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Washington Insider Time to 'PAC' Up for Election 2014 AED is putting resources toward the campaigns of pragmatic, 'reasonable' candidates in hopes of restoring some semblance of normalcy. BY CHRISTIAN KLEIN The 2014 midterm congressional elections are less than a year away. With control of the Senate (and possibly the House) at stake, next year's contests are shaping up to be as contentious as any in recent memory. At the time of this writing, D.C. is just emerging from the government shutdown and debt ceiling fight. How Congress and the president resolve the conflict will likely be a big factor in 2014. The initial handicapping says that Republicans are the losers in the recent political battle. Obamacare is far from popular, but most Americans seem to disagree with the strategy of shutting down the government in an effort to defund it. There's also consensus about the need to reign in government spending, but not at the expense of America's triple-A credit rating. As of mid-October, the GOP was getting hammered in public opinion polls, while approval ratings for President Obama and Democrats were holding steady. Beyond hurting the party's national brand, the shutdown has caused rifts between Republicans and the business community. My expectation is those factors will combine to cost the GOP Virginia's gubernatorial race this November and make it much more difficult for them to win control of the Senate in 2014. Punditry aside, it's tempting to look at what's happening (or not happening) in Washington, throw up your hands in frustration, and turn your back on the whole thing. That's the wrong response. The problem isn't who is involved in politics; it's who isn't. If business leaders like you don't step up, get more actively involved in recruiting, supporting, electing, and defending good, pragmatic candidates, things are only going to get worse. With that in mind, AED's government affairs team has been hard at work for months designing and executing our 2014 election strategy, which includes: Supporting the election and re-election of pragmatic House and Senate candidates with a demonstrated track record on AED priorities, especially Republicans with strong infrastructure credentials and Democrats committed to tax reform and progrowth regulatory policy Maximizing the impact of our contributions by engaging in competitive Senate races in states with active AED members, smaller populations, and cheaper media markets where our limited resources will do the most good Working with allies inside the Beltway to host "construction industry only" fundraisers for candidates to emphasize national and local impact of federal infrastructure programs Encouraging active equipment industry engagement in the process by having AED members hand-deliver AED PAC checks to candidates "back home" through our ImPACt program, thereby strengthening relationships between dealers and their elected representatives Building on the record participation by distributors in AED PAC during the 2011-2012 election cycle through creative new fundraising strategies and identifying new PAC supporters to provide more political resources, elevate equipment distributors' visibility, and enhance AED's effectiveness. Recognizing the overwhelming majority of congressional districts are "safe" (drawn to give one of the two major parties a strong majority), AED is focusing unusual attention on the primaries. We're getting early money to allies so they can defend themselves against primary challenges from extremists at both ends of the spectrum. In a few cases, we're also taking a look at pragmatic primary challengers who seem to be more in sync with AED's policy objectives than the incumbent. To date, AED PAC has already made more than $37,000 in strategic contributions to 25 campaigns. But remember, our PAC strategy isn't about us; it's about your company and the issues that affect your markets and costs of doing business: infrastructure, taxes, energy, and regulatory policy. If you want to help us move the ball forward and help elect good candidates, go to http://aedaction.org/ aed-pac and give us "prior approval" in accordance with federal election laws so we can communicate with you openly about our political program. If you want to have an even more direct impact on the political process, consider getting involved locally. Open your wallet and volunteer your time to support candidates who share your priorities. Put them in touch with us so we can consider them for PAC support. What's happening in D.C. is frustrating, but when you wake up tomorrow, the federal government will still be around and still impacting your company. By supporting the campaigns of pragmatic, reasonable candidates we can restore some semblance of normalcy and certainty to the political process. Thanks for your continued partnership in that effort. CHRISTIAN KLEIN (caklein@aednet.org) AED's vice president of Government Affairs and Washington counsel. He can be reached at 703-739-9513. November 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 53