Matt Mackowiak's Mack On Politics

The presidential campaign is the subject of the 177th episode.Our guest is Erin McPike, national spokesperson for Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign.On this episode we discuss the debate in Las Vegas, Super Tuesday, Bloomberg’s paid media and ground game and a potential brokered convention.

The Democratic race for President is the subject of our 176th episode. Our guest is Steve Schale, a veteran Democratic strategist who is running the Joe Biden Super PAC.In this conversation we discuss the state of the race, whether the non-Bernie candidates can coalesce against him, how the paid media landscape looks, why South Carolina matters, how Super Tuesday is shaping up, what the best case scenario is for Biden and the worse case scenario is for Bloomberg, what Obama’s endorsement would mean, what to make of Bernie as the nominee and whether Florida is a battleground state in 2020.

Rising star Republican congressional candidate Amanda Makki is our guest for the 175th episode.Makki is running to defeat U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) in Florida’s 13th congressional district.In this conversation, we explore her background, how her family fled Iran in 1980, why she’s running, why environmental issues are so important to Florida, what her path to victory is and what the political environment is like out there.

Big Tech is the subject of the 174th episode.Our guest is Peter Hasson, author of the brand new book, “The Manipulators: Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Big Tech’s War on Conservatives”.In this conversation we examine how these platforms and their algorithms have changed, how they undermine conservatives and promote liberal voices, whether shadow banning is real, why search matters, how the platforms are different, and whether de-platforming will ever end.

The Iowa Caucuses are the subject of the 173rd episode.Our guest is Des Moines-based political consultant David Kochel, who runs Redwave Communications.In this conversation, we examine how the Caucuses work, why ‘uncommitted’ will matter after the first ballot, how geography will play a role, who he thinks will win Iowa, how the Senate impeachment trial has effected the candidates, and whether Iowa will matter in 2020.

Darrell Issa is our guest for the 172nd episode.He served from 2001-2019 in the Congress as a Republican from southern California.He is now running in an adjacent district, the 50th district, just east and northeast of San Diego.In this conversation, we discuss what he’s been up to since leaving Congress, what he makes of current border security levels, how the jungle primary and ballot harvesting work in California, how he views impeachment, what California can do to prevent future wildfires and whether he thinks Republican can retake the majority in Congress.

New York Times bestselling author Peter Bergen is our guest for the 171st episode. His new book is, “Trump and his Generals: The Cost of Chaos”. In this conversation we examine the first 3 years of Trump administration, both the national security decisions and the players, then we examine ISIS, Syria, Afghanistan, and Bergen’s 1997 interview of Bin Laden.

U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) is our returning guest for the 170th episode — brought to you from Washington, DC. In this conversation we discuss the imminent Senate impeachment trial, the Iranian crisis and the briefing provided to Senators, the state of the U.S. economy, how trade is affecting his state, and what the rest of 2020 looks like.

The New Hampshire primary is the subject of episode 168. Our guest is New Hampshire-based Fox News correspondent Paul Steinhauser. In this conversation, we examine the state of the race with one month to go, which campaigns are prioritizing New Hampshire most, whether Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have an advantage being from neighboring states, which candidates make up the first tier, how the open primary could affect the outcome, how the Iowa Caucus results could change things, what the campaign organizations look like on the ground, whether endorsements will matter and whether New Hampshire is in play in the general election.

Impeachment is the subject of the 168th episode. My guest is Rich Galen, Republican strategist, columnist for Mullings.com, and former adviser to Speaker Newt Gingrich. In this conversation, we react to the House vote on impeachment, look back to the Clinton impeachment in 1998 as a historical guide, consider what the current impeachment will mean for the 2020 presidential race and battle for Congress, discuss how the Senate trial may unfold, and look ahead to the Democratic presidential primary and Trump’s reelection campaign.

The British national election is the subject of the 167th episode. Our guest is Martin Vander Weyer, business editor and weekly business columnist for The Spectator.   In this conversation we examine why the British national election went as it did, what it means for Brexit, why Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn failed, why Boris Johnson is ascending, and what it could mean for the future of the U.S.-U.K. relationship.

The uprising in Iran is our subject for the 166th episode. Our guest is Ali Safavi, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). In this conversation, we discuss why the current protests are happening, how broad the opposition is outside Iran, what regime change would look like, how weak the Iranian economy is, why Europe continues to trade with Iran, how the regime will end, what would happen if our guest were to return home today, and what gives him hope.  

Bill O’Reilly is the guest for the 165th episode. He’s the former anchor of Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” and the bestselling author of 15 #1 books selling more than 17 million copies. His new book is “The United States of Trump: How the President Really Sees America”. In this conversation, we review his recent interview with President Trump, discuss the narcoterrorists in Mexico, the Ukraine call and impeachment, examine the purpose of his new book, and analyze the state of the cable news industry and consider what it would take for him to return to television.

Supporting our veterans is the subject of this week’s episode. My guest is Lindsay Kin, executive director of the national veterans nonprofit Luke’s Wings. In this conversation, we discuss their unique mission, how they’ve grown 50 fold in ten years, why the need remains, and the many ways that people can get involved to reunited Wounded Warriors and their families.

The state of the Democratic race for President is the subject of the 163rd episode. Our guest is CNN contributor Bakari Sellers, a former Democratic state legislator from South Carolina. In this episode, we analyze the 5th Democratic debate, consider the first tier candidates, discuss electability, look at the general election, and wonder whether a brokered convention is possible.

Impeachment and the 2020 election are our subjects for the 162nd episode. Our guest is GOP consultant and corporate strategist Evan Siegfried. In this conversation we measure where the impeachment story is now, how the story is likely to play out and what Pelosi’s strategy is. Then we turn our attention to analyzing the Democratic presidential primary and look ahead to the general election.

Alice Stewart is our guest for the 161st episode. She’s a veteran GOP campaign operative, CNN contributor and resident fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. In this conversation, we examine the politics of impeachment, what Pelosi’s strategy is, why there were no GOP defections, how impeachment will affect 2020, what she makes of the Democratic presidential candidates, and our guest sizes up President Trump’s political standing and the general election.

GOP consultant Scott Jennings is my guest for the 160th episode. Jennings served as Political Director in the Bush White House and is currently president of Run Switch PR and a CNN contributor.   In this conversation we examine the strategy behind impeachment, the politics and legislative ramifications of impeachment, whether any meaningful legislation has a chance in this environment, how the Senate would handle a trial and how impeachment will affect 2020. Then we discussed the 2020 Democratic field and look forward to the general election.

Kim Strassel is our guest for the 159th episode. She’s a columnist and editorial board member, and author of the new bestseller, “Resistance (At All Costs): How Trump Haters are Breaking America”. In this conversation, we discuss why she wrote the book, what the cost of the left’s targeting of Trump will be, what she expects from the forthcoming DOJ IG report and investigation by US Attorney John Durham, why the media has such little curiosity about the Russian collusion hoax, how the Ukraine impeachment inquiry is advancing and what she makes of the 2020 election.

Syria is our subject for the 158th episode. Our returning guest for former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, who served from 2010-2014. In this conversation we examine the cease fire announcement, consider the goals of Turkey, the U.S., Russia and Syria, discuss the sacrifice of the Syrian Kurdish forces, explore the risks of ISIS returning to its former strength, and ask what advice our guest would have for the Trump administration.