Pro Politics with Zac McCrary

Send us a textOther than those who've been elected President, I'm not sure anyone in his generation has had a more remarkable political career than Haley Barbour. Running Mississippi for Nixon while he was still in college...ED of the MS GOP at a critical building phase in the 70s...battling a Senate Giant in his unsuccessful first race in '82...running the Reagan White House's political operation...chairing the RNC during the '94 GOP wave...2-term Governor...and starting what has become one of the most successful lobbying government affairs firms in the country. Great conversation hearing about Haley Barbour's rise from small town Mississippi to the highest corridors of political power. IN THIS EPISODEHow Haley Barbour got into politics “totally by fluke”…Running Mississippi for Nixon in ’68…What made a young Haley Barbour gravitate to the Republican Party…The rise of Thad Cochran and Trent Lott…Haley Barbour’s time in the early 70s as executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party…The story of Haley Barbour’s lone political loss in the 1982 Senate race against longtime Dem incumbent John Stennis…Haley Barbour’s rules for candidates and campaign managers…Haley Barbour’s time running the political operation in the Reagan White House…Haley Barbour tells his favorite Jim Baker story…The connection between Haley Barbour and serial killer John Wayne Gacy…Why was Barbara Bush so angry at Haley Barbour in the ’88 campaign?Why Haley Barbour turned down working out of the White House?The one time Ronald Reagan overruled Haley Barbour?The early days of the rise of Newt Gingrich…Haley Barbour beats two future US Senators to take over the Republican National Committee in 1993…Haley Barbour talks the GOP wave of 1994…Haley Barbour talks his 2003 Governor’s campaign ousting a Democratic incumbent…How he overcame the “lobbyist” label in the Governor’s race…Getting close to jumping in the 2012 presidential race…How Haley Barbour started one of DC’s premier lobbying firms…Haley Barbour rules for being an effective lobbyist…AND…Spencer Abraham, John Ashcroft, Lee Atwater, James Baker, Lloyd Bentsen, Kirk Blalock, Remy Brim, Barbara Bush, Bob Calloway, Gil Carmichael, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton Mitch Daniels, Democrats for Eisenhower, Walt Disney, Bob Dole, James Eastland, Frank Fahrenkopf, Don Fierce, Gerald Ford, Kirk Fordice, Jim Free, Lanny Griffith, Mike Huckabee, Paul Johnson, Paul Laxalt, Ron Lewis, Zell Miller, Ronnie Musgrove, Lyn Nofziger, the OEB, Mike Parker, Heather Podesta, Tony Podesta, Scott Reed, Ed Rogers, Ed Rollins, Mitt Romney, George Shultz, Sam Skinner, Stu Spencer, John Sununu, Jim Thompson, George Wallace, Wendell Willkie, and MORE!

Send us a textFrom a very early age, Jim Messina knew he wanted to manage a presidential campaign. And he made it happen as the manager for the 2012 Obama re-elect. In between, Jim ran campaigns at all levels across the country, served as Chief of Staff on Capitol Hill, and served as a White House aide helping pass much of the first-term Obama agenda. In this conversation, Jim talks growing up in a blue collar Mountain West family, his early activism against nuclear weapons, how he connected with eventual mentor Senator Max Baucus, and the lessons learned on his path to managing the campaign to re-elect President Obama.IN THIS EPISODE…The story of Jim “managing” his first campaign in 4th Grade…The book a young Jim read that turned him onto politics for good…Jim helps save the political career of the mayor of his college town…The impact of the “no Nuke” movement on Jim…Jim talks his relationship with his mentor Senator Max Baucus…The similar approach in the Baucus ’02 re-election and the Obama 2012 re-elect…Jim’s involvement in stopping the Bush ’05 Social Security Privatization plan…Jim talks why Republicans often have the strategic advantage on messaging…Jim’s theory as to why Montana creates so many talented political operatives…Jim’s best practices for working on Capitol Hill…The Republicans that have impressed Jim over the years…Jim waxes nostalgic about Prairie Populism…Jim talks about the greatest living Senate staffer…Why Jim almost passed on working for the Obama 2008 race…Voter file controversies in 2008…Jim tells great stories from helping put the Obama Cabinet together… Jim talks how President Obama wouldn’t let the ACA fail…The “shrewdest political operator” Jim has ever seen…Jim’s conversations with President Obama before taking the helm of the 2012 re-elect…What surprised Jim about running a presidential campaign…Jim talks inflection points in the 2012 presidential campaign…Why Jim was confident Biden wouldn’t have major gaffes in 2020…Jim's approach to starting The Messina Group after 2012… AND…21 Rules, Yohannes Abraham, actual mullets, Al D’Amato, David Axelrod, Baucus Burger Bonanzas, the Beast, Steve Bullock, Andy Card, Jimmy Carter, Tara Corrigan, Jim Crounse, Tom Daschle, Byron Dorgan, John Elway, Rahm Emanuel, FABIO, Tim Geithner, Girl in Red, Newt Gingrich, half-gin/half-tonic, Dave Hunter, Jesse Jackson, Liz Jarvis-Shean, Peter King, Celinda Lake, Trent Lott, Mike Mansfield, Ty Matsdorf, Carolyn McCarthy, midnight calls from Bill Clinton, Olivia Morgan, Patty Murray, Jen O’Malley, Alyssa Mastromonaco, Nancy Pelosi. David Plouffe, Prairie Populists, Marc Racicot, Harry Reid, Mitt Romney, Pete Rouse, Eric Schmidt, Stephanie Schriock, Nate Silver, Julianna Smoot, Steven Spielberg, Gail Stoltz, Taylor Swift, Larry Summers, Jon Tester, Three Mile Island, walking across Montana, Pat Williams, Anna Wintour, and MORE!

Send us a textNse Ufot is CEO of The New Georgia Project, an integral part of the infrastructure that contributed to Georgia turning blue for Joe Biden and delivering two US Senate seats as part of a Democratic majority. Under her leadership, NGP has trained local activists,  built innovative organizing apps, and helped register over 400,000 voters. In this conversation, Nse talks her childhood move from Nigeria to Atlanta, her early days as a labor lawyer, building NGP with Stacey Abrams, and the strategies employed and lessons learned that helped turn Georgia blue in 2020/2021.IN THIS EPISODE…Nse talks her memories of growing up the first few years of her life in Nigeria…How growing up in a large family informed Nse’s early politics…What got Nse off a path towrard medical school…The childhood hero that taught Nse to “never meet your heroes”…How a UN conference in South Africa & 9/11 set Nse on her career path…Nse’s early career representing public employees in negotiations…Nse talks about what it’s like representing zookeeper’s in public-employee bargaining…Why Nse’s path nearly didn't cross with Stacey Abrams…Nse recounts the origin story of the New Georgia Project…How the Affordable Care Act was a launching pad for growing the New Georgia Project…Nse talks about the Stacey Abrams she knows from working closely with her for years…Nse talks the nuts-and-bolts of political organizing…Nse talks the mechanics of New Georgia Project’s registration efforts…The innovative technology NGP builds and employs…Nse talks NGP’s role in flipping GA in November 2020 & January 2021…How Nse & NGP are looking at the 2022 cycle…

Send us a textJournalist and author Sasha Issenberg recently released his new book, The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage. Sasha chronicles the path to progress on this issue from the early 90s when even most LGBT advocates didn't see marriage equality as an achievable goal..to the present with marriage equality cemented by the Supreme Court and over 70% of Americans (and rising) lining up behind these rights. In this conversation, Sasha talks the core thesis of his book, the strategic decisions that made a difference in the debate, the key political actors on both sides of the debate, and insight into the inner workings of the Obama White House as the positions of the President and VP evolved. A lot of smart stuff from Sasha to chew on as a primer for his authoritative book, The Engagement, on the seminal civil rights issue of the last thirty years(Please consider leaving a rating and review in your podcast app)IN THIS EPISODE…The conversations that led to Sasha sinking his teeth into this topic…Sasha explains why “civil unions” was a double-edged sword for the marriage equality movement…The problems gay marriage advocates had to solve to move from losing to winning at the ballot box…The “huge” breakthrough for the gay community in the ’92 presidential campaign…The Republican who played a key role in moving Senate Democrats toward marriage equality…Which marriage equality opponent was the most effective?What explains the “backlash” in public opinion against marriage equality in the mid 90s and mid 2000s?Inside the Obama White House when VP Biden comes out for marriage equality before the President…Sasha talks the 5-4 Supreme Court Obergefell decision…One elected official Sasha believes showed a Profile in Courage on this issue…Sasha talks the importance of pop culture in driving progress…Two book recommendations Sasha used as models for The Engagement…AND…George Allen, PT Barnum, Elizabeth Birch, Barbara Boxer, Bill Clinton, Brides Magazine, James Comey, contact theory, Betsy DeVos, Mike Dukakis, the ERA ratification fight, Andrew Flores, Barney Frank, Freedom to Marry, going to war with Bolivia, Whoopi Goldberg, Lisa Grove, Hawaii’s Future Today, Valerie Jarrett, Anthony Kennedy, Mark Kirk, the LDS Church, longitudinal connections, Claire McCaskill, Ken Mehlman, the movable middle, notebook factories, the NRCC, NYT wedding announcements, the Orlando Magic, the Portland Arch Diocese, the Reliance Doctrine, Rob Portman, Robin Roberts, Chuck Robb, Mitt Romney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, sending astronauts to Pluto, Amy Simon, the soil of South Carolina, Jon Tester, Third Way, The View, virtuous cycles, Dick Wirthlin, & MORE!

Send us a textMiles Coleman is an analyst at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, though he is best known as the unofficial President of "Election Twitter" - a loose affiliation of (mostly) amateur political junkies and pundits who drive much of the political chatter and  analysis on social media. Miles also has helped popularize political cartography, with some of his self-made political maps revealing important insights about elections past, present, and future. In this conversation, Miles talks all things Elections Twitter, goes into his personal connections to two prominent US Senators, talks through the several years he spent at the FBI, and puts on his pundit hat to give his take on the 2022 cycle.(Please consider leaving a rating and review in your podcast app) IN THIS EPISODE… What does Miles have in common with Chris Christie?The first candidate Miles’ waved signs for…The story of Miles first political maps…Miles connection to Senator Kay Hagan…Miles Coleman…at the FBI?Miles story of being around James Comey…Miles trip to New Hampshire as an exit pollster…How does Miles get to the UVA’s Center for Politics…Miles best practices for “race ratings”…Miles DMs with Senator Claire McCaskill…Miles talks the origin of “Election Twitter”…Miles cliffs notes tutorial on what goes into election mapping…Miles early thoughts on the 2022 cycle… AND…Hale Boggs, the Crystal Ball, Dave’s Redistricting App, DDHQ, Elizabeth Dole, Jeff Flake, the IC, the J Edgar Hoover Building, Ron Johnson, Doug Jones, Brian Kemp, Krispy Kreme donuts, Kyle Kondik, Earl Long, minimizing toss ups, Roy Moore, Ray Nagin, Barack Obama, Larry Sabato, Kyrsten Sinema, Chris Sununu, Donald Trump, Ann Wagner, and MORE!(Please consider leaving a rating and review in your podcast app)

Send us a textThose in the political world know Jason Stanford as the founder of the opposition research firm Stanford Campaigns - which is still going strong after 20+ years. He's also a prolific writer, with a new book out. Forget the Alamo chronicles the history of the Alamo, starting before the first shot was fired to the present day as the Alamo continues to roil Texas politics. In this discussion, Jason talks about his early days in Moscow as an aspiring spy, cutting his teeth working for Ann Richards in Texas, starting his opposition research firm, and touches on a few of the fascinating stories from his new book.Podcast WebsiteTwitter: @ProPoliticsPodTwitter: @ZacMcCraryFacebook: The Pro Politics Podcast(Please consider leaving a rating and review in your podcast app)IN THIS EPISODEJason is an eyewitness to Boris Yeltsin rolling in the tanks…How a West Coast kid like Jason winds up working in Texas politics…Jason works for and learns from Ann Richards in the ’94 campaign…Jason dusts off some of the ’94 talking points against George W Bush…How Jason started his opposition research firm in the mid-90s that is still going strong today…Jason talks a couple of times his research changed the course of a campaign…The origin story of Jason’s new book Forget the Alamo…Jason explains the connection between the Alamo and Walt Disney, John Wayne, and Phil Collins (yes, that Phil Collins)…How the Alamo played an important role in JFK’s 1960 campaign…The Alamo causes political waves for George P. Bush and Julian & Joaquin Castro…Jason provides an itinerary for your next visit to Austin…AND…Barton Springs, a black Volkswagen without A/C, Jim Bowie, Bryan Burrough, James Carville, Rosie Castro, Ben Chandler, the Continental Club, Davy Crockett, Lincoln Davis, Johnny Depp, gas station tacos, ghostwriters at the Alamo, internet porn, Bruce Lunsford, the mayor of Jerusalem, Dan Morales, Ken Paxton, Mike Plant, Ton Ryan, Santa Ana, Mark Strama, the Texas Rangers, Chris Tomlinson, William Travis, Donald Trump, the World Bank, Boris Yeltsin…and more!Podcast WebsiteTwitter: @ProPoliticsPodTwitter: @ZacMcCraryFacebook: The Pro Politics Podcast(Please consider leaving a rating and review in your podcast app)

Send us a textJames Aldrete comes out of a family political tradition with one foot in the world of radical Tejano politics of the 50s and 60s - and one foot in the  Democratic establishment. As a political professional, he's merged those strands to start his own firm (MAP) based in Austin, TX and become a leading voice within the Democratic party on communications and messaging, with a focus on Hispanic engagement and media. In this conversation, James talks cutting his teeth in Texas politics for Governors Mark White and Ann Richards, building his own media firm over the past 20+ years, working in multiple presidential campaigns, and his thoughts on the changing way to communicate with a diversifying coalition of voters.Podcast WebsiteTwitter: @ProPoliticsPodTwitter: @ZacMcCraryFacebook: The Pro Politics PodcastIN THIS EPISODEJames grows up with one foot in Texas and one foot in DC…James’ family roots in both radical politics and establishment politics…James remembers leading lights of the Hispanic community coming through for dinners at his house…James’ interns at the Lloyd Bentsen-era DSCC…The 1986 Mark White Governor’s campaign gives James his first political network…James' memories working for Ann Richards’ 1990 campaign…How James grows his business after hanging up his own shingle in the mid 90s…James experience working for Obama 2008 media team…James best practices of communicating with Hispanic voters…James talks Trump’s 2020 performance with Hispanic voters…The Santa Fe Mayoral Race that meant a lot to James…AND Kirk Adams, Sharron Angle, David Axelrod, Lloyd Bentsen, Fabian Chavez, Matthew Dowd, Kida de la Garza, Harris Diamond, the GI Forum, Dave Gold, Javier Gonzales, Charlie Gonzalez, Henry Gonzalez, Larry Grisolano, Luis Guiterrez, Jane Hedgepeth, Dwayne Holman, Ruben Hinojosa, Hubert Humphrey, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Felix Longoria, Jim Margolis, Mark McKinnon, Ruben Montoya, Dick Morris, George Rakis, Harry Reid, Ann Richards, Cecile Richards, Eliot Richardson, Ciro Rodgriguez, George Sanchez, John Sayles, Bob Squier, Raymond Strother, Russ Tidwell, Mark White, Isabel Wilkerson, Ralph Yarborough….and more!Podcast WebsiteTwitter: @ProPoliticsPodTwitter: @ZacMcCraryFacebook: The Pro Politics Podcast

Send us a textEnjoy a short bonus episode with the iconic (and iconoclastic) Kinky Friedman...country music legend, best-selling novelist, and sometimes political candidate. Kinky talks through some of his political heroes, his favorite political stories, his time in the Peace Corps, his friendship with both Bill Clinton and George W Bush.,.& and closes the episode with one of his songs - that was a favorite of Nelson Mandela.IN THIS EPISODE...Kinky talks about the politician that spoke to him most as a kid....Kinky tells the story of Texas political legend Barbara Jordan's famous speech at the 1976 Democratic Convention...Kinky's time in the Peace Corps in Borneo...Kinky tells the story of a lunch involving Bob Dylan and his father...The story of one of Kinky's songs being played regularly by Nelson Mandela in his prison cell...Kinky writes the "first pro-choice" country song...Kinky talks through his early days as a musician in Nashville...Kinky's time around Bill Clinton and George W. Bush (both big fans of his novels)Kinky visits the White House...Kinky's current passion project of the Echo Hill Ranch, providing a summer camp experience for kids of Gold Star families...AND...Barrabas, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Marcie Friedman, Professor Tom Friedman, John Glenn, Hill Country Motors, Molly Ivins, Barbara Jordan, JFK, Moses, Dolly Parton, Rick Perry, Ann Richards, Rolling Thunder Revue, Mark Twain, Tokyo Sexwale, Shel Silverstein, Adlai Stevenson, Robert Strauss, Helen Suzman, Billy Swann, the White Horse Saloon, Hank Williams, Warren Zevon, and MORE!

Send us a textBecki Donatelli is a legendary GOP strategist and a trailblazing digital consultant. She got her start as a Goldwater Girl, worked for Reagan in '76, knew Jim Baker and Ronald Reagan, and worked with John McCain in 2000 & 2008. As a digital pioneer, Beck was part of the first operation to raise political money on the internet. And her firm, Campaign Solutions, has been leading in the digital space for 20+ years in presidential races and hundreds of statewide and congressional campaigns. This is a great conversation following Becki's one-of-a-kind career and a front-row seat to the advent and evolution of the digital politics we know today.Podcast WebsiteTwitter: @ProPoliticsPodTwitter: @ZacMcCraryFacebook: The Pro Politics PodcastIN THIS EPISODEBecki talks about growing up in “idyllic” Orange County, CA in the 1960s…Becki’s first political experience volunteering for a CA Assembly race…Becki’s love-at-first-sight experience with DC…Becki works for the insurgent ’76 Reagan campaign…Becki’s involvement in Jim Baker’s one race for office in Texas…The story behind the first online political donation…and the surprising recipient…Becki’s friendship with Roger Stone…Becki’s passion for political fundraising and the difference between Doers and Donors…Becki talks about her time around Ronald Reagan…Beck starts a new firm…and connects with John McCain…How Becki’s firm played a key role in the insurgent McCain 2000 campaign…The early “wars” between online giving vs. major donors…Becki and her firm stick it out with McCain during the up-and-down 2008 primaries…Becki’s best practices on digital messaging…Becki admires the Obama digital operation…Becki talks the historically expensive Lindsay Graham / Jamie Harrison race of 2020…Becki identifies a “bad practice” within the industry…How Becki’s firm stays on top of a rapidly-changing industry…AND The Biltmore, Charlie Black, Rich Bond, Cambridge Analytica, Chick-fil-A, Citizens for Reagan, Bob Dole, Elizabeth Dole, Frank Donatelli, Carla Eudy, Fairfield Inns, Facebook, Steve Forbes, Barry Goldwater, Tom Hockaday, Brian Jones, David Keene, Walter Knott, Jim Lake, Paul Manafort, George Pataki, skywriters, Roger Stone, John Wayne, John Weaver, YouTube, and more!Podcast WebsiteTwitter: @ProPoliticsPodTwitter: @ZacMcCraryFacebook: The Pro Politics Podcast

Send us a textVery few people have had more impact on US House races over the past decade than Ali Lapp. After years in campaigns and as a Hill Chief of Staff, she created House Majority PAC from scratch in 2011. With Ali at the helm, HMP has established itself as a vital presence on the political landscape - raising and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to elect Democrats to the House. In this episode, Ali talks her early days in politics in Washington state, her time on the Hill as a Chief, how and why she started HMP, and what she's learned from a decade in the trenches in House races.Podcast WebsiteTwitter: @ProPoliticsPodTwitter: @ZacMcCraryFacebook: The Pro Politics PodcastIN THIS EPISODEAli’s first political memory…Ali looks back on the pendulum swinging back and forth in Washington state as she grows up…How volunteering for a legislative campaign in college leads to Ali becoming a House Chief of Staff in DC…Ali talks the Hill in the 90s…Ali runs John Kerry’s caucus campaign in 2004…Ali joins the famed Rahm Emanuel-led DCCC team of the 2006 cycle…Ali’s front-row seat at the creation of the “modern-day independent expenditure” …What motivated Ali to start House Majority PAC after 2010…The nuts and bolts of starting HMP from scratch…Ali’s “most depressing moment” in the first year of HMP…What Ali’s learned about fundraising after a decade of raising money…Ali’s take on what mistakes she sees campaigns making…Ali’s favorite example of a “high impact" HMP tactic…The House districts that have most frustrated Ali over the years…The 2006 House race that informs how Ali thinks about going negative in races…Ali’s tips on hiring and managing…AND… Sheldon Adelson, American Crossroads, airplane banners over the Jersey Shore, John Barrow, Melissa Bean, Jeff Bjornstad, Leonard Boswell, Bill Burton, the Christian Coalition, the Congressional Airport Caucus, Howard Dean, Norm Dicks, Brad Ellsworth, Rahm Emanuel, EMILYs LIST, Sarah Feinberg, Geraldine Ferraro, flight attendant school, Tom Foley, Scott Garrett, Josh Gottheimer, Bruce Kieloch, John Lapp, LCV, Warren Magnuson, the MCU, Microsoft, Jen O’Malley, Jen Psaki, Ralph Reed, Christina Reynolds, Karl Rove, Nicole Runge, Adam Smith, Randy Tate, Ellen Tauscher, The University of Puget Sound, David Valadao, Brian Wolff, and MORE!Podcast WebsiteTwitter: @ProPoliticsPodTwitter: @ZacMcCraryFacebook: The Pro Politics Podcast