Living in Extraordinary Times: Scott Powell on the Second American Revolution

The second day of the Trump administration marked extraordinary action as President Trump signed over 200 executive orders, rolling back Biden-era policies and restoring merit-based governance. Scott Powell, Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, joined the broadcast to analyze this historic moment as the beginning of a second American Revolution. A Populist Mandate and Constitutional Restoration Start listening at 31:47 – Hour 1 Powell described the significance of Trump’s return to office after a four-year gap, comparing him to Grover Cleveland as only the second president to serve non-consecutive terms. He emphasized that Trump’s popular vote victory, combined with Republican control of both chambers, provides a mandate that didn’t exist in 2016. “We’re living in historic, really biblical times. This is perhaps, Donald Trump is going to be, the 47th president is perhaps going to be the most consequential president in all of our history, with the exception, of course, perhaps of our early, our first president.”Scott Powell Powell argued that the four years of the Biden administration, while difficult, served to wake Americans up to the consequences of progressive governance, from open borders to inflation to reduced energy production. He characterized the current moment as “a restoration of constitutional law, law and order” and putting “America’s interests first.” Colorado Legislative Analysis Start listening at 18:00 – Hour 1 Dave Evans, new board member of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, discussed the organization’s analysis of state legislation. He highlighted Senate Bill 25005, a worker protection collective bargaining bill that would eliminate the second vote requirement for unionization. “That first one on our list, SB 25005, is probably the biggest stinker of them all. It’s really just a sop for the Democratic Party and a sop for the unions.”Dave Evans National Western Stock Show and Agricultural Policy Start listening at 71:15 – Hour 2 Trent Loos, sixth-generation farmer and rancher, reported from the National Western Stock Show where attendance has broken records. He discussed his frustrated attempt to testify before the joint House and Senate Committee on Energy and Environment, where the public comment period was delayed so long he couldn’t stay. “All I heard from each one of the bureaucrats, from the director of energy, which I think was the worst, he didn’t want to talk about anything other than the initiative to get Colorado to net carbon zero before California.”Trent Loos Wolf Reintroduction and Property Rights Loos reported that Colorado released 20 wolves this week, exceeding the ballot initiative’s requirement of 10 wolves over five years. The wolves were released in areas including Pitkin County. He described this as part of a broader attack on private land ownership occurring nationwide. “This is not a Colorado issue. Colorado continues to be the tip of the spear, but we have a major attack on taking land away from individuals and putting that land into a collective state, no different than what Russia did during the Bolshevik Revolution.”Trent Loos January 6th Pardons and Prisoner Releases Start listening at 105:24 – Hour 2 Caller Gammy provided an update on the release of January 6th prisoners following Trump’s pardons of approximately 1,500 individuals. She described watching cove...