Commonwealth Classical Liberal Podcast

Episode 54: Reckless driving, the Great Congressional Capitulation and a little hope?  This week the podcast went from Valentine's Day to slightly more serious matters like a monarchial presidency, a spineless, useless Congress and the potential fall of democracy. Brian, Chris and Andy expressed concern over the consolidation of power in the executive branch and the failure of the two-party sy...

Episode 53: Trade not Tariffs; Transparency not Technocracy .  This week, Brian, Chris, and Andy discussed the barrage absurdity coming from the Trump administration, particularly regarding trade wars, tariffs, and the very questionably legal activities of Dictator-Wanna-Be Elon Musk. They expressed concern over the lack of transparency, accountability, and Congresses impotence, and emphasized the...

Episode 52: Trump Executive Orders: Digital Currency and Declassifying Documents, and a 3rd Term?! This week, Brian, Chris and Andy took a look at two new Trump Executive Orders – one on digital currency and another on the release of classified documents relating to JFK, RFK and MLK. They explored the implications of these issues on democracy, privacy, and national security, while also debating so...

Episode 51: Lobbying Day in Richmond & a flurry of Trump EOs: Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, and the Death Penalty. This week, the team discussed the recent lobbying day in Richmond – with a focus on ballot access and housing, and then they took a look at a few of President Trump's new executive orders, their implications of and the potential for future presidents to abuse their power...

Episode 50: Being Liberal, Opposing Authoritarianism and MAGA’s Illiberal War Rhetoric.  This week, Brian and Andy welcomed special guest Tyler Harris, Executive Director at Project Liberal. The podcast started with a discussion on the concept of liberalism, its significance in American politics, it's stark contrast with authoritarianism and its distinction from other political ideas. Considering...

Episode 49: “A Renaissance of Liberalism.” MAGA’s meltdown. Celebrating immigration, peaceful protest and banjos! Starting out the new year with special guest Schuyler Windham, Chair of the Nebraska Liberal Party, the Commonwealth Classical Liberal Podcast discussed the internal divisions within the Republican party regarding immigration and visa policies, confusion among Democrats, and discussed...

Episode 48: 2024 ends with a couple wins and a couple losses – from cutting red tape to sinking the Press Act . The team met for the last podcast of 2024, discussing a couple of wins and more frustration with Virginia’s Governor Youngkin. On a positive note, Virginia Senator Mark Warner helped bring some wins by reducing health care reporting requirements. In another win, President Biden announced...

Episode 47:  Living life liberally at the   Liberal Party USA National Convention  and the Press Act: Now or Never? The team discussed the recent Liberal Party USA National Convention in Houston and the growing momentum and community moving towards 2025. Then they moved to the Press Act, expressing their support for this legislation and hopes that it may pass in the Senate. Wrapping up, the team e...

Episode 46: Bring on the immigrants! Pass on tariffs and trade wars, but an order of privacy rights, please.  The team returned from the Thanksgiving break to discuss how the CLPVA and Liberal Party USA differ from the big two political parties, emphasizing their support for immigration, the free movement of people, and open markets and free trade, and criticized the restrictionist policies of bot...

Episode 45: Looking back, looking forward. Republicans roll, Kamala krashes, choice wins, but is liberty losing?  The team took a look at their election predictions and considered some national level takeaways from the 2024 elections, including an interesting look at the total vote counts for the two leading candidates in 2020 and 2024 as Donald Trump’s overall votes were rather consistent but wit...

Episode 44: Wednesday’s Headlines: Harris Wins, Congress divided! Trump says election stolen! Voters want better candidates.  The team discussed their thoughts and concerns about the upcoming US Presidential election, focusing on the potential for election violence and the expectation of misinformation. They also predicted the outcomes of the federal elections, including the potential for improvem...

Episode 43: Virginia’s voter purge. Will liberals and libertarians be King (or Queen) makers?  The team looked at the Supreme Court’s support of Governor Youngkin’s Virginia voter purge and the broader meaning of this effort. Then, they reviewed some recent perspective from Shikha Dalmia on Libertarian-MAGA alignment, how some small “L” libertarians are looking at the 2024 election, the possible d...

Episode 42: Left, Right, or Down: Elections, lies, 3rd parties and MAGA fever. The team discussed the issue of excessive government spending and its potential consequences, expressing concern over the spending plans of both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and the negative impact it would have on future generations. They also discussed the upcoming Senate race in Virginia, the potential for a third-...

Episode 41: Available, Affordable Housing - Supply, Demand and why the Vice-Presidential nominees are wrong . In this week’s episode, Brian, Chris and Andy focused on the issue of affordable housing, looked at comments made on housing at the recent Vice-Presidential Debate and discussed why both candidates were off the mark. They also discussed the economic implications of government subsidies and...

Episode 40: Extremism, coalitions, and the democratic benefits of ending the duopoly . Brian and Andy looked at recent elections in France and Austria, and how their multi-party systems led to some interesting coalitions and outcomes. Coming back across the pond, they considered those as they discussed multi-party representation and ballot access reform in Virginia and the United States. The discu...

Episode 39: The Trouble with tariffs. Going nuclear over energy. Plus! healthcare & a continued GOP meltdown . Brian and Andy discussed the potential impact of tariffs on the American economy and the average consumer, arguing against the idea of protective tariffs being beneficial for economic growth. They also discussed the flaws in economic theories such as mercantilism and the negative effe...

Episode 38: The violent immigrant crime crisis doesn’t exist, but the national debt crisis does…  This week, Brian, Chris and Andy take on one crisis that doesn’t exist, and one that does. They start with some of Governor Youngkin’s recent immigrant-crime-crisis rhetoric and discuss GOP xenophobia in Virginia, Ohio and beyond. Then they turn to the National Debt, a forgotten issue in the 2024 elec...

Episode 37: Distinctively Liberal: The CLPVA - not your daddy’s Democrats or your momma’s GOP .   ‘Our politics follow our philosophy’-Chris. Brian, Chris and Andy returned to kick off season two of the Classical Liberal Party of Virginia (CLPVA)’s Commonwealth Classical Liberal Podcast. This week, the team discussed the CLPVA’s potential common ground and notable areas of contrast with Republican...

Episode 36: Breaking down the Telegram arrest; Marveling at the very illiberal Donald Trump .   ‘It's all just absolute nonsense’-Brian. Brian, Chris and Andy further reflect on the recent arrest of Telegram’s CEO in France and explore if this is an attack against encryption, a fight against crime, or something more. They then pivot to discussing recent remarks made by former and aspiring futu...

Episode 35: More RCV in VA (!), cold feet on KOSA (?), and economic liberty . Looking at some recent news in Virginia and nationally, Brian, Chris and Andy discussed the anticipated adoption of Ranked Choice Voting in Charlottesville, Virginia and recent conversations around the proposed Kids Online Safety Act. They shared ideas relating to a recent article lamenting the failure of the two major p...

Episode 34: Walz reaches out to non-die hard Democrats while the FDA fumbles on MDMA . “We respect our neighbors and their personal choices…We live by the golden rule, and that golden rule is, mind your own damn business." Is Governor Walz genuine in his statement and recent outreach to "old school libertarian, Republican Nebraskan(s)" or was this mere lip service? Brian and Andy di...

Episode 33: CLPVA’s 2nd Annual Convention: Encryption & digital privacy rights, 2025 Virginia elections, and more! Brian, Chris and Andy discussed the recent Classical Liberal Party of Virginia (CLPVA) second annual convention, where Party leadership met and discussed future plans, new members and candidate recruitment, and held training for potential candidates for the General Assembly and ot...

Episode 32: Supreme Court Reform, Virginia’s role in Biden’s big decision, and the upcoming CLPVA Convention!  “Avoid catastrophic thinking.” Chris, Brian and Andy returned to discuss Joe Biden’s proposed reforms to the Supreme Court, including term limits for justices and the elimination of executive immunity for former presidents. They also debated the whether Kamala Harris would pursue these Co...

Episode 31: Presidential Politics & Florida’s Universal Licensing; Biden goes bye-bye, Harris gets the nod, Polis for VP?! and Florida makes gains in universal licensing in healthcare . Brian, Chris and Andy returned in this week’s episode of the Commonwealth Classical Liberal Podcast and discussed Joe Biden’s big announcement to not seek re-election in 2024, and the potential impact on the De...

Episode 30: Presidential Politics: Biden!? Oliver!? Kennedy!? Trump?!  This week, Brian, Chris, and Andy open addressing the importance of non-violence following the failed assassination attempt of former President Trump. Then, with an eye to the 2024 presidential election, they discussed the current political climate, expressing their general dissatisfaction with the two-party system as they cons...