Posts Tagged ‘Mitch MCConnell’

A Red November

Wednesday, November 5th, 2014 by Matthew Barnes

Despite many close races in the 2014 Mid -Term Elections, Republicans have exceeded expectations. The GOP has become the majority party in the Senate with 52 out of 100 seats and added cushioning to their control of the House with 243 out of 435 seats so far. The Republican Party will seek to increase its control of the Senate on December 6th, when a run-off vote is scheduled for the Louisiana Senate race between Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA).

The competitiveness of many of the elections, POLITICO reports, drove some candidates, such as (then) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), to enact an “all hands on deck” approach for the final stages of the campaign, reaching out to his extended network of allies and former staffers seeking as many volunteers as possible. Many of the people who answered Sen. McConnell’s call to volunteer, such as Hunter Bates, are former members of Sen. McConnell’s staff and are now lobbyists. Mr. Bates was formerly Chief of Staff to Sen. McConnell before co-founding the lobbying firm Republic Consulting.

Nevertheless, the effect the resounding GOP victory in this election will have on the lobbying industry remains to be seen. However, lobbyists with ties to prominent Republicans, like Steve Clark (founding partner at Clark, Geduldig, Cranford & Nielsen), are very optimistic about the future, saying “If the Republicans take the Senate in November, we feel like our firm, with key House and Senate ties, is as well-positioned as any.”

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AIPAC Chimes in on Syria

Tuesday, September 10th, 2013 by Vbhotla

THINGS HAVE HEATED up in Washington as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, has called on Congress to authorize military action against Syria.

In a statement last Tuesday, AIPAC wrote:

AIPAC urges Congress to grant the president the authority he has requested to protect America’s national security interests and dissuade the Syrian regime’s further use of unconventional weapons. The civilized world cannot tolerate the use of these barbaric weapons…

On Thursday, the lobby announced that it would be sending more than 250 leaders and activists to Capitol Hill to lobby as many members of Congress as possible on the issue, and in particular prominent GOP leaders who have yet to commit to action on Syria, such as Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas).  The meetings are scheduled to occur today.

As POLITICO notes, it’s rare for AIPAC to be involved in military matters, and the organization has been very careful to avoid the use of the word “Israel” in its press releases.  This omission is likely because AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups do not want their support for intervention to appear self-serving.  Yet news that Israel itself now strongly advocates a strike against Assad diminishes any need to be circumspect.

It’s still too early to tell how effective these efforts will be, but it’s without question that AIPAC, which prides itself on its incomparable clout in Washington, will have an impact.

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Summer is No Vacation for Members of Congress

Thursday, August 8th, 2013 by Vbhotla

ACCORDING TO The Washington Times, this year’s Congress is set to be one of the least productive in history. But that doesn’t mean it’s set to be the least active.

Far from it, argue Roll Call’s Meredith Shiner and Emma Dumain, who write on how members are milking every spare moment of August recess to reconnect with constituents at town halls, issue summits, and state fairs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is hosting several summits, including the annual Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is focusing his schedule on smaller constituent meetings, likely in preparation for his re-election bid.

Lawmakers are also using their time off to plan for what is sure to be a contentious fall session. To this end, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has drafted a recess “playbook,” a 31-page PDF distributed to GOP lawmakers to keep them on-message.  There’s no evidence that Democrats have drafted a similar document, but they’re certain to have an equally collaborative strategy for August.

It’s no surprise that McMorris’s playbook substitutes “Recess” for “District Work Period.”  For wherever Members of Congress may be, whether in D.C. or elsewhere, they’re guaranteed to be working.

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Industry Moves & Changes

Monday, December 20th, 2010 by Vbhotla

Jackson Dunn, previously the associate director of public liaison for President Clinton, has been named to lead the public affairs practice at FD Americas.

Billy Piper, former chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), will join Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock as a senior vice president in January.

Kimberly H. Colton, former deputy chief of staff to Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), has joined the Sheridan Group as a senior policy and advocacy associate.

Lauri Hettinger, who until recently served as staff director for Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), has joined Holland & Knight’s Washington office as a senior policy adviser in the firm’s public policy and regulation group.

Brett Loeper, the senior executive vice president at the Advanced Medical Technology Association, is leaving to be Rep. John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) policy director.

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