Candidate Confessional - Defeated Politicians Tell All

Everyone loses. But some losses sting worse than others. This is a podcast about tough defeats. Hosts Sam Stein and Jason Cherkis talk to candidates who came up short in their bid for president, governor, senator and other elected office; those defined by YouTube moments and others who fell by painfully close margins.

  • 54 minutes 31 seconds
    This Democrat Says The Party Needs To Reinvent Itself In The Era Of Trump
    Virginia Democrat Tom Perriello lost his congressional seat in the Tea Party wave of 2010. In 2017, he jumped back in the ring with a run for Governor, and his primary race against Ralph Northam was viewed as another skirmish in the broader Democratic party battle between the Bernie wing and the party establishment. Perriello rejects that narrative, but he has some strong opinions about how the party will have the evolve if it wants to compete in the Trump era.

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    4 October 2017, 9:00 am
  • 44 minutes 48 seconds
    What It’s Like To Be At The Center Of One Of The Biggest Political Sex Scandals In American History
    In 2006, John Edwards hired Rielle Hunter to produce a series of videos that would help lay the groundwork for his planned presidential run. That she did, but the two also carried on a affair that resulted in a child -- all of which Edwards tried desperately to keep secret. Early in his journalistic career, Candidate Confessional host Sam Stein was among the first reporters to publicly speculate about the possibility of an affair. Now, a decade later, Sam and Rielle look back at their respective roles in that story. Hunter reflects on what it was like to have her private life pried open by the tabloids, and why she has a bit of sympathy for our current president.

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    27 September 2017, 9:00 am
  • 28 minutes 2 seconds
    These Two Senators Voted Against The Iraq War. They Thought They Were Ending Their Careers
    When Senators Kent Conrad and Dick Durbin cast their votes against the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, they knew it was unlikely they’d be able to stop the invasion. They also knew that their votes might well be the end of their senate careers. Today, that “no” vote looks like an obvious choice. But in the moment, it was a leap of faith for them to trust their instincts and oppose the war. They also remind us that the political realities that fueled the rush to war are still present today, that there is almost nothing standing between the president and a new war -- if he wants it.

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    20 September 2017, 4:00 am
  • 29 minutes 32 seconds
    The Only Person Ever To Lose An Election To Mitt Romney
    In 2002, Massachusetts State Treasurer Shannon O’Brien decided to throw her hat in the ring in the race for governor. Her opponent would be one Willard “Mitt” Romney, known for his failed senate run in 1994 and as president of the 2002 Winter Olympics. She went after him, after Barack Obama would do in 2012, over his time at Bain Capital. Mitt went after Shannon over her husband’s ties to Enron. Sparks flew, and O’Brien became the only person ever to go down to Mitt Romney at the polls.

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    13 September 2017, 9:00 am
  • 30 minutes 7 seconds
    The South Florida Dem Who Got Hacked By The Russians
    In early 2016, the race for the 26th congressional district looked like it was shaping up to be a pretty standard Florida election, as Democrat Annette Taddeo took on incumbent Republican Carlos Curbelo. To her surprise, Taddeo attracted an unexpected opponent in the primary, a former Democratic congressman named Joe Garcia. That was bad enough. But things got even worse when a bunch of documents relating to her campaign got leaked by Russian hackers.

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    6 September 2017, 9:00 am
  • 26 minutes
    Revisiting The Last Disaster In The Gulf
    In the Spring of 2010, one of the worst environmental disasters in history occurred when the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Over the next few months, over 200 million gallons of oil spilled into the ocean. Today, as a new disaster -- Hurricane Harvey -- confronts the gulf coast, what lessons are there to be learned from the response to the BP spill? Ben LaBolt, assistant White House press secretary during the spill, talks to us about how he helped craft the Obama administration’s response.

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    30 August 2017, 9:00 am
  • 48 minutes 2 seconds
    What It Was Like To Be An Openly Gay Politician In 1996
    In 1996, two of congress’s only 3 openly gay members were set to retire; only Barney Frank would be left standing. To fill the void, two new gay candidates stepped up. One of them was Rick Zbur in Southern California, and during that campaign he became an unwitting test case for how to deal with running for office while out.

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    23 August 2017, 2:10 am
  • 44 minutes 42 seconds
    The Day The Global Economy Stood Still
    In the fall of 2008, President George W. Bush warned top political leaders that without a massive infusion of cash into the market, "this sucker" -- that is, the economy -- "could go down." Days later, the House of Representatives balked at Bush. The first failed vote for the Troubled Asset Relief Program cost the Dow 777 points. It was, perhaps, the most dramatic legislative failure of the 21st Century. And this week’s guests were in the middle of it all.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    16 August 2017, 9:00 am
  • 53 minutes 57 seconds
    The Real History Of The Infamous Compromise Behind Don't Ask Don't Tell
    In 1994, Bill Clinton signed a directive allowing gays to serve in the military, provided they concealed their sexual identity. That policy -- Don't Ask Don't Tell -- had many critics and few proponents. And Clinton's legacy took a hit because of it. Fifteen years later, Don't Ask Don't Tell was finally repealed. Former Congressman Barney Frank talks with us about the institution and repeal of the policy -- and why he thinks Clinton gets a bad rap.

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    9 August 2017, 9:00 am
  • 39 minutes 54 seconds
    The Senate Candidate Who Put Together An AR-15 Blindfolded
    Jason Kander ran what was widely considered one of the best Senate campaigns of the 2016 cycle. He combined an impressive resume with youthful vigor and a clear comfort with being on the trail. Oh, he also had the best campaign ad of the cycle. But it wasn't enough to unseat Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). And on this episode, he discusses what it might take for a progressive to win in a red state.

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    2 August 2017, 9:00 am
  • 42 minutes
    How A Tea Party Darling Was Undone By Hubris, Drugs, and Washington D.C. (But Mainly Drugs)
    Trey Radel had a promising congressional career ahead of him -- before it all came crashing down one night after he attempted to purchase cocaine from an undercover agent. In that moment, he became a cautionary tale and a pariah within his party. Now removed from office, he reflects on the missteps made and has some pointed pieces of advice for future "rising stars."

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    26 July 2017, 9:00 am
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