Resistor Vic Podcast

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/subs...

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...

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...

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 decid...

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. T...

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...

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 openin...

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 an...

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...

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 bon...

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 ac...

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...

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 simp...

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 usin...

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