The Middle American

Trump is the most resiliant politician in American history. He has survived scandals, two impeachments, criminal indictments, and an election loss. 

This is different. The unraveling of his influence has begun. Democrats will take over the House in November - and possibly the Senate. Equally important, after Election Day he becomes a lame duck president. 

Broken promises. Low approval ratings. Families struggling economically to afford groceries, utilities, gas, and rent/mortgages.  It is all coming to a head.  The script has not changed - just the audience's reception of it.  

There will be an opening for moderates and independents like never seen before in 2028.  Will they take advantage of it?

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Shelly Headen is a Democrat running in a competitive State House district in North Carolina trying to unseat a long-serving Republican.  She is a vital component of the North Carolina Democratic Party's efforts to flip the state legislature for the first time in over a decade.  Over the weekend, the Party abandoned her.  Why?  A history of vile social media posts that are not only disqualifying but disconcerting.  The continued rise of rhetoric from candidates of both parties must be addressed.  Unfortunately, the trend only truly gets checked in competitive races - something that is rare in politics.  The Party did the right thing by condeming and abandoning her - but should they have done so prior to the public outrage?  

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25 years ago we lost our innoncence.  A generation removed from that tragic day requires us to take a look back.  We have a duty to remember.  We also have a duty to teach and learn.  

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Few people understand North Carolina politics better than Charlotte Observer columnist and Carolina Journal reporter Andrew Dunn.  His new book covers the career of former Charlotte Mayor and North Carolina Governor Pay McCrory that challenges the politician's public perception.  Andrew and I discuss:

1. How McCrory transformed Charlotte over 14 years in office as a Republican mayor.

2. What led to him winning the highest elected seat in NC while carrying two major, traditionally blue counties - Mecklenburg and Wake.  

3. The HB2 bathroom bill crisis and fallout.

4. Where McCrory fits in today's politics.  

The conversation addresses broader ideas like whether the electorate awards those who govern versus those who fight; if the McCrory of 2012 could even win a Republican primary in 2026; and what motivated him to step beyond being a citizen and become a candidate to better his community and state.  

Finally, we discuss an emerging new change agent: the rise of the democratic socialist.  Tune in for an engaging discussion about the book and beyond.  

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Nick moved to North Carolina and found himself immediately involved in a development dispute within his new neighborhood. His pragmatic approach to helping neighbors led them to encourage him to do more within the community.  With no prior political experience, he decided to run for the town's non-partisan Board of Commissioners.  He won.  After four years of service, he felt he had more to give.  He ran again.  He lost.  But his service did not go unnoticed by his colleagues, who brought him back when a vacancy on the Board came up.  

Hear Nick discuss:

1. What led him to initially engage with his new community.

2. The difficulty of taking that first step in practicing citizenship, along with the reward in doing so. 

3. How partisanship impacted both of his campaigns in a non-partisan race. 

4. What he has learned about himself and politics by serving his community. 

5. What advice he would give to those who are looking to take their own first steps in practicing citizenship.  

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Jacob, a fellow attorney and father of four, decided in the midst of COVID that he should do something more upon seeing his children struggle with remote learning.  He had been involved in state government, but not as an elected official.  He was practicing citizenship.  In 2021, he decided to run for WCPSS School Board.  He lost.  But rather than treat the loss as a verdict, he used it as a lesson to learn from.  Now he is running again.  Tune in for our conversation about:

1.  Why he decided to step beyond his comfort zone and get involved in state government. 

2.  What he learned from his time at the state legislature that gave him confidence to run on his own.

3.  What he learned from his first campaign, including how partisan non-partisan races are in reality.  

4.  Why he decided to keep running, after losing two straight campaigns, and how he is a better candidate now than when he started.  

5.  How is vision for The Wake Framework can be applied at WCPSS.  

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Being comfortable with the uncomfortable.  Wesley Warshawer joins the podcast for a discussion of how he took a significant step in practicing citizenship by stepping outside of his Silicon Valley bubble and moving to Bismarck, North Dakota, to experience what he thought would be the opposite of his life experience.  He toured the country for 18 months, from Bismark to Biloxi and many stops in between that did not resemble his California home.  He found along the way that we are more alike than we are different, despite the political polarization and binaries were are sold.  This is his journey.  

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Steve Morris, mayor of Concord, North Carolina, joins me to discuss his experiences over the past two decades participating in local government.  We cover topics addressed in my upcoming book, Our Middle American Life, including:

(1) Why he chose to take an initial step as a citizen practicing citizenship more than 20 years ago when he joined the Chamber of Commerce and became its chair.

(2) How did his time on the Chamber prepare him to run for County Commissioner. 

(3) What political muscle did he build over three successful terms as a moderate Republican on the County Commission.

(4) What lessons did he learn from losing during his fourth campaign.

(5) How he became mayor of the 10th largest city in North Carolina, in a non-partisan race, when both parties endorsed other candidates.  

This conversation is the upcoming book in real world action.   

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I'm back.  I've been writing a book.  It's called Our Middle American Life.  In the process of writing it, the thesis of the book changed - as did my perspective on politicians, the parties and the political system.  We live in a society where the middle politically (independents) are the largest voting bloc in the country - throw in disenchanted moderates and the number is even larger.  Yet, we have no representation.  Not in DC.  Not in most state capitals.  Not even likely in your local governments.  Why?  While at the same time, the middle class is shrinking, both in size and its ability to afford what has defined the middle class (and the American Dream) for generations.  What happens this November on Election Day will make zero difference.  We need to do more.  I need to do more.  And this podcast's purpose is a start.  

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The Los Angeles race for Mayor has garnered unprecedented national media coverage with a script worthy of its Hollywood background.  An incumbent mayor who has overseen a bungled response to a catastrophic natural disaster.  A reality TV star with viral AI-generated campaign videos.  Drugs, deception and manipulation.  But this is no script.  Instead, we have seen a third candidate swoop in after Election Day to win a spot for the two-person race in November.  Allegations of fraud, rigged elections and illegal votes.  Let's take a look beyond the headlines.  

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