Matt Mackowiak is a Washington, DC and Austin, TX based political and communications consultant and the founder and President of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC, providing political consulting, media relations and crisis communications assistance to campaigns, companies, groups and individuals. Since he arrived in Washington, DC, he has served in senior roles for two U.S. Senators, a Governor, in the executive branch, in winning political campaigns, and in the private sector. Over his career Matt has developed deep relationships with national, state and local media and political figures. Most recently Matt worked with PSG client Gov. Sean Parnell (R-AK) as a senior communications adviser, providing counsel on strategy, speechwriting and media relations during the 2011 legislative session in Juneau. In 2010 Matt served as Campaign Manager for Bill Flores, the Republican nominee in Texas' 17th Congressional District. After winning a 5-way primary, Flores defeated 10-term incumbent Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX) by 25% in November, the largest margin of victory for a GOP challenger in 2010. In addition to offering counsel to individuals and corporations, Matt provides political analysis for the Fox News Channel, MSNBC, ABC News, CBS News, BBC News, and radio stations throughout the country. Matt's on-therecord political analysis has appeared in Politico, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg News, The Hill, Congressional Quarterly, the Washington Examiner, the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, and on ABCNews.com. He is a syndicated columnist and has had opinion columns published in the New York Post, New York Daily News, FoxNews.com, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Politico, Roll Call, Austin American-Statesman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Des Moines Register, National Review online, Congressional Quarterly and on the popular blog sites The Daily Beast and The Huffington Post. Matt has lectured and given speeches at the University of Illinois, the University of Texas, Texas Christian University, Georgetown University, Catholic University, the University of Denver, American University and the University of North Texas. From 2005-2009 Matt served as Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (RTX), the fourth ranking member of the Republican Leadership, and three-term former U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT). Earlier in his career he was a political appointee at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for Under Secretary Asa Hutchinson and Assistant Secretary Stewart Verdery, managed the second largest county in Iowa on the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign, counseled corporate clients at international PR firm Burson-Marsteller, and performed White House Presidential and Vice Presidential advance nationwide. Matt is a Director of the Center for Public Policy and Political Studies at Austin Community College, and is a sustaining member of MaverickPAC. He serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for the non-profit Luke's Wings and enjoys helping Becky's Fund and USA CARES. A native of Austin, Texas, Matt graduated with a B.S. in Communications Studies (Political Communication track) from the University of Texas in 2003. Aside from his professional work, he owns and manages the popular blog site www.potomacflacks.com, which the Washingtonian has called "one of the best political blogs." In his free time, Matt enjoys sports, live music, reading biographies, and is an avid supporter of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the University of Texas. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak http://media.townhall.com/TownHall/icons/TH-feed-icon-128x128.gif http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak TownHall.com, Where your opinion counts. 128 Copyright (c) 2013 Townhall.com, A Salem Communications Web. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Thu, 16 Aug 2012 04:01:00 GMT Thu, 16 Aug 2012 04:01:00 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza rightly called Mitt Romney's bold selection of Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) as his running mate, "the most daring decision of his political career." Until this weekend, most... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2012/08/16/paul_ryan_a_vp_with_a_mandate 33946c82-765f-4326-92e7-710f0b7728df Thu, 16 Aug 2012 04:01:00 GMT Tea party insurgent Ted Cruz’s thrilling and improbable victory over Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in Texas’s GOP Senate primary provides a model for future long-shot candidates to follow,... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2012/08/03/how_ted_cruz_did_it b1f6b2f8-be9e-4bce-905c-80f22c5bb13e Fri, 03 Aug 2012 04:01:00 GMT There appear to be four serious finalists to fill the vacant role of Mitt Romney's running mate: Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Ann Romney's... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2012/07/15/romneys_considerations_for_vice_president 8ae06901-9b74-4306-bcf6-a74cc603441c Sun, 15 Jul 2012 04:01:00 GMT Rick Santorum was the longest of long shots when, five years after losing his bid for reelection to the Senate by 18 points, he spent much of 2011 campaigning for president in three early-primary states. But he... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2012/02/18/rick_santorums_willful_ascent 04875985-58dd-4ac0-a46f-4951ffff1bae Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:01:00 GMT He simply cannot believe it may be happening again. Willard Mitt Romney, born to family with a CEO, Governor one-time Presidential candidate father and U.S. Senate candidate mother, grew up around politics. He's... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2012/01/24/romney_feeling_deja_vu bfa2f1c9-f40d-45d0-8204-29b25a7654f9 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:22:00 GMT He simply cannot believe it may be happening again. Willard Mitt Romney, born to family with a CEO, Governor one-time Presidential candidate father and U.S. Senate candidate mother, grew up around politics. He's... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2012/01/23/romney_feeling_déjà_vu 6163e38d-825e-42e4-b99a-0981d3311b90 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:31:36 GMT Only two candidates are slated to be on the 2012 Virginia Republican presidential primary ballot. The mainstream media is choosing to frame this predicament as evidence of which GOP candidates are running "serious"... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2012/01/03/virginia_debacle_could_seriously_hurt_gop_presidential_nominee 7792b9a7-d785-443d-85b2-489355acf418 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:36:00 GMT The intensity of the news cycle has produced more news coverage but less analysis of trends. Fortunately, the end of the calendar year provides both a calm period of time and the necessary reflective mood to enable one... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2011/12/30/the_political_winners_of_2011 988acc9a-5ef8-4ddc-8328-4219a12bfe99 Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT This piece was co-authored by Ford O'Connell It's time to have a frank conversation about "the one," and we are not talking about President Barack Obama. The latest round of polling coming out of the Hawkeye... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2011/12/24/ron_paul_cant_be_allowed_to_win_iowa a732733a-7089-4ded-8eab-50cca985b075 Sat, 24 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT The 2012 Republican presidential primary campaign has been the most volatile and least predictable campaign in my lifetime. In spite of this, I see several potential scenarios in the early states, all subject to change... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2011/12/21/scenarios_for_the_2012_republican_primary ed8c8cba-5723-4d80-a4b0-7d00b9b230a7 Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT Editor's Note: This piece was co-authored by Ford O'Connell. Less than one month until the 2012 Iowa Caucuses, Mitt Romney finds himself again in the uncomfortable position of looking over his shoulder at the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2011/12/09/why_mitt_romney_is_like_jan_from_the_brady_bunch 37d7f42e-ce53-46ea-a8e1-c7d559d82c35 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT The distance that Herman Cain has traveled - from a modest upbringing, to corporate executive, to talk radio star, to frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination and back to Earth - is remarkable. His story... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2011/12/02/how_cain_destroyed_his_campaign 56d52f6e-4470-487d-b22f-3efaf34fedaf Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:19:00 GMT The 2012 political year is right around the corner and the recent failure by the so-called "Super Committee" to reach agreement on $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction will re-cast the environment on Capitol Hill and... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2011/11/30/5_ways_the_2012_election_has_changed_since_the_super_committees_failure 5e1a240f-05c5-4695-b12f-b492f850b7e8 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:01:00 GMT @font-face { font-family: "Calibri"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue;... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2011/11/01/who_to_blame_for_a_do-nothing_dc a24abbf0-abb3-4e66-ac73-f6d8db39c924 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:35:00 GMT "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" That famous line, delivered by Peter Finch in the 1976 film "Network," gave voice to millions of Americans who were frustrated with life in America. Economic... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattMackowiak/2011/10/26/makers,_takers_and_occupiers 169fc30d-c62d-466b-a32b-c6607507f0bf Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:58:00 GMT