About Michael
Michael and his blog
Have you ever looked around and wondered, “How did they let me in here?” That might sum up my entire career in politics and issue advocacy. Nevertheless, I am grateful for a lifetime of opportunities and to be a part of shaping the future of this state and our country. I’m just a rebellious kid from Charleston, South Carolina. While attending the University of South Carolina, I found my calling in a love of American history, conservative politics and taking uncalculated risks in my everyday life.
I’ve worked on or run a number of federal and state political campaigns around the southeast. I was honored to serve in Congress on the staff of US Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02), work for the South Carolina Republican Party and the Republican National Committee in Virginia. I am currently a Director of Government Affairs for a nationwide government relations and strategies firm.
I am no stranger to blogging, though this will be my first venture of this very personal nature. I have ghosted for anonymous blogs, co-founded a successful news aggregator and political blog, and dropped a few opinion pieces here and there when I felt the urge. I am passionate about the power of the medium and the free flow of information that comes from the connection between my life and interested readers. This will be my first venture under my own name, sharing my politics and my life in the raw.
About once a year I get the urge to travel somewhere in the world and risk life and limb just to remind me that life is full of endless possibilities. I’ve hoped a plane to Amsterdam and wandered my way through Europe, hiked the rain forests in Costa Rica, skied at the base of the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps (despite not actually being an advanced skier), run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, and am headed to Australia to dive on the Great Barrier Reef.
I love the pain of cheering for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, tailgating with my closest friends and family, traveling the world and I am especially fond of Cuban coffee.
Find Michael at:
mikerentiers@gmail.com
The Blog
First off, I want to thank my boy Wesley Donehue and his team at Jump! New Media. They are nothing short of the top new media company based in Columbia, South Carolina turning out web sites and strategy-hot and fresh! I would be remiss if I didn’t call out his partner, Adrienne Levy, as well as Lauren for her sweet creative designs cause when they rock the mic, they rock the mic-right.
My new website is the result of a lot of coffee, drinks and conversations around the tailgate, and finally asking Wes to build me a simple yet awesome blog. I have a few ideas running around in my head and I think it is time to let them out. I couldn’t be happier with the result! If you’re on a campaign or thinking about a web based project you need to check these guys out. They are up and coming and won’t be stopped.
I have spent a lot of time in Minnesota for my work. It is an amazing state, but (coming from someone who cut their teeth in SC politics) man their politics are messed up! However, there is a guy on talk radio named Joe Soucheray. His program is all about applying common sense to politics. He is the Mayor of “Garage Logic.” Those with common sense are GL’ers. The happy-PC-overly sensitive types are Uphorians.
I love it and I tune in every time I am there!
More than anything else, that sums up what is missing in political discourse today. It is my aim to bring a bit of that garage logic to the readers of this blog.
So this blog is, quite frankly, about me. It is going to a lot of big picture politics (let’s face it, that is a lot of who I am), some personal posts about interesting things going on around my life and a dash of some new ideas using video and other communication tools. It will be informative, grounded, a bit irreverent and very personal. I will not be following the path of so many blogs by pushing a client roster, calling out politicians or operatives by name or engaging in knee-jerk gotcha politics (although knee-jerk politics will be something I am rolling out soon).
For the sake of transparency, I am not working for a campaign. I do not work for a political consulting firm. I do have strong opinions, but am taking this project in a new direction. I do work in the political arena and I do advocate for a number of issues. I have been fortunate enough to work on issues that I strongly believe in and support, but I will not be using this space to push my work. I do this all for free. I doubt my clients would care to be highlighted here anyway.
I have always viewed Thomas Paine, and other political pamphleteers, as the precursor to what political blogs are today. I love it because it fits directly into my love of revolutionary history and political communication. So, my goal is to use my background in American history, knowledge of the current political debate and my keen sense of sarcasm in conjunction with the latest new media tools to promote a big picture conversation on conservative principles, current events and a dash of my personal life and travels.
I’ve got some good ideas that I am chomping at the bit to unveil so stay tuned.
Photos on flickr