The Alliance Party After Dark

Emily Conrad, Author of The Faithless

Emily Conrad, author of the book The Faithless? - The Untold Story of the Electoral College, talks about the electoral college and its “Faithless Electors.”

What is a faithless elector? Let’s start by examining your vote for POTUS. You may think you voted for a president in this past election, but no, your vote ultimately amounted to nothing more than strong advice. The real voting takes place after the general election, when 538 mostly unknown persons meet at state capitols in every state across the nation. These 538 people - known as electors - are the ones who actually cast the official votes for the president. But, will they actually cast their votes consistent with the will of the voters in their states? Well, by most state’s laws, they’re supposed to, but the law in this area has almost no teeth, and that being the case, some electors may decide to vote for someone else. When an elector casts his or her vote for someone other than the popular vote of the state, he/she is called a “faithless elector.” The term implies that the elector did not act in good faith.

Does this ever happen? Yes. Emily Conrad, in her recently published book, documents the faithless electors that participated in the 2016 election. She tells their stories in this book. And she tells the story of the Electoral College itself, including its history and why it’s getting a lot of criticism these days.

It’s a fascinating read that humanizes the story of the 2016 faithless electors and helps you understand their reasons and motivations for acting in a “faithless” manner. It doesn’t come from a sense of idealism; rather, it’s out of a profound sense of what is right for the people of their state and for the people of our country.

Click here for a link to Emily’s book.

Emily Conrad graduated summa cum laude with a triple major in economics, German and Spanish, and the distinction of Phi Beta Kappa. She completed a Master of Law in China studies with a focus in international relations at Peking University in Beijing, China, where she was a Yenching Academy fellow. The Faithless? is her first book.

Ralph Nader

This is a rebroadcast of an interview with Ralph Nader from January 26, 2020. In this podcast, Ralph drops by and talks about the many contributions that political third parties have made throughout our nation’s history. He also discusses at length the difficulties third parties encounter when trying to break through the barriers that the duopoly has erected to protect their turf. Mr. Nader - an attorney, activist, politician and author of several books and countless articles - ran for US President several times, and now he freely shares his experiences and wisdom with the Alliance Party. He hosts a weekly podcast, “The Ralph Nader Radio Hour,” which you can find at ralphnaderradiohour.com. Also, in December 2019, he and co-author Mark Green published a book entitled “Fake President - Decoding Trump’s Gaslighting, Corruption and General BS.” Be sure to tune in for an interesting and highly informative episode!

You can tune into Ralph Nader's own podcast called "The Ralph Nader Radio Hour," wherever you get your podcasts.

Energy Policy

The team at the Alliance Party After Dark discusses energy and environmental policy. With a new presidential administration about to come online in January, there's concern over whether they will be influenced more by the Green New Deal or by the forces of "Business As Usual." The Green New Deal may appear fairly idealistic and festooned with a lot of unrelated progressive ideas, yet it does serve as a canvas upon which to begin constructing a new path forward into an energy efficient and fair economy. But will it actually make a positive difference in our lives? It's hard to say, but it's certainly a great and timely topic to discuss during this transitional time.

Election Review

This week we briefly review how well the Alliance Party performed in the recent election. The Alliance Party had a presidential candidate this year as well as a number of “down-ballot” elections in South Carolina, Minnesota and the state of Washington. We go over the numbers in this podcast.

We also talk briefly about Senator Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette, a legendary Wisconsin senator from 1906 to 1925. Specifically, we review one of his speeches about the excesses of business and its interference in government, which - sad to say - is still relevant 100 years later.

Independence Party of New York’s State Chair Frank MacKay

Frank MacKay, Chairman of the Independence Party of New York talks about the Independence Party and its history and influence in New York State politics, as well as politics for the entire nation.

Frank has a very active career in public relations, entertainment and politics spanning four decades and encompassing a diversity of disciplines. Back in 1985, at the age of 18, he published his first music production called “Network”, which quickly became a hit among music business insiders, musicians and their fans. Over the next decade, Frank built a significant following in the music industry as a band and club promoter, and by the time he was 25, he had launched three nightclubs known as Dr. Shay’s and managed entertainers such as Criss Angel and CJ Ramone.

On the political front, back in 1992, Frank became active in Ross Perot’s third party presidential run. He was always a student of politics, and early in his career in entertainment he helped club-goers register to vote by the thousands. In 1995, he became a key organizer in the Independence Party of New York and active in third party politics. By the year 2000, at the age of 32, Frank became the youngest State Chairman of a political party in New York State history, and has since been elected as State Chair of the Independence Party of New York. The Independence Party has grown significantly under his leadership, and has now joined forces with the Alliance Party.

Currently, Frank hosts “Breaking it Down,” a leading celebrity radio and podcast talk show, which is nationally syndicated and has a faithful following of thousands of listeners.

Post Election Discussion

This evening we talk with Michael Burger, National Vice Chair of the Alliance Party, and Tim Cotton, the National Political Director. We discuss several topics related to the 2020 election. For example, how did the Alliance Party perform in this election, at all levels of the ballot? And where did we end up as a nation? Are both the Democrats and Republicans out of touch with the real America? And is America ready for a third party insurgence? These topics and more are brought into a very interesting conversation with some of the top experts within the Alliance Party organization.

Alliance Party State Chairs Discuss the Upcoming Election

Join Alliance Party state chairs for Minnesota, Florida and Missouri as they discuss topics related to the upcoming national election. Topics include campaign messages, state ballot issues, proposed changes in voting methods, the Supreme Court and thoughts on where our country is headed.

A Pre-Election Update on the Alliance Party

This evening, we hear from the Alliance Party National Chair, Jim Rex, and the Alliance Party Vice Chair, Michelle Griffith. As we close in on the all-important election of 2020, it’s important that we get an update from the top of the party and a look ahead, beyond the election, toward what we hope is a bright future for all of America.

A Voting Rights Town Hall from the ACLU

This week we re-broadcast a “Voting Rights Town Hall,” which was presented by the ACLU on October 14, 2020. This town hall features the Executive Director of the ACLU, Anthony D. Romero, and his discussion with former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. The topic of the discussion is “Voting in a pandemic, what’s at stake for civil liberties, and concrete actions you can take to stay involved through Election Day.”

During the one-hour town hall, former Attorney General Holder and Director Romero discuss the history of disenfranchisement, particularly for Black voters, the ACLU's efforts to expand access to voting by mail in this election, and how we can fight future efforts to suppress the vote by influencing the redistricting process in state jurisdictions.

Betsy Wright Hawkings and Erica Hoffman

This week we talk with two people - Betsy Wright Hawkings - who has been chief of staff for numerous members of Congress, and Erica Hoffman - a Missouri state legislative candidate running on the Democratic ticket against a Republican incumbent.

Betsy has been chief of staff for four members of Congress, giving her deep insight to the inner workings of our federal government. The years she spent on "The Hill" has given her deep insight into the inner workings of congress. She knows how things work, and how they don't work. She spends time with us this evening to not only describe the problems that extreme polarization and hyperpartisanship, but to talk about how we may fix our system and make it work for the people again.

Erica is currently running for the Missouri 96th district House of Representatives. As a Democrat, she is challenging a Republican incumbent. She is a former school teacher who advocates heavily for educational issues. She's also very involved in several environmental issues, including the fight against the detrimental influence that CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) have on state politics. These CAFOs - also known as "Factory Farms" - are allowed to pollute our land and water, almost with impunity, even though they produce several more times the bio-waste than humans. Erica speaks very plainly and openly about the problems we face, not only locally in Missouri, but in the nation as a whole, and what she intends to do about them.

An inspiring intermission message is provided thanks to Dennis Merritt Jones.