Pro Politics with Zac McCrary

Send us a textTaifa Butler is the President of Demos, the “think tank of the movement” - dedicated to building a democracy and economy rooted in racial equity. Taifa talks the politics of her native Philadelphia in her formative years, what inspired her to pursue a life in politics and advocacy, her path to becoming President of Demos in early 2021, the work she’s most passionate about now, and her best practices on leadership, fundraising, public speaking, and much more.IN THIS EPISODETaifa talks growing up amidst the tumultuous Philadelphia political scene in the 70s and 80s…Taifa remembers the momentous transition in the city from Mayor Frank Rizzo to Mayor Wilson Goode…The experience as a junior in high school that set Taifa on her path toward politics and advocacy…Taifa talks how single-sex schools gave her important opportunities…The lessons Taifa learned in a narrow loss running for local office…Taifa de-mystifies the role that think tanks can play in our politics…Taifa’s thoughts on how advocates can be successful even when partisan and ideological currents work against them…Taifa remembers what she’s seen working with and around Stacey Abrams…Taifa talks the priorities of the progressive think tank Demos and her path to becoming its President…Taifa explains what it looks like to head a large national think tank…Taifa talks how to avoid non-profit jargon…Taifa’s thoughts on how to build the right team for an organization, plus tips for jobseekers…Taifa’s 101 on how she thinks about racial equity and advice for those looking to learn more…Taifa’s tips for those who want to improve their public-speaking skill set…Taifa’s “one unusual work habit”……and much more!

Send us a textThis week's episode is a compilation of some of my favorite campaign war stories and memorable moments from the first three months of episodes, covering March - May 2021. IN THIS EPISODE Paul Begala talks a key lesson he learned from the 1984 Texas Senate race…and the Democratic candidate the Clinton campaign believed posed the greatest threat to Clinton in the primaries.Rebecca Pearcey, Political Director on the Warren 2020 presidential, recalls crossing paths with celebrities on the campaign trail and breaks down the value and mechanics of Elizabeth Warren’s selfie lines from the 2020 primaries…Glen Bolger, Republican pollster, shares a memory from 1988 demonstrating showing how unprepared GOP institutions were when George HW Bush chose Dan Quayle to be his VP nominee…and – as the pollster for Senator Thom Tillis – weighs in on whether or not the Cal Cunningham affair made the difference in the 2020 NC Senate race…Rose Kapolczynski, manager of Barbara Boxer’s four successful Senate campaigns, takes us deep inside Barbara Boxer’s underdog 1992 Senate race…and talks the role the Anita Hill / Clarence Thomas hearings had in the race and in creating that cycle’s “Year of the Woman”…Two-term Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed shares fantastic stories about two of his mentors, Mayors Maynard Jackson and Willie Brown…Saul Shorr, Democratic admaker, talks about his memories of Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan - including the historic winning 2000 Senate race that took place three weeks after Governor Carnahan died in a tragic plane crash…Democratic media strategist Martha McKenna remembers her front row seat seeing the political origins of now Cabinet Secretaries Deb Haaland and Pete Buttigieg…Mike Murphy, GOP media guru, talks two of the times he rubbed the brass of the Bush ’92 re-election team the wrong way…and shares a fantastic Pat Buchanan story…Faiz Shakir, Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign manager, goes deep into the 2020 campaign, including the re-boot of the campaign after Senator Sanders’ heart scare, the campaign’s theory of the race, and a couple of things he’d want to handle differently in hindsight…Founder of House Majority PAC Ali Lapp recounts one of her favorite examples of HMP utilizing creative tactics to help Democrats win a tough House seat in 2016…

Send us a textAriel Edwards-Levy is CNN's Polling and Elections Analytics Editor, after covering the public opinion beat at Huffington Post for several cycles. In this episode she talks growing up in Southern California, the election that hooked her on politics at a young age, her early days in journalism, how she gravitated toward the polling beat, her transition from Huffington Post to CNN, and Ariel tackles many of the weighty questions confronting the field of polling.IN THIS EPISODEAriel self-identifies as an LA Valley Girl…Ariel’s political awareness starts around the 2000 Bush-Gore election…Ariel fondly remembers the days of getting the daily print newspaper…Ariel talks the connections between her background as a journalist to her current focus on polling…Ariel talks her early path in journalism and how she came to the polling beat at the Huffington Post…Ariel talks her transition from Huffington Post to CNN…Ariel talks through what the day job of the Polling and Analytics Editor at CNN actually is…Ariel weighs in on the state of the polling industry…Ariel breaks down the differential non-response bias problem…Ariel on both improvements polling has made recently as well as challenges the field still faces…Ariel talks the mistakes that get under her skin from some public polling…Ariel talks how she thinks about tackling polling complex issues…Ariel’s best practices for people to become savvy consumers of public opinion data…Ariel talks the value of qualitative research…Ariel talks how she’s developed a large Twitter footprint…Ariel’s one quirky work habit…

Send us a textJeff Romig has been working in the trenches of politics for well over a decade. Inspired to work in campaigns by Congressman John Lewis, he's worked in all phases of campaigns to win tough races at the state and local level - and he's deeply experienced running non-profits as well. But the time is right now to talk to Jeff, as he's just released a memoir about living for 25 years in the shadow of his father's suicide and coming to grips with his own mental health and addiction issues. The book, Don't F***ing Kill Yourself (dfkybook.com), was released last week and is already an Amazon Bestseller. I find Jeff's book and story to be very timely as the conversation about mental health concerns for those who work in and around politics is just starting to happen. I appreciate Jeff's openness in his book and his commitment to using his own life and struggles to help keep this important conversation going.IN THIS EPISODE…Jeff bounces around in journalism in South Carolina and Indiana before finding his way to working politics…Spending time around Congressman John Lewis inspires Jeff toward a career in politics…Jeff tells memorable stories of being up close and personal with John Lewis…Jeff talks through some of the key moments from his career working in politics…Jeff talks the parallels between being a working journalist and a political operative…Jeff talks his best practices from years of helping non-profits succeed and grow…Jeff talks through his new book and what motivated him to write it…Jeff talks about the need to de-stigmatize suicidal ideation…Jeff talks about some of the specific mental health challenges he’s run across while working in politics…Jeff talks his struggle with alcoholism and the mental health and recovery tools that have helped him…Jeff talks the nuts-and-bolts of how his book went from a broad concept to a completed, published work…

Send us a textOver the course of 2017, Doug Jones went from a respected Alabama attorney and empty nester to one of the most well-known US Senators in the country. In this conversation, we talk growing up in the shadow of segregation and George Wallace, starting to see those walls come down as he’s in high school, learning under his mentor Senator Howell Heflin, his time as US Attorney seeking justice against the Klan for the 1963 bombing of a Black church in Birmingham, the upset win and political hurricane in his 2017 special election, and memories of 3 influential years in the US Senate.IN THIS EPISODE…Sen Jones talks growing up in the segregated South and then seeing the world change before his eyes…He remembers the toxic legacy of Governor George Wallace…He remembers his time as an aide for his mentor, the iconic Alabama Senator (Judge) Howell Heflin…His memories of the Senate Judiciary Committee of the late 1970s…The twists-and-turns that lead to the opportunity to become US Attorney in 1997…US Attorney Jones helps deliver justice decades-later in the cold case of the KKK bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham…He talks his aborted race against Jeff Sessions in 2002…Why he decided to run for Senate 15 years later in 2017…Inside the 2017 Senate race when the entire political universe turns its eyes toward Doug Jones…The role Republican Senator Richard Shelby played in the 2017 race…Senator Jones talks the historic Black voter turnout in 2017…What surprised him about the Senate when he’s sworn in…What he’s most proud of from his tenure in the Senate…Senator Jones talks his No vote on the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings…He weighs in on the current debates in the US Senate…AND Lamar Alexander, Jim Allen, Arent Fox, Bill Baxley, Birch Bayh, Joe Biden, Amelia Boynton, Brown vs the Board of Education, Build Back Better, Center for American Progress, the Civil Rights Trail, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Thad Cochran, Susan Collins, Bull Connor, constitutional compasses, John Culver, Joe Donnelly, Dwight Eisenhower, the Equal Justice Initiative, Medgar Evers, Christine Blasey Ford, Cory Gardner, Gold Star widows, Chuck Grassley, HBCUs, Claude Harris, Kamala Harris, Chris Hastings, Orrin Hatch, Heidi Heitkamp, Mike House, human infrastructure, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Johnny Isakson, Mick Jagger, Kelly Ingram Park, Caroline Kennedy, JFK, Ted Kennedy, Kay Ivey, John Lewis, MLK, Paul Laxalt, Pat Leahy, John McCain, Claire McCaskill, Chris McNair, Howard Metzenbaum, Walter Mondale, money from heaven, the only game in town, Mike Pence, Giles Perkins, Janet Reno, Right Side of History PAC, Rosa Parks, Alan Simpson, Tina Smith, John Sparkman, Frank Stitt, Jon Tester, Strom Thurmond, Joe Trippi, Doug Turner, unprofessional demeanors, US Steel, Hosea Williams, the Women’s March, a Yoda doll….& more!

Send us a textWho else has a story like Chuck Robb? Marries the President Johnson's daughter in a White House ceremony, serves in Vietnam, changes the political culture of Virginia in the 70s and 80s, two consequential terms in the Senate, helps found the influential centrist DLC, and casts several courageous, unpopular votes that ultimately take a toll on his career in elected office. This is a frank, revealing conversation though Governor Robb's one-of-a-kind political life.IN THIS EPISODE…Governor Robb’s indirect connection to Woodrow Wilson…His formative time in the Marines, including combat in Vietnam…A young Chuck Robb’s ceremonial role in the LBJ White House…He recalls a meeting in the Lincoln Bedroom asking the President Johnson’s blessing to marry his daughter Linda…More of his memories from seeing President Johnson up close…He also speaks to the important role that Lady Bird Johnson played in President Johnson’s career…He weighs in on the “rivalry” between the Kennedys and the Johnsons…The ribbing from John McCain that would always get a rise from Governor Robb…The early days kicking his political career off in Virginia…The 1984 DNC Convention speech he gave that gave rise to the centrist, DLC movement…Why he never ran for President…The long relationship between Chuck Robb and Doug Wilder…He remembers his iconic 1994 re-election race against Oliver North…He talks through his courageous 1996 vote against the Defense of Marriage Act…He also talks his reversal of opinion to cast a vote against the Flag Burning Amendment…He talks his losing 2000 race against George Allen and gives advice to candidates running as underdogs…Weighing in on the debate over the filibuster reform…He talks the roles he’s taken on after his Senate career…AND…8th and I, Joe Biden, Harry Byrd, Bill Clinton, Marshall Coleman, Jim Crow, Everett Dirksen, Episcopalians, John Glenn, heifers, Howell Heflin, Hubert Humphrey, HMX-1, Scoop Jackson, Barbara Jordan, Robert Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, John McCain, mixed doubles with Ethel Kennedy, muddy boot Marines, Sam Nunn, Strom Thurmond, the USS Northampton, the WMD Commission, Robert W. Wooley, & more!

Send us a text There aren't many stories like Stefan's Smith in politics...growing up with a single mom in public housing in South Carolina...and from a gig worker to the upper echelons of presidential campaigns and iconic progressive organizations in four years. Stefan flirted with both a career in academia and the entertainment industry before finding his calling in digital politics. In this conversation, he talks his unusual path to politics, his road warrior days on campaigns, goes deep on his time with the Buttigieg campaign, & the projects he's taken on since. Stefan is also generous with his advice to those bouncing around campaigns, those interested in working in digital, and anyone looking to help make working in politics accessible to more people.  IN THIS EPISODE…Stefan’s upbringing in Greenville, South Carolina…The life-changing moment when Stefan got his first computer…The first race Stefan cared about…Why Stefan veered away from academia…Stefan’s stint as a researcher / writer on Drunk History on Comedy Central…The two reasons why Stefan found himself on the 2016 Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign…Stefan’s time as an itinerant campaign worker for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Senator Martin Heinrich…Stefan’s “transformational” experience building a digital plan for New Mexico Democrats…Stefan’s 4 practical tips for campaign road warriors…Stefan’s circuitous path to working for Pete Buttigieg…Stefan’s take on why & how Buttigieg dramatically exceeded conventional wisdom in 2020…Stefan takes us inside the Buttigieg world on Iowa Caucus night…Stefan de-mystifies the Buttigieg digital strategy…Stefan’s digital advice for lower-budget campaigns…Stefan’s tips for operatives who want to work in digital…Stefan’s post-primary work on election violence and criminal justice reform…Stefan’s current job as the #2 digital staffer at the ACLU…Stefan’s one ask of white people to help diversify political campaigns…Stefan’s one unusual work habit…AND…10-page memos, Adobe Premier, Rakim Brooks, George W. Bush, Greta Carnes, the catapult strategy, the CHIP program, clown car primaries, the Confederate flag, Kevin Costner, digital armies & ass whoopings, dope meme stashes, Facebook, Carrie Gooch, Al Gore, Michael Halle, Bridget Halligan, Kamala Harris, Meena Harris, Martin Heinrich, the Iowa Liberty-Justice Dinner, Tito Jackson, Jay-Z, Jeep Wranglers, Marsha P. Johnson, Van Jones, Joe Kabourek, the Kennedy-Nixon debates, Eric Koch, Machiavelli, Meek Mill, momentous cigarette breaks, More in Common, Jess O’Connell, para-social relationships, political gateways, Postmates, pyroclastic volcanic flows, Reddit, REFORM, Karl Rove, Ian Sams, Bernie Sanders, Saturday morning champagne, Hari Sevugan, Sonal Shah, Lis Smith, SnapChat, Spice Girls chat rooms, Samantha Steelman, Tom Steyer, Sun Tzu, Twitter, Uber Eats, vanity metrics, Viacom, Chris Wallace, Derek Waters, Patrick Wyman, YouTube…& MORE!

Send us a textIleana Ros-Lehtinen has a truly American story: born in Cuba, emigrates to Miami with her family at age 8, works as a teacher before being elected to the Florida legislature - and then makes history as the first Hispanic woman in American history to be elected to Congress. This is a great conversation about her one-of-a-kind life, history-making career, great political stories, and advice & insight to candidates, elected officials, lobbyists, and staffers after serving nearly 30 years in the U.S. House.IN THIS EPISODECongresswoman Ros-Lehtinen’s early memories growing up in Cuba and her sudden emigration to Miami…She breaks down why Cuban Americans started to align with the Republican Party…The conversation that got her involved in politics for the first time…She talks about her House predecessor, the legendary Congressman Claude Pepper…How she overcame racist tactics to become the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress…The surprising way she learned she made history on Election Night…What surprised her as she got her feet wet in Congress…She’s remembers how Newt Gingrich changed the Republican Party and transformed Congress…Why she didn’t sign the 1994 Republican “Contract with America”…The House Democrat she remembers for brass-knuckle tactics…She remembers times she was “in the dog house” for breaking with GOP party leadership…Her signature accomplishments after 30 years in the house…She remembers the intensity around the Elian Gonzalez custody case, occurring right in her district…She weighs in on if the Elian Gonzalez case cost Al Gore Florida in 2000 and ultimately the presidency…Her memories of the impeachment of Bill Clinton…Why she never ran statewide and didn’t run for re-election in 2018…Her take on what makes a good lobbyist…Her tips on running on a congressional office…She remembers Marco Rubio as a young intern in her office…What does she miss about being in Congress…Her take on why there are so many Florida politicians on the national scene…She weighs in on whether Florida remains a “swing state”…Her advice on what people should do when visiting Miami…AND…537 Votes, The Bay of Pigs, Beltway Fever, Brigade 2506, Jeb Bush, Kathy Castor, Fidel Castro, Liz Cheney, Shirley Chisholm, Bill Clinton, Billy Corben, Katie Couric, Cuba Libres, the Defense of Marriage Act, Tom DeLay, Val Demings, Ron DeSantis, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, Bob Dole, Dante Fascell, first airplane rides, Tom Foley, get-along and go-along Republicans, Newt Gingrich, Elian Gonzalez, Homestead Air Force Base, Steny Hoyer, Sam Johnson, JFK, Bill Lehman, David Leahy, Dexter Lehtinen, John Lewis, La Loba Feroz, John McCain, Bob Michel, a minority mentality, Stephanie Murphy, Obamacare, olive-green military attire, Red Pepper, Robert Redford, Janet Reno, Steve Schale, snowbirds, South Beach, SWAT teams, the University of Havana, Versailles, Don Young, & more!

Send us a textEd Peavy founded Democratic direct mail firm Mission Control and is rightfully known as one of the good people in the business. In this conversation, Ed talks why after working a few weeks on the Hill he knew it wasn't right for him, his early campaign days including on the legendary Harris Wofford Senate race in Pennsylvania, and then starting a small direct mail firm that has become one of the most successful in politics. Great conversation with Ed with lots of practical tips about the mechanics of campaigns, the art of mail, running a political business, and much more. IN THIS EPISODE…Ed grows up in the Beltway and has a closer-than-you’d-think connection the Iranian Hostage Crisis…The first political race Ed remembers…Ed’s brief time working as a Hill staffer…and when he realized it wasn’t for him…The congressional race Ed worked on that changed his professional path…Ed learns a lot on the legendary Senate special election to elect Harris Wofford in PA…Ed’s thoughts on what separates good campaign managers from the pack…Ed’s path to consulting and direct mail…Ed makes the decision to start Mission Control direct mail…The story behind the name “Mission Control”…The story of a rival candidate hiring Ed after being attacked by Ed’s mail…The key races that helped put Ed and Mission Control on the map…Ed breaks down his process of building his professional network…Ed’s 101 on how campaigns and candidates should utilize direct mail…Ed talks the the work Mission Control did in the GA Senate races to flip the Senate majority…The thing that some people do that drives Ed “the most nuts” in the business…Ed breaks down who is and isn’t a good fit to work in direct mail…Ed weighs in with his tips on deeply controversial travel questions…AND John Anderson, Tom Andrews, Melissa Bean, Paul Begala, Tim Bishop, Richard Bolling, Joe Brennan, James Carville, Jimmy Carter, Dante Fascell, Gerald Ford, Sam Gejdenson, Felix Grucci, Martin Hamburger, Maren Hesla, Brian Joyce, Stephen Lynch, Jim Maloney, Marty Markowitz, Joe Moakley, Dennis Moore, Connie Morella, Adnaan Muslim, Steve Murphy, Jon Ossoff, Claude Pepper, RAGBRAI, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller, Olympia Snowe, Tom Suozzi, terrible headlines, Dick Thornburgh, upset landslides, Alan Wheat, Anthony Weiner,…& more!

Send us a textDr. Michael D. Cohen studied under iconic pollster Bill Hamilton as a student, worked in the trenches in Republican campaigns, spent time at Gallup, apprenticed under iconic GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio (most known recently as Donald Trump's pollster) and worked with famed Dem strategist Mark Penn when Michael was an in-house pollster at Microsoft. Along the way, Michael started his own firm (Cohen Research Group), built the booming political Congress in Your Pocket technology app, and recently wrote the book Modern Political Campaigns to bring the campaign literature up to speed with the ever-evolving political industry. This is a great nuts-and-bolts conversation on the political industry with a successful pollster, tech entrepreneur, and author.IN THIS EPISODE…Michael’s formative years growing up on Long Island…The political switch flips for Michael in college…Michael crosses paths with famed Democratic pollster Bill Hamilton…Michael makes the jump to political polling under Tony Fabrizio…The bizarre story of how one of Michael’s candidates was pilloried on the Colbert Report…Michael starts his own polling firm to move beyond partisan politics…Michael’s stint as an in-house pollster at Microsoft with Mark Penn…Michael’s compares working with legendary Dem pollster Mark Penn and iconic GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio…Michael creates the wildly successful Congress in Your Pocket app…Michael’s 101 on how to create an app…The long journey behind Michael’s new book Modern Political Campaigns…Michael’s advice to those who want to write a book and get it published…Michael’s take on what makes a good pollster…Michael weighs in on the question of a “polling crisis”…Michael’s advice on the best books to understand how politics works…AND AAPOR, Michael Bender, Sidney Blumenthal, Stephen Colbert, Sean Cook, Bob Dole, enlargement ads, Ezra Cohen Corporation, Arthur Finkelstein, the Gallup Poll, Josh Gottheimer, Sasha Issenberg, Peter Jennings, Steve Jobs, Ed Koch, Celinda Lake, Massapequa mannerisms, mobilization vs. persuasion, Never Trump Republicans, Ronald Reagan, Rowman & Littlefield, Jake Rush, Karen Thurman, Chris Tompkins, Tevi Troy, vampire roleplaying, Ted Yoho, & more!