It's really happening!
You asked and I delivered...I hope.
So, this is what I get for posting a quick, hypothetical question on Twitter. I guess one way to make yourself do something uncomfortable is to have peer pressure force you into it.
But you’re here. And I’m here. So, for as long as our relationship lasts let’s have a little fun.
How Did I Get This?
Well, you either subscribed through the website, we got your address from Hillary’s email server, or you are in my personal contact list — meaning we are personal friends or have worked together at some point and you were added to my personal contacts. Don’t want to receive these emails?
Or click the link at the bottom of this email. Please accept my sincerest apologies. I hope there aren’t any hard feelings.
Why Monticello?
If you didn’t see the welcome email then here’s the back story. My late BFF, the legendary Joh Padgett, once ran a blog titled “Monticello.” Joh, besides being the sweetest and most loyal guy you could ever know, was an old school, blue collar Democrat from Indianapolis. He also saw and understood social media before literally anyone else. Borrowing the name from his old blog is my way of remembering him. RIP, JohPa. Until I see you again.
The Big Get
John McKager "Mac" Stipanovich is a legend in Florida politics. Florida born and raised, he returned home from Vietnam to earn a law degree and then became involved with local politics in Tampa. He went on to have a distinguished career working on campaigns and as chief of staff to Governor Bob Martinez. On a personal note, Mac is known as being kind, unfailingly polite, erudite and witty. He’s also one of the very few people I have met in Tallahassee who genuinely cares about people and tries to help, without a whiff of the transactional nature of most relationships here in town.
Here are ten questions I asked Mac with his responses in italics:
1. I'm flattered to have you for the inaugural edition of Monticello. For those who don't know who you are, describe yourself in five sentences or less.
I am Floridian, born in Ocala because Williston, a town founded by my great great great grandfather, Jesse Willis, circa 1850, did not have a hospital. I moved to the big city of Gainesville in the sixth grade, joined the Marine Corps out of high school, fought in Vietnam with the 1st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion, and then graduated from UF twice, the last time from law school. Thirty-eight years ago, after a failed first attempt at marriage, I was fortunate enough to marry the only woman I have ever known for whom who I would die or kill, whose two small children I adopted, just as my father adopted the two small children of my mother when he married her. I became involved in politics during the successful Tampa mayoral candidacy of later Governor Bob Martinez in 1979, and I thereafter advised or worked in the campaigns of numerous politicians, including Martinez, Ronald Reagan, Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris, Charlie Crist, and various Republican potentates in the legislature, which is how I became a lobbyist living quite comfortably face down in the influence peddling trough until my retirement at the end of 2019, an event hastened by my visceral and public contempt for, and opposition to, Donald Trump, his works, and his elected lackeys.
2. You spent the latter part of your career as a lobbyist. What are you most proud of from that time and what's one thing people always misunderstand about lobbyists?
While I participated in many, many fraught and high profile legislative battles and executive branch scuffles during my thirty years as a lobbyist - some won and some lost - I cannot think of any achievement of which I am specifically proud, as in something I want my grandchildren to know I did. On the other hand, I cannot think of anything I did of which I am ashamed and would not want them to know, which is saying something. Generally speaking, I believe the public perception of lobbyists, what they do and how they do it, is fairly accurate, excepting a lack of appreciation for how hard the good ones work and the Gucci loafers canard. Cynicism aside, the friends I made and the experiences I shared, particularly with my colleagues, were the brick and mortar of which my professional life was made and what gave it lasting value for me.
3. Like my father, you spent time in the Republic of Vietnam courtesy of the United States Marine Corps. Since I know you are reticent about sharing your experience, would you please tell a story about a friend who didn't come home?
On July 3, 1968, a CH-46 helicopter with four air crew - two pilots and two door gunners - and nine Marines from 1st Marine Recon Battalion led by 21 year old Sergeant J.J. Jones, attempted an insert in Elephant Valley west of Da Nang. Jones was a legend among us even younger Recon Marines, having been in the country continuously since December, 1966, but for a thirty day extension leave. Unexpectedly, the zone was hot and the chopper was shot down, burning like a flaring kitchen match. The heat was so great dog tags were melted into sternums, although the pilots, protected by the fire wall forward, were found dead still strapped into their seats with their empty 45s in their hands, having been shot to pieces while firing at the NVA in the tree line. It was a bad day at 1st Recon, the worst of my 19 months in country.
4. You were famously played by Bruce McGill in the film "Recount" about the 2000 Florida election debacle. Did you meet Bruce, and was it strange to watch a movie about something you lived through?
I did not meet the actors in the Recount film, although I saw some of the filming as I walked to and from lunch at the Governors Club Grill. And, yes, it was a bit strange to see a movie portraying events in which I played a part. My complaint was that Bruce McGill, who is not tall, played me, and Laura Dern, who is not short, played Katherine Harris, so I did not come off looking like the fine physical specimen I see myself as.
5. One of my favorite memories of you is meeting for lunch and finding you with a dog eared copy of Bronte. What is your favorite book?
I do not know that I have a favorite book. The book of which I am most proud of reading - and it was quite good - is Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time”, all seven volumes and 1,250,000 words of it. It took me a year. You may see some of Proust’s influence in my long, run on sentences, my adolescent affinity for Hemingway’s terse style not having survived my natural loquacity.
6. What is your favorite whiskey?
My favorite whiskey is Red Breast Irish whiskey, although I am currently in the midst of one of my periodic drying out phases, having always been what my grandmother referred to euphemistically as a drinking man.
7. If you were stuck in a house fire with Donald Trump and Sarah Palin and could only pick one to save, who would you choose and why?
I would save Palin because she is woman and I am old enough to still believe in saving the women and children first and because she, unlike Trump, is not an existential threat to the Republic.
8. You have served as the chief of staff to a Florida Governor. If you were serving Governor Ron DeSantis what's the one piece of advice you would give?
I would advise the Governor that what he does and says as Governor will live long after him. While all modern politicians have to pander to some degree in order to survive, make unprincipled pandering the exception rather that the rule and try to have a horizon more distant than the next election. This is advice that would have served me well when I was giving advice To Governors if had been willing to listen to it, which I would not have been. And DeSantis would not heed it either.
9. You favorite political story of all time.
My favorite political story does not involve me and may be apocryphal. Big Jim Folsom, the uncle of George Wallace’s second wife Cornelia, was a tall, good looking ladies’ man of some renown. It is said that during his second campaign for Governor in Alabama, his campaign manager and a couple of senior advisors came to him to report that the campaign of his opponent was planning to catch him in a honey trap, so he had better be careful.
« Well, boys, if that’s true, then we’re in a lot of trouble.»
« Why is that, Governor? »
« Cuz if you set a trap with a pretty girl as bait, you’re gonna catch Big Jim every time.
10. What made you decide to become a Democrat? Was it one particular event or was it the culmination of events over the past few years?
My party registration now varies with the next election based on whether it is a primary or a general and who I want to vote for or against. I left the Republican Party, which I helped build in Florida in a small way, on my 70th birthday in 2018 because I could not in good conscience any longer be a member of an organization led by such a piss poor excuse for a man and such an embarrassing and dangerous disgrace as a President as Donald Trump. If he and I had been in the fifth grade together, I would have fought him every week, and my father would have bought me ice cream for doing it.
RIP RBG
Look, I don’t have any takes more brilliant than anything you can already read on social media. However, that won’t stop me from adding a few thoughts (why else are you reading this?).
I despised Justice Ginsburg’s politics. She was quite liberal (with some interesting, more centrist views). I greatly admire her backstory and how she devoted her life and career to fighting for women’s issues. Here’s the real issue:
Justice Ginsburg understood that political differences are not the same as personal differences. She hearkened back to the day when adults could disagree without being terrible human beings about it. She understood that being an adult meant more than your political affiliation. You could treat your political opponents like the human beings they were. So that's what I will remember about her. She left an immense legacy and our nation is poorer for her absence.
When They go Low, We Go Lower!
by Jessica Redding
Publisher’s note: The fact that this newsletter is coherent and grammatically correct is due to our editor, Jessica Redding. When I started to put together a piece about the hypocrisy and controversy surrounding the upcoming Supreme Court appointment, it was my intent for us to work on it together. But Jessica’s take was much better than mine so I’m going to run it as is. Look for her to be a regular feature here.
Jessica here. A few weeks ago I felt something that might be described as hope. I’m not much of a “hopey-feely” person but I do long for days that are staid and calm… days where I don’t ask myself “What the f**k is happening to our country?” Joe Biden’s candidacy is bland and that’s just how I like it. This blandness serves him in spades, particularly with centrists and moderate Republicans—normal, everyday Americans who want someone who won’t rock the boat too much. After all of this summer’s upheaval, it looked as if Biden had it in the bag. Then it happened; the September surprise no one and everyone saw coming: the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
Anyone who thought that Mitch McConnell would follow his own example and not try to push through a Supreme Court nominee this close to an election is delusional. The selection of a conservative Supreme Court judge scares the pants off of Democrats, as it should. What is the Democratic response? Something like this: “Mitch is a hypocrite and since he is, we are going to win the Senate and the Presidency and then we are going to pack the Supreme Court with liberal judges! Take that!” This idea seems sophomoric and shortsighted. Who is to say that when Dems are out of power that Republicans won’t pack the court even more? What is to stop us from having a couple of dozen Supreme Court justices?
For now, Biden isn’t a fan of court packing. He may seem out to lunch some of the time but he is pragmatic compared to many in his party, particularly the younger ones. He has the ability to see further ahead than the next news cycle or scandal. Perhaps that’s why he’s been in Washington since the early 1970’s. Joe Biden is also smart enough to know that the voters he needs to woo aren’t the few Bernie Bro hold outs but those Republicans who choose to remain Republicans, yet are sick and tired of Trump’s antics. Having Democrats, some of whom have considerable power, pound their fists about packing the courts could have a significant blow back at the ballot box this November. Once again, Democrats looked poised to shoot themselves in the foot.
What’s the solution? Maybe term limits for Supreme Court justices. All I know is that Cocaine Mitch owned the libs once again, much to this lib’s chagrin.
The Bottom Shelf
Bottom shelf spirits (usually on the actual bottom shelf of your liquor store) get a bad rap. Low prices and lower quality are what you often see (think: alcoholic relative) but the smart consumer also knows where the value is. This will be a weekly feature where I highlight some incredible values in whiskey that you can find down there.
Evan Williams White Label
My favorite value in bourbon, Evan Williams Bottled in Bond, aka “White Label” may not be as well known as it’s black label sibling, but maybe we can change that today. White Label is a little sweeter with a smooth finish, you should be able to find this for under $20.
White Label is technically “Bottled in Bond” which is a legal definition originally intended to ensure the integrity of what you were buying. To be labeled bottled in bond, a whiskey must be the product of a single distiller in a single season—spring (January to June) or fall (July to December)—aged for a minimum of 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at 50% ABV (100 proof.)
Bottled at a higher ABV than the regular Black Label (avoid Green Label at any cost) Evan Williams, the White Label is pleasantly warming with black pepper and cinnamon spice. There’s a lot of sweetness up front with a pleasant mixture of vanilla and black pepper on the palate, before going down with a slightly dry, oak finish.
My twitter followers know this is my favorite bottom shelf pick and now, so do you. Try some and let me know what you think.
Jacob on the Air
This week I appeared on “Of Campaigns and Candidates from Battleground Florida” with Christopher Heath of WFTV Orlando.
The Best Things I Saw This Week
My teenage son working with his best friend to set up a new business building and upgrading PC’s. Watching them work out their differences gave me hope for the future of our society.
The Thiago debut for Liverpool against Chelsea.
My buddy Howard Cole’s story about his kidney transplant thirty years ago. You can read Howard’s excellent Los Angeles Dodgers coverage here.
Jim Swift toured a Cold War-era nuclear power plant and it was as creepy as you might imagine.
How to Find the Perfect Career by Mark Manson
That’s all, folks!
Thanks for reading. If something interested you then please share Monticello with your friends.
Monticello was created by and published by Jacob Perry. Our editor and contributor is Jessica Redding. On social media:
"...I could not in good conscience any longer be a member of an organization led by such a piss poor excuse for a man and such an embarrassing and dangerous disgrace as a President as Donald Trump. If he and I had been in the fifth grade together, I would have fought him every week, and my father would have bought me ice cream for doing it."
This. This all day long. I could not have summed up my feelings about DJT any better if I had all day long to focus on it (which I don't). Thanks, Mac, and thanks, Jacob, for the compelling interview.
Nicely done, "exceptionally tall and well dressed Dude." Congratulations on the launch of your new endeavor!