I was making the bet that I could run out the clock on disclosing our relationship until I got hired officially. [44] She describes herself as an "oyster-tarian," which she defines as a vegetarian who will eat oysters. [11][12] In 2018, Smith became spokeswoman for Andrew Cuomo's successful re-election campaign, who had endorsed the political entity. You know what people are going to react to, and you know that the tabloids, just like the political press, oftentimes just wants a little scalp and then they will move on., How the Intercept Is Fueling the Democratic Civil WarBy Steven Perlberg. Smith: Youve got to meet voters where they are. While working for the Obama campaign she met David Axelrod, whom Smith considers a mentor. From the second I met Pete, I knew that there was something special about him. Smith: Joey Burrow is an incredible leader. Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten in February 2020. She puts the word fuck through every part of speech the word can be bent into: noun, pronoun, gerund, verb, term of endearment, sobriquet, epithet, honorific. Of course, then I would, Id get a tepid reception and she would never let me hear the end of it. At the newsstand around the corner, you could buy a New York magazine with Buttigiegs beatifically smiling face splashed across the cover, and a New York Times with an A1 story about his time at Harvard. Lis Smith (born October 15, 1982) is an American political strategist affiliated with the Democratic Party. Wren: How is Harris doing as a communicator? I remember hearing from other consultants, Why is he going out there speaking seven languages? He weighed in after the Supreme Court decision. The New York tabs may have sharpened her game, but people who've known her for years say Smith came ready for the fight. | Elijah Nouvelage/REUTERS. Smith, who is a Bronx native, must be an intelligent woman, but going for the "bad boys" might . So many flacks lose their mind over inconsequential things, and have no sense of, This is good press, this is mediocre press, and this is awful press. That is something you know once you have been through awful press.. . Riley was joined by her husband Ben Smith-Petersen, who gave a touching speech at Lisa Marie's funeral, in which he revealed that they recently welcomed a daughter into the world. Im joking. Click here. Her phone is literally exploding. There is a top political reporter for a major national newspaper apologizing for blowing off a meeting with Buttigieg earlier and trying to get one now, asking Smith, Will you ever forgive me?. A Democratic candidate in West Virginia is going to look very different from a Democratic candidate in New York, and we cant impose this one-size-fits-all thing and think that the Democratic Party is going to be a majority party. After 20 campaigns flacking for candidates such as Transportation Secretary and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, former Virginia Gov. A few weeks ago, a couple of hundred people expressed interest in this event. The most important thing is theres no one way to be a Democrat no matter what any of these lefty groups in Washington say, and we cannot expect candidates in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and Ohio and Arizona and North Carolina to check off every box on the progressive party purity test. Wed gone down to Jamaica to get away from tabloid drama, not actively court it, Smith said. I have a really close-knit group of friends who have nothing to do with politics. In what ways does your brand benefit from Petes, and in what ways does Petes brand benefit from yours? Smith had moved to New York in 2013 to work for Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former governor who had stepped down in a prostitution scandal. Hes going to sound so elitist. Or: Why does he have to answer every question with a proverb? Voters can smell when candidates are being authentic, and when candidates are not. Theres just no one who can do a TV interview like Pete Buttigieg. I, in those races, became extremely battle-tested. But there may be no political couple odder than that of Buttigieg and Smith. Miller is darkly. Why? She advised a couple of governors still left in office, and started taking on more nonprofit clients. Smith has been studying the effort, reaching out to reporters who were there, and has been in regular contact with John Weaver, who helped engineer it. [44] Smith plays the violin.[44]. But another thing is that Im not someone whos just worked in New York. If Im going to be honest about other people and their shortcomings, its really important for me to be honest about myself and my own shortcomings, Smith told me. How hard-chargingNew Yorkoperative Lis Smith helpedturn an obscure Indianamayorinto a national name. And so when they feel like they are getting attacked, or their families are getting atttacked, they think staff can never talk to them on the level, and it is frustrating for principals, because they are like, You are just a kid, you dont know anything. But with me, I can tell them, This is what is going to happen, this is how we are going to deal with it. But you know, more importantly, through some trial and error, over this very long career, I learned the importance of letting candidates be candidates, right? She dated former Missouri State Sen. Jeff Smith from 2005 to 2009, before he was locked up in a federal pen for obstruction after a probe of the state's 2004 election. She is operating on two and a half hours of sleep, having just arrived back in New York on a charter jet from South Bend, Indiana, after Buttigieg announced he was running for president. And if people like me dont get involved, then Im scared about the future of our country. Most people do have nerdy sides to them. The story of American presidential politics is in part the story of the consiglieres who steer the candidate along the path: The person who pushes them forward, comforts them when the campaign flails, plots long-term strategy and tactical short-term advantage, bends the ear of the press corps and makes the public case for a candidate in ways the candidate cannot. He knows the importance of building up our bench. From her days as a college intern for John Edwards to her own brush with the New York tabloids, the book traces her entertaining path to the height of the American political consultant class. It was in 2013, the time when Smith was working for the de Blasio campaign, that she began dating Eliot Spitzer. [16] Business Insider considered her to be one of the 10 most powerful women running the 2020 presidential campaigns. I would give Pete 95 percent of the credit and give me five percent of the credit. I knew from the beginningthat our relationship would be a big tabloid story when it became public. Political strategist Lis Smith isnt a married woman, though she may one day decide to tie the knot with a lucky somebody. But until they released him from the NDA, we just didnt get his clients. Its about getting to know people and them getting to know you, Buttigieg says when I see him after the Brooklyn fundraiser, where he at least pretends to recall our earlier meeting and what we talked about. Your Bengals fandom and their Super Bowl run is a part of the book. It is a matter of life and death and we need every person on the field pic.twitter.com/LPqIS3zjnW. He did. Were just not looking for them. I thought you had cancer or something. He motioned to the bartender again`Well take two shots of Jameson on top of that roundbefore turning back to me and clearing his throat. | Okay, so Im working for tabloid target #1 in Bill de Blasio. I would say that these days, my vetting skills are maybe a little savvier. I think that she gets a lot of unfair criticism. If we do that it is a recipe for disaster. Details of that relationship were first brought to light by various media outlets and then, in Smiths recently debuted memoir, Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story. But Joe Biden is president today, and Kamala Harris is his vice president. Spitzer, at the time, was attempting to regain his footing in politics after resigning from his position in 2008. Her plan is to emulate maybe the best-known and most successful insurgent move of recent campaign history: John McCains 2000 Straight Talk Express. Ahead of the release of her highly anticipated political memoir (which Politico Magazine excerpted last week), that includes figuring out how to get her computer to record our phone interview ammo to use in the event that its needed to set the record straight. A text arrives from John Weaver, a top adviser to former Ohio Governor John Kasich. In fact, other than Spitzer, Smith appears to have been flying solo for the last few years. When I met him was right after Trump won the election, and Democrats are running around with their hair on fire for good reason. The national security site has found fresh energy as a savvy, progressive attack dog in national politics. Eliot Spitzer while working for incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio.. Except then it didnt. Smith: Mayor Pete is where Mayor Pete is now because Mayor Pete is just one of the most uniquely talented members of the Democratic Party. And no, politics is my love. You couldnt have pulled off that strategy with a Bill de Blasio. I think we saw that Kamalas attack on Biden was obviously was pretty pointed. Before a debate, you have no idea how much gossip is going around. Andrew Cuomo's. And you had Democrats out there saying, when they go low, we kick them in the face, and engaging in all this over-the-top rhetoric. I was also reckless. Like we saw with Hillary Clinton, women are sometimes held to a different standard. How has it turned out so far? Before getting involved with Spitzer, Smith allegedly became romantic with Jeff Smith, who she reportedly met at Dartmouth while he was working as her professor. Riley Keough has been married to Australian stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen since 2015. When I was starting in politics, we didnt have women. Across the street, Brooklyn hipsters of all ages and manner of facial hair are lining up around the block at a bowling alley/music venue to catch Buttigieg at a fundraiser. The attack we had been dreading was coming. They know who they are and will not let consultants, pundits, whoever, change them. If Id thought things couldnt have gotten worse, I was wrong, she said. And I talked about that in the book. This story has been shared 102,835 times. Has Gone Even Farther Right Than I Expected': Three Writers Talk About the Midterms", "Lis Smith: Why Democrats Should Go on Fox News", "Opinion | How Joe Biden Can Defeat Trump From His Basement", "Opinion | This is not the time to change how we talk about abortion", "Know Your Spox: A Look At The Obama Campaign Staff", "Check out Lis Smith on TIME's 140 Best Twitter Feeds List", "Eliot Spitzer has friends in low places, throws book party for girlfriend's former beau", "Spitzer gal pal Lis Smith, de Blasio split", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lis_Smith&oldid=1141070660, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 05:39. He was also married. It is my passion. Terry McAuliffe, and President Barack Obama, Lis Smith is finally flacking for Lis Smith. But that didnt work out. Overtime: David Duchovny, Matt Taibbi, Lis Smith | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) Real Time with Bill Maher 2.54M subscribers Subscribe 11K Share 913K views 6 months ago Subscribe to the Real. Her father was a partner at the white-shoe law firm Sidley Austin. People read about my personal life in Page Six, and they think Im going to be sort of an out-there type of person that is attention seeking and all of that. | Mark Peterson/Redux, Yuki Iwamura/Redux. I romanticize it. Pete has no battle scars. New transcripts and . What I realized from my time working in politics is how much mystery there still is around this industry. They have one man to thank. Still, she still sought to rationalize her relationship with Spitzer. [24], Smith authored the 2022 book Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story. But it has a clear parallel to Smiths relentless scheduling of meetings between Buttigieg and reportersan audaciously direct way to connect with reporters that bought the campaign pretty good press. Did I think hed sit on the floor with me and sing Kumbaya and tell me it would be all okay? She recently appeared on Fox News and is catching the attention of other media outlets to further discuss the juicy details she spilled in her memoir. And they all lack humility. Wren: Fair enough. There were, Smith guesses, probably 150 such meetings with the national press corps, and when he traveled across the country, speaking to local county party dinners and fundraisers across the Midwest and Great Plains, they would make time for one-on-ones with the local political press there, too. And its really heartening because you realize the future of the Democratic Party is really bright, and that all we need to do is help lift these people up. Smith: Im not going to say who. Honesty is really, really important to handling a crisis because you have to have all the facts at your disposal. There may be nobody more central to Mayor Petes media successbesides the candidate himself, and arguably his social-media-savvy husband, Chasten Buttigiegthan Smith, who serves as a communications adviser and all-around aide. The photographer had captured Eliot and me exchanging loving looks as wed returned from a late-night dinner at a restaurant on my block.. She led Buttigieg on a series of one-on-one meetings over beer, coffee, lunch or cigars with what used to be known as the Gang of 500those reporters, producers and pundits who shape much of the nations political coverage. Former communications director, Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign. She has extensive experience in public affairs, media relations, and crisis communications at the local, state and national levels. Smith: Im not going to touch that with a 10-foot pole. Weve seen a lot of cataclysmic things happen. Its a local-politics mentality to find the people that are going to be telling this story, and if nothing else, making sure they have a real understanding of who you are. January 25 2022 01:38 PM A prosecution barrister has told a non-jury court it will hear evidence that Lisa Smith's husband took a sniper course on her advice while he was carrying out border. Obama had David Axelrod. Lisa Smith (soldier) Lisa Smith (born c. 1981) is a former Irish soldier who converted to Islam and later travelled to Syria during the Syrian Civil War to join the militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) during the Syrian Civil War. And you just like have this moment, where youre like, Maybe this is it. She doesnt give a fuck. My advice is just go out there more, communicate more. Jul. Disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, 54, and his new girlfriend Lis Smith, 31, may have enjoyed a relaxing family Christmas, but their cosy domesticity could soon be upset after it . Spitzer leaves the apatment of Lis Smith at 5:44 a.m. on Dec. 19. He was out there. After O'Malley's campaign, she advised several nonprofit organizations, and incumbent governors such as Montana governor Steve Bullock. He doesnt yell and scream, take the most extreme positions on issues, or tweet incendiary things. He was a once-in-a-generation talent, someone who perfectly met the moment. I really did feel he treated me as an equal. AFP via Getty Images She dished about the former mayor's. It wasnt an ideal situation, but it taught me a lot, Smith says. Id made some faulty assumptions, but the first was that my loyalty to de Blasio or my competence at my job mattered. 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