Adam Brandon — who ran FreedomWorks for over a decade and now co-founded the Independent Leadership Council alongside Joe Manchin — joins the Chuck ToddCast to make the case that a handful of independents could break Washington's logjam. His argument: the parties have shrunk their tents, the blue dogs and moderate Republicans of the 1990s are gone, and in an era of slim majorities, ten independents in Congress could rewrite the rules when a new Congress is seated, install an apolitical speaker, and change every incentive overnight. He points to Montana — where the ILC-affiliated Independent PAC is now airing ads for Seth Bodnar, who needs roughly 210,000 votes to win — as proof the value of money in politics is starting to collapse. Plus: why Libertarians never break through, what younger voters actually want, and why burning the system down just leaves you living in ash. 

Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

01:00 Debt, deficits, and why independents lost faith in both parties

06:30 The vanishing middle: blue dogs, shrunken tents, and the 1990s

15:00 How ten independents could break the logjam in Congress

23:30 The collapsing value of money in politics — and the Montana test

30:00 Why Libertarians can't break through, and politics as entertainment

39:15 AI, job displacement, and where independents have the best shot

46:00 Rethinking the Partisan Voter Index and where to focus

50:45 What younger voters actually want from the system

57:15 The candidates ILC is backing — and why 2026 could change everything

1:03:00 Washington's warning, Lincoln's unity ticket, and a fragile democracy