Potomac Flacks: Ex-Reid Speechwriter Moonlights as Roots-Rock Crooner

December 05, 2006

Ex-Reid Speechwriter Moonlights as Roots-Rock Crooner

Charleswalston_1 Speechwriters are used to working in the shadows and writing behind the scenes. One local speechwriter gets a chance to step into the spotlight when he performs with his band, the Bourbon Dynasty.

Charles Walston (right) -- a former journalist who has written for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, flacked for Sen. Frank Lautenberg, and now pens speeches at the National Education Association -- is the frontman for the DC-based roots-rock combo. City Paper calls the standout track on their new CD "Girl in the Checkout Line, an uptempo lament of a supermarket shopper who 'ain’t got the nerve to ask' another customer for her phone number" (sample lyric: "She’s puttin’ the ‘wiggle’ in the Piggly Wiggly"). Catch 'em live at IOTA on December 12.

Posted by Matt Mackowiak on December 5, 2006 in Associations , Redonkulous | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Matt Mackowiak is a Washington, D.C. and Austin,TX-based Republican strategist and communications consultant and President of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC. In his career he has managed a winning Congressional campaign and worked in the U.S. Senate, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, at a leading international PR firm, on a presidential campaign in Iowa and in White House presidential advance. Follow him on Twitter - @MattMackowiak

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Blain K. Rethmeier is currently the Senior Vice President for Public Affairs for the American Insurance Association (AIA). Rethmeier joined AIA from the White House where he served as Special Assistant to the President for Communications and directed communications for the National Economic Council and Homeland Security Council. Prior to joining the White House, Rethmeier served as Press Secretary for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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