The Alliance Party After Dark

The Politics of LGBTQ with Ethan Michelle Ganz

Ethan Michelle Ganz joins us for a discussion about political issues affecting our LGBTQ community. Ethan Michelle was the Alliance Party candidate for the Houston, Texas City Council back in 2019. She advocates for diversity in our society, especially in light of pressure from both political and business interests.

Ethan Michelle is a nationally certified journeyman pipe-fitter, an intermediate rigger, a certified personal trainer, a sports nutrition specialist, and a water safety instructor.  She has an AA from Houston Community College in the Humanities, with a concentration in Global Studies, and she is all set to graduate from the University of St. Thomas this year with a BA in Political Science, minor in International Studies, and a concentration in Law and Policy. Her senior thesis focuses on the effect of political rhetoric on people’s thoughts and emotions.

Jonathan Etheridge Discusses Gun Violence

Gun violence has been in the news far too much this year, and the debate over what to do about it has tragically descended into partisan shouting matches. The Alliance Party does take a position on gun violence, but without all the shouting. Our approach is based on careful analysis of the data combined with a whole-of-society approach to solving this deadly issue.

Listen in as Jonathan Etheridge, the Alliance Party's National Chair, walks through our proposed solutions and explains the details in a way that is both easy to understand and practical in its implementation.

Short Term Gain, Long Term Pain

Commentary: This week we feature a commentary on the price we all pay for short-term political thinking. 

New Branding and Messaging

The Alliance Party is rolling out new branding and messaging. We have a new tag line, a new pitch, and a vision that focuses on the future. And new colors! The Alliance Party’s National Chair, Jonathan Etheridge, and the Political Director, Tim Cotton, come together on this podcast to discuss background and motivation behind the new efforts for branding and messaging.

Looking Forward

In this Easter episode, we review a podcast from earlier this year, where Jim Rex, our prior National Chair, reviews 2020, but more importantly, talks about what's ahead in 2021.

The Alliance Party Manifesto - Revisited

This is a rebroadcast of a highly rated episode from June 7, 2020, where we talked with Jim Rex and Jonathan Etheridge about the Alliance Party's Manifesto. Though the positions of Jonathan and Jim have since changed, the Manifesto remains as strong and relevant as ever. Listen in as these two party leaders discuss the Manifesto and their vision of "America 2.0."

Roundtable Discussion with Mark Cardenas

Mark Cardenas, the Alliance Party’s Florida State Chair, joins Greg and Dan to discuss politics in Florida. Why does Florida get such a bad rap for being at the epicenter of political dysfunction in this nation? The answer is that there is a complex combination of factors, including a highly diverse set of voting blocks, each with their own priorities.

Reaching these diverse voting blocks has been a challenge for both parties, though for the time being, the Republicans have done a much better job of it. They have tuned into the chief concerns of the voting blocks and crafted messages that strongly resonate with voters’ largely religious values. The Democrats, on the other hand, can’t seem to get away from playing defense.

In the meantime, the debate over voting rights threatens to put Republicans on the wrong side of history, as they continue chipping away at voting rights using racially coded messaging, which may, in the long term, alienate the diverse voting blocks they need to win in Florida. All these factors present a good opportunity for the Alliance Party to make a strong showing in the state of Florida.

Post Election Discussion - Rebroadcast

It wasn't that long ago in terms of linear time, but so much has happened since the election in 2020. Listen in on this rebroadcast of a fairly popular episode of the Alliance Party After Dark as Michael Burger and Tim Cotton discuss the results of the 2020 election in terms of its effect on the nation as well as how the Alliance Party performed overall.

Gareth Fenley on Georgia Politics

Gareth Fenley, who works as a Coordinator for the Economic Justice Coalition and the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, drops by to talk about voter engagement in the state of Georgia. Recall that Georgia became the center of attention during the past election cycle. The state turned from red to blue, as they elected a Democrat for the White House and shifted the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

Much of this shift in political direction is the result of record turnout among minority groups in the state. These groups persevered through an environment that was designed to suppress their vote. The stunning success of minorities in this past election was based on the work of individual people, working through volunteer organizations to overcome difficulties and get out the vote. Does this mean that the fight for voting rights is over? Unfortunately, no. Far from it. The process of voter suppression continues, and in the wake of the 2020 election, many state legislatures are actively trying to change the rules to reassert mechanisms of voter suppression. So the work of organizations such as the Economic Justice Coalition and the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda remains critically important in preserving our democracy.

Gareth shares some of the lessons she’s learned during the 40+ years of advocating for voting rights, especially throughout the American South. She is an expert on organizing people at the ground level toward making a positive change in our democracy.

Medicine and Politics in the Age of COVID

This week we talk with the Wisconsin State Chair and retired medical doctor Michael White to get an update on COVID vaccination progress. Science and politics provide an interesting and often frustrating mix as we move toward eradicating the virus across the country and the world. Dr. White dives deep into some of the science behind the effort to defeat COVID while also paying attention to the human, economic and political cost this effort requires.