Resistor Vic Podcast

Let me know if you get it… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

The Supreme Court ruled some tariffs illegal. That doesn’t mean the damage disappears. Consumers won’t get refunds. Small businesses don’t magically reopen. But big corporations will likely fight to get paid back. That raises a bigger question: who really benefits when policies like this collapse? This video looks at what happens next, and who ends up footing the bill. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Real representation means more than speeches and photo ops. It means using every tool available to stand up for the people you represent.A new VA rule affecting disability evaluations was published today, and this is exactly the kind of moment where elected officials should be pushing for oversight and accountability.If they will not act, the public needs to remind them who they work for. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

I grew up when schools helped build real community. Parents knew each other, kids looked out for each other, and we understood we were responsible for the next generation. That feeling is slipping away, and our kids see it. This is a conversation about what we owe them and why strong public schools still matter. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

I wanted to take a minute just to say thank you.The response since I announced my campaign has been humbling, encouraging, and honestly energizing.We’re building something real together, and I appreciate every one of you who’s part of it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

I wanted Valentine’s Day to just be Valentine’s Day. But Parkland happened on that date. Then Uvalde. Then the children caught up in immigration enforcement. Then unanswered questions about abuse and accountability.This is about one thing: whether we actually protect children, or just say we do. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Less than 48 hours after I posted my announcement video, my opponent posted a ridiculous lie on Facebook saying I went after his family. I’m not a Schumer Democrat. I fight back.Please watch the video. If you want to help me bury his political career, go to vicmeyersfordemocracy.com (same as vic4hd47 and vicforcolorado) and look for the donate link. I’m asking for $6. The explanation is at the end of the video. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Campaign announcement video and next steps.I’m running for Colorado House District 47 because this moment calls for steady leadership, strong communities, and a commitment to democratic values. This campaign will focus on practical solutions, protecting our rights, and making sure people in this district are heard.Learn more or get involved:https://vicmeyersfordemocracy.com#Colorado #HD47 #ColoradoPolitics #VicMeyers #Democracy #StateHouse #CommunityFirst This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

In this video I pull back the curtain and look at who the real Ty Winter is and why he is unfit to represent me and my neighbors in the Colorado House.I’m sure I’ll be doing several more of these videos between now and Nov 3. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Retired fighter pilot Col. Jeff Pixley joined me for one of the best discussions I’ve had on the pod. He’s running against Tom Cole. If we’re going to come out of this attack on our Democracy with a chance of going forward, I hope this guy’s in Congress. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

I took a close look at HB 26-1048, the back to school sales tax holiday proposal. The headline promises relief, but the details show how limited the impact really is for families, schools, and small businesses in our district. This is about looking past political marketing and asking who policies actually help. This video focuses on my state representative but its emblematic of too many people holding elected office. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

When you look at the millions of dollars the billionaires are giving to Trump for his ‘special projects’ and ‘questionable investment schemes’, their probably bribes.At least that’s the most plausible explanation. Isn’t it?What if it’s not…. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

This piece isn’t about a personality or a punchline. It’s about the Kennedy Center as a federally owned national memorial and what it represents in American civic life. I walk through why this moment is about public institutions, cultural independence, and the role Congress plays in protecting spaces that belong to all of us.This is about looking past the surface story and seeing the system underneath it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

We all complain about Congress being broken. But when it’s our own Representative or Senator, we almost never admit they might be part of the problem. (not my opinion here, that’s what the data tells us)This piece is about accountability, not for “them,” but for us. For how we choose our leaders, how we excuse them, and how real change starts long before the next presidential race.No one gets a pass. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

The Constitution gives Congress the power to police itself — including the power to expel its own members. In this piece, I start with Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 and when that authority has been used in American history. Then I pose the question of why it’s not being used now when it should be. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

When the primaries are over, we can circle the wagons. But first we have to make sure we have the right wagons to circle.“Their hands are tied.”That’s the line I keep hearing from people defending Congressional Democrats who refuse to fight from the minority.So I went and read the rules.In this video, I walk through some specific House and Senate procedures that allow even a single member of Congress to force transparency, slow the process, and put executive power on the public record.It’s about making power visible, because transparency is often an inoculation against corruption.If you’ve ever found yourself excusing inaction, this is your invitation to look at what Congress can actually do. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

In 2014 I ran for Congress in Colorado CD4. In 2021 I was redistricted out. In 2031 I’ll probably be redistricted back in. It’s a pattern around here. It’s also why I care about who the congressional representative for that district is. Trisha Calvarese is a homegrown, working-class, proven Democrat who has done more for the district as a candidate and a staffer for the AFL-CIO than any actual Representative in the past 25 years. She’s helped bring jobs. She’s helped rural hospitals navigate grants to get ambulances. And she’s turning red voters blue.So I decided to make a video to endorse her in the primary. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

I didn’t rush to comment. I watched the statements. I watched the video. And I kept coming back to the same question.When does a right stop being a right and start becoming a permission?This piece is about more than one incident. It’s about whether constitutional rights still mean what we say they mean when power feels threatened, when protests get uncomfortable, and when the people using those rights aren’t convenient.This is a test. And it’s one we don’t get to fail quietly. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

This video uses a single word as a thread — ICE — and follows it across borders, policies, and people. From Ukraine’s frozen battlefields, to neglected infrastructure in the American South, to the question of due process and constitutional rights at home.It’s not a policy breakdown. It’s a reflection on what happens when politics grows cold.We need to remind the American people every day between now and Nov 3 that the Republicans are the party of I.C.E.I don’t know that I qualify as a poet, but I didn’t know how else to title the post. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Music has always been part of resistance — from the Underground Railroad to the civil rights movement to the digital platforms we use today.In this entry of Resistance Needs a Plan, I talk about why people in power try to control culture, why music has always been treated as a threat, and why sharing the right songs can help build something larger than any single voice.This post ends with an open invitation to artists who make music that challenges power or speaks to this moment. If that’s you, leave a comment. I’m opening space for artists on upcoming TikTok and YouTube livestreams.Once a week, share a protest song. Tag the artist. Let the circle grow.If the TikTok and YouTube lives are a success, then I’m going to do my first Substack live with two of the artists who play on the lives.Billy Simons Jr. provided the background music for this video. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Sandra Van Scotter is one of the Democrats running to unseat Vince Fong in what once was Kevin McCarthy’s congressional district. Is she a winning candidate in a heavy R district? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Another violent ICE encounter in Minneapolis. Another round of silence from the people who want to be president someday—but won’t lead today.This piece isn’t about party politics or campaign strategy. It’s about the absence of visible, vocal leadership when congressional Democrats pass DHS funding and the public is left asking who, if anyone, is willing to draw a line.The question isn’t who’s running. The question is who’s standing.I apologize in advance for the language. I didn’t plan this video out. I saw what happened and set up my camera and said how I felt. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

In this installment of Resistance Needs a Plan, I focus on something bigger than protests, moments, or viral calls to action. I talk about organized labor as an institution, one of the few remaining structures in American life that is still shaped and controlled by regular people instead of politicians and donors.This piece is about collective power, why showing up locally matters, and how protecting labor is also a way of protecting democracy itself. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

In Part 5 of Resistance Needs a Plan, I focus on the line that defines the difference between resistance and the very forces it opposes. Violence doesn’t just cause harm — it erodes legitimacy, weakens moral authority, and strengthens authoritarian narratives. This piece looks at why nonviolence is not passivity, but a strategic choice that preserves power, credibility, and the possibility of a democratic future. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

In Part 4 of Resistance Needs a Plan, I focus on the guardrails that make democracy work: institutions that slow down power, protect access to information, and create accountability. These aren’t abstract ideas — they’re people, rules, and systems that show up every day to keep things fair, open, and explainable. This piece looks at why those guardrails matter, how they weaken when we stop backing them up, and why defending them is a form of resistance in itself. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

In Part 3 of Resistance Needs a Plan, I shift from endurance and community to leverage. Resistance isn’t just about showing up — it’s about knowing where pressure actually works. This piece looks at why waiting for the next election may be waiting too long, why claims of powerlessness fall short, and how citizens can focus their energy on the institutions and leaders who still have the ability to act. Strategy matters. Direction matters. This is about pushing where it matters. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

This is Part Two of Resistance Needs a Plan.This piece focuses on community — not as a social nicety, but as a form of civic power. Movements that thrive on division depend on people feeling isolated and alone. Democratic culture survives when people know each other, support each other, and stay visible together.From families and local groups to clubs, teams, and everyday spaces, this episode explores how small connections form networks — and how those networks make people harder to silence and easier to stand with.Part Three will focus on how to use that power. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

This is Part One of Resistance Needs a Plan, a series of videos where I offer what I think is a better plan for moving forward than what we’ve been following so far. Some of it is about what we are already doing. Some of it is about what we need to do different. I hope you find it to be worth your time.This first piece focuses on something that often gets dismissed: self-care as a form of strategy. Systems that thrive on chaos and exhaustion don’t need to silence people if they can simply wear them down. Staying informed, staying connected, and staying motivated all begin with taking care of yourself.Part Two will move outward, from the individual to the community — and how building real connections strengthens democratic resistance. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve been trying to work on a series of videos all week. I’ve also been trying to get a decent night’s sleep since last week when Renee Good was murdered. Now I’m making myself late for work because I had to get this one out of my head.I’ll be back. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

I’m getting a resurgence of comments and emails asking “what can we do?” So I’m working on a series of videos to address the question. The first in the series is going to be about taking care of yourself in these troubling times. One of the ways to do this is to find a reason to laugh. That’s the primary reason for this video.Another reason for this video is, as I’ve stated before, authoritarians hate to be laughed at. My favorite protesters in the country are the frogs and unicorns in Portland. They’re using mockery to say, “we are not afraid of you.” I expect they’re also getting at least some of the ICEStapo thugs to actually think, even if only for a brief minute, about what they’re doing. If they only get one of them to quit, it’s worth it.I hope I give you at least a chuckle with this one. Let me know.Good DayP.S.I know there's nothing to laugh at with regard to the people ICE has hurt. Please don't take this as me making fun of them. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Victoria returned to the pod to update us on her campaign. We talked about that and what kind of people we need to be sending to Congress in an age where we have a government that openly assassinates law-abiding citizens in the street. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

There’s a familiar reaction that usually follows government violence in America.This time, it didn’t.In this piece, I talk about what was missing after the killing of Renée Good — and why noticing that absence matters more than any hot take. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Everyone has seen the Renee Good video.Almost no one has slowed it down.Sometimes the truth isn’t hidden.It’s just moving too fast to see.Depending upon your point of view. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

This is a short clip from my podcast.I recorded this after realizing that what we’re seeing right now — from government violence to expansionist rhetoric — isn’t just noise or distraction. It’s intent.I didn’t post a video immediately because anger isn’t strategy.This clip explains why.The full podcast episode will be available Monday. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Lately, I’ve been attracting a new audience — including trolls repeating very familiar talking points.That’s usually a sign that reach is growing and lines are being drawn.This channel believes in democracy, sovereignty, and the basic idea that invasion is wrong. I don’t debate that here. I state it plainly.Thanks for being part of this community — and for standing on principle.Slava Ukraine 🇺🇦 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Five years after January 6, the wound remains open. Not because we don’t know what happened — but because the truth is still being withheld. This piece examines the attack, the failures that followed, and why public pressure is the only path left to accountability. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Most people remember 1984 for Big Brother and surveillance.But there’s another lesson in Orwell’s book that feels disturbingly relevant right now — how power organizes itself around permanent conflict and shifting enemies when resistance fades.This piece isn’t about prediction or panic.It’s about recognizing patterns — and what happens when we ignore them.Once you see it, it’s hard to unsee it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

This video looks backward to understand what’s happening now.Iran was once a center of learning, culture, and religious coexistence before its democracy was overthrown and its future redirected by outside powers. The consequences of that decision shaped decades of conflict and resentment.Venezuela is in the news today, but the pattern feels familiar.This isn’t an argument about personalities or parties.It’s about history, power, and whether we ever remember how we got here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

A viral panic about a Post Office rule change turned out not to be much of a story at all.But the reaction to it says a lot about where we are right now. Journalism is failing. Social media is filling the gap. And fear spreads faster than facts.If we’re going to be the new Fourth Estate, we have to do better than outrage. We have to choose curiosity, verification, and accountability.Because the sky doesn’t have to be falling for democracy to be in danger. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

After posting my video on ACA subsidies and Medicare for All, I heard from a lot of you. Some supportive. Some critical. One very angry.This follow up is a clarification. Medicare for All is not just an expansion of today’s Medicare, and taking health care off employer balance sheets is not a gift to corporations. It’s about freeing workers, strengthening small businesses, and making monopolies less powerful. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

A short New Year reflection on fear, democracy, community, and gratitude — and the quiet, deliberate choices that keep the Resistance alive. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Health insurance didn’t suddenly become unaffordable.The Affordable Care Act slowed premium growth when its guardrails were enforced. But those guardrails were weakened, consolidation ran unchecked, and subsidies only delayed the inevitable.This is why the current spike was always coming — and why Medicare for All is the only healthcare system that can survive partisan politics. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Every year, there’s a story people like to tell about soldiers laying down their weapons on Christmas Eve. The most famous version didn’t happen in World War II, but during World War I in 1914, when exhausted soldiers along the Western Front stopped fighting for a night. There was also a smaller, lesser-known moment during World War II in 1944, in the middle of the Battle of the Bulge. This is a reflective look at two real Christmas Eve stories, and why they’ve stayed with us. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

This week on the Resistor Vic Podcast, I’m joined by Blythe Potter — an Army veteran, small business owner, and grassroots candidate running for Indiana Secretary of State.We talk about what that office actually does, why so many voters skip down-ballot races, and how election systems can quietly suppress participation without ever touching a voting machine. Blythe explains Indiana’s delegate system, straight-ticket voting, voter purges, and why voter education may be the most powerful reform tool we have.This isn’t a polished campaign ad. It’s a real conversation about what happens when regular people decide they’re done being ignored — and choose to step into the arena.If you’ve ever felt like politics happens around you instead of with you, this episode is worth your time. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Trump framed the $1,776 payment to service members as patriotic. Most analysis stopped at the funding source. This piece steps back and asks a different question: why 1776, and why now? Using inductive logic and historical context, this essay examines how symbols function, how meaning shifts, and why some choices deserve a closer look. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

In December of 1944, the 101st Airborne Division was surrounded at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.Facing overwhelming odds, the German command delivered a formal demand for surrender. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe’s response was a single word: Nuts.This piece isn’t about military heroics for their own sake. It’s about the quiet, human decision to refuse surrender when surrender is presented as inevitable — and why that kind of courage still matters. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Fear is one of the oldest tools in politics — and one of the most effective.This video provides an example to support what I said in yesterday’s video.In this piece, I walk through a new Colorado ballot initiative targeting fentanyl and show how fear is being used to sell a policy with enormous incarceration costs, predictable racial disparities, and little evidence it will actually solve the problem.This isn’t about denying the harm fentanyl causes. It’s about refusing to let fear override facts, accountability, and democratic judgment.When fear drives policy, the goal often isn’t safety. It’s power. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Fear has always been one of the most powerful political tools.It freezes people. It convinces them to stop acting. And eventually, it convinces them to stop participating.Franklin Delano Roosevelt warned Americans about fear in 1933, not because danger wasn’t real, but because fear itself could finish the job. Nearly a century later, that warning still matters.In this video, I talk about how fear is used to make people give up their power, why authoritarians depend on it, and why democracy doesn’t end when someone powerful decides it should, but when people decide it’s already gone.Leadership isn’t pretending everything is fine.It’s refusing to let fear make the decisions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe

Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of four felony counts and three misdemeanors related to breaching election security in Colorado.Yet Donald Trump and his allies are now claiming she’s innocent, abused by the system, or even “pardoned” — something a president has no authority to do for state crimes.In this video, I explain who Tina Peters is, what she actually did, why a jury from a heavily Republican county convicted her, and why more than 30 Republican election officials in Colorado said she violated her oath and deserved prosecution.This isn’t really about Tina Peters. It’s about how authoritarian movements attack elections, courts, and prisons to make Americans lose faith in democracy itself.As historian Timothy Snyder warns in On Tyranny, we must defend institutions. This is what that warning looks like in real time. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit resistorvic.substack.com/subscribe