The Rational Republican: Recent Episodes
The Rational Republican
James and Nick welcome Xander Almeida back to review the new and improved ORP Platform.
Nick and James welcome Director Andrea Bell, director of Oregon Housing and Community Services to talk housing and good government.
I'll be honest, this was one of my favorite podcasts in a while. Elizabeth is super smart and we could have kept the conversation going for hours, but were limited by other activities at Dorchester.
Christian Honl is running for State Representative in HD32 on the northern Oregon coast. He is seeking to unseat the incumbent turncoat who ran as a Republican but re registered as a Democrat after voting for the controversial Transpiration Tax.
James and Nick welcome Andrew Morrison back to the podcast to talk about affordability and running for office in disincorporated Damascus.
of TRR as we get into Primary season, James and Nick discuss the foreign policy decisions executed in the first few weeks of 2026.
James and Nick welcome a couple folks from Western Justice, the NRA for the "western" way of life. A very different vibe from the last episode
Posting these out of order because the LCR's have an event on May 10th we'd like to plug. The Log Cabin Republicans are members of the LGBT community who hold conservative principles. Many say that "coming out" as Republican was harder than coming out as gay. Listen to their story here.
Before James was a podcast host and small business owner, he was an Army officer and frequently in charge of handling classified materials. So given the recent article from The Atlantic, we decided to give an insider view of how classification works.
A crossover episode with the Crosstabs podcast. We talk about the ORP elections that just took place, what it's like to run a podcast, and some insider baseball on what life is like in the Capitol.
Jerry Cummings is a pastor and Republican mega-volunteer running for ORP Chair in spring 2025. Win or lose, I'm sure we haven't heard the last from Jerry!
In 2020, "fake news" was mostly a conservative problem where people would share fictitious articles on facebook, and they would go viral. in 2025 if seems that the roles have been reversed, and the Left are believing any piece of media that confirms their bias. James and Nick discuss.
Part 2 of our live panel at Eastern Oregon University. Since this was recorded live, some of the audio is messy but still a great conversation.
James and Nick speak take part in a panel discussion at Eastern Oregon University about different topics that impact our political world. Part 1
President Elect Trump's cabinet picks have been making headlines and (predictably) those on the left have decried them as the worst picks in the history of the universe. We welcome Jeff Stone to go over some of our favorite winners and losers from the incoming president's cabinet.
James and Nick welcome two Young Republican extraordinaires to the podcast, Calvin Bennet and Tanner Elliot, to discuss the 2024 election results.
Aimee Reiner is a long-time activist who got started in her political career during the COVID lockdowns, caring for her special-needs son.
John Masterman is a small business owner running for the State House in HD 48 which includes Damascus, SE Portland, and parts of Gresham
Paul Drechsler (pronounced Drexler) is running for HD50 in east Multnomah County. This is a D+4 district and very winnable, and Paul is the guy to do it.
James and Nick welcome Bri Hall, the only registered Independent at a Young Republicans debate watch party, to give a reaction to the September 10th presidential debate.
Jake Mead is a small business owner in HIllsboro, running for City Council. I (James) have known Jake for several years and he's the real deal, be sure not to skip this one!
Andrew Morrison is a former alleged city councilor for the City of Damascus, OR and most recently a candidate for HD48. He was unsuccessful in his Primary, but I don't think we've seen the end of Andrew
Terry Tipsord has been an involved member of his community for over 40 years and now he's running for HD49 to continue serving in the Legislature.
Darcey Edwards is a life-long resident of Washington County and is running for House District 31. We talk land use and how Oregon can be more business-friendly.
On this episode we welcome back Frank Patka who has experienced the criminal justice system first hand, and is working to help other formerly incarcerated people integrate back into society.
On the second episode of our Eastern Oregon trip, we speak with Brent Clapp who is the owner of EOAlive Media and candidate for county commission.
James and Nick welcome Calvin Bennett on the first of two Eastern Oregon podcasts. Calvin is the ASB President at Eastern Oregon University, and a Young Republican.
Commissioner Ben West returns to talk about Clackamas County and the ORP Platform Convention which he attended recently.
On this episode we welcome 2 guests: Alex McHaddad and Reagan Knopp. Alex is the former treasurer of the Oregon Republican Party and has part Palestinian heritage. Reagan is a political consultant and twitter personality with some experience in Israel.
Andy Huwe joins James and Nick to talk about his run for Senate District 29. We end up talking infrastructure and good governance in addition to issues facing northeast Oregon.
In this episode we take a break from your normally scheduled political podcasting to talk about the dissolution of the PAC-12 Conference. Jeff Stone joins us as this will be his 51st season making the trek from Portland to Autzen Stadium.
Commissioner Nash is currently serving as County Commissioner for Wallowa County, he is the President of the Cattlemen's Association, and he has announced his candidacy for Senate District 29. Learn more at votetoddnash.com
James and Nick welcome Tony McDonald who is intimately involved in Texas GOP politics and we had a fun conversation comparing and contrasting a Blue state with a Red state.
James and Nick welcome Eric and Bernard from Citizens Climate Lobby, a climate group who are "ok with nuclear" and don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Come to Dorchester 2023 on April 28 and 29! Email james@jamesaball.com for the registration link.
James and Nick discuss the pending legislation to give all homeless persons $1,000 per month and UBI in general. Also, how to fix Portland's myriad problems.
In the wake of Gov. Brown commuting the sentence of many death-row inmates, we brought on Xander Almeda to talk about her decision and about the death penalty in general.
Stephen Lloyd is the chair of the Young Republicans of Oregon, former chair of the Multnomah County Republican Party, and nearly 10-year veteran of the oil & gas industry. In this episode we talk with Stephen about fracking, nuclear, and the environmental impact of energy extraction.
Ben West is the recently elected Clackamas County Commissioner. He currently serves as a city councilor for the city of Wilsonville and was the rising-star award recipient at Dorchester 2022.
James and Nick welcome back Alex McHaddad, treasurer of the Oregon GOP and friend of the pod to talk about the November 2022 election and how it went for Republicans. Disappointed with the Governor's race? We are too, but there is reason to be optimistic about Oregon voters' choices in this past election.
Jason Fields, the Republican candidate for House District 26 is our favorite kind of candidate to have on this podcast: moderate, thoughtful, and decisive. Some might call him a "rational" Republican (cue rimshot). Nick couldn't make it this time, so pretend he made a couple TV references and you should be good to go.
George Carrillo is a former candidate for Governor in Oregon who has publicly endorsed Republican Christine Drazan. We talk about why he made that decision as well as some inside baseball from a long-time Executive Branch employee.
James and Nick welcome former Representative and former Secretary of State Rich Vial to talk about his run for Senate District 18 as a non-affiliated candidate. We also talk Betsy Johnson and how to mend the political divide in Oregon.
Jeff Heflrich joins James and Nick as the Republican candidate for State House district 52. Jeff is a Veteran, former police officer, and held this seat from 2017-2019.
James and Nick welcome Tim LeMaster, a fellow Veteran who is running for House District 43. Tim is passionate about making his community better and helping those in his district.
James and Nick talk about the fallout from Dobbs v. Jackson which overturned Roe v. Wade.
James and Nick welcome Kori Haynes who is the Republican candidate for HD39 and her guest Courtneigh Swerzbin to talk about the the race and what's going on in our public schools. Bonus: what do David Duke and PPS have in common? Skip to the 41 minute mark for the answer.
CAPT Wooldridge is a 27-year Navy Veteran who commanded the Blue Angels on three separate occasions. He is currently a prolific public speaker and in 2018 made an attempt at running for Governor of Oregon.
James and Nick dig deep into the election results from the May 2022 Primary election. Political nerds welcome!
Cheri Helt is a small business owner and former State Legislator who is running for the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) which is probably the least-known statewide elected office, but as with any office, the position has a meaningful impact on our lives.
Judge Day is former Chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, and is running for Appellate Court. This is the first time in many years where an incumbent Judge has a credible challenger, so we were excited to talk with Judge Day to hear about it first hand.
James and Nick welcome Lyndon Kerns, delegate from the Klamath County Republicans and whose family has been farming the Klamath basin for over 100 years. Learn more about the community's struggles at https://www.farmwater.org/food-security-and-water/
James and Nick welcome Alex McHaddad, former Chair of the Union County GOP. Alex is also the treasurer for the Oregon Young Republicans and candidate for ORP Treasurer.
No Nick this time, but James was able to sit down with Betty Campbell to talk about Xpose Hope, a local charity that helps women get out of the sex industry. One of my (James) favorite episodes in a while.
James and Nick welcome Aeric Estep who is running for State Representative in House District 37. Interestingly, James and Aeric knew each other in college back... 15 years ago. Tune in for a great conversation.
James and Nick welcome Patrick Sheehan who served in the Legislature from 2011 to 2013 in the famous 30-30 "split" house. Patrick was succeeded by now Secretary of State Shemia Fagan. If only we had known...
For the first pod of 2022, Nick and James welcome recurring guest Xander Almeida to the podcast to reflect on 2021 and what we can look forward to in 2022.
On this episode, James and Nick welcome Dennis Porter. Dennis helped James out in his 2020 run for State Representative and is now very involved in Bitcoin policy with 53k Twitter followers and a podcast titled Smart People S*it.
On this episode, James and Nick get the opportunity to speak with Rep Ron Noble who represents House District 24 in wine country, Oregon. Rep. Noble is also running for Congress in CD6.
On this episode, Nick takes over hosting duties and asks James about his recent announcement to run for Metro Council Seat 4. What is Metro? Why this seat? What do you hope to accomplish? All great questions that we dive into on this podcast!
James and Nick sit down with Angela Plowhead who is running for Congress in the brand-new congressional district: CD6! Angela is an Air Force Veteran and psychologist who is putting in the legwork to make a serious run at this position! For more info, visit angelafororegon.com.
James and Nick dive deep into the ORP Platform Convention that took place the last weekend of September and James gives some behind-the-scenes insight into how the process takes place and what happened.
The guys get deep into abortion policy in Oregon, Texas and nationally. Two guys talking about abortion? Tune in to find out why we think that's ok.
James and Nick go solo (...duo?) on this one to discuss the recent fall of Afghanistan, what lead up to it and how it could could have been prevented. James spent 3 tours in Afghanistan with the US Army, so he gives his take on what's going on.
On this episode, we welcome Michael Cannon, director of Health Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. This is a follow-up to our interview with Dr. Sam Metz (who connected us with Michael) to look at a more libertarian solution to healthcare.
James and Nick welcome Lori Chavez-DeRemer to the show. Lori is the 2-term mayor of Happy Valley and is now running for Congress in Oregon's 5th District. Learn more at lorichavezderemer.com!
James and Nick welcome Dr. Sam Metz who lives in District 36 and met James during his run for State Representative. Sam sits on several boards promoting single-payer healthcare and was kind enough to sit down with us to discuss how we can get more care to more people for less money.
James and Nick welcome Alex Titus and Ben Bowman, hosts of The Oregon Bridge podcast for a collaboration episode. Check out The Oregon Bridge on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts!
James and Nick welcome Kevin Frazier, publisher of The Oregon Way blog. The Oregon Way has published articles from many of our mutual friends and is a centrist publication that tries to show both sides of issues. Visit theoregonway.substack.com to learn more!
James and Nick are joined by Stephen Lloyd, chairman of the Young Republicans of Oregon and until last week chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party. Unfortunately Stephen was recalled a week before recording for promoting diversity and inclusion on behalf of the GOP.
On this episode James and Nick welcome Deanna Rusch who serves on the Clark County Commission Review Board and is a former Camas, WA city councilor. We discuss what it's like being across the river from Portland and some of the differences between Washington and Oregon politics.
James and Nick welcome Stuart Hall who has been involved in Oregon politics for decades to discuss Ranked Choice Voting. With Republicans in a super-minority in the state of Oregon, I think it's valuable to discuss some alternate methods of counting ballots so that our elected officials more accurately represent the majority of voters.
On this episode we welcome Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis to talk redistricting. Rep. Davis is the vice chair of the house redistricting committee and gives us an inside look at the issues surrounding redistricting during COVID and the blatant gerrymandering that has affected Oregon for the past 20 years.
James and Nick are joined by Allen Alley. Allen is former chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, candidate for Treasurer and for Governor. Allen hosts a podcast Alley & Pasero which airs live on Facebook Sundays at 8:30am and is available on all your favorite podcasting services.
James and Nick welcome Jeff Stone, Executive Director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries to talk about his experience working for Sen. Bob Packwood, immigration, and agriculture.
James and Nick are joined by Mayor Stan Pulliam of Sandy, OR. Mayor Stan has been in the news recently for leading the #NewYearsDay movement to reopen businesses ahead of the Governor's mandate. Take a listen to a great conversation about how small-town Oregonians are being impacted by the Governor's shut-down order.
James and Nick welcome Rep Suzanne Weber, the newly elected representative from House District 32 representing the area in and around Tillamook, OR and Adam Schwend her campaign manager and chief of staff.
James and Nick felt the need to discuss the events of January 6, 2021 where Trump supporters storm the Capitol in Washington DC. We fully and completely denounce the violence taking place in our nation's capitol today.
James and Nick welcome Rohan Gulati and Kyle Henson from Nick's old podcast "Unnecessary and Proper" to bring a crossover episode "Rational and Proper". We briefly discussed the title "Unnecessary Republicans" but decided against it. We talk about the future of the GOP and how National politics are different from Oregon politics and the strategies needed to win each.
James and Nick welcome Jim Fitzhenry, a prominent local businessman and former staffer to Sen. Mark Hatfield and Pres. George H. W. Bush. We discuss Oregon's relationship to business and how our Democratic leaders are driving business away from the state with their poorly thought-out tax policies.
Dr. Lisa Reynolds is the Representative Elect for House District 36 (James' Democratic opponent). Dr. Reynolds is a pediatrician in Washington County who cut her political teeth fighting to reduce gun violence and promoting early childhood wellbeing.
Our guest this episode is Aaron Withe, national director of The Freedom Foundation, an organization that seeks to educate public employees about their rights regarding union membership.
Shelly Boshart Davis represents Oregon House District 15 which includes parts of Linn and Benton counties. Boshart Davis grew up in rural Oregon and is proud to represent agriculture and transportation in the Oregon Legislature.
Scott Jorgensen worked on staff for the late Secretary of State Dennis Richardson and authored a book titled "Our Friend Dennis" available on Amazon or at the Rainier Public Library. We talk policy, the current SoS race, and about the book.
This is a special edition podcast without Nick because James met up with Sean Scorvo, Democratic candidate for House District 23 running against Mike Nearman. This episode turned into a 1-on-1 debate/conversation between a Democrat running in a heavily Republican district and a Republican running in a heavily Democratic district.
Nick is on vacation, so James sat down with Jacob Vandever and Xander Almeida to take on the 6th article of the Democratic Party of Oregon's platform.
James and Nick were able to sit down with Nick Smith, Executive Director of Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities, a nonprofit that describes themselves as grassroots coalition that supports the need for active, sustainable forest management.
James and Nick had the opportunity to speak with Rep. Bill Post about elections, the future of the Republican Party in Oregon and some inside baseball of life in the Legislature.
James and Nick welcome House Minority Leader Rep. Christine Drazan to discuss the Cap & Trade Republican walkout and other issues facing the Oregon Legislature.
James and Nick welcome Eilidh Lowery to the show. Eilidh is Chair of the Portland Public School Board and was the officiant in Nick's wedding! We talk about what's going on with PPS going back to school in the fall, the achievement gap and state funding for schools.
No guest this time, but we felt it was necessary to address the racial tension going on in the world right now. Email james@jamesaball.com if you want to get involved.
In a bit of a change from our regular style of guest, James and Nick welcome Ray McMillin, a former Democrat, comedian, and strip club DJ who operates the Facebook page Rainman McMillin to talk about our various frustrations with party politics.
James and Nick welcome back Xander to discuss the 5th Article of the Democratic Party of Oregon platform.
James and Nick welcome Allen Alley and Jim Pasero from the show Abrams, Alley and Pasero on 101FM KXL (8am Sunday mornings). We started talking about COVID-19 and the conversation turned to China and culture.
Since everyone is on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic we thought it was a good time to revisit the DPO Platform. Nick and James welcome podcast regular Xander Almeida to break down Article 4.
James and Nick welcome an anonymous guest who works in the medical field to talk about vaccines and take the opposing view that the state should not require vaccines.
James had the opportunity to sit down with Alyssa Vinsonhaler who is running for Portland City Council. As of posting, Alyssa has suspended her campaign. Alyssa is an activist in Portland, fighting ANTIFA and standing up for 2nd Amendment rights.
For the first time in many episodes, we don't have a guest! In this episode, Nick interviews James and we discuss why James is running for office in House District 36 and what he's going to focus on once elected.
James and Nick welcome Norman Turrill who is the President of the League of Women Voters Advocacy Fund and one of the chief petitioners for People Not Politicians which is a ballot measure designed to set up a bipartisan commission to redraw district lines after every census.
James and Nick welcome Martin Mederios, a local author, speaker and attorney who specializes in negotiation and persuasion. The goal was to talk about Martin's specialty but we ended up talking about vaccines, logging and autonomous vehicles.
In this episode James and Nick welcome Alexander Flores, 2018 Republican candidate for Oregon Senate District 15. We talk about issues that affect the Latino community in Oregon and how the GOP can be more friendly to Latino voters.
James and Nick welcome Karl Rohde, an openly gay local politician who also happens to be a Republican. We talk about how Karl became a Republican and why he has decided to stay in the era of Trump. We also touch on morality and how it plays a part in modern politics. Also, be sure to attend the Red Dress Party next year at Veterans Memorial Coliseum the third weekend in May.
James and Nick welcome back Xander Almeida and friend-of-the-pod Jacob Vandever to discuss the Democrats' priorities for the environment.
Nick couldn't make it, but James, Xander and Peter take a stab at Article 2 of the DPO Platform. We discuss a lot of issues on the topic of education and the government's role in educating our children.
James and Nick welcome back Xander and Peter, our guests from the ORP Platform Convention podcast to take on another important document: the Democrat Party of Oregon platform. This will end up being a series so stay tuned for several more podcasts, each dealing with an article of the platform.
James and Nick welcome Deputy Secretary of State and former State Representative Rich Vial. We talk about partisanship Oregon, priorities in the SoS office and how we can do better.
In the third and final episode of our trip to Bend, Nick and James welcome former Bend mayor Jeff Eager in what ends up being a pretty technical discussion about the state of the Party and what it takes to win.
The second of three podcasts recorded during our Bend trip, James and Nick welcome Frank Patka who runs a non-profit called Changing Patterns which helps to get former inmates integrated back into society through employment and support. We talk about what's wrong with the prison system in Oregon and what steps we can take to reduce recidivism and help people who have paid their debt to society.
James and Nick met each other through their work on the Knute Buehler gubernatorial campaign and it's been an unofficial goal of this podcast to one day interview Dr. Buehler. The opportunity finally presented itself so Nick and James took a trip to Bend and this is the result!
In this 90-minute double episode, Nick and James welcome two guests, return guest Xander Almeida and newcomer Peter Halajian to pick apart the Oregon Republican Platform over a full bottle of scotch and develop a strategy for influencing the upcoming ORP Platform Convention.
James and Nick welcome Brooke Gray, executive director of Embrace Oregon, a nonprofit that helps children in foster care and foster families in the state of Oregon.
James and Nick welcome the 2016 Republican candidate for State Treasurer, Jeff Gudman. We talk about the Treasurer position, what the race was like, and how Republicans can win elections in the future.
Have you been wondering about this Oregon Senate walkout that's been taking place the past few weeks? How is Oregon politics ending up on national and international news? Hear The Rational Republican's take along with our first repeat guest, Xander Almeida.
In this episode, James and Nick welcome author Jeff Reynolds to talk about HB3063 which would have limited parents' ability to decline vaccinations on behalf of their children. Jeff is the former chair of the Multnomah County Republican Party and is heavily involved in Oregon politics.
A preview of Rep. Daniel Bonham's podcast: Mainstreet Politics. Rep. Bonham has a talent for recruiting amazing guests to his podcast, I would highly encourage our listeners to subscribe if you're looking for even more Oregon politics.
James and Nick are honored to welcome our first sitting State Legislator, Rep. Daniel Bonham. We talk about what it's like to be in the super-minority and touch on a variety of topics that are impacting Oregon right now.
In the final episode of our Dorchester series, James and Nick talk with Allen Alley about his experience as the Oregon Republican Party chairman and everyone's favorite subject, PERS. Allen was 2-time candidate for Governor and has been involved in Oregon politics for decades.
In this episode, James and Nick welcome Robert Schwartz, former candidate for State Representative and requester of Senate Bill 801 which would have allowed schools to teach elementary students what to do if they encounter an unsecured firearm. We talk about problems with the current system and what we would do to prevent gun deaths without infringing upon the rights of law-abiding citizens to own and use guns.
In the third installment of the Dorchester series, James and Nick interview Julie Parrish and Larry Morgan. Julie is a 4-term State Representative who was in office from 2010 through 2018 and Larry is a former city counselor for the city of Troutdale and has worked on several high-profile Republican campaigns, despite being a Democrat.
James and Nick welcome Dr. Satya Chandragiri, a psychiatrist running for Salem-Keizer School Board. Dr. Satya shares his experiences treating mental health around the world as well as what he hopes to accomplish on the School Board.
In the second episode of our Dorchester series, James and Nick have a discussion with Gary Wilhelms, former Oregon legislator and one of the authors of the Oregon "kicker" and with Dr. Eric Fruits, a Professor of Economics at Portland State University and contributor at the Cascade Policy Institute.
American hero Alek Skarlatos joins Nick and James to talk about guns, forest management and what it's like to become an international celebrity overnight. Alek gained notoriety when he, along with 2 of his best friends, stopped a terrorist attack on a train bound for Paris in 2015. His actions were immortalized in the film "The 15:17 to Paris" where Alek played himself.
In this episode, James and Nick welcome Xander Almeida who was instrumental in removing anti-LGBT language from the Oregon Republican Party platform in 2009. We talk about what else we would change in the party platform and briefly discuss our favorite Democrat for president.
James and Nick welcome Russ Casler to discuss the Oregon public employee retirement system (PERS). We talk about the history of how PERS began, the current state of the program, what the problems are, and what can be done to fix it.
In this episode, James and Nick welcome Ernie Hernandez, a Mexican-American living in Portland, OR who happens to be gay. Ernie talks about growing up Catholic in Mexico and how he discovered he was gay. We also talk about how the Republican Party can be more friendly to the LGBT community and how anti-LGBT language in the party platform alienates potential voters.
Nick and James welcome our first guest, Justine Hostetler, to talk about misinformation, disinformation and fake news. We touch on the genocide in Myanmar, Covington Catholic, Jussie Smollett and vaccines, among others.
In episode 1 Nick and James talk about how divisive politics are hurting our nation and how the government shutdown is an example of what happens when we stop looking for common ground and just try to "beat the other guy".
Introduction to the podcast. I talk about what I'm hoping to accomplish with the series.