Long Shots

Inside Voices Media•art19.com

History might be written by the winners, but in presidential politics the story is often shaped by the Long Shots. Journalist Conor Powell profiles eight presidential candidates who lost the race for the White House but dramatically changed America’s political landscape - right up to today.

Long Shots is the story of America’s presidential battles – the contentious contest for the most powerful office in the world - and how knowing where we've been can help us choose a better tomorrow.

With the help of top journalist and campaign heavyweights - NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Molly Jong-Fast, Larry King, Carl Cameron, Bay Buchanan, and James Zogby - you will learn how these political outsiders reshaped American political culture, like the affable but divisive Pat Buchanan, who laid the foundation for much of today’s divisive conservative discourse, and Jesse Jackson, who literally changed the face of the Democratic Party.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/LongShots.

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

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Episodes

Ross Perot: The Chaos Candidate

Texas billionaire and political outsider Ross Perot rode a wave of economic angst to become the front-runner in the 1992 race for the White House. Self-funded and politically independent, Perot tapped into America's growing mistrust of the major parties. He lambasted Democrats and Republicans alike for irresponsible spending and bad economic policies. Meantime, the natural showman turned infomercials into a new kind of fireside chat: His pie charts and homespun humor connected with voters in a w...

Jun 18, 2020•47 min•Ep. 8

Pat Robertson: Rise of the Christian Right

Before 1988, evangelicals voted more on moral grounds than as a partisan bloc. Then came the charismatic Pat Robertson. Through his work on the Christian Broadcasting Network and his campaign to succeed Ronald Reagan as the GOP standard bearer, Robertson helped push evangelicals firmly into the Republican camp -- so much so that when twice-divorced Donald Trump ran in 2016, he had their solid support. Even though he lost, Robertson and CBN helped remake the media landscape, showing the way for a...

Jun 11, 2020•46 min•Ep. 7

Pat Buchanan: Before There Was Trump

Long before Rush Limbaugh and Fox News dominated conservative media, there was Pat Buchanan. In 1992, the CNN commentator launched a campaign of searing rhetoric, economic nationalism, and strident morality against President George H.W. Bush. With his long-shot candidacy aimed at the Republican establishment, Buchanan created the modern blueprint to woo angry, disillusioned, white working-class voters -- the very blueprint Trump would use in 2016. Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice . S...

Jun 04, 2020•46 min•Ep. 6

Victoria Woodhull: "Mrs. Satan"

Victoria Woodhull had a few things stacked against her: She ran for president a half century before women had the right to vote. She ran on a platform of sexual and gender equality that so enraged her political enemies they passed laws to silence her. She spoke about free-love nearly a century before the sexual revolution. Her running mate was a Black man and former slave. Oh, and she spent Election Day behind bars. Indeed, Woodhull might be the longest long shot of them all -- a candidate so vi...

May 28, 2020•36 min•Ep. 5

Herman Cain: The Godfather

Many pundits dismissed businessman Herman Cain as an entertaining, if inept, sideshow during the 2012 Republican presidential primary. But the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO struck a nerve among conservatives craving a candidate who would 'tell it like it is'. Indeed, Cain, who came up in the Tea Party movement, led the GOP contest just weeks before the first votes were cast -- then an avalanche of sexual misconduct accusations derailed him. A closer look reveals Cain was an entertainer, yes, but ...

May 21, 2020•36 min•Ep. 4

Eugene V. Debs: The American Socialist

American presidential candidates aren’t supposed to be convicted criminals, let alone socialists. But in 1920, nearly one million Americans cast their vote for the Socialist Party nominee as he campaigned from a U.S. federal prison: Eugene V. Debs, prisoner 9653. This was Debs fifth presidential run and his last. Incarcerated on charges of sedition, Debs committed an act of political defiance that shook America and set the stage for a new kind of Democratic Party, one that would embrace the like...

May 14, 2020•40 min•Ep. 3

Jesse Jackson: The Rainbow Coalition

In 1984, the Rev. Jesse Jackson had little hope of winning the Democratic Party presidential nomination. He was a Black man without the backing of the African American political establishment; a Civil Rights veteran in an era of corporate triumphalism and Top Gun patriotism. But to the cries of “Run, Jesse, run," Jackson launched an improbable campaign for the White House. He assembled a 'Rainbow Coalition' of supporters who not only changed the face of the Democratic Party but changed the perce...

May 07, 2020•55 min•Ep. 2

George Wallace: The Voice of White Resentment

In 1972, Alabama Governor George Wallace ran for president and tapped into a strain of white resentment towards Civil Rights legislation and court-mandated bussing. When he was shot on the campaign trail, President Nixon saw an opportunity to derail Wallace’s surging political momentum and embarrass the Democratic Party. With never before heard White House audio, Long Shots uncovers a little-known criminal conspiracy hatched a month before the bungled break-in at the Watergate Hotel. WARNING: In...

Apr 30, 2020•35 min•Ep. 1

Introducing Long Shots

History might be written by the winners, but presidential politics is often shaped by the Long Shots. This is the story of how eight presidential candidates lost the race for the White House but permanently changed America's political landscape - right up until today. Long Shots premiered April 30. Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice . Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/LongShots . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Apr 18, 2020•3 min

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