Thought of the Week: Although, in some ways, it feels like we just went through a national election, as we end 2021 and head into 2022, all the talk in Washington is turning to next year’s midterm elections. The elections will determine which party controls Congress, and business analysts should recognize that the coming election […]
Thought of the Week: A business trip took me to Minneapolis in October 2008; a delayed flight and missed connection had me ordering off the late night dinner menu at a near empty hotel bar. It was a month before the presidential election between Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and the
21 precise steps… CLACK …21 seconds facing east… CLACK …21 seconds facing north… CLACK …exactly 21 steps down the black mat…The Sentinel guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier will repeat the process flawlessly for the next hour until there is a changing of the guard. After visiting my father’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery, witnessing the elaborate ceremony has become a Thanksgiving Day tradition for my daughter and me. A changing of the guard is not unique to military pomp and circumstance, however. Similar changes occur across business, sports, culture, and even politics. In fact, a new process for a changing of the guard is exactly what Andrew Yang has in mind.
Over the river and through the woods to the lobbying house on Capitol Hill? Although the stereotyped notion of a corporate lobby shop is a K Street office, expense accounts at The Palm or Charlie Palmer’s, and a PAC connected to downtown D.C.’s movers and shakers on the fundraising circuit, companies also use prime real estate to get face time with lawmakers. Among the subtler venues to engage in political advocacy are Capitol Hill townhomes; in fact, I attended an event with more than 20 other lobbyists at spirit and beverage giant Diageo’s property just a few weeks ago. Politico estimates that there are more than 20 properties in and around Capitol Hill that are owned by business groups and others who lobby Congress. The homes are used as workplaces, bases for lobbyists, and fundraising venues for members of Congress. More than anything, these swanky townhouses provide companies, trade associations, religious groups, and lobbying shops with a chance to meet lawmakers and their staff outside the bounds of government property. The townhouses have been a mainstay of D.C. lobbying for decades, and they provide a unique set of benefits to the lobbyists that own them and the lawmakers who attend events at them.
Thought of the Week: Last Thursday, I had the good fortune of being scheduled to be in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for Veteran’s Day. On the plus side was the prospect of sunny 70+ degree days, celebrating the holiday in a pro-military town, and the chance to sneak in a few golf rounds on some
This Thursday we celebrated Veteran’s Day. Originally known as Armistice Day, Veteran’s Day is a federal holiday observed each year on November 11 to honor all of those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Distinct from Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day celebrates the service of U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day honors those who died in military service. Veteran’s Day holds a special place in my heart, not only because my father served in the United States Navy, but also because the events of September 11, 2001 inspired a childhood friend and me to establish the Salute Military Golf Association (SMGA). While I grew up listening to my father’s stories about freezing his tail off while running radar and serving as an electrician on a Navy frigate in the Bering Sea during the Cold War, where he was a witness to history being the first person to hear Sputnik come across radar, the SMGA has given me the opportunity to meet hundreds of American veterans. In addition, my work with the SMGA led me to develop working relationships with the George W. Bush Center and Bush Institute, most notably on the condition of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
“Huge Win!!!,” was the text I received from a congressional staffer at 12:44am on Wednesday, November 3, just 6 minutes after the Virginia Gubernatorial election was called in favor of Republican Glenn Youngkin. The staffer in attendance, front and center, at the Youngkin victory rally works for a Congressman whose district is more than 1200 miles away from the Virginia state capital. Funny, it wasn’t the text that concerned me so much; the truth is that the Republican sweep of the Virginia elections, as well as Republican gains nationwide, was a near political coup. What worried me was the number of exclamation points he used. Despite what one may hear on cable news, the election did not turn on a failure to pass President Biden’s reconciliation or infrastructure bills, nor was the campaign race driven. The Virginia elections turned on state issues—education, crime, and economic opportunity. The Republican gains were also not a referendum on former President Trump; the Youngkin campaign did not embrace President Trump and neither did the other two statewide Republican winners—Winsome Kelly (Lieutenant Governor) and Jason Miyares (Attorney General). In a state President Biden carried by 10 points, former Governor Terry McAuliffe’s campaign seemed tone deaf.
A friend of mine called me this week to get my take on the reconciliation and infrastructure bills making their way through Congress. He’s a small businessman who owns and operates more than 20 fitness centers across the state of Maryland, and his primary concern is over how Employee Retention Credits (ERCs) will be treated in the bills. As you can imagine, the past year and a half have been extremely challenging for his business, and the ERCs provided some degree of financial support. The issue he faces is while previous Covid relief legislation extended the credits through the fourth quarter of this year, the infrastructure bill inadvertently ends them after the third quarter. However, there has been discussion among lawmakers about rectifying the disconnect in the reconciliation bill. Although the ERCs are his immediate concern, and their eventual treatment will mean hundreds of thousands of dollars to his business, his longer-term concern is the breakdown in the legislative process.
My son is a huge comic book enthusiast. He was first introduced to them as a child; had his own Odd Couple-like strip called “Hubert and Brian” about the adventures of polar bear and penguin trying to find their way home; moved on to Manga, the Watchmen, and graphic novels like Saga; and now uses the medium to connect with his elementary school students. So, while it shocked me that Superman changed his motto from “Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” to “Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow,” my son had seen it coming for some time. While I’ve always felt that the American way is the path to a better tomorrow, it was still jarring to see how starkly segments of our society no longer view the country in this way. As a practitioner of government affairs, I am well aware of the deep partisan divides in our country as well as the grievances that have led some to want to fundamentally transform America.
Last night, former Washington National and future Hall of Famer, Max Sherzer recorded the first save of his career to send the Los Angeles Dodgers to the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves. As exciting as the game was, for politicos it was nowhere near as intriguing as the “inside baseball” that is going on in the nation’s capital.