The day after Montana's 2026 primary, Paul sits down with Colonel Mike Eisenhauer — a 25-year Army veteran, Bronze Star recipient, and practicing interventional cardiologist who is now running as an independent for Congress (https://eisenhauerforcongress.com/) in Montana's massive 2nd District. While the Republican incumbent ran unopposed and three Democrats fought over a primary their party hasn't won statewide in decades, Eisenhauer was outside the rigged two-party system entirely, gathering nearly 13,000 verified signatures to earn his spot on the November ballot. This is what it actually takes to break through when the machine is designed to keep you out.
The conversation covers the affordability crisis crushing Montana families, the gutting of rural healthcare under the so-called big beautiful bill, the illegal and unauthorized war in Iran, congressional abdication under the War Powers Act, and why Eisenhauer — alongside Green Beret Seth Bodnar's Senate run — may be proof that Montana is ground zero for the independent movement. Paul and Mike also get into RFK Jr., right-to-repair, Trump accountability, the day after a huge primary day, the NBA Finals and why a doctor's diagnostic framework might be exactly what a broken Congress needs.
In this episode
- Why Montana requires one of the highest signature thresholds in the country — and how Eisenhauer cleared it with nearly 13,000 signatures
- The Bronze Star, Baghdad, and 25 years in uniform: what shaped his approach to public service
- Why he was 'sitting up in Elk Camp' during the government shutdown and decided enough was enough
- Affordability as the number one issue in Montana — housing, fuel, anhydrous ammonia, and the war's ripple effect
- Rural healthcare collapse: 47 rural hospitals at risk and 38-40,000 Montanans losing Medicaid coverage
- The war in Iran as an 'illegal activity' under the War Powers Act — and Congress's total abdication
- Why the Democrats are the spoilers in Montana, not the independents
- RFK Jr., vaccines, and where Eisenhauer breaks hard with the administration
- Why Montana and Nebraska may be ground zero for the independent movement nationwide
- The diagnostic mindset: applying a physician's framework to legislative decision-making
