Can the Military Remain Apolitical?
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Release Date: 06/16/2025
New York's Mayoral Race: Why Mamdani Has to Beat Cuomo Twice
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated establishment favorite Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination in New York's mayoral race, marking a clear victory for the party’s progressive wing. The primary used ranked-choice voting, which encouraged coalition-building, drove record turnout, and notably reduced negative campaigning. But thanks to New York’s fusion voting system, Cuomo has secured a spot on the general election ballot, giving him one more shot at defeat in what promises to be a far more chaotic, crowded, and contentious race. In this episode, Dan and Shawn break down the...
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Could Immigration and Iran Divide the GOP?
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Last week, Donald Trump found himself caught between the GOP’s hawkish and isolationist wings as tensions flared in the Middle East, while also discovering that Republican voters in the Farm Belt weren’t so keen on having their workforce deported. As Ted Cruz spars with Tucker Carlson and Stephen Miller wages war on red-state economies, has Trump’s strategy of doubling down on provocative policies finally reached its breaking point? In this episode, Shawn and Dan break down the GOP’s deepening internal rift, Trump’s awkward turn as party peacemaker, and how a primary system that...
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Can the Military Remain Apolitical?
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Last week, Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles over the objections of state leaders, delivered a highly partisan speech to uniformed troops at Fort Bragg, and held a military parade in Washington, D.C. on his birthday. None of these actions are entirely without precedent, but taken together, they raise a pressing question: Can the U.S. military remain apolitical in an era of hyperpartisanship and hyperpolarization? Dan and Shawn dig into the historical context of domestic troop deployments, the shift to an all-volunteer force, and how political...
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The Trump-Musk Breakup: Could Musk's Third Party Disrupt the GOP?
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
In what could be the most predictable of outcomes, the partnership between two ultra-wealthy megalomaniacs with multiple baby mamas ended poorly, with Musk and Trump hurling insults at each other from the social media platforms they own. Welcome to 2025. In the back-and-forth, Musk put out a poll on X asking if it was time for a third major party, leading to suspicions he might try to bankroll a party to challenge the two-party duopoly. Could Musk succeed and, if so, what would success look like? While the public breakup of a president and his wealthiest backer is a first in American...
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The Democrats' Dude Problem/Tommy Tuberville Leaves the Senate
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Last week, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, who led a one-man blockade preventing military promotions under the Biden Administration, announced he would not be seeking reelection. On the other side of the aisle, Democrats launched a $20 million campaign to learn how to talk to men. Both are stupid in their own right and have their roots in the same stupid reason. Dan and Shawn break it down in this topical double-header.
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The Moody's Downgrade and America's Big, Beautiful, Bankruptcy
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
On May 16, Moody's downgraded the US credit rating, citing runaway deficit spending. One week later, Congress responded by passing a budget that will add nearly $4 trillion to the debt over the next decade. For decades, Congress has blown through every red light budget hawks have flashed over spending. Is this time different? In this episode, Dan and Shawn discuss Trump's big, beautiful budget, how this parallels recent sovereign debt crises, the two times America "sort of" defaulted in the 1930s and 1970s, and whether a representative democracy can avoid the temptation of low taxes and high...
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Presidential Health: Who Determines When a President is Unfit to Serve?
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
At the time of this recording on Friday, May 16, Joe Biden's cancer prognosis handn't been revealed, yet stories had already emerged revealing just how far Biden’s inner circle went to conceal his cognitive decline during the final years of his presidency. This raised the question: Are there any real safeguards for removing a president who’s no longer fit to serve? In this episode, Dan and Shawn examine how the system let this happen, how similar failures have played out in American history, and what it says about a two-party structure that forces voters to choose between different...
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The GOP’s Biggest Opponent in 2026: Itself
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has announced he won’t run for Senate in 2026 - a surprising move given his strong statewide appeal and proven ability to win over independents. Kemp, one of the few Republicans with crossover credibility, would have been the GOP’s best shot at unseating Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. But his history of defying Donald Trump and refusing to indulge election denialism would have guaranteed a bruising primary against the party’s MAGA wing. In this episode, we unpack how Kemp’s decision reflects a deeper problem: the GOP’s biggest opponent in 2026 might not be...
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The Plan to Deny Both Parties a House Majority
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
Austen Campbell was the Deputy Finance Director for independent Senate candidate Dan Osborne, whose grassroots campaign in Nebraska turned a presumed Republican stronghold into a competitive race - scaring the GOP establishment in the process. As Osborne climbed in the polls, Campbell saw firsthand how the right independent candidate could channel growing frustration with the two-party system and address important issues Washington has ignored for years. Now, Campbell has launched the Independent National Coalition, a new organization aiming to support independent House candidates, with the...
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Do Moderates Matter? | The Myth of the Political Middle
Middleweight Politics: Political Analysis for the Independent Voter
With the progressive wing of the Democratic Party moving to assert itself in the 2026 midterms, many on the left worry these new candidates will scare away moderate voters. Yet Donald Trump's victories in 2016 and 2024 show moderates don't appear to spook easily. In this episode, Dan and Shawn break down how the term "moderate" can be misleading and how the two-party system, party primaries, and the ability to micro-target audiences have marginalized moderate voters.
info_outlineLast week, Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles over the objections of state leaders, delivered a highly partisan speech to uniformed troops at Fort Bragg, and held a military parade in Washington, D.C. on his birthday.
None of these actions are entirely without precedent, but taken together, they raise a pressing question: Can the U.S. military remain apolitical in an era of hyperpartisanship and hyperpolarization?
Dan and Shawn dig into the historical context of domestic troop deployments, the shift to an all-volunteer force, and how political realignment may be reshaping the military’s cultural identity and threatening America's tradition of an apolitical military.