The Almanac of American Politics is a reference work published biennially by Columbia Books & Information Services. It aims to provide a detailed look at the politics of the United States through an approach of profiling individual leaders and areas of the country. The first edition of the Almanac was published in 1972. The National Journal published biennial editions of the Almanac from 1984 through 2014. In 2015, Columbia Books & Information Services became the publisher.
Douglas Carmichael "Mike" McIntyre II is an American attorney and politician who was first elected to represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. He served for 18 years from 1997 to 2015. McIntyre is a Democrat and, during his tenure in the House of Representatives, was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.
The American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) is the trade group for the political consulting profession in the United States. Founded in 1969, it is the world's largest organization of political consultants, public affairs professionals and communications specialists. Its "multipartisan" membership consists of political consultants, pollsters, media consultants, campaign managers, corporate public affairs officers, professors, lobbyists, fundraisers, congressional staffers, and vendors.
Michael Lynn Synar was an American Democratic politician who represented Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district in Congress for eight terms.
The Cuban–American lobby are various groups of Cuban exiles in the United States and their descendants who have historically influenced the United States' policy toward Cuba. In general usage, this refers to anti-Castro groups.
James Albert Smith Leach is an American academic and former politician. He served as ninth Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 2009 to 2013 and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa (1977–2007).
Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity in which special interest groups hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress. It is often perceived negatively by journalists and the American public; critics consider it to be a form of bribery, influence peddling, and/or extortion. Lobbying is subject to complex rules which, if not followed, can lead to penalties including jail. Lobbying has been interpreted by court rulings as free speech protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Since the 1970s, the numbers of lobbyists and the size of lobbying budgets has grown and become the focus of criticism of American governance.
Michael J. Malbin is a professor of Political Science (emeritus) at the University at Albany, The State University of New York. He was also the founding director of the Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) in Washington DC from 1999 until he retired from that position in 2020. His co-authored books while at CFI included The Election After Reform: Money, Politics and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2006), Life After Reform: When the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Meets Politics (2003), and Vital Statistics on Congress, co-authored with Norman Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann.
Dennis Frank Thompson is a political scientist and professor at Harvard University, where he founded the university-wide Center for Ethics and the Professions. Thompson is known for his pioneering work in the fields of both political ethics and democratic theory. According to a recent appraisal, he has become “influential within the world of political theory" by offering “greater concrete political thought than Rawls” and by showing “an atypical grasp, for a political theorist, of the real political world.”
The American University School of Public Affairs (SPA) is an institution of higher education and research located in Washington, D.C. that grants academic degrees in political science, public administration, public policy, and justice, law, and criminology. Established in 1934 as part of American University, the school houses three academic departments - Public Administration & Policy, Government, and Justice, Law & Criminology - as well as ten centers and institutes.
Angela McGlowan is an American Republican political commentator, best-selling author, and CEO of Political Strategies & Insights (PSI), a government affairs, political strategy, public relations, and advocacy consulting firm based in Oxford, Mississippi, and Washington, D.C. She is a contributor on Fox News, covering politics, special interest groups, and lobbies.
Fredric Michael "Fred" Wertheimer is an American attorney, lobbyist, and activist notable for his work on campaign finance reform and other government integrity, transparency, and accountability issues.
John Sitilides is a Washington, D.C. geopolitical strategist and diplomacy consultant to the U.S. Department of State.
Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. Although the term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, politics is observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. Politics consists of "social relations involving authority or power. The definition of "politics" from "The Free Dictionary" is the study of political behavior and examines the acquisition and application of power. Politics study include political philosophy, which seeks a rationale for politics and an ethic of public behavior, and public administration, which examines the practices of governance.
William "Bill" Sweeney, Jr. OBE is a businessman and politician who was the president and chief executive officer of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) from 2009 to 2018. He currently serves as an executive-in-residence at the American University School of Public Affairs.
Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations use various forms of advocacy and/or lobbying in order to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an important role in the development of political and social systems.
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the oldest and largest business association of engineering companies. It is organized as a federation of 52 state and regional councils with national headquarters in Washington, D.C., comprising thousands of engineering practices throughout the country. It administers extensive lobbying and education programs.
Barry Dean Loudermilk is an American politician from the state of Georgia who has been the U.S. representative from Georgia's 11th congressional district since 2015. The district covers a large slice of Atlanta's northern suburbs, including Marietta, Acworth and Smyrna, and a sliver of Atlanta itself.
J. Kirk Sullivan was an Idaho Republican Party chairman and lobbyist.
John Kincaid is an American political scientist and scholar of American federalism, intergovernmental relations, and state and local government. He is the Robert B. & Helen S. Meyner Professor of Government and Public Service and Director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He also is President of CSF Associates: Publius, the sponsor of the Center for the Study of Federalism. He previously taught at North Texas State University, Arizona State University, St. Peter’s College/University, and Seton Hall University. He served as executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and as vice president of the Pentagon Papers Fund for the Defense of Human and Civil Liberties.
