Jul 13, 2026 · 54 min · 12 segments
Much of American politics now runs on telling people who to blame for what has gone wrong in their lives. Congressman Jake Auchincloss thinks we need to offer something more compelling: a politics of…
Jake AuchinclossGuest
Jeremy BurtonHost
So why don't we start with my comment about patriotism and something you've been vocal on.
And obviously we are just one week past our semi-quincentennial celebration of July 4th.
And I think it's fair to say that patriotism This celebration was, shall we say, underwhelming in terms of any sense of national unity and coming together, both in Washington and around the country.
Can you talk a little bit about what that means to you and what we ought to be focused on at this important moment in American history?
I agree that the 250th celebrations and fervor has been muted, partly because, you know, the president just makes everything about himself in such a crass and deflating way.
And I would say that the challenging news is that in 2026, according to Gallup, patriotism is at a modern low since polling began.
The ideals of 1776, freedom, equality, opportunity, are as unifying as they have ever been.
Americans deeply believe that we are in covenant with one another to protect each other's natural rights, our right to life, our right to not be tyrannized, our right to choose our own pursuit of happiness, not subject to another's judgment.
And We can unify ourselves around this covenant, but it requires that we break from a vision of patriotism that is not fashioned around ideas, but is fashioned around blood and soil.
And in their own ways, both the extremes of American political life articulate this, but J.D. Vance is probably the best expositor of it.
In his speech in 24 to the Republican convention, he describes his family's cemetery plot in Eastern Kentucky and says, these ancestors of mine, they didn't fight for an idea.
I find that very compelling, and I recognize, of course, you are a combat veteran who has fought for these ideas.
So why don't we start with my comment about patriotism and something you've been vocal on.
And obviously we are just one week past our semi-quincentennial celebration of July 4th.
And I think it's fair to say that patriotism This celebration was, shall we say, underwhelming in terms of any sense of national unity and coming together, both in Washington and around the country.
Can you talk a little bit about what that means to you and what we ought to be focused on at this important moment in American history?
I agree that the 250th celebrations and fervor has been muted, partly because, you know, the president just makes everything about himself in such a crass and deflating way.
And I would say that the challenging news is that in 2026, according to Gallup, patriotism is at a modern low since polling began.
The ideals of 1776, freedom, equality, opportunity, are as unifying as they have ever been.
Americans deeply believe that we are in covenant with one another to protect each other's natural rights, our right to life, our right to not be tyrannized, our right to choose our own pursuit of happiness, not subject to another's judgment.
And We can unify ourselves around this covenant, but it requires that we break from a vision of patriotism that is not fashioned around ideas, but is fashioned around blood and soil.
And in their own ways, both the extremes of American political life articulate this, but J.D. Vance is probably the best expositor of it.
In his speech in 24 to the Republican convention, he describes his family's cemetery plot in Eastern Kentucky and says, these ancestors of mine, they didn't fight for an idea.
I find that very compelling, and I recognize, of course, you are a combat veteran who has fought for these ideas.
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