344. Live From DC. The Independent Center’s Independent Voice Conference. Hear From Independent Candidates for Office From Around the Country Featuring: Idaho’s Todd Achilles, California’s Ethan Penner and Tennessee’s Khalil Ekulona.

Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

Righteous Media | Bleav

Veteran, Daily News, National Security, Politics, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 907 Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What’s it like behind the scenes of the independent movement? What does the future look like and who will be the candidates that emerge as leaders of the movement? They’re important questions we’ve explored now for years and this week we’ve got a rare opportunity to share with you, the true independent Americans.This week, our host Paul Rieckhoff (@PaulRieckhoff) was joined by past guest and independent veteran candidate for Senate from Idaho Todd Achilles, California candidate for Governor Ethan Penner, and Tennessee’s Khalil Ekulona for a discussion about what the future of the movement looks like and how it will take shape. It was part of a fascinating day of panel discussions featuring leaders from Forward Party, Veterans for All Voters and many other leading organizations in the independent space as well as a session with Joe Manchin and his daughter, former Colorado Congressman Ken Buck and many other notable speakers. The event was organized by our good friends at the Independent Center and was hopefully the first of many conversations like this. Not everyone that was there agreed about how to approach the challenges of the future, but we all agree on one thing. Independents are the future. And this event was in part about independents planting a flag in Washington DC and claiming what is rightfully all of ours. The movement is young and growing, and these are the kind of events that can prove historic. And these are the kind of leaders that can make history. Because Independent Americans is built on the Righteous Media 5 Is: independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact. And this episode has it in spades. Independent Americans is your trusted place for independent news, politics, inspiration and hope. It’s the truth beyond the headlines–and light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It’s built for the 49% of Americans that proudly call themselves independent and we’re proud to stand with you. -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. -NEW! Watch the video version of the entire podcast here. -Check the hashtag #LookForTheHelpers. And share yours. -Find us on social media or www.IndependentAmericans.us. And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch. -Check out other Righteous podcasts like The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra, Uncle Montel - The OG of Weed and B Dorm. Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Power by Righteous Media.
0:16.1	Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 344. I'm your host, Paul Reichoff. I am coming to you from the nation's capital with a very special live episode that we just finished taping here in Washington with our friends at the Independent Center. You're going to hear from two independent candidates, one for Senate, one for governor, and another one that
0:39.2	might run from Tennessee. But it's an exclusive look inside our independent movement. I was honored
0:44.3	to moderate it. We had folks like Senator Mansion, lots of former congressmen. We had our friend
0:50.0	Todd Achilles, who was just on independent Americans, and folks from across the independent
0:54.2	movement unifying for a couple of hours here in Washington. We are bringing our independent
0:59.1	movement nationwide and to the nation's capital. I'm going to take you inside this event that
1:03.8	just finished here at the independent center in Washington. Check it out. Please continue to spread
1:08.6	the word. Go to independent Americans.U.S. for more and know that this summer, our independent movement is continuing to grow.
1:16.6	And we are making some noise, especially here in Washington. And pretty soon, more and more of us will be serving inside that capital.
1:24.3	Stay vigilant, folks. Thank you for having us. Thank you to folks in the
1:37.0	Independent Center. My name is Paul Reichoff. I'm the host of the Independent
1:41.6	Americans podcast. We started about five years ago talking about the independent
1:45.9	movement, and I've had conversations with folks from all sides. And recently, last year,
1:51.8	started to meet the independent candidate series, where we talked to independent candidates
1:56.0	all the way up from Dan Osborne down to the local level in rural Texas to try to elevate
2:01.5	the voices of leaders from across our movement. I also started a group last year called
2:06.7	Independent Veterans of America that is designed to recruit, support, and elect independent
2:12.1	veterans to public office. We've been 11 candidates last year. We've got over 300 who are
2:17.1	interested in running this year and next.
2:19.6	So we really feel like veterans especially are at the tip of the spear for our independent movement.
2:24.9	Maybe most powerfully because it's easy to understand what they stand for.
	...

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