Matthew Scully facts for kids

Matthew Scully, born on March 30, 1959, is an American writer. He is known for his work as a journalist and political writer. He has also written important books and articles about how we treat animals.

Matthew Scully's Early Life

Matthew Scully was born in Casper, Wyoming. As a child, he lived in different states, including Colorado, Ohio, and New York. He went to Arizona State University in the 1980s. In 1998, he married Emmanuelle Boers.

In 2008, Matthew Scully worked on the presidential campaign for John McCain. After the campaign, in 2013, he and his wife moved from Los Angeles, California, to a suburb near Phoenix, Arizona. They still live there today.

Matthew Scully's Career as a Writer

President George W. Bush prepares his State of the Union speech with his team in 2003. Matthew Scully is one of the speechwriters helping him.

Matthew Scully has had an interesting career as a writer. He worked as a speechwriter for many important political figures.

Writing Speeches for Presidents

Scully helped write speeches for the 2000 presidential campaign. From 2001 to 2004, he was a special assistant and senior speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He also wrote speeches for vice presidents like Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney, and Mike Pence. Other leaders he wrote for include Governor Robert P. Casey of Pennsylvania and Bob Dole.

Writing for Major Newspapers and Magazines

Matthew Scully was once the literary editor for National Review magazine. He has also written articles for many well-known newspapers and magazines. These include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. He has also written for The Atlantic Monthly and The American Conservative.

Writing for Political Campaigns

Matthew Scully has helped write speeches for important political events.

Sarah Palin's 2008 Speech

Before the 2008 Republican National Convention, Senator John McCain asked Scully to write a speech. This speech was for McCain's choice for Vice President. Scully wrote the speech, thinking it would be for a man.

Just four days before the convention, Scully learned that Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, would be McCain's running mate. Scully worked all night to change the speech for her. He also added new ideas from the campaign team. Sarah Palin gave the speech at the convention on September 3, 2008.

Melania Trump's 2016 Speech

In 2016, Matthew Scully and another writer, John McConnell, were hired to write a very important speech. This speech was for Melania Trump to give at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Scully and McConnell sent her a draft of the speech about a month before the event. However, one of Ms. Trump's own writers later rewrote much of it. This new version included parts that were very similar to a speech given by Michelle Obama in 2008. This led to a lot of discussion and criticism.

Matthew Scully and Animal Welfare

Matthew Scully is also well-known for his work on animal welfare. This means he cares about how animals are treated.

His Book: Dominion

In 2002, Scully wrote a book called Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. Natalie Angier, a writer for The New York Times, called it a "horrible, wonderful, important book." She noted that Scully, a conservative, was an unexpected voice for animals. He spoke out against companies that harm animals for profit. He also argued against those who believe humans can do whatever they want with nature.

Another reviewer, Nichols Fox, wrote in The Washington Post that Dominion would become a classic book about showing kindness.

Scully's Views on Animals

As a conservative, Scully believes that humans have a special role over animals. However, he argues that this role comes with a responsibility to be kind and merciful to them. He bases his ideas on Christian beliefs about animal welfare. He is not an animal rights activist, but he believes in treating animals with compassion.

Scully strongly disagrees with people who think animals do not feel pain or are not aware. He argues against using animals for food, especially in factory farming. He also speaks out against hunting animals for sport. The journal Animal Law praised Dominion. It said the book asks tough questions and makes people think about how humans can be needlessly cruel to animals.

Selected Publications

• Scully wrote a chapter called "Fear factories: the case for conservatism for animals." This chapter is in the book "CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation): the tragedy of industrial animal factories." The book was edited by Daniel Imhoff and published in 2010. ISBN: 9781601090584