Vote Buying and Coalition Building in American Elections

On October 18, 2024, Allen Thomas, Donna Walter, Jim May, and Kurt Gerwitz joined the show. Analyzes Kamala Harris’s campaign promises as vote-buying schemes and explains how the Founders’ emphasis on virtue and coalition-building protected the republic Discusses her campaign for Colorado House District 53, exposing her opponent’s socialist ties and advocating for reduced government intervention Promotes Lavaca Meat Company while connecting election outcomes to the.

The True Cost of Government Giveaways

Start listening at 7:37 – Hour 1

Allen Thomas warns that Kamala Harris’s proposed $25,000 down payment assistance represents a dangerous attempt to buy votes while ignoring economic consequences. Thomas draws parallels to the student loan crisis, where government intervention drove tuition costs skyward rather than making education affordable. He argues that injecting federal money into housing markets will similarly inflate prices, leaving first-time buyers no better off while saddling future generations with debt.

Thomas connects these policies to the Federalist Papers, noting how the Founders warned against demagoguery and the exploitation of emotion over reason. He emphasizes that self-reliance, self-restraint, and civic knowledge were essential virtues for maintaining the republic, virtues he believes are being systematically undermined by entitlement promises.

“The transformation of charity into legal entitlement has produced donors without love and recipients without gratitude.”

Allen Thomas, quoting Antonin Scalia

Fighting Socialist Policies in Northern Colorado

Start listening at 19:22 – Hour 1

Donna Walter, a candidate for Colorado House District 53, reveals her opponent’s ties to the Democratic Socialists of America and warns voters about policies eroding property rights. With 30 years of experience at the Colorado Capitol, Walter pledges to repeal harmful legislation rather than add to the regulatory burden. She criticizes Yes In My Backyard initiatives and 15-minute city concepts as threats to private property ownership.

Walter emphasizes that less government intervention is better, invoking Representative No’s legacy of protecting citizens by voting against special interest legislation. She explains that Fort Collins has voted to cover legal expenses for illegal immigrants while residents struggle with rising costs.

“He is the Democratic Socialists of America chair and that is the front for the Communist Party USA.”

Donna Walter, Candidate for House District 53

Supporting Colorado’s Cattle Industry

Start listening at 71:10 – Hour 2

Jim May, representing Lavaca Meat Company, connects the upcoming election directly to the cattle industry’s survival. May notes that during a Fox interview, Donald Trump identified cows as his favorite farm animal, contrasting this with what May characterizes as Harris’s hostility toward beef production. The third-generation cattle rancher promotes Lavaca’s premium USDA Prime beef while encouraging listeners to consider gift packages for the holiday season.

“If you get Kamala in here, she hates cows.”

Jim May, Lavaca Meat Company

Ranked Choice Voting Threatens Electoral Integrity

Start listening at 67:11 – Hour 2

Kurt Gerwitz and Allen Thomas dissect Proposition 131’s ranked choice voting scheme, noting that over $10 million has flooded in to support the measure while opposition funding stands at just $150,000. Thomas argues that first-past-the-post voting actually incentivizes coalition building, requiring candidates to appeal to broad majorities rather than narrow pluralities.

Gerwitz, a professor and volunteer with the Small Business Development Center, acknowledges the theoretical appeal of ranked choice voting but defers to evidence from jurisdictions that have tried and abandoned the system. Both note that Aspen, Colorado previously implemented and then repealed ranked choice voting after experiencing its drawbacks.

“If you only have two candidates, you then have to go out into your community and you have to try and build a coalition, with your platform and with your ideas, that brings together over half the population.”

Allen Thomas, Featured Author