am sitting in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport two hours early for my flight (that’s who I am) eating an Egg McMuffin (that is also who I am) surrounded, it seems, by Spanish-speaking people. I understand maybe 1 percent. The word “pocketbook” jumps out … and “find a way to do something, you know.” I listen to the people having breakfast in this crowded airport McDonald’s around me, and I try to understand. One fellow is reading the Dallas Morning News, as am I, and we are both reading the article titled “Senate Leaders Share Little in Common,” with pictures of Senators Bill Frist and Harry Reid. It is an article about how divergent these two individuals are. The article notes that Senator Frist is a “wealthy surgeon with an eye on the White House” while Harry Reid is a “former lightweight boxer and police officer whose flashes of candor sometimes get him into trouble.” One leads the Republicans and the other the Democrats in the Senate.

My breakfast partner and I meet eyes and smile at each other. We shrug as if to say, “Politics!?” But maybe we are saying more with our eyes (since we cannot say much more with my lack of vocabulary). I suddenly wish, for more than the first time, that I could speak Spanish. I make the excuse that if only I would have tried to learn the language when I was younger, it would have been easier. But with our eyes we started a conversation that had a human element to it. This was our common language.

As the Chair of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, I share a common language of “politics with a number of anesthesiologists working to advance the interests of our specialty.” As you will read in the article on page 7 by James L. Becker, M.D., ASA Political Action Committee (ASAPAC) Chair, we have done nothing less than a phenomenal job in Washington given that only 10 percent of ASA members nationwide give to the PAC. We hear all the time on the PAC Board and on the Committee on Governmental Affairs that certain individual ASA members will not support the PAC because they think that a decision to support some candidate, perhaps even long ago, was not in concert with their personal political beliefs. This is certainly everyone’s right, but the idea of the PAC is group might. PAC contributions let your organization start a conversation with the busy people who need to hear us.

You will read in the article on page 11 by committee member Richard M. Flowerdew, M.D., that perhaps resident physicians are learning the “language” of politics quicker than some of us out in practice. It is all our future, and it is coming at us pretty fast. I challenge those who already know the language of politics to form a relationship with one or more residents (believe me, they are eager to get to know you) and take them along with you. Going to a fundraiser? Call a resident. Writing a letter? Share it with a resident. Going to a committee meeting? See if a resident can come along.

The members of the Committee on Governmental Affairs continue their work in politics. ASA presented one of its 2005 Excellence in Government Awards to Senator Frist for his leadership and longstanding relationship with our specialty as a physician who understands physician issues. He has helped us with the supervision issue and is a driving force on the teaching reimbursement issue. The other 2005 Excellence in Government Award presented at this year’s Legislative Conference went to the very deserving Ervin Moss, M.D., of New Jersey. We have one of the best physician specialty relationships with the Democratic leadership in Senator Reid as well. He was the lead Democrat and the one we called on at the end of the Clinton Administration over the supervision issue. Our PAC was proud to support his re-election campaign this past year by paying for radio spots featuring ASA Past President Neil Swissman, M.D.

Just as Harry Reid and Bill Frist could not be any more “divergent” than my breakfast partner and I were divergent, and perhaps many of our members and their general political beliefs are divergent, all of us can find common ground when we can look each other in the eye and tell our story.

In politics this means open their doors, look them in the eye and, with local fundraising events, support their campaigns and advance our ASA agenda. We have defined that agenda: support anesthesiologists in their efforts to provide the best patient care.

The Committee on Governmental Affairs is also very happy to have William G. Horton, M.D., as the first recipient of the ASA Lansdale Public Policy Fellowship. We look forward to hearing from Dr. Horton about his work on Capitol Hill. The Fellowship places an anesthesiologist in an important congressional office to help lend the expertise of anesthesiologists, and physicians in general, to the legislative process.

The Committee on Governmental Affairs also is working to become more proactive in communications with our state components. To this end, the “component member” category was created and added to the bylaws (provision 1.854): “a Component Member of a committee is an ASA member who provides coordination between ASA committee activities and related activities at the state or component level.” Identifying the best ongoing group of people for this list and assembling their contact information is quite a project and one that is ongoing. The inaugural meeting of this group, with the full 16 members of the Committee on Governmental Affairs and the 50 invited component members, occurred at this spring’s ASA Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. A focused state issues forum was held. Of interest, many of the individuals identified and nominated by their states as component chairs were not in attendance at the conference, indicating that the selection process perhaps needs more attention. Component presidents, secretaries and lobbyists were invited as well. The room was divided into five areas of the country with the expectation that issues probably have regionality. ASA Washington Office staff Ronald Szabat, J.D., LL.M., and Lisa Percy, J.D., were active listeners in the facilitated summary from each region. Ms. Percy’s article for this ASA NEWSLETTER on page 26 was partially a product of this session. A similar but abbreviated session was held at the ASA Annual Meeting in Atlanta. The group also uses a listserve and liberal e-mail communications. The possibility of roundtable telephone discussions is being explored. This is where a small group discusses a topic for five to 15 minutes while others listen, and then the telephones open up to the larger group for further discussion.

In my home state of Ohio, extensive time and money is spent on a membership survey every two years. Since 1999 the members have overwhelmingly stated that “LOBBYING STATE GOVERNMENT” is the answer to the question, “What is the most important service of your state society of anesthesiology?” It is apparently, at this state level, the main reason anesthesiologists pay their dues.

Politics, lobbying and governmental affairs are like a foreign language to some of us. But it is a language that more and more important people around us are speaking. It is hard to learn a new language, especially when you have not tried in a long time. Start with a short phrase (perhaps a PAC contribution) and learn more of this new language until you become fluent (run for office yourself) in the language of governmental affairs. You and your patients will be glad you did!

Patricia J. Davidson, M.D., is Staff Anesthesiologist, The Ohio Surgery Center and Columbus Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.