Candidate Confessional - Defeated Politicians Tell All

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.

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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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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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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."

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David French never thought he'd run for office, let alone the White House. But in the spring of 2016, as the Never Trump movement was growing desperate for a candidate, his name was floated by conservative stalwart Bill Kristol. French, a writer for the National Review, took the idea seriously. But he soon discovered all the horribles that come when you're thrust into the ring.

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When Donald Trump won the Republican presidential primary, most Democrats cheered their good fortune. Not the Clinton campaign. They worried about an unconventional opponent who had already humiliated one establishment favorite (Jeb Bush). Little did they know just how insane the campaign would be.

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Chris Murphy never thought much about gun control when he was serving in the House. In fact, he often parroted the NRA's talking points out of political expediency. But shortly after he won election to the senate in 2012, 20 first graders were shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary school. The tragedy took place in Murphy's old district and it fundamentally transformed him and his career. But it didn't change gun laws.

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When Bernie Sanders launched his presidential campaign, he needed someone to do his online fundraising. He chose the team at Revolution Messaging (or rather, they chose him), and together, they turned a candidacy that no one expected to go all that far into the biggest grassroots money machine in U.S. political history. On this first episode of Season Two of Candidate Confessional, the folks at Revolution Messaging speak out for the first time about how it all happened. We talk to Tim Tagaris, Robin Curran, and Michael Whitney about their road to online fundraising superstardom.

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Sam Stein and Jason Cherkis will go back to look at some of the biggest stories from campaigns past - the scandals, the policy battles, the failures and everything in-between. Each week, Stein and Cherkis sit down with some of the biggest names in politics. Highlights from this season will include Hillary Clinton's Communications Director Jen Palmieri, National Review Writer and near-presidential candidate David French, former Congressman Barney Frank, and Rielle Hunter, the videographer who had an affair with John Edwards during his presidential campaign. This is a one-of-a-kind podcast about tough defeats and the unvarnished, often-emotional and human side of our nation’s rough and tumble political system. Last season, “Candidate Confessional” was a finalist for both the 2017 Webby Awards and Digiday Publishing Awards and reached the top five political podcasts on iTunes. This season, Sam and Jason are upping the ante with new storylines. There will be episodes dedicated not just to campaigns but to major legislative pushes that ultimately failed and to famous figures who found themselves at the epicenter of scandal. You’ll hear from the Senators who tried to stop the march to war in Iraq and the key congressional aides behind the first failed 2008 bailout vote; the Senator who made gun control a cause after national tragedy and the videographer who found herself on the cover of the National Enquirer.

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Candidate Confessional season 2 approaches! In the meantime, host Sam Stein sits down with Huffpost's senior justice reporter Ryan Reilly and former Department of Justice spokesperson Matthew Miller to discuss recently-fired FBI director James Comey: his career, and how it came to this. Enjoy.

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Candidate Confessional Season 2 is on the way! But in the meantime, we assembled a panel of Huffpost healthcare reporters to chew on yesterday's legislative bombshell: the House's passage of an Obamacare repeal/replace bill. Sam is joined by Huffpost reporters Jeff Young, Jonathan Cohn, and Matt Fuller to talk about what all this means.

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The 2000 presidential election was 16 years ago. But for Ron Klain, a lawyer for Vice President Al Gore, the loss still hurts. Klain sits down with Huffington Post's Sam Stein and Jason Cherkis to explain the intricate process of the Florida ballot recount.

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Gary Johnson was the governor of New Mexico before he decided to embark on a presidential run in 2012. Johnson talks to Huffington Post's Sam Stein and Jason Cherkis about his presidential bid as a libertarian, and why he separated himself from his republican counterparts.

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Tom Perriello eked out one of the closest wins in the 2008 cycle. But rather than tack to the ideological middle once in office, he chose instead to back virtually all of Obama's big priorities and then defend them vigorously back home. What he discovered is that conviction politics works. But it can still be overwhelmed by obstructionism from the other side.

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In 1984, Jesse Jackson grew convinced that for black Americans to advance their political causes, they needed a black candidate for president. The problem was, no one wanted to do it. So he took on the task, running a historic campaign for the White House and doing it again four years later. Jackson faced death threats, pushback, and doubt from fellow activists. But he also inspired a generation of politicians, including a guy named Sanders and one named Obama.

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When Sandra Fluke was called a "slut" by Rush Limbaugh, simply for advocating for insurance coverage of contraception, she faced a choice: step back from the spotlight or fight back. She chose the latter, in the process launching a political career that saw her speak before the Democratic Party's convention in 2012. But when she tried to run for office herself two years later, she discovered that it was trickier than taking on a bombastic radio host.

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Jeb Bush's campaign for the White House ended far more disastrously than many people predicted. In the latest episode, Bush's communications director, Tim Miller, offers several reasons why. He also offers unique insights and reflections on Jeb's time on the trail: from the early gaffes to the debate showdowns with Donald Trump, to the missed opportunities.

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When Clay Aiken ran for Congress in 2014, most people assumed it was a vanity project: a former American Idol star trying to hack it in politics. But the campaign became defined by incredibly sensitive issues, from being a gay man in the south to an unexpected death on the trail. Aiken relives his run on this week's episode.

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Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign never took off in 2012, despite being the candidate that President Obama feared most. Looking back, the former Utah Governor has several theories why, foremost among them that his Republican Party had grown too angry for a politician like him.

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When Karl Kassel was recruited to run for a state Senate seat in Alaska, he had no idea just how historic his race would be. Out of 10,000 votes cast, Kassel ended up losing by just four -- one of the closest losses in American electoral history. In the latest Candidate Confessional, he explained all the drama, emotion and, ultimately, heartache that comes with falling just short.

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Martin O'Malley brought an impressive resume to his 2016 White House run: a young, former governor with progressive results. But it never seemed to stick. He was overwhelmed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and overshadowed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). In his first major interview on the race, O'Malley dissects what went wrong and dishes out a bit of blame.

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When Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011, his career in politics appeared over, crushed by a scandal in which he sent lurid tweets and texts. But less than two years later, Weiner surprised many by launching a run for mayor of New York City. It was a tumultuous ride. Weiner briefly led the polls before scandal struck yet again. In the latest Candidate Confessional, he relives the race, and all its emotional highs and lows.

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For years Richard Carmona resisted pleas from both parties to run for office. He was a former U.S. Surgeon General under George W. Bush, a one-time police officer and public health administrator. His reputation was sterling and he didn't want to muck it up. When he finally decided to run -- for the U.S. Senate in Arizona as a Democrat in 2012 -- he quickly realized why he had declined all those prior overtures. Simply put: he hated his campaign.

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