Segment 1: Are lobbyists the secret to keeping local companies competitive?
Ask a typical voter how they regard lobbyists, and you might get a wrinkled nose and a response suggesting lobbyists represent everything wrong with American politics. But can a case be made that lobbyists actually add value to a political system overrun with people trying to influence elected officials one way or another? As we continue our visit to NPR Headquarters in Washington, we met a pair of lobbyists who troll congressional hallways to get their perspective on what lobbyists actually do.
- Adam Sachs, Husch Blackwell partner and principal at Husch Blackwell Strategies
- Sarah Moe, Hallmark federal affairs manager and president of HALLPAC
Segment 2, beginning at 23:05: Political perspectives on the 2018 midterm and beyond.
We’re less than a month from a critical set of midterm elections, and then, in an instant, the talk will turn to 2020 and this nation’s next presidential election. We took a look at where Missouri's U.S. Senate race stands, snuck a peek at the Kansas gubernatorial election, and looked ahead at who the Democrats might put up to face Donald Trump (presumably) in 2020.
- Ron Elving, NPR Washington Desk senior editor and correspondent
- Ken Rudin, Ken Rudin's Political Junkie host
