In the News
2008
Capitol File November 2008
In early November 2008, Capitol File magazine sat down with Jack Quinn, former counsel to President Clinton and cofounder and chairman of Quinn Gillespie & Associates, to discuss what we can expect from the new administration. The answer? Dramatic change, both domestically and abroad. Click Here to read The Dynamics of an Obama Presidency by Jack Quinn, which appeared in Capitol File's Inaugural Issue.
topRoll Call on C-SPAN November 14, 2008
Jack also spoke at Roll Call's annual conference, Countdown to 2009: Preparing for a Legislative Storm. At a session titled: Point-Counterpoint: Examining the Issues of 2009, Jack was joined by Tom DeLay, former US House Majority Leader, to discuss the key issues facing the new administration and the 111th Congress. The forum, held on November 14, 2008 aired on C-Span and can be viewed on www.rollcall.com. Click on the "Roll Call on C-SPAN" tab to view the four-part series.
topThe Hill November 20, 2008
“As if glamorous jobs (we kid) and seeing their names in print on a daily basis isn’t enough reward, a handful of Capitol Hill’s press people are getting even more kudos. Last night, Quinn Gillespie & Associates doled out their Flak Jacket Awards, selected by an all-star lineup of reporters and editors (including Roll Call’s esteemed honcho Charlie Mitchell), to the town’s ‘most daring and verbally agile communicators. “Awards went to ... the envelope, please: Republican, Political Campaign: Ken Spain of the National Republican Congressional Committee; Democrat, Political Campaign: Jennifer Crider of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; Republican, Capitol Hill Press Secretary: Don Stewart with the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.); Democrat, Capitol Hill Press Secretary: Brendan Daly with the office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); Industry: T. Boone Pickens, creator of the Pickens Plan, a major energy policy effort, and founder and chairman of the hedge fund BP Capital Management. “Reporters might have toasted the winners at Wednesday night’s ceremony in the Rayburn House Office Building, but they’ll no doubt be back to making the winners’ jobs difficult before any of them can say ‘I’d like to thank the Academy ...’”
topThe Politico November 18, 2008
“Quinn and Gillespie Associates’ Flak Bash is tomorrow. “This is always a pretty popular affair, of course, honoring the best flaks in each political party in campaigns, on the Hill and in industry. “Obviously this award — though purely ceremonial — is taken seriously by those nominated. One year, a prominent press guy was crowned winner, throwing a clearly disappointed flak into utter despair. “Don’t they know how hard it is being [incriminated politician’s name here]’s flak?!” he was overheard ranting — with quite a point — at the time. “And if that’s not evidence enough, one Senate press guy, who works for a Republican senator whose reputation precedes him/her, wrote a page and half as to why he should be voted winner. His pitch? ‘The proof is in the product.’ “Just remember, whether you win or not, in the words of one on-message nominated person: ‘Of course, it’s always great to be recognized by your peers for having done great work.’”
topCongressDaily November 17, 2008
“This Wednesday an often overlooked group of people is being honored for their understated efforts. No, it's not hospital volunteers or the Girl Scouts, but a far more necessary crowd: public relations associates. PR firm Quinn Gillespie is hosting its annual ‘Flak Bash’ honoring those responsible for turning the crappy into the credible; awful into awesome; drab into daring.”
topNational Journal October 27, 2008
“I looked back five years to the list of top 10 lobbying firms in October 2003. Five of the firms on the list at that time are on the list today...[including] Quinn Gillespie & Associates...proving these firms remain lobbying sector powerhouses.”
topLegal Times July 21, 2008
“Jack Quinn is happy to explain why lobbying is a noble profession enshrined in the Constitution. He’s more reluctant to talk about why he’s so good at it. Ask him about his victories over the years, and he’ll tell you they were based on the strength of his clients.
He grants that he opens some congressional doors, 'but the dirty secret is that policy-makers want to speak to the people we represent.'
His clients aren’t quite so bashful about Quinn’s gifts. 'His tenure with the party is such that Democrats look at him with respect,' says Jonas Neihardt, vice president of federal government affairs for Qualcomm.
That’s putting it mildly.
In the 1990s, Quinn acted as a top adviser to both Al Gore and Bill Clinton. He was the longtime head of the lobbying practice at Arnold & Porter when he signed on with Gore, eventually becoming the vice president’s chief of staff and counselor. Then from 1995 to 1996, he served as White House counsel for President Clinton.
Today, Quinn, 58, heads the lobbying firm Quinn Gillespie & Associates, which he co-founded in 2000 with his conservative counterpart Ed Gillespie (now counselor to President George W. Bush). Quinn’s clout and political savvy draw heavy-hitting clients in a range of industries, including Qualcomm, Royal Caribbean International, Verizon Wireless, and, most recently, the Clean Coal Coalition.
'Jack brings a well-considered and thoughtful approach to issues,' says Alice Tornquist, vice president of government affairs at Qualcomm. Plus, she says, 'with his contacts with Democrats, Quinn’s strategy advice will only be an asset after the elections.'
Quinn helped the telecommunications giant with the legislation that set the ground rules for the 700 Mhz spectrum auction this past spring. The results of that sale could reshape the industry. Qualcomm emerged a winner: With the air space licenses it purchased in March, the company had the necessary spectrum to launch MediaFLO, a cell phone video service. Among its partners in the venture? Verizon Wireless, another Quinn client.
Howard Woolley, senior vice president of public policy at Verizon Wireless, calls Quinn’s input indispensable to his company’s own efforts to secure licenses in the 700 Mhz spectrum. Quinn has also advised Verizon—and lobbied—on efforts to advance a national regulatory framework for the wireless industry.
'Jack counsels us on how to get [our] story told in Washington,' says Woolley, noting that Quinn has helped guide Verizon’s Washington strategy. He adds that Quinn has worked with Verizon since the company was formed in 2000.
While he’s done well in this term, Quinn says, he has even higher hopes for 2009. 'We’re already laying the groundwork for after the inauguration. If you aren’t already planning ahead, you aren’t going to be successful.'”
topLegal Times June 23, 2008
Dear GOP: Get Serious
By Jack Quinn and Jeff Connaughton
“The Supreme Court’s decision in Boumediene v. Bush triggered yet another illustration of how the adversarial system in law and political campaigns differs dramatically.
In the legal setting, respected lawyers addressed the weighty constitutional issues before the justices. But in the campaign setting, we saw more of the post-9/11 tactics where President George W. Bush, the Republican Party, and now the McCain campaign continue to debate national security law by painting Democrats as 'weak on terror,' 'naïve,' and 'elusional.'
Indeed, immediately after 9/11, in the 2004 presidential campaign, and to a lesser but still potent degree today, anyone who stands up against the abysmal performance of Bush’s top governmental lawyers risks the label of 'no confidence that he’ll pursue a determined, difficult course' against terrorism, as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani put it at the 2004 Republican convention.”
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PR News June 19, 2008
How a Successful Obama Campaign Could Change the Way Washington Communicates
“ If Barack Obama and his grassroots army win the White House in November, he has promised to change the way business is done in Washington. Some of the implications, such as earmark reform, more transparency in contracting and lobbying, and campaign finance changes, are stated plainly on his 'Ethics Issues' page.
Yet, in a larger sense, corporate advocates and communications specialists will be trying to make sense of what it means to their business. How will they influence policy-making in Washington when the person just elected to the highest office in the land won with a legion of small donors and volunteers, using boundary-busting Internet techniques-all while castigating the outsized influence of corporate lobbyists in the process and promising to change the system?
In 2007, activist shareholder Jackson held a mere 96 shares of Yahoo; he had a desire to see the value of his stake rise. However, he was dissatisfied by the company's lack of requirements for directors to buy stock. He relentlessly published his criticisms on his blog and on YouTube, and put his strategic plan ("Plan B For Yahoo!") up on a wiki. Months later, he had accumulated a huge stack of press clippings, not to mention the satisfaction of seeing many of his suggestions reluctantly taken by a battered Yahoo.
Who knows if the Obama administration will return K Street's calls; regardless, public relations and public affairs professionals will have to reorient their thinking to conform to the new political landscape.
The most obvious implication will be changes in the way the White House communicates with key stakeholders and constituencies. With promises of more open White House communication, and an army of supporters still connected by e-mail, an Obama administration may rely far less on the mainstream press to get its message out or to set the context of a story. As in the handling of the Rev. Wright episode, candidate Obama has shown that he can make one public speech, post it online, and fundamentally change the dynamic of the news cycle by the effect of bloggers and thousands of commentaries.
While still valuable, spinning the evening news cycle or a major print story will become marginally less effective. A recent survey from iFOCOS found that half of all Americans are obtaining their news from the Internet. While the sources they may find online are from the Web portals of traditional media outlets, online pundits and bloggers outnumber traditional media outlets online, and they can often promote or bury a story within hours.
Working inside this dynamic will be difficult without matching the same tactics. While it's unlikely any industry or interest will be able to raise a similar multitude of supporters, the same level of openness and commitment to monitoring and participating in online discussions will be critical. Smart organizations will effectively advance their policy agendas online as part of an integrated public affairs solution, developing issue groups by providing supportive evidence for their case directly to the public through online communications channels.
Specific recommendations for operating in this changing and complex communications environment in 2009 include:
1. Begin a program to monitor online conversations about your issues in the same way that you currently monitor press clips. When you need to enter the debate, you will better understand the "map of influence" around your issues online.
2. Prepare your government affairs and communications teams to take their case directly to the public via the Web. Put your tactical system in place so that you are not confronting the logistical issues of speaking online while simultaneously dealing with a public or government relations crisis.
3. Force yourself to act daily to grow the "issue community" you have developed both online and offline. Identify and target additional interested persons and allies so that you can mobilize them as effectively as possible when needed.
This piece was written by Shabbir Imber Safdar and Jeff Connaughton. Safdar is the founder of Virilion Inc.; Connaughton is vice chairman of Quinn Gillespie & Associates.
topRoll Call June 18, 2008
GOP Woos Its Own on K Street
“[T]hree GOP Senate leaders held a private meeting with about 20 of K Street’s biggest Republican names....participants included...Dave Hoppe [President of] Quinn Gillespie & Associates....”
topPolitico May 30, 2008
Senior McCain aides continue K Street Courtship
“John McCain's campaign manager and other senior officals met with about 70 top Republican lobbyists yesterday...In attendance were such powerhouse lobbyists as...[QGA's] Marc Lampkin....”
topNational Journal May 24, 2008
Image-Makers
“Patricia McMurray has joined Quinn Gillespie & Associates as a director in the group's communications practice, where she hopes to work on energy and environmental issues. McMurray last served as a director in Burson-Marsteller's media practice. She has also worked for the American Gas Association and the Edison Electric Institute.
Before entering the public-relations world, McMurray held a number of journalism positions at various media outlets, including MSNBC, Voice of America, and The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer. She was the first local host of Morning Edition at WAMU and won an Associated Press award for a radio series on the Chesapeake Bay. She has also done freelance work for CNN....”
topThe Hill May 5, 2008
Wheelchair lobby takes on Medicare
By Jeffrey Young
“Armand Legault must make a pretty persuasive lobbyist.
The 58-year-old Connecticut resident is knowledgeable, articulate and good-natured. But when it comes to his efforts to convince Congress to protect patients’ access to complex power wheelchairs, Legault’s best asset might be his physical presence.
Legault is paralyzed because of muscular dystrophy and is only able to move around – and get to Capitol Hill – because of his wheelchair, a custom-fitted, high-tech contraption with gears and levers that allow him to position and reposition his body.
In an ordinary electric wheelchair, Legault would be vulnerable to circulation problems and painful pressure sores.
“You can’t just get fitted for a wheelchair like this off the street,” Legault said. It can take 10 visits to a vendor to fit the chair properly.
Now Legault is worried that changes to a Medicare program designed to cut costs could affect the quality of service associated with these high-end wheelchairs.
An army of professional lobbyists is working toward the same goal as Legault, a retired state tax auditor and patient advocate, but their mutual success is far from assured.
In a series of lobbying meetings in April, organized by Quinn Gillespie & Associates and the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology (NCART), Legault and the lobbyists have sought to convince lawmakers to exempt complex wheelchairs from a new competitive bidding program for Medicare.”
topThe Hill April 24, 2008
Best in the business: Hired Guns
“The Hill’s annual list of top lobbyists reflects the greater importance Democratic lobbyists play, while not forgetting the Republicans in town who maintain a major role in crafting legislation, particularly in the Senate, where voting margins are so close. Today’s list names the best "hired guns" and corporate lobbyists. To compile our list, we talked to key congressional aides and lobbyists themselves.
Manuel Ortiz, Quinn Gillespie & Associates. Ortiz was on the finance committee for Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) 2004 presidential campaign and is well connected to several Democratic senators.
Jack Quinn, Quinn Gillespie & Associates. Republican partner Ed Gillespie may leave from time to time, but Quinn always keeps the firm on course by hiring people like Kevin Kayes, a former chief counsel to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), and Allison Giles, a former chief of staff to then-House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.).”
topPR News March 31, 2008
Investor Communications Strategies In The Age Of Online Activist Shareholders
“ For decades, corporate management held the distinct advantage in their relations with dissident shareholders, who rarely could successfully challenge management plans. In the last few years, however, significant developments have upset this balance; now, corporate communications and investor relations strategies must adapt to a new age of online activist shareholders who--whether small and poorly funded or powerful and wealthy--are empowered by the Internet, zero-cost publishing and Web-based communications strategies.
One recent development is the SEC's new rules that permit the electronic distribution of proxy materials, lowering the cost for anyone to run a proxy fight without the high cost of direct mail. The other developments are signified by the savvy techniques Walter Hewlett used unsuccessfully against the HP-Compaq merger in 2002, and by the more recent fight Eric Jackson has taken against Yahoo.
In 2007, activist shareholder Jackson held a mere 96 shares of Yahoo; he had a desire to see the value of his stake rise. However, he was dissatisfied by the company's lack of requirements for directors to buy stock. He relentlessly published his criticisms on his blog and on YouTube, and put his strategic plan ("Plan B For Yahoo!") up on a wiki. Months later, he had accumulated a huge stack of press clippings, not to mention the satisfaction of seeing many of his suggestions reluctantly taken by a battered Yahoo.
The Internet and the SEC's new rules on the use of electronic proxies have changed the entire landscape for investor communications. To deal with these new changes, corporations should consider the following strategies:
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Monitor activist shareholders and online sentiment. A critic may own just a single share, but if a company ignores him/her and the arguments he/she makes resonate with the market as a whole, that critic can become a spokesperson whose influence is too big to manage.
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Engage the activists carefully. Yahoo should have rebuffed Jackson's arguments in writing. Instead it brought him in for a meeting with executives, thus giving him an audience, and then refused to budge on any single point. This in turn made Jackson an even more motivated critic with a global voice.
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Use traditional political campaign techniques to move opinion. Once an investor sentiment problem reaches a critical mass, corporations have no choice but to meet it with the time-tested techniques of political campaign communications, including setting the agenda, amplifying supporter voices and rapid response.”
This piece was written by Shabbir Imber Safdar and Jeff Connaughton, who were part of a cross-agency team that provided strategic and digital communications consultation to Hewlett-Packard during the proxy fight over the Compaq acquisition. Safdar is the founder of Virilion Inc.; Connaughton is vice chairman of Quinn Gillespie & Associates.
topThe Hill February 6, 2008
Interview by By Betsy Rothstein
“Washington lobbyist Jack Quinn answers 20 Questions”
“I recently sat down with Democratic lobbyist Jack Quinn, of Quinn Gillespie & Associates, to hear his views on the political landscape. Although he worked in the Clinton White House for four and a half years as Al Gore’s chief of staff, followed by a stint as counsel to the president, he won’t declare Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as his top pick.
Quinn worked on what was formerly called the Senate Hunger Committee in the late 1960s when he was a college student at Georgetown. He also worked for the late Sen. Floyd Haskell (D-Colo.) in the early 1970s. He practiced law for 20 years at Arnold & Porter before he opened his firm in 2000.
Is it safe to make campaign predictions these days? 'I have long said that the only thing you can be certain of is that you will be surprised. One makes predictions at one’s peril, as was so convincingly demonstrated when the New Hampshire results surprised everyone in the political world.'”
topThe Politico January 16, 2008
QGA’s new senior player
“Quinn Gillespie & Associates announced that Stacey Morton Bowlin has joined the public affairs firm’s senior team to assist with communications strategy.
Previously, Bowlin was a consultant for Ford Motor Co. During her tenure, she worked on the company’s philanthropic efforts and provided strategic communications guidance. She also spent five years at Dittus Communications, where she served as a vice president.
Quinn Gillespie founder and Chairman Jack Quinn said, 'Stacey has great experience in this arena and will successfully elevate our communications program to a new and important level.'”
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