- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- Steve Israel
Steve Israel
Former U.S. Representative from New York & Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Winter 2018 Pritzker Fellow
Seminar Series: “Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Two Insiders Look at the 2018 Midterms”
Biography
Former Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) is a Distinguished Writer-In-Residence at Long Island University in New York and published two critically acclaimed satires of Washington. His latest, "Big Guns", skewers the gun lobby. Booklist calked it Israel’s “second brilliant political satire”; and best-selling author Christopher Buckley called it “Hilarious and ingenious and pleasingly wicked.” Also, Israel’s mother called it “The best thing Steve’s written since 8th grade.” Branded Pictures has fast-tracked it for film/television development.
Israel’s first novel, “The Global War on Morris” came out in 2015. The Washington Post described the novel as “an unexpected delight… so spirited and funny.” Chris Matthews called Israel “downright hilarious." And the New York Daily News wrote: “Steve Israel reveals his inner Jon Stewart in his debut novel.” The book was optioned to Rob Reiner for television development. Not unlike so much in Congress, it awaits further action.
Israel was a Member of Congress for sixteen years. He left in 2016, undefeated and un-indicted. He served as House Democrats chief political strategist between 2011-2015. President Bill Clinton called him “one of the most thoughtful Members of Congress.” Which, Israel states, isn’t really saying much at all.
Israel is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. His insights appear regularly in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs and on 60 minutes, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, FoxNews, MSNBC and elsewhere. His recent NY Times op-ed, “Nothing Will Change After The Las Vegas Shooting” went viral; his Mic.Com video on gun violence received nearly 3.5 million views.
He was one of only nine members of the House Democratic leadership and has a singular behind-the-scenes understanding of how Washington officials think, or don’t think.
As chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for four years, Israel was the chief architect of House campaign strategies. He was responsible for for overall development of competitive House campaigns across America. He was lauded for recruiting and electing the most diverse and entrepreneurial freshman congressional class in history. He developed a vast network of local, state and federal officials throughout the nation and is considered a leading expert in congressional dynamics.
Israel is currently the Chairman of the Global Institute at Long Island University; a strategic advisor to the Democratic Governors Association and the think-tank Third Way. He serves on the Boards of Long Island University, the Truman National Security Project, the Theodore Roosevelt Association, and the Civil War Trust.
He lives in Oyster Bay, not far from the home of Theodore Roosevelt, who also wrote a few decent books.
Seminars
“Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Two Insiders Look at the 2018 Midterms”
Across the country, the 2018 midterm campaigns have been some of the most intense, surprising, and hard-fought battles in years. Where is it all headed? In these seminars, we’ll get the inside analysis from Former Congressman Tom Davis, who ran the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1999-2003, and former Congressman Steve Israel, who ran the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 2011-2015. Together, they’ll analyze all the factors affecting the midterm elections, from pollsters and party politics to candidates, gerrymandering, demographics and, most importantly, the voters themselves. There is much conventional wisdom that governs how midterm outcomes are predicted, but American voters have learned to expect the unexpected. Will there be a blue wave or a red surge? These seminars will navigate through the last month of the campaigns, and, when it’s all over, discuss what the results mean for Congress and the Trump Administration going forward.
*This is a joint seminar series with Tom Davis
What are the unique dynamics shaping the 2018 midterm elections? What does history tell us? What does the data tell us? What factors in the American electorate shape their outcome? As we head into the final weeks of campaigning, how do we interpret what’s happening in crucial races across the country?
What is the influence of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)? How are the committees actually run? What about outside groups such as “Superpacs?” From recruiting candidates, to directing funding, to polling and analytics, we’ll look at the role the RNCC and DCCC play in midterm campaigns, and the internal dynamics of congressional leadership, to understand the forces working for and against the party apparatus and the candidates in a fractious political landscape.
With Election Day just five days away, what is the state of play across the country? We’ll cut through the noise and the numbers, focusing on important trends, late-breaking national and local developments, key ratings changes, and, specifically, what to watch in the closing days.
What does the new make-up of Congress mean for the legislative agenda of the Trump Administration? For the agendas of the Democrats and the Republicans? What internal party leadership dynamics are already taking shape? Did the results further polarize the Republican Conference and Democratic Caucus in the House? And what, if anything, does this mean for 2020?
In his novels “Big Guns” and “The Global War on Morris,” Congressman Israel turned to humor to share his insights on the foibles and follies of politics. Tackling the hot-button issues of the global war on terror and the battle over gun control, in his novels Israel sheds light on the real obstacles to getting things done. We’ll explore how, and why, satire is an effective means for getting at the truth, and the state of satire in today’s political climate.