Unalienable Populism Podcast

In this short overview, I give my assessment of the 2026 elections and what we can expect going forward.

In future podcasts, we will dive more deeply into the various areas I touch on here.

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America was built on Christian principles. I know that statement sends some people’s heads spinning, but it is true. The men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution were Christians – some more so than others. But they were all brought up in a land where Christianity permeated the culture to a much greater extent than today. All of them were far more fluent in the Bible than most current Christians.

So, if these men who were so influenced by Christianity produced our founding documents, we should not be surprised about our current problems considering we, as a culture, have drifted so far away from that faith.

My guest, Brandon Freiwald, is convinced that for America to succeed, we need to rediscover our Christianity.

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Generation Z – basically those 30 and younger – has been raised in a very progressive society. And by progressive I mean they have been inculcated or indoctrinated by progressive ideals that have been pushed over the past 60 years – if not longer.

What are progressive ideals? Well, among them are a rejection of traditional standards both civil and moral, the rejection of God’s place in society, the rejection of individual worth replaced with group identities, and the idea that America’s founding was immoral and illegal.

This was done not only through schooling both in grade school, high school, and college, but in pop culture and now through social media.

It would be one thing if this was simply an intellectual battle. However, Covid caused huge damage to Gen Z’s psyche through the fear pushed by those who wish to control people.

Even that would be still on the intellectual front if not for the real life economic situation of most young people. The thought of buying a house is beyond the reach of nearly all of them, job prospects are dwindling, and the American dream is almost non-existent to them.

The older generations look at Gen Z and often say – just work hard and you’ll be rewarded. However, Gen Z looks at the Boomers and Gen Xers as people who have got theirs and turned their backs on them.

All of this has created a mindset where many, if not a large majority of Gen Z is just fine with ripping up the Constitution and doing something – anything – different.

This is a dangerous place for anyone to be.

Joining me to discuss the psyche of Gen Z and what we can do to both understand and work with this very upset and frustrated generation is Zachary Fraley. Zachary is the pastor of Christ’s Family Church in Davenport, Iowa who was brought into an aging church to bring young people into the congregation. He and his staff have been enormously successful in doing so without losing the traditions we all hold dear.

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With the 2026 midterm elections just a few weeks away, where do things stand in Iowa? It’s a state where Donald Trump won the election in 2024 by 13% but now is on the threshold of sending 3 of its 4 US Representatives and one of its senators to DC next year as Democrats.

At the state level, the race for governor is neck and neck and the Republicans stand little chance to get back their super-majorities they had after 2024 but lost in special elections.

Indeed, the Democrats significantly increased their primary vote total compared to the 2022 midterm election and seem to have the edge in enthusiasm this year.

Joining me to talk about the election and whether Iowa voters will stick with the Republicans this year is Austin Hayek, County Supervisor for Webster County who also hosts his Rooted Patriot podcast.

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The American form of government is based on one person, one vote. It should be simple. The candidate with the most votes wins.

It’s not only who votes but who counts the votes and how they are counted which is key.

Would you be surprised that state legislatures have made it more and more difficult for regular people to actually check the results of elections? I did not and that is most concerning.

What happens when people not only doubt, but don’t trust election results? Certainly nothing good.

Mark Cook of Hand Count Roadshow - https://handcountroadshow.org/ - presented the case to a group in Davenport, Iowa on Saturday, Oct 10 that our election process has been corrupted for longer than we realize and it is an ongoing project of those who despise America.

Election integrity is not just an issue of 2020, it is a dire issue for us today and in the future. Check out Mark’s presentation.

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Politics has never been a pleasant thing. When it is working properly in a representative republic like we have, there is always compromise – even with the best of intentions by all sides.

When it is not working well and factions seem to have the biggest influence, then you get the politics of personal destruction, corruption, mudslinging and worse. It gets nasty very quickly.

For Christians to get involved in the political process is sometimes a quandary. We are told by the Apostle Paul that we should live quiet lives, praying for our leaders, and focusing on Jesus.

Jesus, Himself, famously said regarding paying taxes that we should give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. He made it clear that He was not going to get involved in that particular political matter – at least not in the way the people asking the question wanted Him to.

At the same time, Jesus throughout the Bible tells us we are to oppose oppression, help widows and orphans, seek justice, and be merciful.

Do Christians abstain from getting involved in politics? Do we not vote, not run for office, not speak out at meetings, not peacefully protest and simply pray?

If the answer to these last questions is no, then how can Christians reconcile the requirements of being in the world and doing what we are called to do while at the same time, not becoming of the world and descending into the mud that politics can be?

Joining me to discuss these issues is David Pautsch. David is a Davenport, Iowa, marketing consultant, Army veteran, Gold Star father, and evangelical Christian activist who twice challenged Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in the primary for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District.

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Fighting for healthy Americans has been around for quite a while. I remember my aunt protesting against fluoride in our drinking water back in the 1970s. Over the next few decades obesity, autism, and childhood vaccines became important issues to various people – although there was little national consensus.

Then the COVID lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates seared the issue of medical freedom into the psyche of America. People were hit in the face by outright authoritarianism with what had been an undercurrent of bureaucrats, insurance companies, and the medical professionals trying to add more and more requirements to our lives behind the scenes.

Now, the idea of medical freedom is much more national. While many people associate the idea of medical freedom with MAHA or Make America Healthy Again which Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. ran on in 2024, there have been many groups across the country which were active in the fight prior to this.

Informed Choice Iowa was founded in 2017 as a volunteer-driven organization united around parental rights and medical choice.

Joining me to talk about medical freedom in general and some Iowa specific efforts is Gabby Fistler. She is the Vice President of Informed Choice Iowa – or ICI. Her passion began in in 2017 after researching vaccines following her daughter’s birth. She attended her first ICI conference in 2019 and served on many committees before becoming its current Vice President. She serves as a volunteer while holding a full-time position as a banking software specialist.

Links:

* Informed Choice Iowa

* 1776 Law Center - Medical Freedom

* Stand for Health Freedom

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Elections are all about votes and who gets the most votes. But the act of voting is only part of the process.

There’s the verification of the person who is voting before they vote, the gathering of the votes at each voting location, the tabulation of the votes, the posting of the votes and then the final count.

Then there is the question of who or what is doing the counting? You see, most votes are tabulated by a machine and most places “trust” what the machine’s software tells them without question.

It’s only when the machine cannot read a scanned ballot for any number of reasons that actual people look at the ballots.

When you include mass absentee or mail in voting to the process, then it becomes even more complex.

* How do you validate a person by mail? Were signatures really matched?

* How do you ensure that person is the person who actually filled out the ballot?

* Are the mailed in ballots folded? Many were received unfolded but still counted.

* Are the ballots printed on the same paper (all ballots are sourced from the same location so there should not be different types of paper used for the ballots)?

Then you add the additional issues of WHEN you count a mail in ballot. Does a ballot that arrives after the date of the election count? If so, how many days are allowed?

All these questions were never truly answered during the 2020 election. We had irregularities galore. When someone started asking questions they were told to shut up and trust the system – and if you didn’t then you suffered consequences no citizen of the United States should suffer.

My guest, Kerry Soat, was an election adjudicator for Maricopa County in Arizona. He experienced most of these issues and has quite a story to tell including the retaliation he received after questioning the process - and that retaliation came from Republicans, not Democrats.

His story is a warning for what can happen in the future if we are not vigilant.

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Far too often we get fixated on near term issues and we do not take a breath to look at the larger picture.

* Where are we heading?

* Why are we heading there?

* What opportunities do we have to get help us get there?

* What constraints on us do we have in getting there?

* What threats do we have from outside people, groups, nations, and other forces?

These are just some of the questions that should be asked. The outlook is not just this November’s election, but the next 5-10 years and beyond.

Since this is like sailing into deep waters, what do we use as our rudder to make sure we stay on course and, most importantly, what do we use to help us set the course?

Joining me to talk about the vision we need for America is Brad Sherman. Brad is a pastor, businessman, husband, father, grandfather, former Republican Iowa State Representative, and former Republican candidate for Iowa Governor. Brad advocates for quality of life and natural resource issues, and liberty in Iowa and beyond.

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Iowa is at the center of the political fight in America this year. Will a state that Donald Trump won by double digits send a majority of its delegation to DC next year as Democrats? Will the governorship go blue after years of red?

People forget that Iowa has a long independent streak and has not always been a solid Republican state. The mood of the voters can change.

Even though Trump is still well liked by the Republican primary voter, those who only vote in the general election and lots of independents seem to be in a foul mood toward Republicans.

Or is that merely the braying of the Democrat leaning media?

To discuss this from an on the ground perspective, I’m joined by Austin Hayak who is a County Supervisor in Webster County, Iowa whose main city is Fort Dodge. It’s a fairly rural county near the center of the state with a population of 37,000.

Austin is a Millennial and lifelong resident of the county, lives on his family farm, is a safety coordinator and has a background in law enforcement along with a degree in Environmental Studies.

Unalienable Populism is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.