James Edwards Interviews Lew Moore

James Edwards: You served as Chief of Staff for Congressman Jack Metcalf (R-WA) from 1995-2001. Please tell us a little bit about his policies.

Lew Moore: First, Jack was one of a kind, well known in the Northwest as a political “maverick.” He was America first all the way. He had strong views on the three classic populist issues: trade, immigration, and endless wars. He also believed the core of our problems lies with the Federal Reserve bank and the shadowy, globalist figures behind what is essentially a private institution. He had a basic belief in traditional values and small constitutional government and was clearly a “real” Republican.

Nonetheless, Jack had no qualms about reaching out to labor, to conservationists, and to people of goodwill on “the left” who had the same concerns he did about the concentration of power in the country and the erosion of our culture.

Edwards: What were your duties and responsibilities as his chief of staff?

Moore: I was responsible for managing the staff, usually around 18 folks, divided between D.C. and our district. I was involved with hiring. I was a surrogate for the congressman in media appearances and other events. I represented him in meetings with other congressional and senatorial staffs. I was ultimately responsible for ensuring he had access to all the arguments surrounding an important issue. I gave him advice. I wrote speeches. I interfaced with the teams working on his various campaigns.

Edwards: Being in Washington, D.C. during those years must have been quite memorable. What is it like to be in the middle of the American political system?

Moore: The political junkie inside of me was like a kid in the candy store. They call politics “the Great Game,” and it can certainly be exciting, at times. Meeting serious people with a lot of first-hand knowledge about government and politics was wonderful and had a huge impact on me. Meeting unserious, career-climbing types was tedious, and, at times, nauseating. Seeing the trajectory of decline America was on was sobering and frightening.

Edwards: After Rep. Metcalf retired, you went on to become the campaign manager for Congressman Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential bid. This was a groundbreaking campaign with historic enthusiasm. Will you share with us a couple of your favorite memories?

Moore: Once, I returned to the campaign office after a late dinner meeting that was long and engrossing. The office was packed full of young staffers on the phone, bustling about. The mood was great. The energy was incredible. But something seemed off. I looked at my phone. It was nearly one in the morning. No one wanted to go home. It was unbelievable.

Once, Ron came to Seattle for a rally, my home at the time. It was indoors, about 2,000 supporters packed into a hotel ballroom. He asked me to warm up the crowd and introduce him. I walked up to the podium and the place went wild before I said a word; deafening noise, but not for me. They wanted to get the thing rockin’.

I looked down at the state party chairman on the front row (not a supporter) and he looked terrified. I introduced Ron and the place went nuts. I was admittedly extremely proud of the energy “my hometown” crowd produced for the “Champion of the Constitution.”

Edwards: The Republican establishment was hellbent on stopping Ron Paul and minimizing the reach of his message in 2008 and 2012. What do you remember about this?

Moore: They tried to keep Dr. Paul out of the debates, right from the beginning. The first major GOP candidate debate in 2008, in “First in the Nation” Iowa, excluded Ron. So we rented the hall across from them in a large convention center and had a rally that drew several times more people than the John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee snore-session debate attracted.

In 2012, the RNC held a rigged voice-vote on the convention floor. The establishment brought forth a motion to prevent future insurgent campaigns from using the traditional caucus system to acquire delegates. Conservative activists joined Ron Paulers in shaking the rafters with a resounding “no,” but the RNC chair lamely read “the ayes have it” from a teleprompter. This whole shabby effort was 100% a reaction to the success of the Paul campaign in 2012.

There was constant “trench warfare” between Ron Paulers and the establishment within the GOP in every state in both of those elections.

Edwards: As you traveled the country with Ron Paul, did you get the sense that there was a growing movement that would be reckoned with in the future no matter how that campaign ended?

Moore: Absolutely. One tell was that Dr. Paul was getting support from people of nearly every background and ideology. At one juncture in the campaign, hundreds marched for Ron Paul in San Francisco, arguably the most liberal city in the country. He then got on a plane and flew to a rally in Salt Lake City, in possibly the most conservative state in the nation where he spoke before thousands.

As you have pointed out many times, Pat Buchanan had no doubt that his ideas, basically the same ideas espoused by Dr. Paul, would have their moment. I felt that way myself about the Buchanan campaigns, and was fortified in that belief when I witnessed the grassroots explosion that was the Paul campaign of 2008.

Edwards: Ultimately, the GOP establishment would indeed become radically changed. In your book, Forerunner: The Unlikely Role of Ron Paul, you deliver a first-person account of how a brewing middle-class/populist rebellion could first be seen in the surprising energy surrounding Rep. Paul’s presidential campaign. How is there a direct connection between the presidential campaign that you managed, the Buchanan campaigns of 1992, 1996, and 2000, and the explosion of the MAGA rallies that led to the election of Donald Trump in 2016?

Moore: The populist thread that runs from the Buchanan campaigns, through the Ron Paul campaigns to Donald Trump was centered around three key issues: trade, immigration, and endless wars. Each candidate decried globalist trade agreements like NAFTA, and the effects of deindustrialization on the United States.

Each candidate vigorously opposed illegal immigration and advocated building a wall. And each one of them vigorously opposed globalist “nation building” and committing our troops to foreign wars with no objective that aligned with the interests of only a handful of the American people.

There are also direct connections. Many don’t know Dr. Paul was an advisor to the Buchanan campaign of 1992. A number of Pat’s key state leaders performed the same role for the Paul campaigns of 2008 and 2012. Ron Paulers formed the activist core of on-the-ground organizing for Trump in several parts of the country in 2016.

Edwards: As a savvy and seasoned political operative, what is your survey of the current presidential race?

Moore: One day can be an eternity this late in a high-stakes race, so the snapshot of today may not mean much tomorrow. I think much of the enthusiasm we are assured is out there for Harris is manufactured. I think a lot of votes for her in the swing states will be “manufactured” as well. I think if she obviously falters before the election there will be another attempt on Trump’s life. I mean that. The powers that be obviously don’t want Trump in office. Look at the lawfare and everything else. On the other hand, Trump is a very imperfect vessel under a huge amount of pressure to trim his sails, which I believe also hurts his electability. We have already seen that. This is a wild one. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Edwards: Democrats never miss an opportunity to infuse racial politics into the conversation, almost constantly mentioning what they will do explicitly for black voters and other minorities. The Republicans also pander to certain racial and ethnic groups, but never to the majority of voters most likely to support them. Why are Republicans so afraid to mention White voters when naming the people they seek to represent?

Moore: The Republicans look ridiculous when they trim their sails and pander to every different group. It is no longer “outside the Overton Window” to state that every part of our agenda must relate to saving Western civilization. In this age of massive cynicism and rapid communications, we have the opportunity to take our politics away from the special interests and their social engineers, but we cannot do it without authentic candidates who have that central objective. And that means no pandering.

It is in the interest of all people of goodwill to save the “white male” from the constant campaign of vilification orchestrated by powerful financial interests animated by the satanic dogmas based essentially on Marxism. The Great Replacement, if it is successful, will not go well for anyone except those who wish total control for themselves and an end to the civilization that has been a blessing for all of humanity.

Edwards: If you were Donald Trump’s campaign manager, what advice would you give him that would ensure his victory in November?

Moore: Get rid of your advisors who want you to “move to the middle” and pander to outlying groups. Stay on your core America First message. Deport illegals. Restore energy independence. Bring manufacturing back to our country. Purge our institutions of manifest, misnamed evils like CRT, ESG, and particularly DEI. Make clear we will use our economic and military strength as leverage, but only for the interests of actual Americans.

We must quit spending our strength on those who would entangle us all over the world to our detriment, with the agenda of destroying us as a nation and as a people.