{"id":6292,"date":"2026-08-19T09:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T09:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/beating-the-machine-wildfires-and-why-spokane-is-looking-more-and-more-independent-with-danny-tarkenton\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T09:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T09:45:00","slug":"beating-the-machine-wildfires-and-why-spokane-is-looking-more-and-more-independent-with-danny-tarkenton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/beating-the-machine-wildfires-and-why-spokane-is-looking-more-and-more-independent-with-danny-tarkenton\/","title":{"rendered":"Beating The Machine. Wildfires And Why Spokane Is Looking More And More Independent. With Danny Tarkenton"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>Independent Veteran For Spokane Prosecutor on: <\/b><b>Open Primaries Real World Impact, 60,000 Displaced Neighbors, And What Right Looks Like. Why The Uss Lincoln Story Should Scare Every Veteran.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Spokane County spent the primary season choking on wildfire smoke \u2014 800 structures gone, 60,000 people displaced, plumes visible from the parade route \u2014 and voters still showed up to the ballot box. In the middle of that devastation, Iraq combat veteran and independent candidate Danny Tarkenton did something the two-party machine insists is impossible: she cracked the top two in a county prosecutor race with no billionaire donor, no party infrastructure, and no partisan jersey. She finished a hair behind the Republican incumbent, advanced to the November general, and proved that Washington&#8217;s open primary is a working model for what right looks like in American democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Paul sits down with Danny to unpack how she did it \u2014 walking with her community instead of standing above it, refusing party money so she only answers to the people, and bringing an interdisciplinary background in philosophy, psychology, forensic science, and combat engineering to an office that should never have been partisan in the first place. They dig into the human cost of the wildfires, the toxin exposure her community will be processing for a generation, and the contrast between leaders who acknowledge a crisis and leaders who pretend it isn&#8217;t happening. It&#8217;s a movement, not just an election \u2014 and it&#8217;s a preview of what independents can do everywhere the system isn&#8217;t rigged against them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-WATCH <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/yN_oa1C1q_w\"><span>full video of this episode here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Millions of American veterans are being locked out of primary elections in the country they served. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/veterans-locked-out\/\"><span>See what we\u2019re doing to change that<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Visit <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/kalshi.com\/r\/INDEPENDENT\"><span>Kalshi and trade on anything<\/span><\/a><span>. Use code [INDEPENDENT] to get ten dollars when you trade ten.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Head to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/cozyearth.com\"><span>cozyearth.com<\/span><\/a><span> and use the code AMERICANS for an exclusive 20% off.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Join <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/noblemobile.com\/paul\"><span>Noble Mobile today and get a $100 bonus<\/span><\/a><span> when you use code PAUL and stay a member for 2 months!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Join <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><span>IVA and help us get independent veterans elected to office<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about Paul\u2019s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><span>Independent Veterans of America<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/americanveteransforukraine.org\/\"><span>American Veterans for Ukraine here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Remember <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/do8wjRtDZJ4?feature=share\"><span>Independent is an Attitude<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theheadstrongproject.org\/\"><span> The Headstrong Project <\/span><\/a><span>for Veterans, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.taps.org\/\"><span>Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/health-care\/health-needs-conditions\/mental-health\/\"><span>Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area<\/span><\/a><span>. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It\u2019s a show of strength. <\/span><span>If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Connect with Independent Americans:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Subscribe on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\"><span>YouTube<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\"><span>Spotify<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\"><span>Apple Podcasts<\/span><\/a><span>, and all podcast platforms<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Read more at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.substack.com\"> <span>Substack<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>Support ad-free episodes at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\"> <span>Patreon<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Connect: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0 \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\"><span>X\/Twitter<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\"><span>BlueSky<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PaulRieckhoff\"><span>X<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/paulrieckhoff\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@paulrieckhoff\"><span>Threads<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/rieckhoff.bsky.social\"><span>Bluesky<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\"><span>Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community<\/span><\/a><span> of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.us\/merch\/\"><span>And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch<\/span><\/a><span> now in time for the new year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/righteous.us\/\"><span>Righteous Media<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And now part of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bleav.com\/shows\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/\"><span>the BLEAV network<\/span><\/a><span>!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href=\"https:\/\/pcm.adswizz.com\">pcm.adswizz.com<\/a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spokane County spent the primary season choking on wildfire smoke \u2014 800 structures gone, 60,000 people displaced, plumes visible from the parade route \u2014 and voters still showed up to the ballot box. In the middle of that devastation, Iraq combat veteran and independent candidate Danny Tarkenton did something the two-party machine insists is impossible: she cracked the top two in a county prosecutor race with no billionaire donor, no party infrastructure, and no partisan jersey. She finished a hair behind the Republican incumbent, advanced to the November general, and proved that Washington&#8217;s open primary is a working model for what right looks like in American democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-episodes","entry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ia-promo-square-ep603.jpg",1400,1400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ia-promo-square-ep603.jpg",1400,1400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ia-promo-square-ep603.jpg",1400,1400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ia-promo-square-ep603-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ia-promo-square-ep603-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ia-promo-square-ep603-1024x1024.jpg",750,750,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ia-promo-square-ep603.jpg",1400,1400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ia-promo-square-ep603.jpg",1400,1400,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ia-promo-square-ep603.jpg",1400,1400,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/category\/episodes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Episodes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Spokane County spent the primary season choking on wildfire smoke \u2014 800 structures gone, 60,000 people displaced, plumes visible from the parade route \u2014 and voters still showed up to the ballot box. In the middle of that devastation, Iraq combat veteran and independent candidate Danny Tarkenton did something the two-party machine insists is impossible:&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}