The Daily Whatever, Oct 27: Limiting Executive Power with Tony Michaels

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The Daily Whatever, Oct 27: Limiting Executive Power with Tony Michaels

Tony Michaels on reclaiming Article I, resisting political kings, and why the next American realignment might finally fix our democracy.

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Oct 27, 2025

Today’s episode of The Daily Whatever Show hit that rare sweet spot where history, politics, and real talk converged—and it was thanks to our guest,

Tony Michaels

, the host of The Tony Michaels Podcast, and one of the sharpest political commentators on Substack and YouTube. Tony has been called the “Rush Limbaugh of the Left,” and while that’s a bold comparison, we get it now—because what Tony brings to the table isn’t just righteous fire, it’s clarity, depth, and a whole new framework for thinking about the state of American democracy.

Dana DuBois

and I kicked things off with our usual Monday meander—Seattle rain, nostalgia for elementary school music class, and my confession that I got choked up watching 50,000 Canadians belt out O Canada at the World Series. But when Tony joined, the conversation took off. What started as a light chat about national anthems quickly turned into a master class in American constitutional philosophy, populism, and power.

Tony reminded us that The Star-Spangled Banner wasn’t written during the Revolution at all—it was penned during the War of 1812, as Francis Scott Key watched the British bombard Baltimore. The flag that “was still there,” Tony said, symbolizes not blind patriotism but the enduring defiance of a people who refused to be ruled by kings. And that, he argued, is exactly where we are again today: under siege by would-be monarchs, still standing guard for the republic.

From there, Tony led us through a stunningly reasoned case for why the real threat to America isn’t one man—it’s the unchecked expansion of executive power. We’ve slowly slid into treating presidents like kings, he said, granting each one—left or right—more authority than the Constitution ever intended. He made the case that our crisis isn’t just Trump; it’s the way we have allowed presidents to accumulate power through executive orders, bypassing Congress and the people.

Tony’s solution is as radical as it is rational: we need to restore the primacy of Article I—Congress—and stop governing by decree. He envisions a coming political realignment not defined by left vs. right, but by those who believe in decentralized democracy versus those who crave a “strong man” to rule. It’s a vision that forces both liberals and conservatives to re-examine their loyalties—and it’s one we can’t stop thinking about.

Dana captured it perfectly: “This is a new way of thinking about the problem in front of us.” And she’s right. Tony’s insights reframed our entire conversation about power, democracy, and what it means to be free citizens in a constitutional republic.

By the end of the hour, we weren’t just nodding along—we were re-inspired to defend that flag still standing on the hill.

Thank you