Stuart Stevens: A Neutron Bomb Has Gone Off in the Republican Party

Where does Stuart Stevens find the time? He is a founding partner of Strategic Partners & Media, the political consulting firm. He’s a Daily Beast contributor. He was the lead political strategist for the 2012 Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney. And he just released his 7th book – this one is a novel – titled “The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear.” It’s an excellent read whose narrative is also weirdly close to the plotlines of our current presidential campaign. Speaking of the presidential campaign – no surprise – that’s what we spent most of our time talking about. If you’ve spent anytime on his Twitter feed or read his columns: Is there anyone more active, more persistent, more consistent in arguing against Donald Trump than Stuart Stevens. The conversation also hit on a wide range of ideas – it was really interesting, very funny at times, and, frankly, really serious. This guy is worried. He’s worried about the Republican Party and about the level of civil discourse in our country. He’s worried about what’s next. And don’t misunderstand – he’s hopeful and confident. He has no doubts – not one – about America. But he cannot believe what is happening in the campaign or in the Republican Party. He was incredibly thoughtful, too, about what makes governing important. This guy has dedicated so much of his life to helping public servants serve. He believes in the cause. So this conversation with a political strategist covered political strategy, of course. But as you’ll hear, Stevens also gives a pretty good civics lesson. And he writes a great new book, as well.