Influence Alley

Woah, talk about role reversal. It's not often that a lobbyist plugs a professional spokesperson, but that's exactly what happened today when former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a founder of BGR Group, emailed friends of the firm to brag about Jeff Birnbaum's tax reform bona fides.

Birnbaum, the president of BGR Public Relations, is probably better known as the author of Showdown at Gucci Gulch, the book on 1986 tax reform. (Worth re-reading now that another tax reform fight looms.) And Barbour's note is a virtual sign proclaiming the firm "open for tax reform business," reminding people what's on sale inside the store.

He writes:

Dear Friends of BGR,

Taxes are a hot issue this year. And they're about to get hotter. The Tax Code will almost certainly change in major ways as decision-makers wrestle with budget deficits, the fiscal cliff and tax reform to increase economic growth. BGR is blessed to have in our leadership one of the country's top experts on tax reform, Jeff Birnbaum. Jeff is president of BGR Public Relations and the man who literally wrote the book about the last major tax overhaul in 1986. Showdown at Gucci Gulch, which Jeff authored with Alan Murray, is a classic and is still used today to explain how tax laws are altered. Below is Jeff's initial take on the outlook for tax reform this year and in the years to come. I hope you find it useful. Please send Jeff an email at [redacted] if you'd like to learn more or take advantage of his insight.

Haley

Birnbaum's column is in full after the jump.