Zach Lahn

You know, before I came on to this podcast,

My prayer is very simple.

I want to put something into the world that my children can look back on and be proud that their dad was fighting for something that really mattered.

And so when I look at what's going on in Iowa, and I tie it back to our heritage as a people, and I just wonder, are my kids going to even want to live here with everything that's going on?

Do I believe it's unrepairable?

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know... I do, too.

This is what... I think it's completely fucking gone.

It's gone.

You know, here's the thing.

There's this idea of the American experiment, and that is real and true and good...

But if you look at the deviation we've had from that, I think the most... One of the common questions that comes up for me is, what do I think is the most pressing issue facing the country today?

And I keep coming back to this.

Our country's run by unelected people, and we don't know who they are.

And so, if you're in a republic... I think we're figuring out who they are.

If you're in a republic...

And your elected officials aren't making the decisions for you, that you have big business, that you have special-entry lobbyists, that you have undue influence from foreign governments.

Like, if that's the situation you're in... Like, my tendency is to say, let's hunker down and make Iowa amazing.

And let's get ready for whatever comes next, because I want my state to be one that's prosperous, to be one that has great education, clean water, that, like, people have opportunity in my state.