Libertarians say, 'I told you so'

·51 min·3 clips

Kevin Wilson says presidents from Biden to Trump have stretched old laws, and only other branches can stop them.

1. Connections Podcast focuses on libertarians saying “I told you so” after a year of ICE raids, tariffs, and executive power fights. 2. Evan Dawson speaks with Kevin Wilson, former chair of the Monroe County Libertarian Party and host of the Free Solution podcast, because Wilson can defend libertarian politics from inside the movement. 3. The episode asks whether Katherine Mangu-Ward’s New York Times claim is right that Libertarians were warning about federal power before other Americans noticed. 4. Wilson says presidents under both Biden and Trump have stretched old laws, including student loan forgiveness and tariffs. 5. He argues that Congress, the courts, and other branches must stop unconstitutional executive actions instead of leaving voters passive. 6. Dawson presses Wilson on whether Congress should simply “do its job” on tariffs and war powers instead of leaving everything to the White House. 7. Wilson says Congress is supposed to approve war before American lives and money are committed overseas. 8. Dawson cites Gallup’s October result that 62 percent of Americans say the federal government has too much power, up from 51 percent a year earlier. 9. Wilson links that polling shift to public frustration with ICE enforcement, immigration policy, and the growth of federal authority. 10. The discussion turns to the Tea Party, which Wilson says had libertarian roots but was co-opted by the two-party system. 11. Wilson says first-past-the-post elections and New York ballot rules help Republicans and Democrats keep other parties out. 12. He names Rand Paul, Justin Amash, Mike Lee, and Peter Meijer as examples of Republicans who once sounded closer to libertarian ideas. 13. Wilson says the Republican Party has moved away from limited-government language and more openly accepts centralized power. 14. Dawson reads listener criticism that libertarians are wasting votes, and Wilson replies that third parties can still win local seats or force major parties to adopt their issues. 15. Wilson says the Trump campaign tried to co-opt part of the libertarian coalition by promising to free Ross Ulbricht and by showing up at the Libertarian National Convention. 16. On health care, Wilson says he does not want people ruined by illness, but he also rejects simple Medicare-for-all answers and points to tradeoffs, wait times, and higher taxes in Europe. 17. He says market examples like eye surgery pricing and Mark Cuban’s medication efforts show that access can improve outside government control. 18. The tone is conversational and argumentative, with Dawson using caller questions, email reactions, and follow-up presses to test Wilson’s views. 19. Listeners interested in third-party politics, executive power, and civil liberties will get the most from it. 20. Listeners wanting a neutral cheerleading segment for any party will probably skip it.

As heard by us

A libertarian argument put under pressure by listener pushback and present-day politics.

This episode treats libertarian politics less like a slogan and more like a test case. Evan Dawson gives Katherine Mangu-Ward's provocation, Kevin Wilson's party defense, and listener pushback room to breathe, so the conversation keeps some friction instead of flattening into a…

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Hear libertarians argue that government power is getting too concentrated.

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