Ballot Victories, Election Integrity, and Machiavelli on Disarming the People

On the February 24, 2026 broadcast, former state senator Kevin Lundberg reports a historic petition victory for Protect Kids Colorado and dissects election reform legislation threatening voter integrity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Munich address signals a new diplomatic posture. Producers Joe and Luke examine disarmament and division through Machiavelli’s The Prince, and Marine veteran Paula Sarlls rallies support for the USMC Memorial Foundation.

Protect Kids Colorado Surpasses Half a Million Petition Signatures

Start listening at 16:03 – Hour 1

Kevin Lundberg, former state senator and author of the Lundberg Report, delivers groundbreaking news: Protect Kids Colorado has collected more than 500,000 petition signatures across three ballot initiatives targeting child sex trafficking, biological males in women’s sports, and irreversible surgeries on minors. All three measures exceeded 130% of the minimum required signatures, with the child sex trafficking initiative garnering 173,000 names, the women’s sports measure drawing 170,000, and the surgical procedures initiative collecting 163,000.

The petition drive mobilized over 3,300 volunteer signature gatherers, including hundreds of churches that hosted signing events, a level of grassroots engagement Lundberg calls unprecedented in Colorado’s 150-year history of citizen initiatives. The effort succeeded without major institutional funding after national political organizations deemed Colorado too hostile for conservative ballot measures, taking the women’s sports concept to Maine, Nevada, and Arizona instead. Representative Scott Bottoms’ HB26-1082, the Children Are Not for Sale Act, died in committee this session, underscoring the gap between the legislature and Colorado voters on protecting children. Lundberg calls the campaign the most significant endeavor of his political career.

Omnibus Election Bill Threatens Voter Verification Safeguards

Start listening at 30:45 – Hour 1

The Colorado legislature’s 44-page HB26-1113, Modifications to Elections, would overhaul the Uniform Election Code of 1992. The Colorado Union of Taxpayers has taken a firm opposition stance, identifying provisions that would extend ballot return deadlines, allow election judges as young as 15, and lengthen ballot circulation periods to 29 days. Kim Monson urges listeners to weigh in through CUT’s Engaged platform at coloradotaxpayer.org.

Lundberg zeroes in on a provision he calls the bill’s most dangerous feature: the repeal of statutes allowing citizens to challenge illegitimate voter registrations. He traces the problem to 2013, when he fought the all-mail ballot system on the state senate floor, warning colleagues that reactivating inactive voters without verification would invite manipulation. He recalls telling legislators to their face that the 2013 changes were designed to make cheating easier. Kim Monson highlights HB26-1104, a bill requiring the Secretary of State to verify voter addresses through credit bureau data annually, as a commonsense contrast to the omnibus bill’s erosion of safeguards.

“It’s a fool’s gold standard. It’s, it’s intentionally set up to enable somebody to come in and fiddle around with the results on an election.”

Kevin Lundberg, Former State Senator and Author of the Lundberg Report

Munich Speech Charts a New Course for Transatlantic Relations

Start listening at 48:32 – Hour 1

Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s address to European leaders in Munich drew attention from listeners and analysts alike. Lundberg characterizes the roughly 25-minute speech as a masterful “good cop” counterpart to President Trump’s more confrontational approach, calling it a potential historic turning point for European political thought. Rubio urged European leaders to recommit to the principles that built Western prosperity, framing the message as counsel from a friend rather than an ultimatum from a superpower.

The discussion touches on Trump’s negotiating style, from dismissing Rubio as “little Marco” during the 2016 campaign to elevating him to the nation’s top diplomatic post with significant decision-making authority. Lundberg credits the president with mastering both coercion and attraction in international relations, drawing a parallel to the “art of the deal” philosophy. Kim Monson connects the speech to the broader theme of preserving American sovereignty and the founding ideals that define the nation’s identity on the world stage.

The Prince on Disarming the People and Manufacturing Factions

Start listening at 67:44 – Hour 2

The in-studio book discussion tackles Chapter 20 of Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, written in 1513, which examines whether rulers should build fortresses or disarm their subjects. Producer Luke frames the chapter as a catalog of how power-seeking archetypes behave, arguing that The Prince documents recurring patterns in governance rather than prescribing them. The text warns that rulers who fear their own people will first seek to disarm them, then manufacture factions to keep citizens fighting one another rather than scrutinizing those in charge. Fortresses, Machiavelli argues, are a sign of planning for failure, because no wall can protect a ruler who has lost the trust of the people.

Kim Monson draws direct parallels to the Colorado State Legislature’s incremental approach to firearm restrictions, arguing that disarmament extends beyond weapons to foundational principles, from the Second Amendment to the concept that all people are created equal. Producer Joe observes that identity-based division, isolating one group as a scapegoat, lets those in power build coalition support from the remaining population. A listener text drives the point home: labels like “MAGA” function as conversation-ending devices, allowing people to dismiss others without engaging their ideas. Producer Luke argues that hatred is taught, not innate, and urges listeners to ask who benefits from the division rather than participating in it.

A Birthday Challenge to Honor Those Who Served

Start listening at 102:12 – Hour 2

Paula Sarlls, president of the USMC Memorial Foundation, announces a March 14 birthday challenge at the memorial at Colfax and 6th Avenue in Golden. Sarlls, who turns 77, will spend the day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. reading names of Marines and fallen service members, live-streaming the event on Facebook and inviting the public to share their heroes’ stories. She asks supporters to donate an amount ending in the number 7 to honor her birthday milestone, either at the memorial or online at usmcmemorialfoundation.org.

A Marine veteran who enlisted at 18 after a recruiter at Kmart convinced her to sign up, Sarlls met her late husband Tony in the service. March 16 would have been their 57th wedding anniversary, and she has spent 27 years as a veteran advocate and 17 years since his passing, with the number 7 weaving through every milestone. She also promotes early bird registration for the foundation’s annual golf tournament in May, with sign-up available through March at the foundation’s website.

“We’re going to be doing this rain or shine because a Marine mom named Marge long time ago said that her son doesn’t get rain days. And I promised her that we would do our celebrations rain or shine.”

Paula Sarlls, President of the USMC Memorial Foundation