Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Inc. Press Articles
Washington Post
Republican Brown beats Coakley in special Senate election in Massachusetts
By Paul Kane and Karl Vick
1.20.10
Alex Vogel, a GOP strategist, said the White House was right in dismissing Coakley as a "bad candidate".
"But that alone doesn't explain losing Ted Kennedy's Senate seat mere months after his death," Vogel said. "President Obama won the state by 26 points, and the entire congressional delegation is Democratic. What the Brown success tells me is that the electorate did not leave the Bush years liberalized; they left angry with bad and ineffective government."
Roll Call
Elite Lobbying Firms Posted Big Gains in 2009
By Anna Palmer
1.21.10
"I'm not sure that the normal 'this is an election year so we aren't going to be able to get a lot done' holds," said Alex Vogel of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Inc.
Roll Call
Firms offer Tasty Morsels to Blue Dogs’ Top Aides
By Anna Palmer
9.16.09
“Any effective lobbying organization needs to have ties with the Blue Dogs because any time a deal I cut on any federal spending bill you can be assured the Blue Dogs are going to be right in the middle of the debate,” said Kelly Bingel of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Inc. Bingel served as chief of staff for Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.)
Roll Call
Lobbyists Circling Lincoln, Harkin
By Kate Ackley
9.14.09
“We have had several different folks reach out to us,” Bingel said, noting that last week the firm was retained by the International Dairy Food Association. “In the business we’re in, you always want to grow your business.”
The ag lobbying world, she noted, has often been viewed as predominantly male. The rise of Lincoln, the first woman to head the panel, may change that. “While it’s typically been an area dominated by older white males, and typically Republicans, there might be some room for some expansion there,” she said.
WORLD Magazine
Health debate
08.01.09
But such bills will die in the current Congress. And, despite recent roadblocks, Dean Rosen, a former Republican healthcare advisor, believes that the chances of Democrats passing some type of healthcare legislation are still good. "Failure is not an option given how far out the president and congressional leaders have gone," he said.
Roll Call
Uneven 1st Half on K Street
Anna Palmer
07.22.09
Breaux Lott Leadership Group, McBee Strategic Consulting and Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Inc., all of which have been in existence less than 10 years, pushed their way into the top 25. McBee Strategic Consulting, which started in 2002, and Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, which opened its doors in 2004, are tied for No. 22, reporting 5.4 million for the first half of 2009. That's a 22.7 percent increase for both firms. Alex Vogel, co-founder of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, attributed the growth to the busy agenda. "The reality is there's a lot going on in Washington," Vogel said. The firm added 14 clients during the first six months of 2009, according to Senate lobbying disclosure reports.
SD Times
Coalition pushes for open source in government
Alex Handy
07.22.09
As its first significant act, the coalition has engaged Washington lobbying firm Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti to represent its interests.
"Open-source software can help deliver improved government service--plain and simple--and the administration recognizes this more than any in our nation's history," said David Thomas, principal with Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti.
Congress Daily
Sotomayor Piles Up Senate Meetings As Hearing Nears
Dan Friedman
07.07.09
If successful, the meetings can energize supporters and soften foes, said Jamie Brown, a former Bush White House legislative affairs aide who accompanied and helped prepare Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito for their Senate meetings.
"If a nominee has a compelling personal story, a compelling personality and comes across as likable ... it's going to impact the way that they are questioned" in the hearing, Brown said.
Brown and Rachel Brand, who as assistant attorney general helped prepare Roberts and Alito, said each met with more than 80 senators.
Congress Daily - Tech Daily Dose
Facebook Makes Hill Presence Official
06.22.09
In the first quarter of 2009, Yahoo disclosed $460,000 in lobbying expenditures toward a range of topics including organized retail crime, Internet advertising and online child protection. In addition, Yahoo worked with outside lobbyists like Kountoupes Consulting; Ryan, MacKinnon, Vasapoli and Berzo; Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti and others.
PR Newswire
Consumers Favor Internet Over Cell Phone and Cable TV According to New Study From Pew Research Center
06.17.09
"Flexibility in a national broadband plan is key as we learn more from broadband mapping and from the return on initial stimulus investments," said IIA Co-Chairman Bruce Mehlman. "The best strategy will start by examining where we stand today and then identify policies to get us where we want to be, which ultimately is achieving our goal of 100 percent broadband adoption across the U.S."
Wash Reps Weekly
Personal Changes
06.16.09
Cynthia Brown has joined Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti. She was previously Chief of Staff to Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI).
Politico
Suite Talk June 16, 2009
Ariel Alexovich and Chris Frates
06.16.09
Suite Talk hears that Cindy Brown, longtime chief of staff to Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), is leaving Capitol Hill for a job at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti.
Roll Call
Making Broadband Dollars Count: Maximizing Our Return on the Feds’ High-Speed Internet Investments
Bruce Mehlman and Larry Irving
06.15.09
Bruce Mehlman and Larry Irving are of co-chairmen the Internet Innovation Alliance. Mehlman served as assistant secretary of Commerce for technology policy in the Bush administration, and Irving served as assistant secretary of Commerce for communications and information in the Clinton administration.
National Journal
Health Care Reform Faces Its ‘Super Bowl Moment’ Bara Vaida
06.13.09
On its roster of six hired-gun lobbying firms are the Capitol Health Group; Davis & Harman; the Duberstein Group; HC Associates; Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti; and Stephanie Wenkert Kanwit.
Reuters
UPDATE 1- Tech cos enlist Democrat to blast Obama tax plan
06/08/09
"It's the no. 1 issue in Washington for a majority of high tech leaders at a time when there is a lot on the table in Washington," said Bruce Mehlman, executive director of the Technology CEO Council, which also includes chiefs from Intel and Hewlett-Packard.
PR Newswire (press release)
'Tax Deferral' Change Would Cause U.S. Job and Investment Loss, New Economic Report Projects
06/08/09
"The Obama Administration deserves credit for many initiatives to promote investment and innovation," said Bruce Mehlman, Executive Director of the TCC, a group made up of high-tech CEOs focused on policies that strengthen American competitiveness. "But we cannot expect to lead the world in high tech by marrying the world's best innovation infrastructure with the world's most confiscatory corporate tax structure."
Washington Times
Tax-break repeal seen costing jobs Sean Lengell
06/08/09
Bruce Mehlman, TCC executive director, said the White House should be credited with numerous schemes which advocate investment, however, limiting the tax deferral initiative is to the detriment of US businesses.
'We cannot expect to lead the world in high-tech by marrying the world's best innovation infrastructure with the world's most confiscatory corporate tax structure,' he said.
Mercury News Washington Bureau
Obama’s online network enlisted to support health care reform, Sotomayor Frank Davies
06/06/09
Online organizing "still comes down to what you're selling," said Bruce Mehlman, a tech lobbyist who was assistant secretary of commerce in the Bush administration. "Obama, as an idea, was wildly popular. Will that work with health care reform?"
Mehlman is skeptical, but he added that a network of 13 million backers should not be discounted: "In the election, they mastered the tools better than anyone has so far."
CQ Today Online News
‘Harry and Louise’: Bit Players Or Lethal Weapons?
Rebecca Adams
06/01/2009
“There is the simplistic, straight story and the nuanced version,” said Dean Rosen, a partner at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti who was a Senate GOP aide at the time and later worked for the now-defunct organization that ran the ads, the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA).
CQ Today Online News (part II of Special Report from CQ Healthbeat)
This Time Around, Health Care Debate Much Different
Rebecca Adams
06/01/1009
“Some of the change is a realization that there’s a business case to be made here” for pursuing changes, said Dean Rosen, a health industry consultant at the lobbying firm of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti who served as a longtime GOP aide on Capitol Hill. “You have a system where the number of uninsured continues to climb.”
“There’s a feeling in health reform that there are these moments where there are alignments, and if you don’t seize this, it may be another five or 10 years before the opportunity comes again,” said Rosen. “Then the public may be more open to government involvement, and maybe single-payer folks will be in a better position to win the day.”
The Washington Times
Sotomayor cleared prior Senate hurdles
Stephen Dinan
05/31/2009
Still, Jamie Brown, a former Bush administration official who helped prepare both Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. for their confirmations, said getting ready for Supreme Court hearings is more intense than preparing for other nomination hearings.
She said that in the other levels of hearings, when a nominee is asked about privacy or another thorny issue, "the standard answer for a circuit nominee is if they were confirmed, they would look to Supreme Court precedent and apply the law."
"She would need to have a complete meltdown," Ms. Brown said.
"It's not about changing the substance of their answers, it's about tone and style," said Ms. Brown.
The Hill
Top Lobbyists: Hired Guns
Contributed by The Hill Staff
05/15/09
David Castagnetti, Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti. Castagnetti is a well-respected Democrat that solidified his ties to Capitol Hill as congressional liaison for the 2004 Kerry presidential campaign.
Washington Post
Fla. Governor’s Senate Bid Renews Optimism of Some in GOP
Chris Cillizza
05/13/09
Alex Vogel, a Republican lobbyist who worked at the NRSC earlier this decade, suggested that the recent switch of Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) to the Democratic Party opened a lot of eyes to the need to find candidates who can win rather than simply satisfy an ideological checklist.
"Crist can expect a groundswell of support among pragmatic, effective and 'victory-oriented' Republicans," Vogel said. "As the huge Tom Ridge boomlet revealed, Republicans are hungry for proven leadership, proven winners who can appeal outside a sliver of talk radio junkies."
CNN
Analysis: GOP learning to be opposition party
Mark Preston- CNN Political Editor
04/29/09
"The reality is there is not going to be a standard-bearer, per se, until the next presidential election," said Alex Vogel, a former senior aide at the RNC, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and for ex-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
Fortune Magazine
Rural America goes ultra-digital
Anu Partanen
04/22/09
"If regulations are onerous, then yes, it will slow down investment," says Bruce Mehlman, co-chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance, a trade group.
CQ Politics
Can Technology Provide A Greener Path To Prosperity?
Elizabeth Wasserman
04/19/09
“One thing that’s clear to me both from the Obama proposals and those in Congress is that technology and innovation are the only viable long-term solutions to America’s energy challenge,” said Bruce Mehlman, executive director of the Technology CEO Council, an industry group that’s promoting green technologies.
