SUMMARY:
Host Scott Aaron Rogers conducted a virtual town hall with Brad Meyer, Democratic candidate for Indiana’s 9th Congressional District. Meyer, a seventh-generation Hoosier who quit his job a year before retirement to run for office, fielded questions from viewers on YouTube and progressiveindiana.net about immigration enforcement, impeachment, small business development, education funding, campaign finance reform, Supreme Court ethics, minimum wage, and campaign strategy. Meyer emphasized the need for thoughtful, pragmatic solutions that can win elections in Southern Indiana’s conservative-leaning district, while maintaining progressive values. He expressed support for voting against ICE funding, impeaching Trump if evidence warrants, raising the federal minimum wage to $20/hour, reforming the Supreme Court through ethics constraints, and focusing his campaign on rural counties beyond Democratic strongholds in Bloomington and New Albany. The town hall was the first in a planned series, with the next scheduled for four weeks later.
TIMESTAMPED CHAPTER LIST:
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0:00:31 - Introduction & Opening Statement
- Welcome and technical issues with Facebook Live
- Brad Meyer introduces himself as 7th generation Hoosier
- Background: quit job before retirement to run for office after Trump came to power
0:03:32 - Question 1: ICE Funding & Government Shutdown
- Scott asks: Would you vote against measure continuing to fund ICE/DHS?
- Reference to Rep. Ro Khanna’s stance on Meet the Press
- Meyer: Yes, would vote against continuing ICE funding
- Discussion of Democrats giving up leverage in budget negotiations
- Follow-up on Democratic compromise proposals (no masks, body cameras, warrants)
- Meyer: Current administration acting in bad faith; Democrats need to push for more than promises
0:07:53 - Question 2: Wealth Tax & Gavin Newsom
- California Governor Newsom opposes billionaire wealth tax at state level (capital flight concerns)
- Supports wealth tax at federal level in principle
- Would you support a wealth tax at the federal level?
- Meyer: Uncomfortable with framing as “wealth tax” - sounds punitive, like class jealousy
- Prefers starting with: what kind of society do we need, what will it cost, how do we fund it?
- Supports policies that favor working people and small businesses over billionaires
- Taxes on ultra-wealthy will have to go up, but focus should be on economic policies for all
- Rather have 50,000 people make $20K more than one more billionaire
0:12:23 - Question 3: Dissolving ICE (Liliana Young - YouTube)
- Would you support a bill to completely dissolve ICE?
- Meyer: No, not without replacement
- Need laws surrounding immigration
- Comparison to “defund the police” - doesn’t play well in Southern Indiana
- Need to address legitimate needs of country with alternative solutions
- ICE existed under Obama and Biden - issue is brutal policies, not institution itself
0:14:59 - Question 4: Impeachment & 25th Amendment (David Kirk - Facebook)
- Do you support removing Trump through impeachment or 25th Amendment?
- Meyer: Yes, ample evidence and justification for impeachment
- Congress needs to push back on illegal actions beyond impeachment
- Discussion of Trump’s lack of legal authority for certain actions
0:16:26 - Question 5: Small Business Incentives (George Wright - YouTube)
- What incentives to encourage new small businesses in rural/small town communities?
- Meyer priorities:
* Broadband/good internet access in rural Indiana
* Access to capital and small business loans
* Technical support and resources
* Regulatory environment that doesn’t favor large corporations over small business
0:19:32 - Question 6: Public Dollars for Private Schools (Nora Sallows on progressiveindiana.net)
- How do you feel about spending public dollars on private schools?
- Meyer: Strong supporter of public education
- Republicans trying to undermine, weaken, gut, and sell off education to private hands
- Private schools often ideologically-based rather than fact-based
- Voucher system is wealth transfer from public to private, often religious schools
- Federal role through Department of Education is limited by Constitution
- Need to support and increase funding for public education
0:26:32 - Question 7: Campaign Finance Reform (Chelsea McDonnel on Facebook)
- Is money in politics the root of many issues?
- Support overturning Citizens United? Support state-funded elections?
- Meyer: No clear path to overturn Citizens United legislatively
- Money in politics always been a problem, sometimes worse, sometimes better
- State-funded elections is state issue, would defer to state candidates
- Current priorities: funding for hungry people over funding campaigns
0:30:09 - Follow-up: Government-Funded Campaigns (George Wright)
- Would you support government-funded campaigns to get around Citizens United?
- Meyer: Merit to the idea (citing England example)
- Concern: Current administration would abuse power, deny funding to progressive Democrats
- Requires government to be fair and dispassionate - not current reality
0:30:43 - Follow-up: Constitutional Amendment & Supreme Court Reform (Nora Sallows & Scott)
- American Progress organization promoting constitutional amendment on campaign contributions
- What can be done about Supreme Court as the problem?
- Support expanding court, ethics rules, defunding?
- Meyer: Supports ethics constraints on Supreme Court
- Court expansion and term limits have merit
- Need to be thoughtful about implementation to avoid opening door to abuse
- Historical precedent: court has been different sizes before
0:36:27 - Question 8: Impeaching Supreme Court Justices (Liliana Young)
- Should justices be impeached for taking bribes (Clarence Thomas)?
- Meyer: Yes, unequivocally need better constraints on behavior
- Justices who violate ethical standards should be impeached
- Important distinction: impeach for taking bribes, NOT for decisions we disagree with
- Must maintain principle even if bribe led to favorable decision
0:38:56 - Question 9: Federal Minimum Wage (David Kirk)
- At what dollar amount should federal minimum wage be set?
- Current: $7.25 since 2009
- Meyer: Should be $20/hour
- Discussion of cost of living, housing affordability
- Minimum wage should allow full-time worker to afford basic necessities
0:42:16 - Follow-up: Tying Minimum Wage to CPI (George Wright)
- Support automatic annual increases based on Consumer Price Index?
- Meyer: In principle yes, but concerns about acceleration/feedback loop
- Could create “critical race condition” where wage increases drive inflation which drives wages
- Sometimes need flexibility to use good judgment rather than automatic mechanisms
0:44:13 - Question 10: Campaign Strategy (Ripley County Democrats - Facebook)
- Beyond Bloomington and New Albany, what’s your strategy to flip moderate and rural voters?
- Meyer: Many advisors say focus only on 3 Democratic stronghold counties
- Might work for primary, but general election requires broader reach
- Cannot write off rural communities
- Strategy: Knock on doors, talk to people in all 20 counties
- Focus on shared values: freedom, independence, fiscal responsibility
- Talk about issues that matter to rural communities
- Need to understand concerns of people who disagree with you
0:46:46 - Follow-up: Volunteer Team & Digital Outreach (Ripley County Democrats)
- How many active volunteers on field team?
- Are you integrating digital outreach to reach young voters?
- Meyer: Strong base in many counties, actively expanding
- Setting up social media presence on 8 platforms
- Digital outreach important for reaching voters across 2 hours wide by 2 hours deep, 18-county district
0:48:17 - Question 10: Gaza & U.S. Military Aid to Israel
- Gaza has deeply divided the party
- Young voters didn’t turn out for Harris because she didn’t denounce Israel’s actions
- What is your position on continuing U.S. military aid to Israel?
- How would you advocate for long-term resolution?
- Meyer: Believes in stable, durable peace between Palestine and Israel
- Two-state solution has always been right answer, but no clear path currently
- Concerned about suppression approach leading to cycle of violence
- Would condition military aid on Israel working toward two-state solution
- Acknowledges this is enormously divisive issue
0:52:34 - Follow-up: Was it Genocide in Gaza? (Christina Persson - progressiveindiana.net)
- Do you believe that a genocide occurred in Gaza?
- Meyer: Calling it genocide would alienate U.S. from ability to broker durable peace
- Would lose 75-year ally and strongest ally in region
- Acknowledges position is unpopular
- Believes in diplomacy as long-term solution
- Need to maintain some influence to help bring about peace
0:54:37 - Question 11: Other Constitutional Amendments Needed
- You mentioned other constitutional amendments besides campaign finance reform
- What are they?
- Meyer: Universal health care amendment - shouldn’t go broke trying to stay alive
- Balanced budget amendment - if Congress fails to pass budget by Oct 1, members barred from standing for re-election for duration of their term
- Congress not doing primary job (power of the purse)
- Missing paychecks won’t affect wealthy members, need real consequences
0:57:07 - Closing Remarks
- Meyer emphasizes need to discuss economy more
- Economy tilted toward the rich, government should create balanced economy
- Young people losing hope - less than 50% will be better off than parents
- Issue is affordability AND opportunity for fair shot at decent life
- Next town hall in 4 weeks - economic questions encouraged
0:59:42 - Campaign Information
- Website: bradmeyer.org
- Phone: 812-929-0045
- Primary election: May 5th
