Governor John Kasich went on national TV and told Paul Rieckhoff, to his face, that independents aren't really independent — that come November they'll just go back to the bench and put the old jersey back on. Paul's response is the spine of this episode: that's an antiquated way of looking at America in 2026. Sixty percent of young people are unaffiliated. Fifty percent of veterans are unaffiliated. Ten thousand Americans are walking out of the Republican and Democratic parties every single week. Trump is sitting at a 22% approval with independents and a 32-34% approval overall — the Bush line — with an unpopular Iran war, tariffs jacking prices, and a party heading into the midterms with 96 days on the clock.
This is a media-blitz sweep of a very big week. Paul rolls through his hits on CNN, News Nation, and MS Now to break down the races the rigged two-party system doesn't want you watching: Todd Achilles running head-to-head against 83-year-old Jim Risch in Idaho after the Democrat dropped out, Seth Bodnar in Montana, Dan Osborn in Nebraska, Yemi Mobolade already governing as an independent mayor in Colorado Springs. He takes on the Politico poll showing MAGA voters shrugging off DUI convictions, bribery, domestic violence, and sexual assault allegations — and names the command climate that made that possible. And he pushes the Democrats hard: outrage isn't a plan. What's your alternative on affordability? What's your alternative to end the war in Iran? Independents are listening. So is a country starved for character.
In this episode
- Paul answers Governor Kasich live on air: the "independents aren't real" argument is antiquated — 60% of young people and 50% of veterans are already unaffiliated
- 10,000 Americans leaving the Republican and Democratic parties every single week, and why closed primaries have been hiding the real number
- Trump at 22% approval with independents, 32-34% overall — hitting what The Bulwark's Sarah Longwell calls the Bush line, 96 days out from the midterms
- Todd Achilles running neck-and-neck with 83-year-old incumbent Jim Risch in Idaho after the Democrat dropped out — a genuine head-to-head test case
- Seth Bodnar in Montana, Dan Osborn in Nebraska, Yemi Mobolade in Colorado Springs: the independent-veteran map the parties don't want on TV
- The Politico poll showing MAGA voters won't abandon candidates over DUI, bribery, domestic violence, or sexual assault allegations — and what that says about command climate
- Paul on Trump normalizing the lack of character for young men and boys, and why Americans are "starved for integrity, starved for character, starved for leadership"
- "All gas, no brain" — Paul on Trump's Iran policy, the tariff hit to prices, and a president who genuinely does not care about polling
- The challenge back to Democrats: outrage isn't an alternative — where is the plan on affordability and where is the plan to end the war in Iran
- Mitch McConnell still MIA, Chuck Grassley at 92 shepherding nominations, and what the age question looks like when neither party will be honest about it
