Nancy Pfotenhauer

Last updated

Nancy Mitchell Pfotenhauer (born 1963 as Nancy Wadley) [1] is the president of MediaSpeak Strategies. She has been a Senior Policy Advisor and National Spokesperson with the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign and political commentator on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. [2] She was also former Executive Vice President of Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), former President of the Independent Women's Forum, and former President of Americans for Prosperity (originally CSE). [3] [4]

Contents

Early career

She started her career as graduate research assistant to Walter E. Williams at George Mason University, where she was taking an MA in economics. At George Mason, Pfotenhauer studied under economist Walter Williams. After graduating from George Mason University, Pfotenhauer became chief economist at the Republican National Committee (1988). She worked for George H. W. Bush's transition team (1988) and then (until 1990) for Sen. William L. Armstrong (R-CO); in 1990 she was appointed chief economist of the President's Council on Competitiveness. [5]

Citizens for a Sound Economy

In 1995 [6] Pfotenhauer joined Citizens for a Sound Economy as Executive Vice President for Policy. With her then-husband Daniel J. Mitchell, an economist at The Heritage Foundation, she co-hosted the call-in show Mitchells in the Morning on National Empowerment Television, run by Heritage Foundation founder Paul Weyrich.

Koch Industries (1996–2001)

From 1996 to 2001, she served as Director of the Washington office for Koch Industries (KII). She built and managed the DC team's lobbying operation, PAC and all legislative and regulatory strategies in addition to jointly running KII's government affairs operations globally. The largest privately held company in the country, KII's interests fell heavily in the energy, environment, transportation and tax fields. She ran multimillion-dollar issue campaigns at the federal and state level.

While working for Koch, she married Gordon Smith's (R-OR) chief of staff Kurt Pfotenhauer, who works as a mortgage-industry lobbyist.

Recent career

She is the former President and CEO of the Independent Women's Forum (IWF) (2000–2005). [7] She was Vice Chairman of IWF's Board of Directors from 2005 to 2007. [2] In 2002, Pfotenhauer was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as a delegate to the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women and served during the 46th session of the Commission. [8] The Bush Administration also appointed her to the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women. [2] Additionally, she served on advisory committees reporting directly to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham.

From 2003 to 2007, Pfotenhauer led Americans for Prosperity, an American conservative political advocacy group. [9]

She was an advisor for the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign. During the campaign she sparked controversy by referring to areas of Virginia outside of Northern Virginia as "real Virginia", picking up on a GOP talking point that Sarah Palin promoted, namely that red states are the "real America" and more "pro-America". [10]

In 2011, Pfotenhauer appeared as a spokeswoman for Koch Industries on Fox News and other media outlets.

In 2013, Pfotenhauer was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Frum</span> Canadian-American political commentator (born 1960)

David Jeffrey Frum is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He is currently a senior editor at The Atlantic as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum authored the first book about Bush's presidency written by a former member of the administration. He has taken credit for the famous phrase "axis of evil" in Bush's 2002 State of the Union address.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citizens for a Sound Economy</span> Conservative and libertarian think tank

Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) (1984–2004) was a conservative political group operating in the United States. It was established in 1984 by Charles and David Koch of Koch Industries. Ron Paul was appointed as the first chairman of the organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraldine Ferraro</span> American politician (1935–2011)

Geraldine Anne Ferraro was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in the 1984 presidential election, running alongside Walter Mondale; this made her the first female vice-presidential nominee representing a major American political party. She was also a journalist, author, and businesswoman.

The Independent Women's Forum (IWF) is an American conservative, non-profit organization focused on economic policy issues of concern to women. IWF was founded by activist Rosalie Silberman to promote a "conservative alternative to feminist tenets" following the controversial Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas in 1992. IWF's sister organization is the Independent Women's Voice (IWV), a 501(c)(4) organization.

Matthew Scully is an American author, journalist, and political writer who has also written on animal welfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolle Wallace</span> American TV political commentator and novelist

Nicolle Wallace is an American television political commentator and author. She is the anchor of the MSNBC news and politics program Deadline: White House and a former co-host of the ABC daytime talk show The View. Wallace is a political analyst for MSNBC and NBC News. She was previously a frequent on-air contributor to the programs Today, The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, and Morning Joe, before hosting her own program on MSNBC.

The following is a timeline of major events leading up to and immediately following the United States presidential election of 2008. The election was the 56th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008, but its significant events and background date back to about 2002. The Democratic Party nominee, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, defeated the Republican Party's nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McCain 2008 presidential campaign</span>

The 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain, the longtime senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, was launched with an informal announcement on February 28, 2007, during a live taping of the Late Show with David Letterman, and formally launched at an event on April 25, 2007. His second candidacy for the Presidency of the United States, he had previously run for his party's nomination in the 2000 primaries and was considered as a potential running mate for his party's nominee, then-Governor George W. Bush of Texas. After winning a majority of delegates in the Republican primaries of 2008, on August 29, leading up to the convention, McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate for Vice President. Five days later, at the 2008 Republican National Convention, McCain was formally selected as the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential election.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States affiliated with brothers Charles Koch and the late David Koch. As the Koch family's primary political advocacy group, it has been viewed as one of the most influential American conservative organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Hoover</span> American political commentator (born 1977)

Margaret Claire Hoover is an American conservative political commentator, political strategist, media personality, author, and great-granddaughter of Herbert Hoover, the 31st U.S. president. She is author of the book American Individualism: How A New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party, published by Crown Forum in 2011. Hoover hosts PBS's reboot of the conservative interview show Firing Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republican and conservative support for Barack Obama in 2008</span>

United States President Barack Obama, a member of the Democratic Party, was endorsed or supported by some members of the Republican Party and by some political figures holding conservative views in the 2008 election. Although the vast majority of Obama's support came from liberal constituencies, some conservatives identified in him shared priorities or other positive attributes. As in any election, voters can and sometimes do cross party lines to vote for the other party's nominee. Republican and conservative Obama supporters were often referred to as "Obama Republicans", "Obamacans" or "Obamacons".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 Republican Party presidential primaries</span>

From January 24 to June 6, 2000, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 2000 United States presidential election. Texas Governor George W. Bush was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2000 Republican National Convention held from July 31 to August 3, 2000, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Bernard</span> American journalist

Michelle Denise Bernard is an American journalist, political analyst, lawyer, author, and President and CEO of the Bernard Center For Women, Politics & Public Policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in Oklahoma</span>

The 2008 United States presidential election in Oklahoma took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose seven representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marjorie Dannenfelser</span> President of the Susan B. Anthony List

Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser is an American activist who is the president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an American political organization that seeks to advance anti-abortion women in politics. She was brought into the organization as its executive director in 1993, shortly after its founding by Rachel MacNair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vice presidential candidacy of Sarah Palin</span>

Sarah Palin's candidacy for Vice President of the United States was publicly announced by then-presumptive Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain on August 29, 2008. As part of the McCain presidential campaign, Palin, then the incumbent Governor of Alaska, was officially nominated by acclamation at the 2008 Republican National Convention on September 3. The McCain–Palin ticket lost the 2008 presidential election on November 4 to the Barack Obama–Joe Biden ticket.

Women in conservatism in the United States have advocated for social, political, economic, and cultural conservative policies since anti-suffragism. Leading conservative women such as Phyllis Schlafly have expressed that women should embrace their privileged essential nature. This thread of belief can be traced through the anti-suffrage movement, the Red Scare, and the Reagan Era, and is still present in the 21st century, especially in several conservative women's organizations such as Concerned Women for America and the Independent Women's Forum.

References

  1. ↑ "LittleSis: Nancy Pfotenhauer". littlesis.org. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "To the Contrary . About the Show: Panelists | PBS". PBS . Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "PBS". PBS . Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  4. ↑ Ronnee Schreiber, 'Pro-Women, Pro-Palin, Antifeminist: Conservative Women and Conservative Movement Politics', in Crisis of Conservatism? The Republican Party, the Conservative Movement, & American Politics After Bush, Gillian Peele, Joel D. Aberbach (eds.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 135
  5. ↑ Independent Women's Forum Nancy Mitchell Pfotenhauer
  6. ↑ National Journal , 21 April 2001, People.
  7. ↑ "Independent Women's Forum - Nancy M. Pfotenhauer". Archived from the original on 4 December 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  8. ↑ "Kate O'Beirne on United Nations Commission on the Status of Women on National Review Online". National Review . Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  9. ↑ Sonmez, Felicia (26 August 2010). "Who is Americans for Prosperity?". Washington Post . Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Tapper, Jake (18 October 2008). "McCain Adviser Says Northern Virginia Not "Real" Virginia". ABC News. Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  11. ↑ Avlon, John (28 February 2013). "The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay Marriage Brief" . Retrieved 26 October 2018– via www.thedailybeast.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.