Former Chairmen of National Party Committees Announced for Point-Counterpoint at CUNA’s 2013 Governmental Affairs Conference

National political stars Haley Barbour and Terry McAuliffe will speak at CUNA’s 2013 Governmental Affairs Conference, February 24-28 in Washington, D.C., in a point-counterpoint segment. They join a speaker lineup that includes previously announced keynoters Tom Brokaw and Jean Chatzky.

Barbour, former governor of Mississippi and former chairman of both the Republican Governor’s Association and Republican National Committee, is hailed as one of the country’s top political strategists. He is noted for his work on Mississippi job creation, health care, education and energy, as well as his handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill. It was under Barbour’s chairmanship in 1994 that Republicans won GOP control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years with the greatest midterm majority sweep of the 20th century. At one point, he was called “the most powerful Republican in politics.”

McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Bill Clinton’s reelection committee, most recently served as chairman of Hillary Clinton for President. McAuliffe has been called the most successful political fundraiser of all time, having, under his tenure as chairman of the DNC, raised over $535 million for an ailing Democratic Party, breaking all previous records for funds raised by either party. He now works as the founder and chairman of GreenTech Automotive, an electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturing company.

Barbour and McAuliffe, having first encountered one another in the 1990s while respectively attacking and defending Clinton, became friends as well as competitors and are accustomed to sharing a stage.

CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference is the credit union movement’s premier political event and its largest conference, drawing more than 4,000 credit union executives and board members to advance the movement’s policy agenda from the nation’s capital. Recognized as the key credit union conference to attend for political impact, networking and industry updates, the GAC offers a wide array of vital breakout sessions on pertinent topics, the industry's largest exhibitor showcase, guest programs to tour Washington's sights and additional entertainment, including the closing Gala Reception and Dance.

Additional speakers and session topics will be announced in the weeks to come.  For more information on general show details, keynote speakers and to register, please visit gac.cuna.org.