In the latest episode of the Democracy’s Future podcast, you’ll hear ISU students Andrew Franson and Matt Saner discuss their affiliation with different political parties, sharing both the distinctions in their ideologies and the unexpected areas where they find agreement.
Matt Saner is a freshman cybersecurity major from Springfield who identifies himself as a conservative. He credits his Catholic faith as the primary influence on his political beliefs, particularly his pro-life stance. He also highlights the economy as another significant factor shaping his views.
As the discussion moves to the integrity of democratic processes, Saner expresses skepticism about claims that democracy is under threat in the next election. He argues that such assertions are often driven by political motivations rather than a true reflection of the state of democracy.
“[A] lot of people like to fear monger. I truly don't think that it's that much under attack,” Saner continued. “There's a lot of people who want to claim that democracy is under attack. I don't think so. I mean, that's just people trying to say that for political gain.”
Andrew Franson, a freshman majoring in history and social science education as an aspiring teacher from the Chicago suburb of Mokena, identifies as a Marxist. He strongly advocates for unions and workers' rights, viewing them as essential to creating a more equitable society. Franson believes empowering labor movements is key to addressing economic inequality and achieving social justice, principles that align with his broader Marxist philosophy.
He outlines what he sees as the strengths of his people on the political left while also understanding the need for opposition.
"The whole goal of a Marxist movement is to establish a just and democratic society for everybody,” Franson said. “However, I think that it's important to acknowledge that the opposition of Marxist movements have mainly been the interests of the capitalist class, and I think that followers of the Democratic and Republican platform are not really aware of how much they are being used in terms of policy."
Both Saner and Franson highlight the importance of voting and discuss their votes in the 2024 presidential election. Franson has not yet voted, but talks about his plan this year. Saner took the opportunity to use a mail-in ballot to cast his vote for Donald Trump and JD Vance.
“When I looked at Donald Trump's economic policy, foreign policy, between the 2016 2020 years, I believe that I aligned better than what I thought between Biden and Harris' 2020 and 2024 [campaigns],” Saner said.
Both Saner and Franson express disagreements with both parties and their responses to Hurricane Helene and other global issues. They also agree on the importance of having a constructive dialogue, highlighting the challenges that arise when individuals are too entrenched in their political affiliations that can hinder meaningful discussions and solutions.
“And when you really boil it down, when Andrew and I were talking, we have very differing political viewpoints, but we talked about a lot of stuff, and we agreed on a lot of stuff. And I believe that that was also very prevalent during the JD Vance-Tim Walz vice presidential debate, how, at the end of the day, they were very in a lot of agreement with each other on certain issues. There was just the small things that they had a difference on,” Saner said.
In our next episode, we’ll reflect on the results of the general election and what they mean for the future of democracy in the U.S.
Please give us your feedback on this series and let us know if there are certain issues you’d like us to explore. Email us at news@wglt.org.
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