In this Election Day episode of Giving Ventures, Peter transcends the political noise with a series of interviews on the long-term work of engaging ordinary Americans to advance free-market, limited-government policies.
In today’s polarized America, the major political parties and even words like “conservative” and “libertarian” can feel off-putting to millions of Americans who nonetheless hold sympathy for limited-government policies. Advancing the cause of freedom means tapping into the common sense of these Americans and engaging them to set a new agenda in Washington.
Peter interviews a trio of guests who work to do just that in this episode. First, renowned pollster Scott Rasmussen describes the recently formed Napolitan Institute’s efforts to accurately poll ordinary Americans in order to lift up their voices in the halls of power so they can’t be ignored. Scott is a leading public opinion pollster and president of RMG Research. He founded the Napolitan Institute to amplify the common-sense voice of the American people.
Next, Adam Brandon casts the vision of his new organization, the Independent Center, which aims to engage the 40% of Americans caught between the major political parties and recenter the political narrative on these folks’ classical liberal values. Before launching the Independent Center, Adam was the president of FreedomWorks, a grassroots organization that championed free markets and limited government until it was dissolved earlier this year.
Finally, Christian Robey of Our America explains the need to get beyond buzzwords and broaden the pro-freedom coalition by tapping into disaffected young people and minorities who aren’t typically included in the conservative coalition. Christian is president and CEO of Our America and previously served as vice president at Media Research Center.
Amplifying the voice of the people
The American system of government was designed to call upon the wisdom of the people to hold elected officials accountable. But, Scott Rasmussen notes, “the views of the American people are misrepresented in public dialogue” today.
The political narrative is set by elites who are out of step and out of touch with what ordinary Americans believe. Scott explains that three groups tend to drive the agenda in Washington and drown out the wisdom of the people: those who hold post-graduate degrees, those who reside in densely populated urban areas, and those who earn more than $150,000 per year.
The people who straddle all three groups make up the elite one percent and exert undue influence on our political decision-making process. While Americans by and large adhere to our Founding values, the elite one-percent “thinks the country would be better off if we were ruled by experts who are insulated from voters.”
In order to empower the American people, Scott and the folks at Napolitan work to accurately poll the electorate so the elites in Washington can see an unbiased account of what the people really think.
Engaging the classically liberal middle
After the closure of FreedomWorks earlier this year, Adam Brandon has launched an organization for the new era in order to “talk beyond the choir” of the conservative base. Whereas FreedomWorks aimed its efforts at the Reaganite coalition of fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, and champions of military strength, the Independent Center is looking to engage millennials.
While millennials still have a reputation as the twenty-somethings, these Americans are having kids, buying houses, and climbing the corporate ladder. They are also the generation who will have to face the consequences of our ballooning national debt. These are folks who care about long-term economic stability but hold to a more “live-and-let-live” attitude on social issues.
But pro-choice, pro-border-wall voters, for example, don’t have a home in either major party today. They are the swing voters who determine our election outcomes and fall in the middle 40% that’s caught between the Democrats and the Republicans.
But Adam sees opportunity in this politically homeless middle. “We’re trying to make classical liberal values the center of American politics,” he says. One of the hallmarks of this approach is playing the long game by looking beyond the “battle” of the next election and trying to win the “war” on out-of-control government spending. In 2026 and beyond, the Independent Center will be working to make spending a major issue for millennial voters.
Broadening the coalition
“Conservative” probably isn’t the label that comes to mind when you think about politically active young people and minorities. But Christian Robey sees untapped potential. His organization, Our America, aims to grow the broader conservative movement by dropping the buzzwords and connecting with these Americans on shared patriotism and policy goals.
As demographics change and younger people step into the center of American politics, conservatives and libertarians need to broaden their coalitions and cast a wider net. But Our America’s research gives cause for some surprising hope: While young people and minorities are hesitant to embrace labels like “libertarian” or “conservative,” they do share some core values and policy priorities with these movements.
Our America focuses on five fundamental issues where members of these communities have much in common with the broader conservative movement—even if these folks don’t like the Republican brand and aren’t ready to embrace the conservative label. These are fully funding the police, locking up violent criminals, reducing the size of government to control inflation, securing freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and protecting the integrity of our elections with photo ID requirements.
People are disaffected by both parties, Christian notes, but they agree that America is an exceptional country and are hungry for policies to keep their neighborhoods safe and their freedoms secure.
