Teleconference Recording: Guidance on the 2008 National Political Conventions

Purchase Recording  New!!

If you're attending the conventions, in charge of your onsite activities or responsible for your organization's government relations reporting, you'll want to know the rules of engagement. Find out limits on activities and spending, as well as reporting requirements.

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Business Nervously Eyes the Senate

Twenty-three Republican Senate seats are up this year versus about half that number in Democratic seats, and fundraising by Democratic candidates and their Senate committee is outpacing that of their Republican rivals; corporations and affluent executives are funneling vast amounts of money to outside political groups to guarantee that business has sufficient Senate allies to obstruct undesirable legislation.
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Amid Turmoil, U.S. Turns Away From Decades of Deregulation

For much of the past 25 years American governance has gravitated toward deregulation, but that tendency is being challenged by the new push for regulatory oversight in the wake of the economic downturn.
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Energy Is Top Economic Issue for Voters

Polls find that American voters are most concerned about gasoline prices and the country's energy crisis heading into the November elections.
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DeMint Aims to 'Build the Level Of Anger' on Union Bill

Republican lawmakers in the Senate will focus on Democratic-backed "card-check" labor legislation in an effort to garner votes, boost fundraising, and trigger opposition to Democratic candidates.
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Which Way Will Capital Vote?

It is still unclear as to which presidential candidate a majority of the business community will vote for. Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain has substantial business experience and, while both have lauded enterprise theoretically, each has spoken out against large corporations at one time or another.
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In Lobbying, The Language Is as Important as Issues

In an effort to resurrect the free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia, the Fratelli Group has presented the results of a U.S. Chamber of Commerce-commissioned survey, "What to Say/Not Say (and Why) on International Trade," to the Justice Department.
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Can Your Lawmaker YouTube?

Members of Congress are starting to enter the digital age and communicate to their constituents via Web sites and other online outlets, writes Orange County Register columnist Dena Bunis. Members are rule-bound to post only official Senate and House video on their sites and not to link to video-sharing sites such as YouTube, but Bunis comments that "as far as I know there aren't any Internet police on Capitol Hill who are hauling away lawmakers who do this--and I'm told more than 100 on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers routinely do."
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Disclosure Form Makes It Hard For Lobbyists To Disclose

Last year's lobbying ethics law has left a number of loopholes and other issues that have made reporting a daunting task, according to lawyers dealing with the LD-203 disclosure form, which they are struggling to advise their clients on.
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Why Companies and Campaigners Collaborate

Companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) increasingly are teaming up, with BP and Greenpeace forging one of the more unlikely alliances more than a decade ago.
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