Falling Up: Raymond Strother

Without a doubt, Ray Strother is one of the founding fathers and preeminent experts of American political consulting.

In this episode, I talk with Strother about his career in politics and the lessons that he has learned that can be applied to candidates running today. Ray discusses working with legendary U.S. Senators like Russell Long and Gary Hart, as well as working for Governor Bill Clinton from 1980 until 1990. Ray also shares a few stories about the Democratic party’s "Boogie Man" Republican operative, Lee Atwater, and the infamous Bill Clinton consultant, Dick Morris.

Strother also reflects on his time working in the corrupt and often entertaining world of Louisiana politics, and how different today's politicians are from when he began-which is both good and bad.

With his blue-collar Democratic upbringing in the oil refining small town of Port Arthur, Texas, to his days working for the most powerful politicians in the world, Ray Strother has never forgotten where he came from.

Ray Strother is an American political icon who blazed the trail for today’s political consultants-in both party’s and helped start the career of many politicians. While we often profess to be living in a time of digital dominance in how we buy things or choose candidates, the professionals who can craft a compelling narrative and candidate story are still the ones who win. Raymond D. Strother is the political G.O.A.T. in this department. There is a lot to learn in this episode for candidates running today.