The Rational Republican

The Rational Republican

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Promoting individual liberty and conservative principles while rejecting hatred and divisiveness.

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105 episodes

Measure 110

On this episode we welcome back Frank Patka who has experienced the criminal justice system first hand, and is working to help other formerly incarcerated people integrate back into society.

57m
Mar 14
Dave Drotzmann for SD29

Dave Drotzmann is the current mayor of Hermiston and candidate for Senate District 29.

48m
Feb 10
Brent Clapp for county commission

On the second episode of our Eastern Oregon trip, we speak with Brent Clapp who is the owner of EOAlive Media and candidate for county commission.

50m
Dec 23, 2023
EOU

James and Nick welcome Calvin Bennett on the first of two Eastern Oregon podcasts. Calvin is the ASB President at Eastern Oregon University, and a Young Republican.

49m
Dec 09, 2023
Commissioner Ben West

Commissioner Ben West returns to talk about Clackamas County and the ORP Platform Convention which he attended recently.

56m
Nov 25, 2023
Israel & Palestine

On this episode we welcome 2 guests: Alex McHaddad and Reagan Knopp. Alex is the former treasurer of the Oregon Republican Party and has part Palestinian heritage. Reagan is a political consultant and twitter personality with some experience in Israel.

1h 4m
Nov 04, 2023
Andy Huwe for SD29

Andy Huwe joins James and Nick to talk about his run for Senate District 29. We end up talking infrastructure and good governance in addition to issues facing northeast Oregon.

48m
Sep 30, 2023
PAC-12 or PAC-2?

In this episode we take a break from your normally scheduled political podcasting to talk about the dissolution of the PAC-12 Conference. Jeff Stone joins us as this will be his 51st season making the trek from Portland to Autzen Stadium.

52m
Sep 02, 2023
Commissioner Todd Nash

Commissioner Nash is currently serving as County Commissioner for Wallowa County, he is the President of the Cattlemen's Association, and he has announced his candidacy for Senate District 29. Learn more at votetoddnash.com

48m
Jul 22, 2023
Texas 101

James and Nick welcome Tony McDonald who is intimately involved in Texas GOP politics and we had a fun conversation comparing and contrasting a Blue state with a Red state.

45m
Jul 01, 2023
Climate with CCL

James and Nick welcome Eric and Bernard from Citizens Climate Lobby, a climate group who are "ok with nuclear" and don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

53m
Jun 17, 2023
Dorchester 2023

Come to Dorchester 2023 on April 28 and 29! Email james@jamesaball.com for the registration link.

57s
Mar 31, 2023
UBI and news roundup

James and Nick discuss the pending legislation to give all homeless persons $1,000 per month and UBI in general. Also, how to fix Portland's myriad problems.

47m
Mar 17, 2023
The Death Penalty

In the wake of Gov. Brown commuting the sentence of many death-row inmates, we brought on Xander Almeda to talk about her decision and about the death penalty in general.

45m
Jan 14, 2023
Fracking and alternative energy

Stephen Lloyd is the chair of the Young Republicans of Oregon, former chair of the Multnomah County Republican Party, and nearly 10-year veteran of the oil & gas industry. In this episode we talk with Stephen about fracking, nuclear, and the environmental impact of energy extraction.

56m
Dec 17, 2022
Ben West, Clackamas County Commissioner elect

Ben West is the recently elected Clackamas County Commissioner. He currently serves as a city councilor for the city of Wilsonville and was the rising-star award recipient at Dorchester 2022.

55m
Dec 03, 2022
November 2022 Election Post Mortem

James and Nick welcome back Alex McHaddad, treasurer of the Oregon GOP and friend of the pod to talk about the November 2022 election and how it went for Republicans. Disappointed with the Governor's race? We are too, but there is reason to be optimistic about Oregon voters' choices in this past election.

54m
Nov 20, 2022
Jason Fields for HD26

Jason Fields, the Republican candidate for House District 26 is our favorite kind of candidate to have on this podcast: moderate, thoughtful, and decisive. Some might call him a "rational" Republican (cue rimshot). Nick couldn't make it this time, so pretend he made a couple TV references and you should be good to go.

45m
Oct 29, 2022
George Carrillo - Former Democratic Candidate for Governor

George Carrillo is a former candidate for Governor in Oregon who has publicly endorsed Republican Christine Drazan. We talk about why he made that decision as well as some inside baseball from a long-time Executive Branch employee.

47m
Oct 15, 2022
Rich Vial for SD18

James and Nick welcome former Representative and former Secretary of State Rich Vial to talk about his run for Senate District 18 as a non-affiliated candidate. We also talk Betsy Johnson and how to mend the political divide in Oregon.

54m
Oct 01, 2022
Jeff Helfrich for HD52

Jeff Heflrich joins James and Nick as the Republican candidate for State House district 52. Jeff is a Veteran, former police officer, and held this seat from 2017-2019.

47m
Sep 17, 2022
Tim LeMaster, Candidate for HD43

James and Nick welcome Tim LeMaster, a fellow Veteran who is running for House District 43. Tim is passionate about making his community better and helping those in his district.

48m
Aug 29, 2022
Dobbs v. Jackson

James and Nick talk about the fallout from Dobbs v. Jackson which overturned Roe v. Wade.

44m
Aug 07, 2022
Kori Haynes for HD39

James and Nick welcome Kori Haynes who is the Republican candidate for HD39 and her guest Courtneigh Swerzbin to talk about the the race and what's going on in our public schools. Bonus: what do David Duke and PPS have in common? Skip to the 41 minute mark for the answer.

51m
Jul 16, 2022
CAPT Greg Wooldridge

CAPT Wooldridge is a 27-year Navy Veteran who commanded the Blue Angels on three separate occasions. He is currently a prolific public speaker and in 2018 made an attempt at running for Governor of Oregon.

44m
Jul 02, 2022
May 2022 Primary Post-Mortem

James and Nick dig deep into the election results from the May 2022 Primary election. Political nerds welcome!

59m
Jun 06, 2022
Cheri Helt, candidate for BOLI

Cheri Helt is a small business owner and former State Legislator who is running for the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) which is probably the least-known statewide elected office, but as with any office, the position has a meaningful impact on our lives.

42m
May 15, 2022
Vance Day, Candidate for Appellate Court

Judge Day is former Chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, and is running for Appellate Court. This is the first time in many years where an incumbent Judge has a credible challenger, so we were excited to talk with Judge Day to hear about it first hand.

53m
May 02, 2022
Water Use

James and Nick welcome Lyndon Kerns, delegate from the Klamath County Republicans and whose family has been farming the Klamath basin for over 100 years. Learn more about the community's struggles at https://www.farmwater.org/food-security-and-water/

41m
Apr 16, 2022
Alex McHaddad former Chair of the Union County GOP

James and Nick welcome Alex McHaddad, former Chair of the Union County GOP. Alex is also the treasurer for the Oregon Young Republicans and candidate for ORP Treasurer.

47m
Mar 27, 2022