Matt Mackowiak's Mack On Politics

Our guest for the 157th episode is Rich Lowry, editor of National Review and author of the forthcoming book, “The Case for Nationalism”. In this conversation we discuss impeachment, Syria, 2020, and why nationalism is on the rise in America. Finally, we wrap up with the state of the conservative movement in the Trump era.

Impeachment is the subject of the 156th episode. Our guest is Capitol Hill veteran Michael Steel, who served as Press Secretary for former Speaker of the House John Boehner. In this conversation, we explore where the votes are currently, why the Intel committee has been given jurisdiction, what rights the minority party has, what protections the whistleblower is due, how the Senate might react, whether the polls matter. And how the White House should respond.

The life and career of Vice President Mike Pence is the subject of the 155th episode. Our guest is longtime AP reporter for Indiana Tom LoBianco, who has a new biography of Pence out, “Piety and Power: Mike Pence and the Taking of the White House”. In this conversation, we examine Pence’s first two failed runs for Congress, his time in talk radio, his move up the ladder of Congressional leadership, his decision to run for Governor in 2012, his decision not to run for President in 2016, how he was selected as VP, and what ambitions he still has.

Medicare-for-All is the subject of the 154th episode. Chris Jacobs is our guest. He is the founder and CEO of Juniper Research and the author of the new book, “The Case Against Single Payer: How ‘Medicare for All’ will Wreck America’s Health Care System – And Its Economy”. In this conversation we examine the definition of single payer, how Medicare would change, what the program would cost, how it would affect private insurance, how reimbursement rates affect care, whether middle class tax increases would be required, why California and Vermont scrapped their own single payer plans, how Medicare for All would affect the economy, and what conservatives should be offering as a policy alternative.

The events of 9/11 are the subject of the 153rd episode. Our guest is bestselling author Garrett Graff, whose new book is, “The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11,” which instantly hit #1 on Amazon. In this conversation, we explore the origin of the book and his writing process, the scale of the response to the attack, what surprised him about what he learned, how United 93’s hijackers came to be overtaken, the ‘shoot-down’ order, what questions about 9/11 still remain and where the author was on 9/11.

Retired U.S. Army Captain Sean Parnell is our guest for the 152nd episode. After retiring from military service, he became a New York Times bestselling author for his memoir of combat in Afghanistan, Outlaw Platoon. His new thriller is called, All Out War. It will be released on Sept. 3, 2019. In this conversation, we begin by discussing his Pittsburgh roots and military background, recount his experiences in Afghanistan, discuss the process he used for his first book, how and why he transitioned from writing nonfiction to writing fiction, give an overview of the new novel, consider whether our veterans are getting the help they have earned, and talk about a nonprofit that he works with that helps veterans transition to civilian life.

The CIA is the subject of the 151st episode. Our guest is bestselling author Annie Jacobsen and her new book is, “Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators and Assassins”. In this conversation, we explore the history of covert action, track Bin Laden’s movements before 9/11, examine the skills of CIA operator Billy Waugh, discuss what happens when a missions fails, consider whether there is sufficient congressional oversight and whether these missions are legal, and finally discuss sourcing, whether the CIA makes us safer, Hollywood depictions of the CIA, and her writing process.

Diversity and college campuses are the subjects of the 150th episode. Our guest is New York Times bestselling author and Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald, author of the new book, “The Diversity Delusion.” In this conversation we examine whether diversity is a virtue, the concept of mismatch, cancel culture on college campuses, affirmative action and white privilege, the social justice movement, policing, and how conservatives can turn back the culture.

The economy and the stock market are the subject of the 149th episode. Our guest is author and Real Clear Markets editor John Tamny. In this conversation, we review a wild week for the stock market, whether the inverted yield curve is predictive, the current strength of the economy, how he views the Trump tax cut, whether indexing cap gains to inflation would be stimulative, what he makes of recent Federal Reserve actions, how a strong or weak dollar matters, and the trade war with China.

Gun control is the subject of the 148th episode. Our guest is Dr. John R. Lott, Jr., president of the Crime Prevention Center. In this conversation, we examine the recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton and consider whether future attacks can be prevented by any of the solutions being suggested, including expanded background checks, an Assault Weapons Ban, or a Red Flag law .

The other side of the Russia story is our topic for the 147th episode. John Solomon is an award-winning investigative reported and Executive Vice President at The Hill newspaper. He has been breaking stories on the FBI, the Mueller inquiry, the Steele dossier, and FISA abuse for more than a year. In this conversation, we explore media groupthink, scrutiny of former FBI Director James Comey’s role, FISA warrants, the I.G. report, the Steele Dossier, Mueller’s testimony, and how U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation may move this story in a new direction.

New York Times bestselling author Tim Alberta is our guest for the 146th episode. He is the chief political correspondent for Politico Magazine and the author of “American Carnage”, which traces the arc of the Republican Party before and during the Trump era. In this conversation, we look back the pre-Trump era and explore whether he caused the current moment or seized it, consider whether Sarah Palin foreshadowed the Trump era, discuss central figures Ted Cruz, John Boehner, Paul Ryan and Mike Pence, finally attempt to answer the question of whether Trump ran for President wanting to win, review the internal deliberations held during ‘Access Hollywood tape’ weekend, consider a post-Trump era and discuss what the author learned from writing his first book.

The Democratic Party and the Democratic presidential nomination are the subjects of our 145th episode. Our guest is Christian Hanley, Democratic consultant and founder of Defiance Strategies. In this conversation, we talk about this week’s racial storyline and whether it will matter over the long term, whether the 2020 election will be a base election, whether the Democratic Party is moving too far to the left, how he ranks the current 2020 field, how he evaluates President Trump’s reelection prospects, whether Pelosi is leading her caucus in the right direction, and whether he thinks beginning an impeachment inquiry is necessary.

The 2020 Democratic primary is the subject of the 144th episode. Our returning guest is veteran Democratic strategist Joe Trippi. In this conversation, we explore the state of the Democratic primary, who he sees as the top tier, how he assesses Biden, Sanders, Warren, Harris and Buttigieg, who he thinks can surprise people in Iowa, whether the debates matter, whether the primary will go to the convention, how the top tier ranks as general election candidates, what he makes of Trump’s general election standing, and we take a stroll down memory lane for our guest’s history on presidential campaigns.

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George F. Will, the author of the new bestseller “The Conservative Sensibility”, is our guest for the 143rd episode. In this conversation, we explore the balance between freedom and government, the importance of federalism, how a limited federal government should look, the state of the conservative movement, the rise of socialism and populism, how the Democratic Party is changing, what the GOP looks like after Trump, how he views the 2020 presidential election, and what challenges face America in the future.

Iran is the subject of our 142nd episode. Former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker served in the Middle East for much of his career, representing the U.S. in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In this conversation, we explore President Trump’s decision to pull back on a planned military strike, what a proportionate response to Iran shooting down an American drone would be, whether reopening negotiations is a worthy strategic goal, how the US can restore deterrence, whether the ‘Maximum Pressure’ campaign is working, how our allies in the region may be viewing this, what the chances of war are, and what it was like to be stationed in Iran in 1972.

Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) is our guest for the 141st episode. The humanitarian crisis at the southern border is our subject. In this conversation, we discuss how he sees the problem, what the Democrats’ position is, what reforms he’d like to see, how the asylum process is broken, how he has used procedural tactics to draw attention to the issue, and whether it’s all been worth it.

Brad Thor is the guest for the 140th episode. He is a New York Times bestselling author of thrillers who has sold more than 15 million books. His newest book, “Backlash”, will be released on June 25. In this conversation, we discuss what he tries to do in each of his books, how this book looks at cold weather survival tactics, how training is integral to his characters, how common ‘snatch and grab’ operations are, how private intelligence companies operate, how he’s cooperated with the U.S. government, whether operatives like Scot Harvath really exist, how he learned enough about Russia, whether his books will be made into films, and what his writing process is.

The CIA is the subject of the 139th episode. Our guest is Nada Bakos, former CIA analyst and author of “The Targeter: My Life in the CIA, Hunting Terrorists and Challenging the White House”. In this conversation, we discuss how she overcame confidentiality process delays to get the book published, the importance of having women in CIA leadership, her role analyzing Iraq and 9/11, her role writing the President’s Daily Brief, the Bin Laden manhunt, her role as the targeting officer for al-Zarqawi, the current threat from ISIS and al Qaeda, and her favorite depiction of the intel community in popular culture.

The future of Britain and Europe is the subject of the 138th episode. Nile Gardiner is our guest. He is Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation and a former senior aide to PM Thatcher. In this conversation, we discuss PM Theresa May’s tenure, the status of Brexit, the current leadership race, potential bilateral trade deals for Britain, the state of the Tories and Labor, the EU Elections, and what Britain and the EU look like in a post-Brexit world.