Richard Gephardt

President & CEO, Gephardt Government Affairs (since 2007)

Why He Matters

A staunch ally of organized labor with three decades of congressional experience, 'Dick' Gephardt supported then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries. But many of his former staffers are working for President Obama and the new president is likely to seek the counsel of this old Washington hand.

Gephardt currently runs a lobbying shop, Gephardt Government Affairs, with his former House Chief of Staff Tom O'Donnell, where they represent top clients like Boeing and Peabody Energy. But the former lawmaker's influence can still be found in Obama's inner circle, where former aides include David Plouffe, Bill Burton and Erik Smith, among others.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: U.S. Representative (1977 to 2005): House majority leader (1989 to 1994), House minority leader (1995 to 2003)
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.
Alma Mater: Northwestern University, B.A. (speech), 1962; University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1965

DC Office: Gephardt Government Affairs, 1101 K Street, NWWashington DC 20005202.403.2150
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Path to Power

As the son of a Teamster milkman and a secretary, it's no surprise that Gephardt went on to become such a labor movement stalwart. The Missouri Democrat grew up in the all-white suburbs of St. Louis, Mo., and migrated north to Evanston, Ill., to attend Northwestern University. After graduating with a degree in speech in 1962, Gephardt went further north to the University of Michigan Law School, and graduated with a J.D. in 1965.

The Missouri boy then returned home and took a job at a St. Louis law firm while also beginning his political career, which saw him rise from Democratic precinct captain to city alderman in just a few years.

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Congressional Start

In 1976, after deciding to run for mayor of St. Louis, Gephardt learned that then-Rep. Leonor K. Sullivan (D-Mo.) would retire from her 3rd district House seat. So he switched gears and entered the congressional race in hopes of moving to Washington, D.C.

In 1977, he did just that, and once in Washington, Gephardt rose rapidly,quickly gaining seats on the potent House Ways and Means and Budget committees. Despite the D next to his name, Gephardt had a conservative streak, proposing constitutional amendments to ban abortion except in the case of the life of the mother and to outlaw court-ordered busing, and taking several opportunities to break with Democrats and the titular head of the party, President Jimmy Carter. But his independence never permanently distanced him from the his fellow Democrats. In 1984, Gephardt was named chairman of both the House Democratic Caucus and the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.

Presidential Candidate

In 1988, Gephardt attempted to make the difficult leap from House member to president. His first step was moving to the left, causing some to label him a flip-flopper, especially on the issue of abortion rights, which he came to support in 1986. "I've had an evolution and a journey, through my wife so that I came to a different conclusion than I once had, and I think for valid reasons," he said. But his leftward shift wasn't enough to win him the party's nomination. Nicknamed "RoboCandidate" for his notoriously stiff and unnatural demeanor, Gephardt finished fourth in the Democratic primary.

In Search of the House Speakership

Despite his loss, Gephardt returned to Congress the following year as strong as ever.

In 1989, he was elected House majority leader and five years later, when Republicans recaptured the House, became minority leader. Despite aggressive drives to retake the House majority - including the stirrings of an ultimately successful strategy to recruit more conservative Democrats tailored to their districts rather than the national party - Gephardt never became House speaker

His hardest push to become speaker occurred in 1999 when Gephardt devoted seemingly all of his time to a Democratic House takeover. When he wasn't campaigning for other candidates, he was recruiting new ones, and trying to unite them under an unabashedly partisan agenda. After years of leading the minority, the importance of being in the majority was clearer than ever. "Every conversation with Dick starts and ends with regaining control of the House," said one Gephardt aide at the time.

In 2004 Gephardt ran for president again. This time the congressman shed his uptight image, regularly relating the tale of his son, who nearly died at birth, when talking about health care and his lesbian daughter when talking about civil unions. But again, he was unsuccessful, dropping out after a 4th place finish in the Iowa caucuses. "Life will go on because this campaign was never about me," Gephardt told his supporters.

Lobbyist

In 2004, Gephardt retired from the House following his failed presidential bid, turning to lobbying. Working for DLA Piper, Gephardt lobbied mostly for The Republic of Turkey, which began paying the lobbying firm $1.2 million in March 2007 for its services.

In 2007, he formed his own lobbying group, Gephardt Government Affairs, which advises major corporations and groups like Boeing, Peabody Energy and Anheuser-Busch.

The Issues

Over the course of his career, Gephardt's political views became more progressive. In 1987, as he prepared to run for president, he distanced himself from his previous support for a constitutional amendment banning abortion. In 2001, Gephardt opposed George W. Bush's tax cuts, 20 years after he voted for similar cuts under President Ronald Reagan.

When Gephardt's name was floated as a possible number-two for Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, it was because of his economic populism, strong ties to labor and his appeal to the type of working-class white men with whom Obama was having trouble making inroads.

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Labor

As the son of a Teamster, Gephardt has long championed the cause of organized labor. In the 2004 presidential primary, Gephardt racked up the support of 21 international unions, most in manufacturing industries. He brought in this support with strong opposition to free-trade agreements that allowed jobs to easily leave the U.S.

"We finally have a true labor candidate," Brett Voorhies, Iowa director of the Alliance for Economic Justice, a coalition of 17 unions, said in 2004. "When we elect Dick Gephardt, we may as well be putting a rank-and-file in the White House."

Though some opponents have criticized him as protectionist, Gephardt insists that he's not categorically against globalization. Instead, he favors a renegotiation of NAFTA and an international minimum wage.

Health Care

In 2003, Gephardt introduced a plan that would have created universal health care. His plan would have required businesses to provide health care to all full- and part-time employees, but would have helped them pay for it by refunding 60 percent of the cost through a tax credit. Gephardt said the overhaul also would have served as an economic stimulus.

But the plan didn't go over well with fellow Democrats. In a debate, former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) said the plan's reliance on tax subsidies "feels like saying, 'You're in good hands with Enron.'" The Washington Post agreed, saying the plan represented "old-fashioned thinking" and was fiscally reckless.

But Gephardt insisted that it was the right plan. "[The fight for health-care] is in my heart; it is in my soul; it is in my head. I will not rest until we get everyone covered with health insurance in this country," he said.

Lobbying

In the nearly four years since he left Congress, Gephardt has stayed busy with several jobs, including his positions as the CEO of his own consultancy, Gephardt Government Affairs, an adviser at DLA Piper and a consultant for Goldman Sachs.

For DLA Piper, Gephardt lobbied on behalf of the Turkish government by trying to bring business to the country and helping to defeat a 2006 resolution that would have described as genocide the Ottoman Turks killing of Armenians in the early 20th century. Another Democratic heavyweight - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) - supported the resolution, but it failed.

At Goldman, Gephardt has advised the investment bank on labor issues and promoted the privatization of state highways in Illinois and California.

In the past two years, Gephardt Government Affairs has collected nearly $2 million in lobbying fees from companies like Boeing, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and coal company Peabody Energy.

The Network

A presence in Washington, D.C., for more than 30 years, Gephardt has made alliances with countless politicians. Among the strongest is his tie to Obama Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose campaign he supported in the 2008 presidential primaries. He's also close to many of his former aides who now work for Obama, including David Plouffe and Bill Burton, Jeff Berman, who ran delegate strategy, Matt Rodriguez, Obama's Western regional director. Erik Smith, John Del Cecato, and Cassandra Butts, who all consulted for Obama on the 2008 race.

In 1999, Gephardt and Al Gore, who had battled for the presidential nomination in 1988, strengthened their political alliance with Gephardt campaigning hard for Gore in his attempt to win the presidency and Gore declaring that "No one wants Dick Gephardt to be Speaker more than I do."

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