Pro Politics with Zac McCrary Zac McCrary

David Callahan is a prolific creator and thinker within Democratic politics. He helped start the progressive think tank Demos in the late 90s, founded the media outlet Inside Philanthropy as a Consumer Reports of sorts into the world of charitable giving, and more recently created Blue Tent - an advisory group to help progressive donors get the most bang for their buck. In this conversation, David talks his early days in politics focused on foreign policy, his next stint as a think-tanker try...

Lisa MacLean, founder of Moxie Media - the first female-founded political direct mail firm in the U.S - talks her path to politics...starting in St Louis and then Vassar, to impactful DC internships, managing campaigns in California and eventually starting her own mail firm in the late 1990s that recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary. In this conversation, Lisa talks overcoming adversity as a young woman in politics, the nuts and bolts of how she started her own firm, some of her big races...

Kinky Friedman passed away yesterday, June 27 2024. This is a re-release of a Pro Politics Podcast episode with Kinky originally released June 4, 2021.Kinky Friedman wore many hats in his 79 years - country music artist, bestselling novelist, political candidate, animal welfare activist, friend of multiple US Presidents, and a Texas and American icon. In this conversation from roughly three years ago, Kinky talks his connections to figures as varied as Nelson Mandela, Adlai Stevenson, John F ...

Debbie Cox Bultan has been working in Democratic politics for more than 30 years, including more than a decade at the Democratic Leadership Council and then helping start NewDEAL where she is now the CEO. At NewDEAL, she works to connect pro-growth progressive leaders and help raise their profiles and amplify their ideas. In this conversation, she talks about the Hill internship that drew her to a career in politics, lessons learned managing campaigns, her long tenure at the influential DLC t...

Mickey Edwards served 16 years in Congress, as the first Republican to represent his Oklahoma City-based district in almost 50 years. Prior to his time in the House, he'd already made a mark as a leader in early days of "New Right" conservative organizations like the Young Republicans and Heritage Foundation. In this conversation, he talks his early days as a conservative political outsider in a Democratic state, the upset victory that propelled him to 8 terms in the House, his ascent within ...

Heather Williams is the President of the DLCC, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee - the party committee focused on state legislative races and chambers. In this conversation, Heather talks her initial path to politics, working in state legislative races in Iowa, early days working in finance, the many hats she's worn at the DLCC, and now her current role as the organization's President. We also go in depth on why state legislative races are so critical, the current battleground map...