Election Integrity, Second Amendment Rights, and the Battle for American Values

On April 26, 2024, Jody Hice, Allen Thomas, Nephi Cole, Rick Rome, and Jim May joined the show. Former Georgia congressman discusses how COVID became a pretext for election law changes, the importance of clean voter rolls, and citizens’ responsibility to demand fair elections from state officials Political commentator explains the Overton window concept and argues conservatives must take incremental policy steps rather than demanding all-or-nothing positions that.

Protecting the Sacred Trust of Elections

Start listening at 86:12 – Hour 2

Jody Hice, former Georgia congressman and author of Sacred: Election Integrity and the Will of the People, reveals how COVID-19 became the pretext for sweeping election law changes across America. Hice recounts his experience on the House Oversight Committee where, within weeks of the first U.S. COVID case, Democrats began pushing for federal election takeovers through hearing after hearing.

The former congressman explains that mail-in ballots were once considered problematic by both parties, citing the 2005 Carter-Baker Commission’s warnings about fraud vulnerabilities. He emphasizes that clean voter rolls form the foundation of election integrity, noting that 10 to 20 percent inaccuracy rates make accurate outcomes impossible. Hice argues that elections exist solely to reflect the voice and will of the people, and when that sacred trust is compromised, citizens lose their capacity for self-governance.

States like Florida and Georgia have made significant strides in election reform, Hice notes, creating pressure on states like Colorado that have not taken similar action. He encourages citizens to continue demanding fair elections from their elected officials.

“Elections are not about who wins or who loses. Ultimately, elections are only and solely about the voice and the will of the people being accurately heard and accurately counted.”

Jody Hice, Former Georgia Congressman

Understanding Political Strategy and the Overton Window

Start listening at 02:15 – Hour 1

Allen Thomas joins Kim in studio to discuss his upcoming essay, “A Muted Speaker of the House is a House Destroyed,” while providing crucial insight into effective political strategy. Thomas explains the Overton window concept, describing how public opinion creates boundaries within which politicians feel safe to operate.

Thomas argues that conservatives often fail by demanding all-or-nothing policy positions rather than taking incremental steps like progressives have mastered. Using abortion policy as an example, he suggests heartbeat bills represent pragmatic steps that shift public opinion while saving lives, rather than demanding complete bans that fall outside current cultural acceptance.

The political commentator also addresses the Speaker of the House controversy, explaining that the founding fathers never envisioned the Speaker as a power position but rather as a parliamentarian serving the institution. Thomas warns that grinding the House to a halt through repeated vacate threats undermines the government’s ability to function as designed.

“The Overton window is a constantly shifting window between these two extremes. And it’s where the public generally falls. And the Overton window is really the safe zone for any politician to have a policy within.”

Allen Thomas, Political Commentator

Colorado’s Constitutional Crisis on Firearms

Start listening at 19:26 – Hour 1

Nephi Cole, Government Relations Director for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, warns that Colorado’s proposed assault weapons ban threatens virtually all semi-automatic firearms in the state. Cole explains that the bill’s single-feature test and vague language about firearms that “can be easily modified” makes the legislation unconstitutionally broad.

With about a week left in the legislative session, Cole identifies the assault weapons ban as NSSF’s primary concern, noting it would affect semi-automatic rifles, most handguns, and many shotguns. He characterizes such proposals as political tools designed to gain votes rather than reduce crime, pointing out that the solutions proposed never affect the constituencies of those proposing them.

Cole urges citizens to contact Governor Polis about vetoing firearms legislation and to join organizations like the NRA that maintain boots on the ground at state capitols.

“The assault weapons ban is the one that we’re most concerned about. That’s the one we’ve put the most effort into discussing with people. And that’s because assault weapon is not defined.”

Nephi Cole, NSSF Government Relations Director

The Dignity of Capitalism

Start listening at 75:21 – Hour 2

Rick Rome, civil engineer and Liberty Toastmaster, delivers a compelling defense of capitalism, arguing that economic systems exist on a circle rather than a line, with communist and fascist extremes meeting at the bottom. Rome contends that capitalism occupies the space between “10 o’clock and 2 o’clock” where people can find common ground through civil discourse.

Rome distinguishes true capitalism from cronyism, comparing Henry Ford’s model of empowering consumers through affordable products against the Nazi public-private partnership model that controlled mobility based on party membership. He warns that public-private partnerships often amount to cronyism where government picks winners and losers while the public bears the risk.

“No system has ever done more to end poverty than capitalism, and that’s through food supplies, through controlling disease. It’s for a very simple reason: it’s about dignity.”

Rick Rome, Civil Engineer and Liberty Toastmaster

Colorado Agriculture and Cowboy Poetry

Start listening at 64:34 – Hour 2

Jim May of Lavaca Meat Company calls in from Stratton, Colorado where rain soaks the eastern plains. May updates listeners on the company’s new program offering quarters and sides of beef, launching in time for barbecue season. He then delivers a cowboy poem about “Fake St. Paddy’s Day” at Kansas State University, recounting the tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day a week early when spring break conflicted with the actual holiday.