This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we’re bringing you a powerhouse lineup of guests. First, we welcome Congresswoman Nancy Mace from South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, who will discuss current hot-button issues like women’s rights, the global IT outage, and the recent resignation of US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. Next, Elizabeth Nolan Brown, senior editor at Reason, joins us to delve into topics ranging from Kamala Harris’s performance to the media covering for Biden. Finally, independent journalist Peter Bernegger, President of Election Watch, Inc., reveals insights into ActBlue’s ghost donors and ‘smurfing.’ During Kiley’s Corner, she dissects what we know about the Trump almost-assassin, and as always, we end on a positive note with the Sunshine Moment. Don’t miss this compelling discussion as we unpack critical issues impacting our political landscape.
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About our guests:
Congresswoman Nancy Mace, raised in the Lowcountry, hails from Goose Creek, South Carolina. Raised by a retired Army General and a retired school teacher, Mace learned the value of hard work early on. After leaving high school at 17, she began her journey in the workforce, starting as a waitress at the Waffle House on College Park Road in Ladson.
Despite early setbacks, Mace’s determination led her to achieve academic excellence. She earned her high school diploma by taking college classes at Trident Technical College in North Charleston. She then graduated magna cum laude from The Citadel, the military college of South Carolina, making history as the first female graduate from its Corps of Cadets in 1999. Continuing her education, she earned a master’s degree from The University of Georgia in 2004.
Mace transitioned into public service, gaining recognition as one of the most fiscally conservative members of the South Carolina General Assembly while also championing conservation efforts. An accomplished author, she penned “In The Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel,” published by Simon & Schuster in 2001.
In 2008, Mace founded her own company, specializing in technology and marketing, and commercial real estate. Her leadership embodies integrity, compassion, and a tireless pursuit of delivering results for the South Carolina. She has worked with colleagues on a nonpartisan basis, successfully getting several bills signed into law by the President, including the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act and the Human Trafficking Prevention Act of 2022.
Mace has been recognized with esteemed awards such as the 2021 Club for Growth Defender of Economic Freedom Award and the 2019 Taxpayer Hero Award from the South Carolina Club for Growth for her consistent efforts to lower taxes. She is also the recipient of the Champion Award from Palmetto Goodwill for her dedication to education and job training for the underprivileged, and she holds a 97% rating with Conservation Voters of South Carolina.
A devoted single mother to two teenagers, a sweet little Havanese named Liberty, and a cat named Tyler, Mace continues to serve the Lowcountry with unwavering dedication and resilience.
Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason and the author of Reason’s biweekly Sex & Tech newsletter, which covers issues surrounding sex, technology, bodily autonomy, law, and online culture. She is also co-founder of the libertarian feminist group Feminists for Liberty, and a professional affiliate of the journalism program at the University of Cincinnati.
Brown has covered a broad range of political and cultural topics since starting at Reason in 2014, with special emphasis on the politics, policy, and legal issues surrounding sex, speech, tech, justice, reproductive freedom, and women’s rights. She can be found frequently reporting and opining on topics such as sex work, social media, antitrust law, abortion, feminism, the First Amendment, policing, and Section 230. A few of her more memorable Reason features include a trio of cover stories on the federal government’s war on sex (“The War on Sex Trafficking Is the New War on Drugs,” “American Sex Police,” and “Massage Parlor Panic”), a political profile of Kamala Harris (“Kamala Harris Is a Cop Who Wants to Be President”), a deep dive into the prosecution of the founders of Backpage.com, and a look at “The Bipartisan Antitrust Crusade Against Big Tech.”
Brown’s work has also been published by The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Buzzfeed, The Daily Beast, Politico, Playboy, Persuasion, Fox News, Newsweek, TIME, The Dish, The Week, Spectator World, Libertarianism.org (where she wrote the Encyclopedia of Libertarianism entry on sex work), and numerous other outlets.
She is the winner of the Western Publishing Association’s 2016 award for best feature article and has been a finalist for seven awards from the Los Angeles Press Club, taking one second place and three third place awards for articles including Hot Girls Wanted: Exploiting Sex Workers in the Name of Exposing Porn Exploitation?” and “The Truth About the Biggest U.S. Sex Trafficking Story of the Year”.
Brown is a frequent commenter on panels, podcasts, radio, and television. She has debated sex work decriminalization at New York University and the Soho Forum; spoken before audiences at SXSW, the First Amendment Lawyer’s Association meeting, the Sexual Freedom Summit, the Knight Foundation, the Mont Pelerin Society, George Mason University’s Law & Economics Center, the 2022 Libertarian Party convention, FreedomFest, and numerous other places; and appeared on programs on NPR, C-SPAN, the BBC, Fox News, ESPN, and North Carolina Public Radio, among others.
Prior to coming to Reason, Brown covered legal issues for the Daily Reporter in Columbus, Ohio; wrote about health and nutrition for Bustle and other women’s websites; and served as an editor for AARP publications. She is a graduate of American University, where she earned a master’s degree in public communication, and Ohio University, where she studied playwriting, English, and film. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband, sons, and two cats.
Peter Bernegger is an independent journalist and President of Election Watch, Inc. You can follow him on X @PeterBernegger.
