Matt Lewis, Chris Riback and Taegan Goddard discuss the future of the Republican party on the latest episode of Political Wire Conversations.
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I've been a journalist, writer, reporter, author, producer, blogger, marketer. I still am. I have one wife, three kids and several friends. Some of them will vouch for me. So will my wife.
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Recent conversations with thinkers
Matt Lewis & Taegan Goddard: What’s Going On with the Republican Party?
Posted by Chris Riback on October 16, 2016
https://chrisriback.com/2016/10/16/whats-going-on-with-the-republican-party/
Dan Drezner: ‘Foreign Policy for Campaigns is Like an Unexploded Landmine’
Chris Riback spoke to political scientist Dan Drezner on Political Wire Conversations about social media and the impact of foreign policy on the 2016 presidential campaign.
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Posted by Chris Riback on September 28, 2016
https://chrisriback.com/2016/09/28/dan-drezner-foreign-policy-for-campaigns-is-like-an-unexploded-landmine/
Jim Messina: ‘It Was Always Going to be Close’
Chris Riback caught up with Jim Messina, President Obama’s campaign manager in 2012, in an airport lounge. The audio quality is sometimes spotty but Messina’s insights into the 2016 campaign are great.
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Posted by Chris Riback on September 24, 2016
https://chrisriback.com/2016/09/24/jim-messina-it-was-always-going-to-be-close/
Maureen Dowd: ‘This is Pure Madness’
Maureen Dowd joins Chris Riback on Political Wire Conversations for a discussion on the 2016 campaign and her new book, The Year of Voting Dangerously: The Derangement of American Politics.
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Posted by Chris Riback on September 16, 2016
https://chrisriback.com/2016/09/16/maureen-dowd-this-is-pure-madness/
Taegan Goddard: Outcomes Look Bleak for Republicans
Chris Riback and Taegan Goddard discuss how the Republican presidential nominating process might end.
You can listen to the conversation here.
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Posted by Chris Riback on April 13, 2016
https://chrisriback.com/2016/04/13/conversation-with-taegan-goddard-outcomes-look-bleak-for-republicans/
Charlie Cook: Editor & Publisher of The Cook Political Report
Few follow the ins and outs of political campaigns more closely than Charlie Cook and his team of reporters and editors. And with less than three weeks to go before the new most important election of our lifetimes, they’re tracking all the key races and trends – in particular, who will take control of the U.S. Senate.
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on October 16, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/10/16/charlie-cook-editor-publisher-of-the-cook-political-report/
Sam Wang: Founder, Princeton Election Consortium
It remains impossible to talk about the 2014 Midterms without turning immediately to the big question – the only question –which party will take Senate Control? And who are we to fight that power?
So while we wait 6 weeks for actual results, we turn instead to predictive analysis –deep dives into dozens of race-by-race polls that seem to be released hourly. What do they show? How many seats are truly still in play? Where should we focus attention, and within that focus, what should we be looking for. And most simply, can’t anyone just tell us who’s going to win?
Sam Wang is an Associate professor of neuroscience and molecular biology at Princeton University. He is also founder of the Princeton Election Consortium, where he publishes one of the most-watched polling models around. Sam’s model has come under some scrutiny this election season, as it’s been one of the few models consistently predicting that the Democrats will retain the Senate. What does Wang know that the rest of us don’t?
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on September 28, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/09/28/sam-wang-founder-princeton-election-consortium/
Nate Silver: Founder and Editor-in-Chief, FiveThirtyEight.com
As we make our way towards the first Tuesday in November, a highly-watched, always-debated component of American politics is ready to take it’s place center stage: Statistical models.
These models, which connect and weight a range of ever-changing data, have replaced the simple “who will win by how many points” projections. And with Senate control both still undetermined and central to our political future, understanding these models is key.
And, of course, none of these models is better known or more anticipated than Nate Silver’s.
Nate Silver almost single-handedly brought the art and science of political statistical modeling in our cultural mainstream. He is founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight.
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on September 17, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/09/17/nate-silver-founder-and-editor-in-chief-fivethirtyeight-com/
John Dean: Author, “The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It”
In little more than a week, we’ll mark 40 years since one of the darkest days in American politics, government and culture – 40 years since President Richard Nixon resigned our nation’s highest office.
Much has been written and reviewed about Watergate. So much that there would seem little room for anything new.
But there is.
John Dean played a key role in the Watergate tale. He served as counsel to the President during that time, and while he did not know of the break-in when it occurred nor of White House involvement for many months later, he found himself – perhaps unwittingly – becoming a central player in what he calls The Nixon Defense.
In the last years, Dean listened to and transcribed the primary Watergate source material: Nixon’s own White House recordings. Incredibly, many of these conversations have never been transcribed, cataloged and examined. That’s what Dean has done, and in the process – he says – connected the dots between what we believe about Watergate and what actually occurred. He has documented it all in a new book: “The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It.”
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on July 28, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/07/28/john-dean-author-the-nixon-defense-what-he-knew-and-when-he-knew-it/
Nicco Mele: Author, “The End of Big;” Founder, EchoDitto
We might have debated who invented the Internet, but there’s no debate over which candidate brought the Internet into political campaigns. In 2003 and 2004, Democrat Presidential candidate Howard Dean made fundraising go digital.
The brains – if not the functionality, design, and execution – behind that operation belonged to Nicco Mele, a 20-something year old webmaster who had worked for various advocacy groups.
Since that online revolution, Mele has launched his own firm – EchoDitto – which helps organizations gain greater impact through technology. He also is a lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and author of “The End of Big: How The Internet Makes David The New Goliath,” where he warns against – of all things – the disruptive and perhaps dangerous power of the Internet. Among the areas he worries about: Digital’s potential destruction through polarization of politics and government.
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on March 21, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/03/21/nicco-mele-author-the-end-of-big-founder-echoditto/
Retro Report’s Josh Fisher: “Fly Wars: Battling the Medfly”
Remember the medfly? All bugs are pesky, of course, but the Mediterrean Fruit Fly might have been the peskiest. And a little bit scary. The threat was imminent: A tiny creature was going to ruin California’s agricultural industry.
But the battle of the Medfly soon became a battle over pesticides – mainly, one called Malathion – and the widespread spraying of California’s towns and cities – even Los Angeles.
What happened to the medfly? More importantly perhaps, with widespread spraying of pesticides to fight the pest, why did our public officials, news media and even the public get so concerned about this crisis? Which side of the science was right?
Josh Fisher is a producer at Retro Report, the non-profit news and documentary group that follows important events after the headlines fade. Their new video is “Fly Wars: Battling the Medfly.”
Posted by Chris Riback on March 21, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/03/21/retro-reports-josh-fisher-fly-wars-battling-the-medfly/
Retro Report’s Barbara Dury: “McMartin Preschool: Anatomy of a Panic”
Few stories were more disturbing. Systematic child molestation in our nation’s preschools.
It started, of course, with the McMartin Preschool in Manhattan Beach, CA in the early 80s. The allegations were offensive and shocking. Child abuse. Even Satanism. And as the allegations grew, more stories from more preschools across the nation. We had, it seemed, an epidemic.
But after years of trials and front page news, nothing. No convictions – lives ruined – both for the people who ran the McMartin preschool and for many of the children who were allegedly abused.
What have we learned from the McMartin Preschool case? Could therapists, investigators, journalists – even we the pubic – get something so wrong again?
Barbara Dury is a producer at Retro Report, the non-profit news and documentary group that follows important events after the headlines fade. Their new video is “McMartin Preschool: Anatomy of a Panic.”
Posted by Chris Riback on March 16, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/03/16/retro-reports-barbara-dury-mcmartin-preschool-anatomy-of-a-panic/
Retro Report’s Drew Magratten: “When a Bridge Falls”
Often the only positive to come out of a disaster is the promise that it won’t happen again.
That certainly was the case in 2007, when the I-35w bridge in Minneapolis collapsed with hundreds of cars on it, most falling into the Mississippi River 10 stories below.
Thirteen died; 145 were injured. Following the horrific accident and aftermath, promises – from the states, from the federal government – that a review of American bridges would occur. Our infrastructure, long ignored, surely now would get the attention it needed and we deserved.
But nearly seven years later, what has occurred? Were promises kept? Are our bridges safe?
Drew Magratten is a producer at Retro Report, the non-profit news and documentary group that follows important events after the headlines fade. Their new video is “When a Bridge Falls.”
Posted by Chris Riback on March 9, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/03/09/retro-reports-drew-magratten-when-a-bridge-falls/
Jeffrey Toobin: New Yorker Staff Writer; CNN Senior Legal Analyst
The next phase of Chris Christie’s bridge scandal has arrived, and it won’t end quickly. It’s the legal battle – subpoenas, documents, testimony and more. To complicate things, it’ll occur across several fronts: legislative and judicial; state and federal; Lane closures on the GWB and alleged suggestions of trading Hurricane Sandy funds for Hoboken development projects.
With so many competing players, goals and possible outcomes, what will the next legal and political steps look like? And how long might they last?
Few people analyze and explain the intersection of law and politics more clearly than Jeffrey Toobin, staff writer at the New Yorker and senior legal analyst at CNN.
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on February 6, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/02/06/jeffrey-toobin-new-yorker-staff-writer-cnn-senior-legal-analyst/
Mike Murphy: Political Media Consultant
The challenges for Republicans keep piling up. First it was the Great Divide, the battle between the Tea Party wing and so-called Establishment. Now, NJ Gov. Chris Christie – Fort Lee and Bridgegate, along with Hoboken and Hurricane Sandy Funds. And on Friday, the release of a new – more human – documentary on Mitt Romney – a film that is already raising questions of what type of Presidential candidate Republicans should nominate and how they should run their campaigns.
With 2014 Midterms and a possible Senate takeover on the horizon – and the 2016 Presidential campaign on the mind – can Republicans get their act together? And if so, what’s their best path forward?
To help provide answers, renowned Republican media strategist Mike Murphy. He has handled media and strategy for more than 26 successful Gubernatorial and Senatorial campaigns; he helped run John McCain’s Presidential race in 2000; and today, he’s a partner at Revolution Agency in Washington D.C. and when you’re not following him on Twitter, you can read him in Time and see him on Meet the Press.
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on January 21, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/01/21/mike-murphy-political-media-consultant/
David Frum: Writer, Commentator, Former U.S. Presidential Special Assistant
As both parties kick off the 2014 political season – and Midterm primaries and Elections creep closer on the calendar – both parties face questions. For Democrats: How to defend and, if they can, advance Obamacare, minimum wage and other initiatives. For Republicans, the big question also seems to be a basic one: Can’t they all just get along?
The forced government shutdown, various election battles, competing strategies around health care and more have left party members and party watchers wondering what comes next. Many ask how the gap created between the Tea Party wing and the so-called Established branch will affect Republicans’ ability to drive policy and win campaigns.
One person who spends time considering the policy and the politics: David Frum, contributing editor at The Daily Beast, CNN contributor, former special assistant and speechwriter for President George W. Bush, and author of several books, including most-recently “Why Romney Lost (And What The GOP Can Do About It).”
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on January 10, 2014
https://chrisriback.com/2014/01/10/david-frum-writer-commentator-former-u-s-presidential-special-assistant/
John Sides, GWU Associate Professor; co-Founder “The Monkey Cage Blog”; co-Author “The Gamble”
We all know the high points of elections – the zingers, the gotchas and the flat out mistakes. They’re often called “game changers,” and our recent campaigns have seen plenty of them. From Mitt Romney’s 47 percent speech to President Obama’s debate debacle to so-many others that are now long-forgotten, the 2012 Presidential campaign was defined by these near-daily seminal events.
Or was it? What if the headlines that drive our minute-by-minute news cycles – the narratives that many of us believe define our politics – don’t define much reality at all? What if the data reveal something different than we commonly believe?
Among the many trends of popular political coverage today, perhaps the most telling is growing mix of scientific data analysis and narrative storytelling. And more than ever, this mix is revealing new truths in our political landscape.
One leader in this trend: John Sides, Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University. He is founder of The Monkey Cage, the popular political blog now hosted by the Washington Post and is co-author of one of the highly-influential book, “The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential Election.”
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on December 17, 2013
https://chrisriback.com/2013/12/17/john-sides-gwu-associate-professor-co-founder-the-monkey-cage-blog-co-author-the-gamble/
Stuart Stevens, Political Strategist
It was just over a year ago that we held our national poll to decide who would lead our country for the next four years. We know the results: 51-47 percent popular vote – nearly 60-40 by electoral votes – we stayed with President Obama over Former MA Gov. Mitt Romney.
Any campaign, of course, starts with the candidate. But right behind the headliner – a vast network, a billion-dollar start-up that must quickly get into gear and then keep it going at top speed for some two years.
For Romney – as with any campaign – that network faced its share of ups and downs. What really happened behind the scenes? And looking forward, what lessons should Republicans apply to 2014 midterm elections and beyond?
One person with answers: Stuart Stevens, lead political strategist of the Romney campaign. Not only does Stevens remain a political strategist and media consultant with his firm – Strategic Partners & Media – he’s also an author, writer, extreme sports competitor and, soon, releasing a new book about his year of spending Saturdays watching Ole Miss football games with his 95-year-old father.
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on December 12, 2013
https://chrisriback.com/2013/12/12/stuart-stevens-political-strategist/
Retro Report’s Scott Michels: “Exxon Valdez: In the Wake of Disaster”
It was one of the worst oil spills in US history. The Exxon Valdez hit a reef off the Alaska coast in March 1989, spilling some 11 million gallons of crude oil. We remember the images: Birds, seals and other sea life, covered in black crude. Oil washing on beaches up and down the coast.
And many of us may think we remember the cause: The ship’s captain. He had been drinking, left the bridge and the ship hit that reef.
But, it turns out, fault for the Exxon Valdez spill went way beyond the captain. A key question: Where were the supposed emergency recovery plans – equipment, personnel – oil companies promised would be ready for disaster? What we subsequently learned about those emergency plans – or lack of them – raised questions then that remain relevant and concerning even today.
How concerning? Scott Michels is a producer at Retro Report, the non-profit news and documentary group that specializes in following important news events after the headlines faded. Their new video is “Exxon Valdez: In the Wake of Disaster.”
Posted by Chris Riback on December 12, 2013
https://chrisriback.com/2013/12/12/retro-reports-scott-michels-exxon-valdez-in-the-wake-of-disaster/
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Author: “The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism”
A massive and growing gap between rich and poor. A middle class squeeze. Technological shifts driving changes in how people live their lives everyday. Big corporations getting bigger, and the influence – and confluence – of money and politics growing stronger.
At the same time, a progressive US president takes office, willing to take on big business and big money – promising a new vision that will rewrite the way the government and the people interact.
If this sounds familiar, then wait, because you haven’t heard the whole story. For this story, the time was the beginning of the 20th Century. The President was Teddy Roosevelt. And the Industrial Revolution – with its monopolies and unsafe working conditions and vast collections of wealth – met a President willing to take it on.
How did he do it? How did he try to extend his success with a hand-picked successor William Howard Taft? And what, if any lessons, can we take today from events that occurred then?
Doris Kearns Goodwin almost literally needs no introduction. She is the Presidential Historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author. Her new book is: “The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism.”
Listen here at Political Wire.
Posted by Chris Riback on December 11, 2013
https://chrisriback.com/2013/12/11/doris-kearns-goodwin-author-the-bully-pulpit-theodore-roosevelt-william-howard-taft-and-the-golden-age-of-journalism/
