribe to the Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/purplepoliticalbreakdown

ALL LINKS

https://linktr.ee/purplepoliticalbreakdown

The Purple Political Breakdown is committed to fostering productive political dialogue that transcends partisan divides. We believe in the power of conversation, balanced information, and democratic participation to build a stronger society. Our mission: "Political solutions without political bias."

Subscribe, rate, and share if you believe in purple politics, where we find common ground in the middle!

Also if you want to be apart of the community and the conversation make sure to Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/ptPAsZtHC9

Purple Political Breakdown: Ohio Edition takes you through three Ohio congressional races and the statewide news shaping the 2026 midterms. Host Radell Lewis breaks down the 6th, 7th, and 8th districts: Michael Rulli versus Elizabeth Kirtley in the east, the more competitive Max Miller versus Brian Poindexter race in the northeast, and Warren Davidson versus Vanessa Enoch in the southwest, the district Radell calls home.

Before the districts, Radell follows the money. New campaign finance reports show Democrat Amy Acton outraising Vivek Ramaswamy in the governor's race, even as Ramaswamy sits on a far larger war chest built on a twenty five million dollar personal loan. Down the ballot, Democrats outraised Republicans in two of four statewide races while Republicans keep a cash advantage across the board. Radell makes the case for why this should worry anyone who believes elections should not be bought.

Then the maneuvering. Radell covers the FBI operation targeting the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, the surprising death penalty split between Governor DeWine and his own new attorney general, and the two voter ID measures Republicans just pushed through. One is a constitutional amendment on your November ballot. The other, the one Radell warns you to watch, is a mail-in ballot photo ID requirement he argues is less about security and more about making it harder to vote. Plus quick hits on a submetering rollback hitting apartment renters and a dangerous new synthetic opioid spreading across Northeast Ohio.

Political solutions without political bias. If you are in Ohio, we are striving for a better state on the way to a better America.

PODCAST NETWORK

CONVERSATION PLATFORMS

UNITY MOVEMENTS

BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION

VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

GET DAILY NEWS

ALL LINKS

The Purple Political Breakdown is committed to fostering productive political dialogue that transcends partisan divides. We believe in the power of conversation, balanced information, and democratic participation to build a stronger society. Our mission: "Political solutions without political bias."

What does it take to run for the U.S. Senate in one of the reddest states in the country with no party machine behind you? On this episode I sit down with Todd Achilles, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in Idaho who is challenging three-term incumbent Jim Risch. Todd went from Army tank commander to two decades in tech, with leadership roles at companies like Hewlett Packard and T-Mobile, then served in the Idaho House before leaving the parties entirely. He founded Veterans for Idaho Voters and now teaches public policy.

Todd makes the case that the core problem in Congress is structural, not partisan. He argues that the same debt, division, and dysfunction show up no matter which party holds power, and that the real divide in the country is top versus bottom rather than left versus right. We get into the issues he says are squeezing working Idahoans: rents inflated by what he calls algorithmic price fixing, non-compete agreements on low wage workers, share buybacks, and corporate consolidation. He also lays out his reform agenda, including his defense of the filibuster paired with a push to reform it, his view on AI guardrails, public school funding in rural communities, and why he believes a small group of independents could change how the Senate works.

This is a long form, solutions first conversation with no gotcha moments. Todd's positions are his own. My job is to ask the substantive questions and let you decide. Watch the full episode and judge for yourself. https://www.youtube.com/live/ZMslM-r_8FA?si=obDDqLxpW0a-541W

Standard Resource Links & Recommendations

Also if you want to be apart of the community and the conversation make sure to Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/ptPAsZtHC9

#politics #politicaldebates #purplepoliticalbreakdown

This week on Purple Political Breakdown: the guardrails keep getting overridden, and the polls say Americans can feel it. Radell breaks down a president who says an Iran peace deal gets signed any day now while telling you he loves the inflation that same war is causing. A new intelligence chief, Jay Clayton, nominated to clean up the Bill Pulte mess after FISA Section 702 surveillance authority quietly lapsed. Detainees on a hunger and labor strike at Delaney Hall in Newark, and the uncomfortable question of near-free labor for private profit. Then a Breakdown on the gap between what Americans believe is coming, AI risk and democratic decay, and what they will actually act on, including the world's first commercial brain implant and Trump's push to erase his impeachment from the record. Plus a Research on a Dime on the California "rigged election" claims, jungle primaries, and the governor race vote-split. We close on real good news: the ozone layer healing, a twice-yearly shot that stopped HIV in trials, and more. Political Solutions Without Political Bias.

Standard Resource Links & Recommendations

The following organizations and platforms represent valuable resources for balanced political discourse and democratic participation:

PODCAST NETWORK

Check Out the Podcast Website: https://www.purplepoliticalbreakdown.com

ALIVE Podcast Network: Check out the ALIVE Network where you can catch a lot of great podcasts like my own, led by amazing Black voices.

Link: https://alivepodcastnetwork.com/

CONVERSATION PLATFORMS

HeadOn: A platform for contentious yet productive conversations. It's a place for hosted and unguided conversations where you can grow a following and enhance your conversations with AI features.

Link: https://app.headon.ai/

Living Room Conversations: Building bridges through meaningful dialogue across political divides.

Link: https://livingroomconversations.org/

UNITY MOVEMENTS

Us United: A movement for unity that challenges Americans to step out of their bubbles and connect across differences. Take the Unity Pledge, join monthly "30 For US" conversation calls, wear purple (the color of unity), and participate in National Unity Day every second Saturday in December. Their programs include the Sheriff Unity Network and Unity Seats at sports events, proving that shared values are stronger than our differences.

Link: https://www.us-united.org/

BALANCED NEWS & INFORMATION

OtherWeb: An AI-based platform that filters news without paywalls, clickbait, or junk, helping you access diverse, unbiased content.

Link: https://otherweb.com/

VOTING REFORM & DEMOCRACY

Equal Vote Coalition & STAR Voting: Advocating for voting methods that ensure every vote counts equally, eliminating wasted votes and strategic voting.

Link: https://www.equal.vote/star

Future is Now Coalition (FiNC): A grassroots movement working to restore democracy through transparency, accountability, and innovative technology while empowering citizens and transforming American political discourse.

Link: https://futureis.org/

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

Independent Center: Resources for independent political thinking and civic engagement.

Link: https://www.independentcenter.org/

GET DAILY NEWS

Text 844-406-INFO (844-406-4636) with code "purple" to receive quick, unbiased, factual news delivered to your phone every morning via Informed (https://informed.now)

Check Out the Unfuck America Tour & National Ground Game: https://www.nationalgroundgame.com/

Check Out the CIVICS App to Know More About Your Politicians: https://www.civicpolitics.com

Subscribe to the Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/purplepoliticalbreakdown

ALL LINKS

https://linktr.ee/purplepoliticalbreakdown

The Purple Political Breakdown is committed to fostering productive political dialogue that transcends partisan divides. We believe in the power of conversation, balanced information, and democratic participation to build a stronger society. Our mission: "Political solutions without political bias."

Subscribe, rate, and share if you believe in purple politics, where we find common ground in the middle!

Also if you want to be apart of the community and the conversation make sure to Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/ptPAsZtHC9