Hy and Christopher take on several topics, including what it means to be a “Madisonian” and how that influences the name “The Founders Show”.

Most of the conversation of today’s centers on how the Surge in the Black Votes Upset Expectations in the May 16 Election. As Christopher writes in The Louisiana Weekly:

Nick Albares enjoyed the endorsement of John Bel Edwards as well as every major Democratic Party organization and prominent figure. He had the best funded political campaign for the Democratic nomination for US Senate. His ads and presence populated social media with a ubiquitous presence, and yet he ended up in a very narrow third place finish to two less-funded, relatively unknown African-American rival candidates.The surge in opposition to the five proposed LA constitutional amendments—in order to “send a message“ to Governor Jeff Landry—ended up serving as a rising tide that lifted Jamie Davis almost into a first primary victory with 47 percent of the vote, and even propelled Gary Crockett, a relatively low-financed Black New Orleans-based candidate, into second place over Albares.

Ostensible evidence seems to suggest that African-American anger towards the governor, possibly towards elimination of the second Black congressional district, triggered the tide of Democratic turnout which rivaled any Republican turnout.  According to pollster John Couvillon, Caucasian voters constituted 63 percent of the primary electorate versus 34 percent for African-American voters, who make up only 31.8 percent of registered electorate. Black voters typically go to the polls at proportionally lower rates than White voters. For example, the Black voter share in 2023 was 25 percent, Couvillon noted in post election comments.  Case in point, in the May 16 closed Democratic US senatorial primary, 344751 voters cast a ballot despite only spending 1.5 percent as much money as was expended amongst the three Republican candidates—who earned just a total of 401123 votes.  In contrast with the total 745,874 votes for both parties in the US Senate contest, the proposed LA constitutional amendments actually earned more votes than the races at the top of the ballot, an unprecedented development compared to previous elections. 799402 voted for Amendment 2 (St George School System) and 811200 voted for Amendment 3 (the teacher pay raise-debt swap).  All five amendments were defeated with between 58 percent and 77 percent of the vote.
 
Another way of looking at this disparity came from the widely expected idea that Caucasian judicial candidates in Orleans Parish would have an advantage in the May 16, 2026 elections because of an expected surge in GOP turnout in conservative Uptown and Lakeview, versus moribund Democratic turnout in the rest of the city.  Instead, far less funded contender John T. Fuller for (the soon to be abolished in seven months) Criminal District Court, Section J, beat Andre Gaudin, Jr. 65-35, despite the latter having received most of the political endorsements.   Even more surprising was the loss of Richard Perique, who ran a textbook campaign with almost ubiquitous political support and had served as an ad hoc Judge on the Civil District Court.  He lost the Division M seat to fellow Democrat Stephanie Bridges by just 639 votes out of 78,952 votes cast. Nevertheless, in both cases, a Caucasian challenger did fall to an African-American contender who was not expected to even come close to winning, such was the surge in African-American votes in the city— and throughout the state.  Black voters made all the difference for Black candidates, just as they did in the upticket contests and for the constitutional amendments.

Hy and Christopher kick off the program, talking about the likely redraw of the LA congressional map, which looks amazingly like the 5-1 map that was in existence prior to Governor Jeff Landry coming to the office. There are a few minor differences, including the fact that St. Bernard Parish will no longer be divided between the First and Second Congressional Districts, but, nonetheless, the map has angered activists on the Right and the Left. Republicans wanted a 6-0 map with (mostly) undivided parishes and the 2nd District having a White plurality. Democrats were seeking two African-American majority districts. 
Hy and Christopher then discuss the hundredth anniversary of Route 66, and President Cameron Henry’s warning that failure to pass Constitutional Amendment 3 on teacher pay might mean that public school educator and staff salaries are cut. 
The focus of the conversation, though, centers on the spat between the Attorney General and the New Orleans City Council. As Christopher writes in The Louisiana Weekly: 
Recall petition against AG as Murrill seeks to fire NOLA mayor and council over clerk’s election 
On Wednesday, May 13, a little over a week after filing a petition to recall Governor Jeff Landry, Marian Gbaiwon Hills and Katilyn P. Stepter, the same residents who filed that first petition, did so against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. Their action occurred against a backdrop of legal action and threats against the mayor and New Orleans City Council for calling a Nov. 3 special election to fill the newly created Clerk of Court’s office. It is an election that Murrill’s nemesis—exonerated convict-turned-victorious criminal clerk of court candidate Calvin Duncan—would likely win. 
Reasons for the recall listed on the petition outline Murrill’s lack of fairness and accountability, using taxpayer dollars to push personal religious and political agendas, pushing religion into public schools, undermining the voices of voters in majority-Black communities, and government overreach into women’s healthcare decisions. A spokesperson from the Secretary of State’s Office explained that the petition must be signed by at least 20 percent of the electorate, a prodigious threshold of approximately 500,000 signatures, which has not been reached in decades. The petition, signed and dated, must then be submitted to the Registrar of Voters for each parish no later than 180 days following the day of filing with the state. 
The recall effort happens in the background of, and perhaps partially due to, the Attorney General’s loud objections to the decision by the mayor, the district attorney, and five members of the New Orleans City Council to call a special election this autumn for clerk of court, as well as to appoint retired Judge Calvin Johnson as interim Orleans Parish Clerk of Court. Murrill sent letters on Wednesday, May 13 to Johnson, District Attorney Williams, Mayor Moreno, and councilmembers Morrell, Willard, McCarron, King, and Hughes demanding they reverse course on the council’s resolution and the related special election on Nov. 3. Murrill argued that the council’s resolutions to appoint Johnson and call a special election were based on the false narrative that Act 15 created a new, vacant office. 
According to Murrill, the law did not create a vacancy. She said it eliminated the criminal clerk’s office position won by Calvin Duncan. Act 15 did not create a vacancy. It abolished the former criminal clerk’s office, transferred its authority, duties, records, and funds to the former civil clerk’s office, and renamed that continuing office the Clerk of Court for Orleans Parish. Chelsey Richard Napoleon remains the lawful Clerk of Court for Orleans Parish and will remain so for a full four-year term. Civil Clerk of Court Napoleon has also filed suit in court claiming this. 
The language of Act 15, the new law that combines the civil and criminal clerks of court in Orleans Parish, appears to support the position of Napoleon and Murrill, yet it does not preclude a special election for a new office either. As page 13 of Act 15 reads, the office of clerk of criminal district court for the parish of Orleans shall be abolished at the end of May 3, 2026, and before the term of any other criminal clerk of court begins. Immediately thereafter, the authority, functions, duties, and responsibilities of that office, along with all books, papers, records, monies, actions, and other property, shall be transferred to the clerk of the civil district court for the parish of Orleans, who shall thereafter be referred to as the Clerk of Court for the parish of Orleans. 
Murrill has publicly worried that a special election for clerk would not return Napoleon to office, but instead would elect once more Calvin Duncan, the victor of the competitive criminal clerk’s race last fall. Murrill considers the exonerated one-time inmate a criminal danger. 
When Duncan won the criminal clerk’s office, the Attorney General called upon Governor Landry to expend a significant amount of political capital to abolish the criminal clerk’s office, ensuring that Calvin Duncan would never take office—or so she thought. 
Ostensibly, the Attorney General’s threats against the New Orleans mayor, district attorney, and the majority of the council—threatening the loss of their posts if they call an election—comes from a fear that the Orleans electorate, many of whom did not even support Calvin Duncan last autumn, would vote for him for the newly unified clerk’s office. This battle also occurs in the background of canceled congressional elections aimed at eliminating Louisiana’s second African-American U.S. House district. Local Black voters seemingly already want to send a message to the GOP administration in Baton Rouge. 
In her letter to Council President J.P. Morrell, Murrill threatened that he, four of his colleagues, the district attorney, and the mayor have put their own offices in jeopardy, and that the council’s resolutions to install Johnson as interim clerk and call a Nov. 3 special election could invite serious consequences under the state’s usurper laws, implying criminal prosecution. 
Mayor Moreno, replying in a video posted to her social media pages, said she will not be intimidated or threatened by the state Attorney General. Moreno added that it is surprising that the Attorney General put all of this in a letter, considering that there is a criminal law that prohibits intimidating or threatening a public official in an effort to influence a decision or change their position. 
Further complicating the legal battle, the Louisiana Supreme Court has barred interim Orleans Parish Clerk of Court Calvin Johnson from performing any clerk duties while it considers legal challenges to a state law that merged the parish’s civil and criminal courts. The ruling came Thursday, two days before Louisiana’s party primary elections. Civil Clerk of Court Chelsey Napoleon handled the election process for May 16. 
Murrill said no public official should try to displace Napoleon or recognize a competing claim to the office until the court rules. Praising the state Supreme Court’s order, Murrill declared that there is no interim appointee—there is only one clerk. Chelsey Napoleon has always had full control of the office, and she said she is glad the Supreme Court stepped in to ensure continuity of those ongoing operations.

Hy & Christopher discuss the Indiana and Ohio GOP primaries and how Donald Trump’s endorsed candidates defeated long-time incumbents. They question whether the same outcome could occur in Louisiana’s May 16 U.S. Senate race, where Julia Letlow and John Fleming currently lead incumbent Bill Cassidy.
The discussion includes congressional redistricting and an underreported Supreme Court ruling regarding distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone. The Louisiana Attorney General sued to block federal HHS from allowing mail distribution of the pill in Louisiana. The Supreme Court declined to issue a temporary injunction, citing executive authority absent congressional action. Christopher shares a personal life development and its impact on his views. Hy closes with a patriotic reflection on Gen. James Warren.

Hy & Christopher talk about canceled congressional primaries and whether redistricting efforts to create six GOP districts could backfire. They also discuss King Charles meeting Trump and America’s 250th birthday. HMS Trump’s bell is presented as a gift. Hy concludes the show reflecting on Founder George Mason.

Christopher broadcasts live from Fraunces Tavern Museum in Manhattan. He interviews Ambrose Richardson on the meaning of the American Revolution and George Washington’s greatest patriotic act: laying down power. This leads into Rep. Mike Bayham’s effort to lifetime-limit governors to two terms. Hy and Christopher discuss Black soldiers in the American Revolution and school vouchers. Hy concludes with the Continental Army’s church regulations.

Hy McHenry & Christopher Tidmore speak with Darren Grubb of Medicare Advantage Majority on the effort to underfund Medicare Advantage. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a 0.09 percent payment increase. That rate was not reflective of real-world healthcare costs and risked significant premium increases for over 50% of Medicare recipients. CMS later agreed to a 2.48 percent rate increase for 2027. Hy and Christopher also discuss the Alberta independence referendum and its potential impact on Canada and oil entering the U.S. The show concludes with the spat between Trump and Pope Leo. Hy finishes by speaking on the importance of John Wesley.

Hy McHenry & Christopher Tidmore talk about legislative efforts to reform the board of the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board. Will there be a property service fee imposed? We discuss courts, Salt Coast, cars, foster care, and Trump killing petrodollars in the aftermath of the Iran War. Hy finishes by reflecting on the Great Awakening.

Hy McHenry & Christopher Tidmore talk about the U.S. Supreme Court decision, upcoming elections, and New Orleans courts. Most importantly, we remember a dear friend who died too young, Curtis Robinson. Hy concludes the program by reflecting on the importance of the philosopher Montesquieu.

Hy McHenry & Christoper Tidmore discuss the Louisiana economy, movies, military, and careers. We talk about the (lack of?) reasons for the Iran War. Hy reflects upon Francis Scott Key to end the show.

Hy McHenry & Christopher Tidmore discuss Sen. Markwayne Mullins becoming Homeland Security Secretary, the Louisiana U.S. Senate race, President Trump’s machinations in the Iran War, the Public Service Commissioner's contest, and the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board. Hy honors St. Brendan to end the program.