February 2022

uper Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals wasn’t decided until there were less than two minutes left in the contest, with Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp winning the game’s most valuable player (MVP) award. While it’s hard to argue that he didn’t deserve it, cases for the award could have also been made for Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald or even quarterback Matthew Stafford. Regardless of the winner, the voting process used by the NFL was more than odd in that ballots were cast before the game was even over.

recently came across the movie The Breakfast Club. Simple Minds’ lyrics from the film—“Don’t you, forget about me…Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t…Don’t you, forget about me”—immediately take me back.  We’ve all felt it. That pining for bygone days. A desire to return to the way things were. Nostalgia typically ascends with warm feelings, from a cherished memory, an aroma, or even favorite song. But that deep feeling of familiarity and belonging can also shape-shift into longing, loss, or frustrated desire. Nostalgia often melds both the positive and negative, and that’s what I heard in Rep. Stephanie Murphy’s (D-FL) voice as she addressed an intimate group of lobbyists and analysts, organized by the global strategy firm Capstone DC, to give a moderate’s take on the 2022 legislative agenda.

Thought of the Week: You know it’s a warm day in February when a D.C.-based government affairs analyst feels that Washington, and national politics, may have finally “jumped the shark.” For those of you who don’t know, “jumping the shark” comes from the classic television series Happy Days. During a late episode in that show’s