Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Podcast: America’s political orphans

Podcast: America’s political orphans
Getty Images

Former Congressman Scott Klug was startled earlier this year when a couple cornered him in the cereal aisle of a local grocery store. The same thing happened earlier that week in the line of a movie theater. The first Kevin McCarthy fiasco was driving Wisconsin voters to despair.

The first couple were Democrats. The theater stalker, a Republican. Their questions were phrased with the same sense of exasperation.


“Who elected these people? The Republicans are running around the country trying to ban middle school books and the Democrats are trying to take the stove out of my kitchen,” he told us they asked him.

Those conversations prompted the one-time tv reporter to return to both his journalism roots, and more importantly his political roots.

In 1990 he ran as a moderate Republican championing term limits and in a shocker defeated a 32-year incumbent Democrat incumbent. During his eight years in Congress, he racked up the third most independent voting record in Wisconsin politics in the last 50 years.

True to his term limit pledge he walked away.

In late September he launched a podcast to shine a spotlight on the oft ignored political center. “Lost in the Middle: America’s Political Orphans” is storytelling highlighting what he describes as seventy-one million bewildered, frustrated voters.

“The podcast was born,” Klug recently told Madison Magazine, “out of the sentiment that a wide swath of the American public, myself included, can’t figure out how in the hell we got to this place. And more importantly, is there a way for us out of it.”

His early episodes have received rave reviews across the political spectrum. “Hell of a lot of fun; great storytelling”, wrote former Buffalo area Republican Congressman Jack Quinn. “A breath of fresh air in an all too toxic world”, wrote California Democratic Pollster Paul Maslin. “Here’s a nice break from all that” . To read more about the background of the stories and the show’s creators, please visit www.LostMiddle.com.

Understand this is not a political talk show. These are long format journalism pieces that are more like a 60 Minutes, or a 20/20 episode.

“With the new Kevin McCarthy train wreck, I think your readers will be intrigued by Kevin McCarthy’s own thoughts”, Klug said. “We interviewed him in our first episode. Oh, not that Kevin McCarthy,” he said with a laugh.

“Kevin McCarthy is a county board member and radio DJ we interviewed in our first episode on the politics in Rockford, Illinois, a little noticed bellwether that has voted for the winning Presidential candidate in seven of the last eight elections.”

Today we are making the first story available to our readers. We will offer new episodes in the coming weeks.

Here is a brief description of the first episode

Episode One: America’s 71 bewildered Political Orphans.

44% of voters describe themselves as centrists, but why is nobody listening to them? But we do, finding a ton of them in Rockford, Illinois a blue collar city that has voted for the winning President in 7 of the last 8 elections. Focus group guru Frank Luntz discusses what he calls common sense votes. And finally we tell you about a bi-partisan speaker election (what a concept, huh?) in Columbus, Ohio.

Take a listen.

Read More

A Witch Hunt Won’t Feed America
red meat in white plastic bag

A Witch Hunt Won’t Feed America

Missouri’s food economy runs on undocumented labor. Turning a blind eye won’t work anymore.

In meatpacking plants across Missouri, hundreds of workers clock in before dawn, keeping one of the state’s most essential industries up and running. Many of them are Latino immigrants, some undocumented, who have become the invisible backbone of Missouri’s $93.7 billion agriculture economy. They’re the ones who process the pork and clean the poultry that end up on our dinner tables.

Keep ReadingShow less
Two speech bubbles overlapping.

Recent data shows that Americans view members of the opposing political party overly negatively, leading people to avoid political discourse with those who hold different views.

Getty Images, Richard Drury

How To Motivate Americans’ Conversations Across Politics

Introduction

A large body of research shows that Americans hold overly negative distortions of those across the political spectrum. These misperceptions—often referred to as "Perception Gaps"—make civil discourse harder, since few Americans are eager to engage with people they believe are ideologically extreme, interpersonally hostile, or even threatening or inferior. When potential disagreement feels deeply uncomfortable or dangerous, conversations are unlikely to begin.

Correcting these distortions can help reduce barriers to productive dialogue, making Americans more open to political conversations.

Keep ReadingShow less
A medical professional wearing gloves, putting a band-aid on a patient's shoulder.

RFK Jr. has publicly challenged the safety of vaccines, although the evidence he cites is widely disputed by mainstream scientists, medical institutions, and public health experts.

Getty Images, Jackyenjoyphotography

Just the Facts: Vaccine Safety, RFK Jr.’s Claims, and Florida’s Mandate Rollback

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is currently the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services and is responsible for shaping national health policy, managing public health programs, and guiding medical research and regulatory frameworks.

He has publicly challenged the safety of vaccines, including required childhood immunizations and COVID-19 vaccines. However, the evidence he cites is widely disputed by mainstream scientists, medical institutions, and public health experts.

Keep ReadingShow less
League of Women Voters of Arkansas President Bonnie Miller on a hike, standing in front of a landscape view.

Katie Fahey speaks with League of Women Voters of Arkansas President Bonnie Miller on democracy reform across the state and her work in civically educating and engaging residents.

The Fahey Q&A With Bonnie Miller of the League of Women Voters, Arkansas

Since organizing the Voters Not Politicians 2018 ballot initiative that put citizens in charge of drawing Michigan's legislative maps, Fahey has been the founding executive director of The People, which is forming statewide networks to promote government accountability. She regularly interviews colleagues in the world of democracy reform for our Opinion section.

Bonnie Miller is known for her activism in democracy reform in Arkansas and is the current president of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas and chair of Save AR Democracy, a campaign to protect ballot initiatives in Arkansas. In 2020, Miller led the Arkansas Voters First campaign, which garnered significant support but was eventually struck down by the Arkansas Supreme Court. She continues to lead the fight for a better democracy in her state while also working in higher education at the University of Arkansas School of Law.

Keep ReadingShow less