|
Standing tall in the grassroots |
|
By The Hill Staff
|
|
Posted: 05/01/08 05:25 PM [ET] |
Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen. Claybrook and her public interest group, including top advocates like Craig Holman and Lori Wallach, have had significant roles to play in debates over ethics reform, consumer safety and trade.
William Corr, Grayson Fowler, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Corr and Fowler are credited with putting together the coalition that is pushing for more regulation of tobacco companies.
Chris Cox, National Rifle Association. In the aftermath of the shootings at Virginia Tech last year, the NRA and the Democrats showed they could, in fact, work together.
Steve Ellis, Taxpayers for Common Sense. At the center of the earmarks debate this year, Ellis and chief investigator Keith Ashdown have led the fight against lawmakers’ wasteful pet projects.
Brad Gordon, American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The former staffer and CIA analyst opens doors and garners attention on the Hill and at the White House on pro-Israel issues.
Wade Henderson, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. An active voice on civil rights, Henderson and his group were key in the roadblock of the Bush administration’s Federal Election Commission nominees.
Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund. Krupp’s group is open to compromise, so long as it doesn’t delay steep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Elisa Massimino, Human Rights First. HRF’s Washington director has been instrumental in pushing for a change in the treatment of military detainees and refugees seeking asylum.
Meredith McGehee, Campaign Legal Center. McGehee has been in the room, advising Democrats on how to craft ethics reform legislation.
Cecilia Muñoz, National Council of La Raza. Muñoz is a strong voice for the nation’s largest Hispanic advocacy group.
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform. This anti-tax king remains a player in conservative circles, and his chilly relationship with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has thawed.
Bill Novelli, AARP. This could be Novelli’s last year at the helm of the powerful senior citizens’ lobby, where he has always taken firm stands on controversial matters involving Social Security and Medicare.
Tony Perkins and Tom McClusky, Family Research Council. Their Republican allies may be out of power on the Hill, but this fearsome team still wields influence with the GOP and sows anxiety among Democrats.
Travis Plunkett, Consumer Federation of America. Eloquent and razor-sharp, Plunkett is a top foe of the credit card industry.
Ron Pollack, Families USA. The healthcare agenda of the Democratic Congress and the party’s presidential hopefuls was promoted during the party’s years in the wilderness by Pollack, who now finds himself at center stage.
Bill Samuel, Thea Lee, AFL-CIO. If this group is organized labor’s strongest arm, Samuel and Lee are that arm’s most dexterous fingers.
Larry Schweiger, Jeremy Symons, National Wildlife Federation. Schweiger and Symons are adding the voices of sportsmen and -women to the climate change debate.
Ray Scheppach, National Governors Association. This year NGA celebrates 100 years and it’s no small feat for Scheppach to present a unified voice for all 50 governors in Washington.
Melanie Sloan, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Republicans accuse CREW of being left-leaning, but Sloan has been calling out more Democrats since they took control of Congress.
Marchant “Lucky” Wentworth, Union of Concerned Scientists. Wentworth helps marshal the grass roots to support renewable power sources.
Fred Wertheimer, Democracy 21. Wertheimer was a key architect of the new ethics and lobbying law and has kept the heat on members of Congress. |
