Show notes
Independent Veteran candidate, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, PhD, ultra-marathon champion, and living kidney donor Matt Cavanaugh is a damn impressive leader. And he joins Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff from Colorado’s 5th district for an unfiltered, high-energy conversation on why “America is not okay” and why he believes voters are trapped in another “Alien vs. Predator” election where, if either major party wins, the people lose. From NORAD’s backyard in the shadow of Pikes Peak, he makes the case that his home turf—majority independent, home to five military bases and Team USA—is the best district in America for an independent veteran Congressional candidate to break through.
Cavanaugh explains why his campaign logo features a buffalo and how American bison running straight into the storm became his metaphor for political courage in a district that’s ready to send an independent veteran to Congress. He tears into gerrymandering, shutdowns that burned billions, and a political class that left every newborn with six-figure national debt stapled to their birth certificate, while calling for a new generation of “rational vertebrates” with the backbone to stand up for Article One of the Constitution.
Matt and Paul also fly into Matt’s living kidney donation—why he voluntarily gave a kidney at Walter Reed to a stranger in Seattle, how that transplant chain saved eight lives and saves taxpayers far more than it costs, and how serving others from combat to transplantation to running for office is his answer to these “times that try men’s souls.” Paul opens the episode with a rapid-fire breakdown of Trump’s marijuana order and “war dividend” troop checks, the Trump–Kennedy Center rename push, the rising risk of war near Venezuela, Ukraine’s 1,390th day of full-scale war, and major movement on extremism inside the Coast Guard, plus culture, sports, and hope—from Avatar and SpongeBob to Football Friday picks, polar bears, skiing with kids, and New York City marathon memories. It’s a fierce and fun way to close out a wild week.
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