InfluenceWatch Podcast

Episode 33: The IRS Protects Free Speech?! (w/ guest Luke Wachob!)

July 19th, 2018  |  45 mins 48 secs

Today we're joined by Luke Wachob of the Institute for Free Speech to discuss the battle to protect anonymous political speech. This week the Treasury Department announced a victory that helps protect anonymity in IRS reporting, in an example of how small regulation changes can hugely protect freedom.

Episode 32: The Democratic Socialists of America

July 12th, 2018  |  35 mins 49 secs

alexandria ocasio-cortez, bernie sanders, communism, democrat, democratic party, democratic socialists of america, dsa, socialism

Is socialism the Tea Party of the Left? With the win of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her establishment Democrat opponent, it seems so. We discuss her victory and the rapidly growing socialist group she's a member of, the Democratic Socialists of America.

Episode 31: Fighting for the First Amendment (w/ guest Lori Windham!)

July 5th, 2018  |  41 mins 3 secs

abortion, becket fund, becket law, christian, conservative, constitution, first amendment, free speech, influence watch, janus, legal, libertarian, masterpiece cake shop, nifla, pro-life, religious liberty, supreme court

Today we're joined by Lori Windham of Becket Law (@BecketLaw), who helps go behind the curtain of June's First Amendment Supreme Court victories, including protecting the religious free speech of Christian cake bakers and pro-life crisis pregnancy centers.

Episode 30: The War to Replace Justice Kennedy

June 28th, 2018  |  47 mins 45 secs

alliance for justice, american constitution society, anthony kennedy, conservative, courts, demand justice, donald trump, federalist society, influence watch, judicial crisis network, judicial nomination, judiciary, justice kennedy, law, libertarian, president trump, robert bork, supreme court, supreme court justice, trump

The swing vote on the Supreme Court, Justice Anthony Kennedy, has decided to resign, providing President Trump with the monumental opportunity to cement a conservative majority on the court. But will the Democrats let it happen? Will Republicans be able to come together to pick a replacement? We explain how the war will play out, and the activists on both sides.

Episode 29: Obama's Favorite "Capitalists"

June 21st, 2018  |  45 mins 34 secs

capitalism, conservative, corporatism, crony capitalism, dow jones, free market, general electric, libertarian, obama, policy, public policy, regulations, special interests, subsidies

Dubbed the "for-profit arm of the Obama administration," General Electric has vigorously pursued government subsidies and regulations, and got much of what they wanted from the previous administration. Now, the company has been delisted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Episode 28: Supreme Court Protects Fair Elections!

June 14th, 2018  |  38 mins 56 secs

a phillip randolph institute, afl-cio, conservative, elections, funders committee, husted, ohio, politics, supreme court, voter fraud, voting

The Supreme Court voted 5-4 in Husted v. A Phillip Randolph Institute to uphold the State of Ohio's procedure for determining how to remove the names of relocated or dead registered voters from electoral rolls, helping ensure fair and accurate elections.

Episode 27: Supreme Court Won't Bake the Cake!

June 7th, 2018  |  44 mins 19 secs

aclu, adf, alliance defending freedom, american civil liberties union, bake the cake, christian, colorado civil rights commission, conservative, first amendment, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, gay wedding, libertarian, masterpiece cakeshop, religious liberty, supreme court, wedding cake

The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 for Masterpiece Cakeshop against Colorado Civil Rights Commission in the famed case of a Christian baker being sued for refusing to make a custom designed cake for a gay wedding. But will this ruling last? And who is responsible for taking the case this far?

Episode 26: Elon Musk's Crony Capitalism

May 31st, 2018  |  35 mins 26 secs

capitalism, corruption, elon musk, free market, labor union, libertarian, politics, space x, spacex, subsidies, tesla, tesla motors, uaw, unions, united auto workers

Elon Musk battles against corrupt unions, but his and Tesla Motors' practices are hardly clean themselves; Musk's businesses are hugely reliant are government subsidies that take from the American people for the benefit of private industry.

Episode 25: Planned Parenthood's Sins

May 24th, 2018  |  44 mins 28 secs

abortion, donald trump, federal funding, margaret sanger, planned parenthood, president trump, pro choice, pro life, pro-choice, pro-life, title ten, title x, trump administration

Last week, the Trump administration announced it would cut off some federal funding to Planned Parenthood. This has triggered the Left to respond with outrage. We go over the history of Planned Parenthood and their funding.

Episode 24: Local Union Scams

May 17th, 2018  |  42 mins 18 secs

afl-cio, amazon, big labor, business, card check, city officials, cronyism, government, head tax, independent contractor, influence watch, jobs, labor council, labor unions, left-wing, neutrality agreements, progress alliance of washington, real change, seattle, seiu, seiu 775nw, special interests, taxes, transit riders union, union loophole, unions

Local unions regularly manipulate their cronies in government to enact unfair policies for their own benefit. We detail such union scams across the country, with a special focus on a local union supported “head tax” preventing Amazon from expanding in Seattle.

Episode 23: Kochs on Campus

May 10th, 2018  |  38 mins 19 secs

academia, aft, american federation of teachers, billionaires, campus, campus politics, center for media and democracy, charles koch, charles koch foundation, ckf, cmd, college, dark money, david koch, greenpeace, influence, koch, koch brothers, koch industries, libertarian, money in politics, university, unkoch, unkoch my campus

Left-wing UnKoch My Campus activists are dedicated to having universities reject the Koch Brothers' academic donations. But UnKoch has made numerous untrue accusations, has ties to George Soros' network, and is funded by its own special interest donors.

Episode 22: Sexual Harassment at the Left's PR Firm

May 3rd, 2018  |  41 mins 51 secs

afl-cio, benton strong, buzzfeed, cap, cap action, center for american progress, center for american progress action fund, clinton, democrat, democratic party, don sosnik, employer mandate, george soros, harold ickes, hillary clinton, john podesta, neera tanden, podesta group, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, terry mcauliffe, thinkprogress, tom daschle, tony podesta, walmart

We detail the sexual harassment scandal at the Left's most powerful think tank, the Center for American Progress, and the many other scandals in the group's history.

Episode 21: New York's Left in Disarray

April 26th, 2018  |  39 mins 20 secs

acorn, afl-cio, andrew cuomo, ballot line, bill de blasio, communications workers of america, cynthia nixon, democrat, democratic party, labor unions, local 1, local 32bj, make the road new york, movement for black lives, new york, new york communities for change, new york state, retail wholesale department store union, seiu, united federation of teachers, working families organization, working families party

New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo got a shock when the left-wing Working Families Party, important in his previous election, instead endorsed his primary opponent actress Cynthia Nixon. This race is representative of the splits riling the modern Left.

Episode 20: The Left Comes For Your Cars

April 19th, 2018  |  41 mins 14 secs

al iacobelli, alliance of automobile manufacturers, automobiles, cafe, car, car buyers, carmakers, cars, chrysler, detroit, environmental protection agency, environmentalists, eta, fiat chrysler, ford, fuel economy, fuel mileage, general motors, gm, honda, labor unions, manufacturer, nafta, natural resources defense council, sierra club, suv, uaw, union of concerned scientists, united auto workers

Environmentalists, labor unions, and other activists are working together to make driving your car more expensive. And the corrupt United Auto Workers sells out their workers in exchange for bribes from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles executives.

Episode 19: Leftist Attacks & How to Win (with guest Bill Meierling!)

April 12th, 2018  |  42 mins 54 secs

alec, american legislative exchange council, center for media and democracy, chick-fil-a, cmd, color of change, common cause, conservative, conservative censorship, democracy alliance, discrimination against conservatives, human rights campaign, kevin williamson, libertarian, media matters for america, mmfa, national review, the atlantic, ultraviolet

Special guest Bill Meierling of the American Legislative Exchange Council, which has suffered intense and coordinated left-wing attacks, helps us run down the tactics the left uses to marginalize their opponents and how to fight back in light of the recent firing of Kevin D. Williamson from The Atlantic.

Episode 18: Teachers Unions & Power Over Taxpayers

April 5th, 2018  |  48 mins 28 secs

aft, american federation of teachers, democracy alliance, labor, national education association, nea, oklahoma, public finances, strike, taxpayers, teacher unions, teachers, unions, west virginia

Teachers unions strike for higher pay in Oklahoma and West Virginia, with more states yet to come. What does this mean for YOUR tax dollars, as well as for parents and children?