In the Hot Seat: Matt Kibbe

Every month, The Blaze Magazine features a Q&A with a mover-and-shaker whom we believe our Blaze readers would like to know better.

FreedomWorks CEO Matt Kibbe is an economist by training, but for the past 15 years, he has been a national public policy expert, best-selling author and political pundit. His new book, “Hostile Takeover: Resisting Centralized Government’s Stranglehold on America,” will hit stores and electronic retailers on June 19.

Here's a taste of the interview:

Can you tell me about the pivot point in your life that kicked you into gear and made you active politically?

Oddly enough, I was introduced to the ideas of freedom through a heavy rock band named Rush. They dedicated their album 2112 to Ayn Rand, and I picked up her book “Anthem” at a garage sale when I was 15. I quickly devoured her books “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead.” Rand, in turn, recommended Ludwig von Mises. Reading “Human Action” in high school, as it turns out, is not a good way to meet girls. I went on to Grove City College and George Mason University.

FreedomWorks was born out of the Austrian economics program at Mason, our strategy being that good ideas, to succeed in the political marketplace, need the on-the-ground-advocacy that only engaged, educated and organized citizens can provide.

Your tax plan proposal has gotten a lot of attention. Is it even possible that either party will latch onto it or even a silver of it and bring it to reality?

The insane labyrinth that is the tax code will only be scrapped wholesale and replaced when America beats Washington. ...

Plus -- I have to ask about the sideburns. Have they become a trademark? How does your wife feel about them?

Get the answer and the entire back-and-forth in the newest issue of The Blaze Magazine.