Green Beret vs. the Machine

Independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar — Green Beret, Rhodes Scholar, university president — takes on Montana’s MAGA machine and a rigged two-party system that tried to handpick his opponent.

Paul Rieckhoff

April 1, 2026 68:27 Independent PoliticsIran WarNational SecurityUkraineVeterans

The Brief

→ Four things from today’s episode

Ty’s thesis. the national Democratic Party uses Black voters in Mississippi as sacrificial lambs to juice presidential-year turnout — and has since 1982

The receipts. Musgrove 2000, Childers, Barria, Espy 2018, 2020, Presley 2023 — the same “it’s this close” playbook every cycle

“The only group that’s offered me money to drop out is Democrats”. the summer-long pressure campaign nobody’s reporting on

Why the DNC asked Democrats to clear the field in South Dako. Why the DNC asked Democrats to clear the field in South Dakota, Idaho, and Nebraska for independent veterans — but refused to do it in Mississippi

Show Notes

Independent Veteran vs MAGA Machine: Seth Bodnar’s Battle for Montana’s Senate. A Green Beret, Rhodes Scholar, university president and business leader, independent Senate candidate Seth Bodnar joins Paul Rieckhoff from Montana for a hard‑hitting, no‑BS conversation about taking on Trump’s MAGA machine, a rigged two‑party system, and the corrupt insider games that tried to handpick his opponent. From filing his campaign minutes before the party bosses pulled a fast one, to why he refuses to “put on a jersey” for either party, Bodnar lays out why Montana—and America—need an independent voice that answers to voters, not party leaders.

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Nov 2, 2026 · EP 665

Green Beret vs. the Machine

The Brief

Show Notes

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