The ONLY Way to Conduct Conference Calls

The ONLY Way to Conduct Conference Calls

Client conference calls -- whether video or audio -- are a fact of life. But there are several things I dislike and, in my opinion, reflect very poorly on the group leader. Let's start here: 1 -- 60 minute calls. If the collective group cannot conduct all of its...

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Acknowledging “Collaboration” in the Writing Process

Acknowledging “Collaboration” in the Writing Process

This shouldn't be a tricky subject when it comes to creating content and showcasing as one's own, but it is -- because so many don't understand that almost every major writing project is a collaboration. For those who write speeches, op-eds, presentations and other...

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Enough With Zoom Calls

Enough With Zoom Calls

First things first: Zoom calls are great -- with amazing utility and usefulness. As a means of bringing teams together virtually as COVID continues to hinder in-office meetings, Zoom is the most revolutionary technological tool to be developed and widely embraced...

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DC Consultants Need to be Managed

DC Consultants Need to be Managed

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, DC consultants, lobbyists, data specialists and others are scrambling for their lives, and indeed, their very livelihoods. Clients representing both vast sectors as well as smaller sub-sectors of the U.S. economy are shelling...

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“Off the Record”… What Does That Really Mean?

“Off the Record”… What Does That Really Mean?

So... you're a campaign press secretary in a big-time presidential, senate or gubernatorial race where screwing up a contentious, high-stakes media call will have significantly negative implications -- to your candidate, and possibly your ongoing employment. You...

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A Look at PBM “Spread Pricing” Abuse in Medicaid

A Look at PBM “Spread Pricing” Abuse in Medicaid

With pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) under a cloud of their own making due to a business model wholly dependent upon opaque, non-transparent drug pricing practices, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently prohibited yet another controversial PBM...

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PBMs Draw More GOP Scrutiny from Senate Finance Committee

PBMs Draw More GOP Scrutiny from Senate Finance Committee

This more of an addenda to my last post noting how PBMs have, to their detriment, ended up on Sen. Grassley's radar screen. Now Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), up for reelection this cycle, has weighed in: "The whole rebate thing just looks kind of — well it's hard to...

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What’s the Headline?… What’s the Lead?

What’s the Headline?… What’s the Lead?

As a content creator providing policy messaging for clients ranging from 5000 word CEO speeches to 100 word tweets, it's impossible not to notice the diminished attention span of today's news consumers, the media themselves and society at-large. There's even a social...

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Tom Davis Warns House GOP Post PA-18

Tom Davis Warns House GOP Post PA-18

Former National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Tom Davis remains one of the smartest, savviest, streetwise political wise men in Washington -- and he landed over at MSNBC yesterday to talk with Chuck Todd on Meet the Press Daily about PA-18 and its...

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Trump HHS, CMS, FDA Chiefs Rattle Health Sector Leaders

Trump HHS, CMS, FDA Chiefs Rattle Health Sector Leaders

This week marked a true rarity for the Trump Administration: a coordinated, effective burst of reform-minded tough talk from three separate health policy leaders, in three consecutive days. In rat-tat-tat fashion, his HHS Secretary, CMS Administrator and FDA...

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Some Final 2017 Thoughts About the Virginia Governor’s Race

Some Final 2017 Thoughts About the Virginia Governor’s Race

Ralph Northam beat Ed Gillespie. And that’s all that really matters as a tumultuous 2017 comes to a close. Prevailing in a brutal nationally-watched statewide — where “survivor” is a more apt characterization than “winner” — is a major achievement; incredibly...

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GOP Tax Plan Targets Key Dem Constituencies

GOP Tax Plan Targets Key Dem Constituencies

Putting aside the policy and economic implications of the GOP tax plans -- now heading for Conference -- the political ramifications are clear: the GOP approach in its totality targets largely Democratic constituencies. Stephen Moore, an economic advisor to the Trump...

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What’s the Headline?… What’s the Lead?

The Sin of Omission and Lack of Specificity in Writing Credits

(Originally published by Gotham Ghostwriters, 10/18/2017) A talented younger friend attempting to make a transition from campaign communications consultant to building a full-time business as an executive communications consultant called the other day seeking advice....

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Saudi Arabia vs. Qatar: The New DC Steel Cage Death Match

Saudi Arabia vs. Qatar: The New DC Steel Cage Death Match

While much of the conversation and news coverage over the past several months has been usurped by health reform and the daily drama within the Trump White House, the clear escalation of the Beltway media war between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is shaping up as a...

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DC Consultants Need to be Managed

DC Media Trend: Niche Firms Take on PR Giants — Part 2

Axios published an excellent article this morning noting that smaller, Washington-based public affairs firms are going after business typically won by large agencies. "They lure clients with political expertise capable of handling crisis communications, and then...

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Steve Scalise’s Rising Star Faces Key Test

Steve Scalise’s Rising Star Faces Key Test

This Thursday’s scheduled vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to begin rolling back Obamacare with the American Health Care Act will be Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s biggest, most important test to date. The Louisiana lawmaker's star already on the rise, and...

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Ryan PowerPoint Media Format ‘Too Retro’?

Ryan PowerPoint Media Format ‘Too Retro’?

One of the more interesting sidebar PR discussions regarding House Speaker Paul Ryan's media event yesterday detailing his "three-pronged approach" to repealing and replacing Obamacare was the format itself. A PowerPoint? skeptics asked. Ross Perot used charts in...

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Tom Price Aces White House Health Care Briefing

During any Washington press briefing -- after the political figure delivers his or her canned opening statement -- that moment of truth arrives during an aggressive reporter Q and A session when success or failure becomes apparent. HHS Secretary Tom Price made his...

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Trump News Conference Leaves DC Pharma Scrambling

Putting aside that PEOTUS Donald Trump convincingly crushed his first news conference in months -- and did so by demonizing the media in general and Buzzfeed in particular -- there was plenty of substantive policy news. Trump's trashing of the pharmaceutical industry...

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Trump Means More DC Lobbying Business, Not Less

Despite the fact a primary rationale of President-elect Donald Trump's candidacy was to decimate the Beltway culture and Washington insiders, one of the biggest ironies is that lobbyists stand to benefit significantly from his election. Why? Uncertainty and fear:...

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If Clinton Wins: Big Impact on Medicaid Expansion

While the 2016 gubernatorial race outcomes will obviously have a major impact of future of state Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) a bigger factor would be a Hillary Clinton victory over Donald Trump in the presidential race. “If Clinton wins,...

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Clinton May Face Brutal Two Front War With Trump, Johnson

On a purely structural level, Hillary Clinton must still remain a slight favorite to win the White House -- but every new day brings the type of news every campaign dreads, and the certainty that eking out win will require a grueling, ugly trip through the meat...

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PharMerica Joins Successful New LTC Pharmacy Coalition

The only Washington, DC-based advocacy organization representing the interests of the nation's long term care (LTC) pharmacy sector, the Senior Care Pharmacy Coalition (SCPC), scored a major coup in August when it welcomed a major national provider of LTC pharmacy...

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GOP Senate Candidates Get Obamacare Gift For Campaign Endgame

As reported in several media outlets this week, the first handful of states have released approved 2017 rates for people who buy health insurance on their own and the results are scary news for Democratic Senate and House candidates wrestling with the fact there are...

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Blasting NM Gov. Martinez, Trump Again Backslides

It's uncanny: just as GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to have turned a corner in his effort to consolidate GOP support, on the one hand, while tempering his general behavior to attract wavering persuadeables open to 'change', on the other, Trump screws...

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Cruz and Kasich Empower Trump Rationale

I previously posted it was highly unlikely Donald Trump would get a second chance to put this contest away after a triumvirate of gaffes and miscues over a month ago -- specifically his abortion debacle, where he took three positions within twenty four hours,...

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One Obamacare Benefit: Care Delivery Reform

President Obama's signature Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- better known as "Obamacare" -- has suffered years of negative publicity and controversy, most of it warranted. But one beneficial aspect of the law almost universally missed in the public discussion is the law's...

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A Second Chance for Trump to Put it Away? Doubtful

May 5, 2016 editorial note: As Trump is now the presumptive GOP nominee, I am incorrect below -- now the fourth time I have incorrectly predicted his demise. At the presidential campaign level, getting a second chance to put a race away is a rarity -- if it's in your...

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Unions on the Wane In New York City

In the 1970s, union members were a monopoly in the New York City construction labor market. At the time, card-carrying union workers made up a stunning 90 percent of the city’s construction workforce. Not surprisingly, due to cost-cutting, that number is down...

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Marco Rubio’s Lowbrow Gamble — Both Sides of the Coin

When GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio recently decided to abandon his positive, aspirational message and go toe to toe with Donald Trump in the lowbrow realm of personal ad hominem attacks, I considered it one of the most ill-conceived PR moves I'd seen in...

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Trump Errs By Saying He’s Being Audited

The lively CNN debate from Houston tonight featured a variety of ad hominem attacks between Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz -- reflecting the fact Cruz and Rubio must quickly change the dynamic as Trump steamrolls towards an overwhelming Super Tuesday victory...

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Fake Rubio-Obama Photo Perpetuates Cruz Dishonesty Narrative

My disclaimer here at the top: I worked for Scott Walker before he suspended his effort last fall, and remain neutral in the GOP presidential primary. As for "defining" opponents and launching waves of fact-based attacks in every available medium, I'm all for it. I've...

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Terror Issue Boosts Ron Johnson Senate Re-Elect Bid

According to most reputable political prognosticators -- and they happen to be correct -- GOP Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) are the two most vulnerable Republican incumbents. From his perch on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs...

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Democrats Also Working to Undermine Obamacare

With so much news coverage devoted to GOP efforts to sink the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, the law is facing substantial problems largely of Democrats' making in the year-end budget deal. When Democrats joined with Republicans to delay the...

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In Koch vs. RNC Battle, Koch’s Will Prevail

It was always inevitable that the Koch forces, in the form of Freedom Partners, would clash with the Republican National Committee (RNC) about control of voter contact data. The hard truth is that the RNC is on the wrong side of history, and not yet fully cognizant of...

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Sen. Ron Johnson’s Pragmatic Plan if SCOTUS Rules for King

The reality is simple: the GOP Senate and House will not soon be unifying around a singular plan to repeal Obamacare. And if the Supreme Court rules for the plaintiff in the King v. Burwell case to eliminate subsidies received by the 8 million enrolled in health care...

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Jeb Bush Speaks Truth on GWB’s Big Spending

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush was asked by a voter at an event in Concord, New Hampshire, if there was an issue where there's big space between he and his brother. "Sure, I think that in Washington during my brother's time Republicans spent too much money," Bush...

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The GOP, State Exchanges and King v. Burwell

Now mired in the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) funding morass, the congressional GOP majority and GOP governors are now bracing for another potential public relations disaster. If the Supreme Court rules that federal subsidies to the so-called "fallback" federal...

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2014 Midterms: The Repudiation of President Obama

The 2014 midterm is over and there are many simple truths -- the first of which is voters marched to the polls to send Barack Obama the message that he's presiding over a failing Presidency. Nothing more, nothing less. The horrendous result for Democrats, to be...

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Obamacare Here to Stay, Regardless of Political Rhetoric

Ohio GOP Governor John Kasich is taking heat for saying that Obamacare will not be repealed, even if the GOP takes the Senate (it will) on election day. The truth is that Kasich is right: nine GOP governors have already expanded Medicaid for their low income residents...

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Mark Udall’s a Real Nice Guy

Cory Gardner is running one of the best GOP U.S. Senate races in the country -- if not THE best. And his most recent ad saying Mark Udall's a "real nice guy" is a terrific spot that appears positive on its face but then manages to gut Udall by noting Udall and his...

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The Plight of Kansas GOP Senator Pat Roberts

Kansas GOP Senator Pat Roberts has a challenging race -- lets establish that as a fact. But at the end of the day he will win. In campaigns, especially, things are generally never as 'bad' as they first appear nor as 'good' as they first appear. Right now, the 'bad'...

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ACA Prompts More LTC Industry Consolidation

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to prompt consolidation in the long term care industry as Genesis Healthcare and Skilled Healthcare, Inc. will merge to create a 500+ facility long term and post acute care entity. The firms cited the fact the ACA is further...

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Perdue Georgia Win Bad News for Michelle Nunn

In what Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post accurately characterized as a "mild surprise," David Perdue's win over U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston in the Georgia GOP Senate run-off will make it even harder for Democrat Michelle Nunn to win the seat -- not easier. Why?...

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Cantor Campaign Team Blames Dems For Loss

In an interview with The Hill, Eric Cantor's top campaign aide Ray Allen said Democrats are to blame for the defeat -- Democrats who crossed over to meddle in the GOP primary. That's a far-fetched explanation, and simply not credible as a sole-source answer. Yet, its...

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The Obamacare Irony of National, Not State Exchanges

The original intent of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to establish 50 state exchanges run by the 50 states themselves — the federal exchange was always meant to be a temporary fallback. Instead, 36 states currently rely upon the federal...

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Oregon Exchange Fiasco Keeps Negative Focus on Merkley

The announcement from Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber that he will ask the state Attorney General to sue Oracle, the contractor behind the state's failed Obamacare exchange, is great news for GOP Senate candidate Monica Wehby as it assures the fiasco will remain in the...

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WSJ: The Real Reasons GOP Insurgents Losing Primaries

The Wall Street Journal editorial "Tea Party Agonistes" lays everything out perfectly: "The media's latest political line is that the Republican establishment has finally crushed the tea party. The truth, as usual, is more interesting. The tea party has already...

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Sasse Nebraska Win No Tea Party Vs. Establishment Story

While it's a fact that the Club for Growth and other "anti-establishment" organizations spent $2.4 million to help elect Nebraska GOP Senate primary victor Ben Sasse, characterizing Sasse's victory as a 'defeat' for the 'establishment' wing of the GOP is more...

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Avalanche of Questionable Polling Data Taints Reporting

It's well known that its harder than ever to complete a live phone call survey, and takes an increasing amount of time and money to query a requisite number of cell phone users in the ultimate sample. And with the preponderance of IVR robo-polls and 'internet polls'...

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Mark Warner Campaign Appears Unaware of Danger

Incumbent Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) is currently characterized by Beltway observers as a relatively safe bet to win his race against his GOP opponent, Ed Gillespie -- but the question isn't whether this race will get close, the question is when Warner and his team...

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CMS Medicare Pay Data Release A Transparency Milestone

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will today make available billions of dollars in Medicare payments to physicians -- an unprecedented disclosure representing a new milestone in price transparency. Generally, the disclosure is being welcomed by...

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Ongoing Obamacare Confusion a Persistent Problem

Among the many ominous developments surrounding the ongoing saga known as "Obamacare" is the fact millions of Americans still have no clue about how to get enrolled, the deadlines involved, and the ramifications for not signing up. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey...

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Marco Rubio Making Moves, Making News

Last year’s storyline on Marco Rubio? After a failed attempt on immigration reform, he’s washed up as a 2016 presidential contender. The new 2014 storyline? Rubio is resurrecting his presidential prospects with smart public relations activities on the...

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Pat Roberts’ Staff Fumbling Kansas Visit Issue

Pat Roberts of Kansas is an excellent U.S. Senator -- but instead of his positive record and opposition to Obamacare driving press coverage, his staff has fumbled its way into a dangerous situation: first they said they would release information detailing his in-state...

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First RGA 2014 Ad Links Incumbent to Obama, Pelosi

The messaging of the first Republican Governors Association (RGA) ad of the 2014 cycle targeting Dem Gov. Mike Ross in Arkansas obviously serves as a template of what's to come in a handful of races involving Dem candidates who are current or former members of...

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Obamacare PR Disasters: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

With a preponderance of fresh non-partisan data showing North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan underwater in her job performance rating, and trailing several of the GOP primary candidates now vying for the opportunity to face her, the last thing she and her campaign needed...

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Michigan Gov Race Slipping Away From Democrats

For the very first time in months, the Democrats are showing signs of life in their effort to topple incumbent GOP Governor Rick Snyder. The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is launching what it says as a three week, $1 million media buy to slam Snyder. The two...

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Fresh Attack Angles on Obamacare To Keep Issue Alive

As the GOP opens the legislative year attacking the lack of security surrounding the Obamacare website sign-up process, a broader list of attack angles to be employed by GOP lawmakers is being reported by Politico. This signals a months-long assault on Obamacare with...

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Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley More Vulnerable Than Appears

Having worked on two of former GOP Senator Gordon Smith's campaigns, and having spent a bit of time on the ground in Oregon, there's no question incumbent Jeff Merkley has an advantage going into his 2014 reelection. Nevertheless, the incumbent's body language of late...

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Mary Landrieu Ends 2013 On the Run

Along with President Obama's broken promise regarding Americans' ability to keep their health care plan comes the growing electoral problems for Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu -- who ends 2013 on the run more than any other Senate Dem incumbent facing reelection in...

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McCain-Feingold Diminishes Party Ad Spending — Big Time

In a piece by Liz Wilner for the Cook Political Report, she reports: "In the 2014 midterm elections, outside groups are on track to account for a majority of all TV ad spending. In a recent talk for the association of local TV broadcasters, the University of San...

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Tavenner Sidesteps Culpability on Obamacare Rollout

CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, caught in the middle of the firestorm surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rollout debacle has, legitimately, been spared much of the blame. Tavenner retains much of the bipartisan support she had when the U.S. Senate confirmed...

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Lamar Alexander Takes On Tea Party In TN Reelect

As reported in today's Washington Post, Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander is taking on the tea party frontally in his re-election campaign, and it's a smart formula that will work for him. While, on the one hand, he's co-opting tea party anti-Obamacare messaging by...

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Cuccinelli Getting Blown Out on Airwaves

Listenting to the growing chorus of complaints about the competence of gubernatorial campaign of Ken Cuccinelli, one most frequently hears that he "doesn't have a message" or that his entire campaign consists of simply slamming the ethics-challenged Terry McAuliffe....

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Bogus AP Story On McAuliffe Warrants More Outrage

Before a news organization runs with a story that can affect the course of a major political campaign, much less one's reputation, they need to have the facts nailed down. And when the facts are wrong, the media outlet deserves to be skewered and held accountable just...

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Charlie Cook: Wendy Davis Will Lose

While it's hardly an earth-shattering prediction, it's still news: Charlie Cook told a National Journal member briefing this morning that while Democrats will use the Texas Governor's race as a party building exercise, Wendy Davis is "going to lose; she has no chance...

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Wendy Davis Will Excite, But Will Not Win

There's no question about it, Texas Democrat Wendy Davis is a political star with a compelling, uplifting personal story: From trailer park to Harvard Law School is emblematic of the American Dream, and you can't take that away from her. But can she win the Texas...

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Cruz Engages Mainstream Media in Impressive Manner

While Texas Senator Ted Cruz is plunging the nation and the Republican Party into an ultra-risky, ill-considered government shutdown -- with no apparent longer term strategy -- he deserves credit for engaging the so-called mainstream media with face to face...

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Ted Cruz Deserves Brickbats, But Also Credit for Brilliant PR

Newt Gingrich, Vin Weber, Bob Walker and Conservative Opportunity Society (COS) members used House 'special orders' and a captive C-Span camera in the 1980's to frustrate and ultimately take down House Speaker Jim Wright -- and now Ted Cruz figured out a way to use...

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Successful DC Advocacy Requires Local, Not DC Emphasis

With so much special interest money in Washington being thrown into issues advocacy efforts to help convince federal lawmakers to support a specific legislative priority or action, a key consideration is what percentage of the total paid media budget will be spent...

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House GOP Plays Messaging Jiu Jitsu With Obamacare

House Speaker John Boehner, largely playing defense throughout 2013, turned the tables on the Obama Administration's effort to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by playing some smart messaging jiu-jitsu. As the President has already called for a one year delay...

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GOP Chaos?… Yes, But…

The relentless reporting in the media about internal GOP chaos in the aftermath of Mitt Romney's defeat is entirely accurate. But that's not all a bad thing if you're a young Republican operative looking to make a mark and get some notice of your talent. Chaos breeds...

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Kasich: Full Speed Ahead With Medicaid Expansion

In announcing his support for Medicaid expansion, Ohio Governor John Kasich said that while he "opposes" Obamacare his move "makes great sense for the state of Ohio." As FL GOP Gov. Rick Scott and AZ GOP Gov. Jan Brewer have already signed on to Medicaid expansion,...

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Enitlement Reform Options: The Clear Leaders

While it appeared a "Grand Bargain" was conceivable following the 2012 election, the unfortunate fact in the wake of President Obama's ideologically combative State of the Union speech -- and other recent smoke signals from Senate leadership offices -- is that we're...

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More GOP Governors Will Fold on Medicaid Expansion

It's only a matter of time before more GOP Governors fold on Medicaid expansion. Why? State budget realities. States that are refusing to expand Medicaid — like Texas — are hurting their hospitals by giving up funds that could help offset their uncompensated care, Dan...

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Legal Challenge to Obamacare Fading

Politico is reporting today, correctly, that window is closing for those who want to bulldoze the Obama health law in court. It is going to become increasingly difficult because courts are much less willing to overturn something that is already entrenched said Randy...

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