SFP Editor: How did you become interested in writing about
politics?
Michael Zak: I decided to write Back to Basics for the Republican Party back in
1988,
while looking back at American politics from Venezuela, where I was
working
at the Embassy. It was clear to me that most Republican leaders did
not
know much about their own party.
SFP Editor: What did you hope to achieve with your book Back to
Basics for the Republican Party?
Michael Zak:
My goal is to help Reublicans learn to appreciate their party's
history.
SFP Editor: Do you think the current Republican Party is going
Back to Basics?
Michael Zak:
Under President George W. Bush, the GOP is indeed getting back to
basics, but progress will be much faster as the book becomes more
widely
read.
SFP Editor: Please share some historical anecdotes on the US
political system which is little known by the general public.
Michael Zak:
The first Republican presidential candidate as a southern-born
abolitionist.
Susan B. Anthony, when arrested for casting a ballot in 1872,
boasted to
Elizabeth Cady Stanton that she had voted for "the Republican ticket --
straight."
Not all southerners supported the Confederacy during the Civil
War. In
addition to the 200,000 blacks in the Union Army, 100,000 southern
whites
also fought against the Confederacy.
The Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1875, 1957, and 1960 were Republican
laws, and the GOP supported the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and the
Voting
Rights Act of 1965 much more than did the Democrats.
SFP Editor: Who is your favorite president and why?
Michael Zak:
As is the case with most people, my favorite President is Abraham
Lincoln. The difficulties he faced and overcame are still hard to
fathom.
SFP Editor: What advice would
Michael Zak: you give either party on how to
win the next presidential election?
For Republicans, my advice is to renominate President Bush. For
Democrats, my advice is to use this "down time" to develop new policies
and
new leadership.
SFP Editor: Describe the process of writing this book.
Michael Zak:
I spent two years researching the book, then spent two weeks
summarizing
the book in one sentence before beginning the writing process. This
focus
enabled me to write it in just four months.
SFP Editor: What advice would you give writers who would like
get published
Michael Zak:Consider first whether there is a market for it.
SFP Editor: Why did you come to DC to live?
Michael Zak:
I went to Georgetown University and lived in DC for five years
total
while at the State Department before moving to Chicago, where among
other
things, I wrote the book. I moved back to DC for better access to
political
channels through which to market the book.
SFP Editor: Do you have plans for another book?
Michael Zak:
There is one more book for me to write, but it is years away.
