By Cindy Gillespie and Eric Tanenblatt This election season, members of our Public Policy and Government Affairs and Political Law practices provided an exclusive look at the 2012 Campaign Trail in a unique call series. MLA’s Campaign Textbook Series provided a quick and informative way to learn what was really happening behind the scenes in the races this fall. Each… Continue Reading
Category Archives: 2012 Elections
Subscribe to 2012 Elections RSS Feed2012 Election Results and Post Election Discussion
Posted in 2012 Elections, Attorneys General, Congress, Governors, Legislatures (State), MayorsBy Eric Tanenblatt and Joseph Dowley With the 2012 elections concluded, we are pleased to provide this recap of the Presidential, Congressional, and State race results. We also invite you to click here to download a full report from our updated 50 State Resource Center, a comprehensive database focusing on economic and political affairs in… Continue Reading
Cybersecurity – What’s Next After the Election?
Posted in 2012 Elections, CybersecurityBy Elizabeth Ferrell and Jim Schweiter There is widespread recognition that we must adopt new policies, laws and regulations to identify and monitor cyber threats, protect our cyber infrastructure and IT systems, share information among government agencies and between the private sector and the government, and develop effective means for responding to cyber attacks. The… Continue Reading
2012 Congressional Lame Duck Session: Webinar Summary and Recording
Posted in 2012 Elections, Appropriations, Budget, Congress, Legislation (Federal), National Security & Defense, Tax PolicyBy Joe Dowley A momentous session of Congress looms ahead… We are carefully watching developments in advance of the elections to gauge likely directions once voters have spoken. There won’t be much time—or open deliberation—once the Lame Duck begins. Most decisions, if there are any, will come as a result of closed door meetings between Congressional leaders… Continue Reading
2012 Congressional Lame Duck Session: Webinar Notice
Posted in 2012 Elections, Budget, Congress, Legislation (Federal), National Security & Defense, Tax PolicyBy Joe Dowley With the 2012 Congressional lame duck session fast approaching, there are a number of important issues for which public and private sector actors should be prepared. To help look more deeply into these topics, including a budget overview, sequestration, defense authorization legislation, taxes, and the implications of the Presidential and Senate elections, we… Continue Reading
State Attorneys General: 2012 Election Preview
Posted in 2012 Elections, Attorneys GeneralBy Thurbert Baker and Jane Moffat MLA’s National State Attorneys General Practice is pleased to share the following thoughts and predictions about what to expect across the country in the upcoming November State Attorney General elections. Last year, we saw statewide elections of Attorneys General (AGs) in three states. Kentucky and Mississippi reelected Democratic AGs last… Continue Reading
The Ambitious Agenda of U.S. Mayors
Posted in 2012 Elections, Energy Policy, Health Policy, Infrastructure, Mayors, Trade, TransportationBy Rosalind Rubens Newell and Bandele McQueen The U.S. Conference of Mayors gathered recently in Orlando, Florida for its 80th Annual Meeting, hosted by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. This bipartisan organization serves as a bellwether for rising issues that are of importance to cities of varying sizes across the country. The programmatic theme for this year’s year’s annual… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act: Interpreting the Decision
Posted in 2012 Elections, Health PolicyBy Cindy Gillespie Today, we held a discussion to help interpret the Supreme Court’s decision and to consider the implications for the U.S. health care industry, employers, government contractors, and financial markets. Members of our Litigation, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Government Contracting, Health Care Regulatory, and Employee Benefits practices presented and fielded questions. Click… Continue Reading
FEC Approves Use of Text-Messaging in Campaign Fundraising
Posted in 2012 Elections, Campaign Finance, Political LawBy David Fine and Mason Smith In a recent advisory opinion, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) unanimously voted to approve the use of text messaging to facilitate political donations by any American with a cell phone. The Commission held that a plan proposed by two political and media consulting firms and m-Qube, a corporate aggregator of… Continue Reading
A “Chunks” Approach to Climate Policy
Posted in 2012 Elections, Climate, Energy PolicyBy Andrew Shaw At a Politico Pro Energy breakfast this morning in Washington, DC, White House Deputy Assistant for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal defended the Administration’s energy record but also provided a window into what a second term energy policy might look like for President Obama. These comments come after Zichal last week… Continue Reading
Energy Breakfast Highlights Ideological Divide
Posted in 2012 Elections, Energy PolicyBy Andrew Shaw As gasoline prices approach nearly $4/gallon, there is increased attention devoted to energy policy both on the Presidential trail and in Congress. President Obama is arguing that there are no easy answers to high gasoline prices, and he is calling for an “all of the above” strategy that includes increased domestic oil and… Continue Reading
Talking to the Taliban
Posted in 2012 Elections, National Security & DefenseBy Paul McHale Although President Obama made only brief reference to Afghanistan during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, it now looks like the issue of “talking to the Taliban” will be a major fault line in the 2012 Presidential election. The Obama Administration has been pushing hard to ignite serious negotiations with the… Continue Reading
State Legislature Reapportionment: Colorado Case Study
Posted in 2012 Elections, Legislatures (State), Political LawBy David Fine The State of Colorado’s recently completed legislative reapportionment is a case study in a difficult political and legal process that gets relatively little attention, but is critical to representation around the country. Just as at the federal level, state reapportionment happens once per decade following the census. Often, as in Colorado, state… Continue Reading
EPA Defends Controversial Power Plant Regulations
Posted in 2012 Elections, Energy Policy, Legislation (Federal)By Andrew Shaw Last week, EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy provided remarks on new Clean Air Act (CAA) rules for utilities at an ICF International breakfast. McCarthy offered a vigorous defense of EPA’s Utility MACT and Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). Both of these rules face opposition among some in Congress and industry. Last… Continue Reading
Save Yourself A Lot Of Pain: Double Check Your LD-203 Filing Procedures
Posted in 2012 Elections, Lobbying Compliance, Political LawBy Randy Nuckolls One of the biggest areas of noncompliance with the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) is in the area of failure to file proper LD-203 semiannual contribution reports. Often failure to submit reports is a simple oversight. Nonetheless, such failures to report will lead to notices of noncompliance from the House and Senate or even… Continue Reading
Campaign Finance: States Propose Rule Rewrites
Posted in 2012 Elections, Government Ethics, Political LawBy David Fine The Colorado Secretary of State has proposed a significant rewrite of Colorado’s campaign finance rules. The Secretary has received public comment and my guess is that final rules will be promulgated in the near future. The rules may generate litigation and will require careful study to ensure compliance going into the 2012 elections. Once… Continue Reading
State Attorneys General: Key Players in 2012
Posted in 2012 Elections, Attorneys GeneralBy Thurbert Baker I expect 2012 to be an important year for Attorneys General (AG) across the U.S. and for the business community that follows AG news and trends. As the former Attorney General for the State of Georgia – a role I was privileged to have for 13 years – and former President of… Continue Reading
Are You in Compliance? It’s LDA Reporting Time Again
Posted in 2012 Elections, Lobbying Compliance, Political LawBy Randy Nuckolls January is a big month for filing Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) reports. Shake off those post holiday blues, get back to the gym to get in shape, and get ready to file your various reports. In January, Registrants under the Federal LDA must file quarterly reports for the 4th quarter of 2011… Continue Reading
2012 Health Policy Outlook: It’s All About 2013
Posted in 2012 Elections, Governors, Health Policy, Legislation (Federal), Legislatures (State)By Cindy Gillespie and Elizabeth Carpenter If we had to pick a theme for 2012, we’d pick one phrase: ”It’s all about 2013″. Presidential election years always have an enormous impact on Congressional and federal action, but the economic issues and the public’s anti-Congress and anti-Washington sentiment make this an election year where Washington is likely… Continue Reading
2012 Crystal Ball: Can This Congress Accomplish Anything Regarding the Nation’s Debt Crisis?
Posted in 2012 Elections, Budget, Legislation (Federal), Tax PolicyBy Joe Dowley Some might argue that it already has. It has put in place a budgetary “sword of Damocles” – a scheduled January 2013, 10-year “sequestration” – $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts largely to defense and other popular discretionary spending. It was passed by this Congress and its existence will dominate all other legislative activities… Continue Reading
The Inaugural Post: Welcome to the Politics, Law and Policy Blog
Posted in 2012 Elections, Cybersecurity, Energy Policy, Government Ethics, Health Policy, Infrastructure, Political Law, Tax Policy, TransportationBy Eric Tanenblatt Happy New Year and welcome to the new Politics, Law and Policy Blog: Bipartisan policy insights and political intelligence. This blog is a forum led by members of the Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs practice at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, an international law and public policy firm with offices in nine… Continue Reading
Reflections on the Iowa Caucuses
Posted in 2012 ElectionsBy Governor Howard Dean The Iowa caucuses exemplify the grueling nature of the Presidential nominating process in our country. Here’s my take on why that’s exactly the way it should be, what to expect from tonight’s Republican primary, including a new twist, and a look ahead to New Hampshire and beyond.
Elections, Money Drive Agendas in 2012 State Legislatures
Posted in 2012 Elections, Budget, Legislatures (State)By Mark Burkhalter While serving in the leadership of the Georgia Legislature, election years and money often drove policy or the lack thereof in state legislatures across America. 2012 will likely be no different. Election year state legislative sessions can typically result in “policy paralysis.” Translation, fewer major initiatives are undertaken from fear of losing… Continue Reading