← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Huge Primaries in Kentucky, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Idaho. 3.6 Million Independents Shut Out.
00:23:46
It's Tuesday, May 19th — a huge primary day in Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Alabama — and 3,557,000 independent Americans are being locked out of the elections deciding their representation. Paul Rieckhoff runs a solo briefing on the closed-primary problem nobody in the rigged two-party system wants to talk about: taxpayer-funded elections, run in public schools by public poll workers, that exclude anyone who refuses to put on a jersey. With 93% of House races and 80% of Senate races already decided by primaries, this isn't a procedural quirk — it's a structural assault on representative democracy.
Loading summary
Transcript11 lines
- [00:00]
Paul Rykoff
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Tomorrow's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Wednesday. But, you know, it was a ballroom, then it was a military facility. Kind of sounds like a bunker. So maybe next time when there's a January 6th, maybe it'll be a place for him to hunker down safely because he and Steve Bannon and others have already said he ain't leaving in 2020.
- [00:32]
Poet/Guest Performer
Foreign.
- [00:37]
Paul Rykoff
Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 527. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff, and it is Tuesday, May 19th, primary day. And I'm coming to you from New York City. And the weather here is hot. Holy smokes, it's hot. It's going to go up to like 95 degrees today. We have got to stay cool because it is a very important primary Tuesday in America. Something you may not be tracking on, but you need to. I'm going to get to that and much more. But first, today's artist of the day is the great Chris Cornell. Chris Cornell, who had an amazing solo career, contributed to numerous movie soundtracks, Soundgarden, audio slave, Temple the Dog, one of the greatest vocalists of all time, in my view. He died on May 18, yesterday, back in 2017. So we want to just remember him, his power, his energy, his creativity, and also remember that he struggled with depression for most of his life. He was found dead in a Detroit hotel room just hours after performing at a Soundgarden contract, and his death was ruled a suicide. Especially during Mental Health Awareness Month and especially around and before Memorial Day, I want to encourage folks who are struggling to reach out for help. That's a message that so many around the music community have tried to echo after the loss of Chris Cornell. So if you're struggling, I'm going to put out some resources you can always text to veterans. Sorry, check that the. The crisis text line is always free 24. 7 at 741-741, you can text home or holla or hola to 741741. It's crisis counseling for free. Confidential 24, 7. You can also always hit up 988-the lifeline. That's the suicide and crisis lifeline. You can call, you can text, you can chat. We gotta look out for each other. And if you're struggling, know that reaching out for help is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness, especially when things are getting hot and it's gonna be a hot summer. But we're going to try to keep things cool. I got a quick one for you today. Just rush through what you need to know on this important primary Tuesday and bring you the five eyes. I bring you in every single show, whether it's hot or cold. Independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact. No guests today. Just a quick primary hit from me. So let's get into it. Let's stay cool and let's stay vigilant. All right, primaries in a second. Let me talk about something else. Trump's entire ballroom thing is fucking crazy, all right? He went from suggesting it was gonna pay for itself and it was gonna be a couple hundred million dollars. Now it's over a billion dollars. And it turns out it's gonna be much more than just a ballroom, because of course it is. Check out this clip from Trump today, who basically did a press conference in front of the construction site. That's where part of the White House used to be and is now a big giant hole where he's building something that he's going to tell us more about. Play that clip, please.
- [03:38]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
Chris, want to take a look at the complexity? These are all different rooms down here. They're building a hospital, they're building. It's a military hospital. They're building all sorts of research facilities, also meeting rooms and rooms that go hand in hand for the military. Using the ballroom and the ballroom is really a shield and protecting all of the things that are built here. This goes, as you see, it's already up to the ground. This goes down very deep. You get a better view right over here. This is down because we've already done these floors, but these are already down two floors. That is down about six stories deep. That's big stuff.
- [04:23]
Paul Rykoff
So a military hospital, research facilities, meeting rooms, and the ballroom is going to be a shield for all of it. So now we just tell everyone what's under a secure site under the White House. We just let all of our enemies and adversaries and anyone who's conspiring to hurt America, we just let them know what's there. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Tomorrow's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Wednesday. But, you know, it was a ballroom, then it was a military facility. Kind of sounds like a bunker. So maybe next time when there's a January 6th, maybe it'll be a place for him to hunker down safely because he and Steve Bannon and others have already said he ain't leaving in 2028. I betcha I know where we'll be able to find him. That's not our top topic. That's just some something to simmer on here on this hot and steamy May Day. But I do have our top. All right, here's our topic. Today is a primary day in six states. And in total, it's a day when 3,557,000 independents will be locked out of primaries in Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Let that sink in. 3.5 million Americans will be completely locked out of primaries happening in multiple states across the country today. So today is primary day In Idaho, where 258,000 independents will be locked out. In Kentucky, 322 independent 322,000 independents will be locked out. In Oregon, 1.6 million will be locked out. And in Pennsylvania, 1.4 million independents will be locked out. Independents are people of all backgrounds, all gender, all military experience, or not. More than 50% of veterans are independent, 60% of young people, and they all have zero voice in this process. That is absolutely critical. And keep in mind, as our friends at Unite America have said, we have a primary problem. Election day in 2026 is just months away, but 93% of the House races and 80% of the Senate races are already decided because the primaries decide the outcome. And it's an example of how our democracy is so broken. Broken closed primaries are undemocratically shutting out millions of Americans nationwide. In Alabama, there is an open primary. Voters can choose either party's ballot with some crossover restrictions. In Georgia, there is an open primary. You choose a party's ballot on primary day without prior party restriction. In Kentucky, closed. Oregon, closed. Pennsylvania, closed. Idaho, closed. This is what a broken democracy looks like tonight. I'll be on CNN for an hour, seven to eight o' clock with Aaron Burnett. As I often am on Tuesday to break down the latest results, to talk about this point and talk about how millions of independents have no vote in the most consequential elections that happen in many of these states and how we are being denied equal access and equality as Americans. It's outrageous. If you're not angry, you're not paying attention and you definitely need to stay vigilant. All right, let's go a little bit lower on the radar. The big race, of course, today is going to be in Kentucky, where Trump has waged political war against Tom Massie, the libertarian slanted Republican who's been very critical of Trump on Iran and especially on Epstein. Yesterday, acting Secretary of Culture War Pete Hex said flexed the fact that he is a secretary of culture war and went to campaign for Massie's opponent. Think about that. The secretary of Defense took time away from the real war to engage in a political war. Absolutely. Out of Bounds absolutely unacceptable. Now, I don't know if Massie's gonna survive or not. If recent elections have been an indicator, Trump has been on the winning side of most of this stuff. And he's running against a former Navy seal, Ed Glarin, who has got a high profile. And this is really gonna set the tone for what's happening if Trump wins here. I think it underscores that you cannot count on the Democrats to save you. It will underscore the power that Trump continues to have over the Republican Party and across this country. There'll also be key races in Georgia for the Senate. The Democratic incumbent is up for reelection there, Jon Ossoff. Republicans will vote on his challenger in the Georgia governor's race. There will also be a primary between Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, because Kemp is term limited, and Trump's endorsed guy, Brad Roethensberger, the Secretary of State who's most known for pushing back on Trump's pressure to overturn the 22 election, and a billionaire named Rick Jackson, who's flooded the airwaves with tons of ads. It's going to be wild. There's also one in Alabama and one in Idaho that will determine governor. And most of the congressional delegations where there are primary challengers. Keep in mind, most of the independent candidates you've heard about on this show are not participating in those primaries. There is an exception, the California primary, which is open coming up next month. Karen Matthews is a Navy veteran and a doctor running in California for Congress, and she will join me tomorrow to talk about that. But here's the bottom line. Over 3 million independents are blocked out of our primaries today. And as a reminder, if you're new here, these are primaries that are funded with your public taxpayer dollars. They use public schools to run their elections. They use public poll worker workers. They use the public's resources to run private primaries. If everybody can't participate, it's not public, and it is an undermining of the very basis, in my view, of our Constitution. We're going to continue to fight this fight on every primary day, of course. Check out our friends at Open Primary and Veterans for all Voters also doing great work on the ground. Check out Unite America. And of course, stay tuned here and stay vigilant. All right? We can't let the system break us because we are breaking the system. It's happening. We've seen change in New Mexico. We've seen change in Maine. We're going to continue to push for change nationwide. Pennsylvania is an example of a place where we need Open primaries long overdue. We need to ensure that independents don't have to overcome insurmountable odds, billionaires, partisan machines and just basic ballot access problems. It should be a fair playing field and if it is, we can win. But now let's go below the radar to something very different. Hate is on the rise in America and it shouldn't be below the radar, but unfortunately it is until it bubbles up or explodes up like it did yesterday with more hate inspired violence. San Diego's largest mosque was attacked yesterday and three people are dead. By now you've probably seen the headlines, but three people, including a security guard, were killed in a shooting on Monday at San Diego's largest mosque. There was a hero who stepped up and I'm going to talk about him in a second. But first I want to talk about the alleged shooters. The mosque shooters have been identified as two teenagers from the San Diego area. We don't know their motives, but they went on a shooting rampage and they've been identified as 17 year old Kane Clark and 18 year old Caleb Velasquez. They took a weapon from their parents home. They left a suicide note about racial pride and they went on a shooting spree. They were found dead in a BMW from self inflicted gunshot wounds only a few blocks from the Islamic center of San Diego. There was hate speech involved in their writings. There was a gas can with an SS sticker on it. And the families of the mosque workers are pushing back and making sure that everyone understands that this is a hate crime. But I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about the helpers. Every time something like this happens, something tragic, something terrible, something infuriating, I say look for the helpers. And there was the bravery of one security guard who was shot dead along with two other worshipers who must be recognized. The guard was Amin Abdullah and he was a father of eight, according to the Council on American Islamic Relations in San Diego. He was heroic. He stood up for others. They described him as the nicest man you'll ever meet. The mosque described him as a courageous man who put himself on the line for the safety of others, who even in his last moments did not stop protecting our community. There's a family without a father today. There's a community without a leader. But there are lives saved because Amin Abdullah stepped forward and showed the true heroism that is required when times get the toughest. There's an online fundraiser for him that's raised over a million six so far and counting. I'll link to it in the show notes. I encourage you to step up and help. Times are tough out there, folks. We have to look for the helpers. But we also have to fight hate speech against our Muslim brothers and sisters, against our Jewish brothers and sisters, against our trans brothers and sisters. There is no place for hate in America because it's not just killing our countrymen, it's dividing our nation. It's making us less safe and has our enemies celebrating. Our enemies are celebrating. All right. There's a different kind of celebrating happening today. There is a deal in the Long Island Railroad strike. It lasted about three days. The Long Island Railroad has reached an agreement with the mta, which runs the LIRR here in New York. This is the nation's busiest communal railroad. A three day strike busted up travel for hundreds of thousands of people. If you live in the Tri State area, you know how big this was. There was also the Yankees, Mets subway series. There's a Knicks game going on. But the union was in a very strong position, especially with Kathy Hochul saying she stands with the working class and Mamdani sympathetic to what's happening on the part of unions. But an election year in the summer, when it gets hot before the World cup was a good time for the union to strike and they did. They haven't had a pay raise in a while. The details of the agreement are still being ratified. The union was asking for a 5% raise. The MTA said anything more than 3% would set a precedent. We will find out what the truth is there, but I think it's a victory for workers. It's definitely a victory for the Tri State area with the Knicks plan tonight. And it's another example of how you have to stay focused on the politics, especially in an election year. Let's go even further below the radar. History might be repeating itself because the last year that the LIRR workers went on strike was the year the Knicks won the Eastern Conference finals. My New York knicks. On Sunday, May 22, 1994, the Knicks beat the Bulls87.77, game seven. And on June 17, Long Island Railroad workers went on strike. Hey, I'll take any good omens I can get because tonight the Knicks open at the Garden against the Cavs. More on that in a second. But the politics and sports and culture are all intersecting. And now as we go into the summer and things get hot, we got to stay cool and we got to stay vigilant, all right? Independent candidates are moving the needle and they are the needle. Last night here in New York City, I met dozens of Them from all across America. We brought people together as we will once a month here in New York City and in Los Angeles, try to help them raise support, help them get media, help them meet each other and help them raise money, because they are fighting the forces of partisanship and monopoly and oppression and division, and they are up against some serious odds. What I continue to hear from these candidates is how hard it is just to get on the ballot. So remember, when you're donating to an independent candidate, you're not just donating to that candidate. You're donating on behalf of yourself to give us all a seat at the table. Too often people say that, oh, independents just slant one way or the other. They're really just Democrats or they're really just Republicans. No, they really usually only have two options. And that will only change when we unite. We push back, and we get them on the ballot. It's a companion in our efforts to open ballot, to open primaries. We got to get them on the ballot. We need campaign finance reform. We need an infrastructure to support more independent candidates and especially independent veterans. As always, go to independentveteransofamerica.org if you're an independent veteran that wants to run, that wants to help, or just an American who thinks this is a good idea, check us out and we'll help you all stay vigilant. All right, let's talk sports. Wow, what a time of year in sports. I talk a lot about sports, in part because it brings people together and because hope is a form of resistance. And we need hope and unity and inspiration wherever we can get it. And man, game seven last night between the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres was amazing. A double overtime game. It was just harrowing. It was back and forth and back and forth and a heartbreaker for Buffalo as Montreal scored in overtime. But What a game 7. There is nothing like rooting for overtime playoff hockey. But damn, Buffalo, you guys never catch a break. Football can't start soon enough for you guys. And I will continue to root for you always. We now have our final four in hockey and in basketball. As predicted, OKC Oklahoma City vs San Antonio spurs was incredible. Another overtime game. A double overtime game. An absolute stunner. Victor Webeyama showed why he is the most exciting player in basketball, maybe the most exciting player in sports. 41 points, 24 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, one steal. And at one point, he pulled up and hit a 3 from the logo. I mean, it was absolutely unbelievable. He is the most dominant and disruptive player in a long time so fun to watch and easy to root for. And the future is here. The future of basketball is Victor Webeyama and the future of politics is independence. And we're all going to stay vigilant. All right. Finally on this Quick Fire Tuesday, I got some inspiration for you. There is always darkness and madness and anxiety and anger. But there's also hope out there. The same day that those teenagers did something dastardly and evil out in San Diego, three teenagers did something good in Florida. Three south Florida teenagers are being hailed as heroes after helping a man who is having a heart attack on the side of the road. Chris, play that clip for us, please.
- [19:30]
News Reporter
Three Florida teenagers are being hailed as heroes after helping an elderly man having a heart attack on the side of the road. The trio were at a nearby McDonald's and saw the 65 year old Diego Fernandez Delgado changing his tire on the side of the road and offered to help him. But the teens noticed something was off about Fernandez Delgado and called 91 1. They stayed with him until he was in the hands of paramedics. Fernandez Delgado was rushed to the hospital and underwent multiple procedures. He personally thanked the trio for saving his life when he recovered.
- [20:00]
Paul Rykoff
Now I always try to play the clips if we can. Sometimes there's rights issues but these three young men saw this man struggling, 68 year old man on the side of the road who was having a heart attack. They stopped, they helped him, they recognized that he needed help. They simply stopped and cared and showed up and called an ambulance and they saved his life. These are the young people that we need to escalate, we need to amplify and we need to celebrate because they are out there too. I believe that the young people are the future. From guys like this to Victor Webeyama, there are a lot of young people stepping up all across America to to answer the call, to meet the moment and show what true helpers are all about. They're inspiring us. They're out there. If you've got one, please share it with me. Hit me up on social media or in the show notes. You can also always leave a comment in our YouTube page. Let me know about helpers that you see out there. Forms of inspiration and help us all, even when it gets hot out there, stay vigilant. All right. We are daily, every day now I'm posting episodes usually between 5 and 8 in the evening. Look for us on YouTube. YouTube. If you watch cable news in the evening especially, check us out instead. It's a quick fire blast and you can do the dishes or go for a walk or do whatever you do while you listen to this show. Or you can watch it on YouTube. If you've got an older member of your family that's still hooked on the cable news madness, tell them to check us out. I think we got something for them and especially our conversations with some incredible folks over the last couple of years that I think can really help people understand why independent media is the Future. Go to IndependentAmericans US for more. As always, leave us a review if you can on Apple Podcasts and the comments are Open on our YouTube page where you can also get some merch. Get ahead of the game for Father's Day and help us continue to grow this movement. We also have tmi. Too much information. No. The Morning Independent. It's our newsletter, hitting inboxes every single day. Go to IndependentAmericans US linked in the show notes. It's free you and we will keep you up to date. You can start your day off with a blast of the latest news that I think is important and you'll catch up on the podcast if you missed it the night before. We are working to bust up the status quo, adding light to contrast the heat. And there's going to be a whole lot more heat, folks. So if you're now among the 45% of Americans who are independent, this is your show. Our independent movement bringing hope for the future. Country over party, people over politics, light over heat, challenges, status quo. And our movement is growing and bring in the hope. If you like this episode, share it far and wide with people in those states that have primaries today that can't vote. To all your friends in the primary states today that are pissed off that they can't vote, they should be pissed off and they should join 10,000 other Americans who leave the Republican and Democratic Party every week and declare their independence. So spread the word. Let them know about the show. Because we are fighting back and we are staying vigilant, my friends, because eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. No, you're not alone in your vigilance. We're all vigilant and we're all in this together. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. Thank you for tuning in to independent Americans. I will see you tomorrow. Happy Tuesday. Stay cool. Go Knicks. And stay vigilant, America. I'll see you on CNN and I'll see you tomorrow.
- [23:11]
Poet/Guest Performer
He tells me the left and right are dreams for those without a clue and when you wake it's time to
- [23:17]
Paul Rykoff
grow and it's not cool to believe
- [23:20]
Poet/Guest Performer
in school but if I can say one thing I've seen the children of the the revolution and the good trouble they can bring he says the red and blue are dead and independent is an attitude an island in the sea of rhetoric and I can left and right our dreams for those without a clue and when you wait it's time
- [23:41]
Paul Rykoff
to grow power by righteous media.