In the media

Contact us here for print or broadcast interviews with Nino Saviano on a wide range of political topics.

    A clear need for full-time NC lawmakers

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
May 20, 2015 – The low pay North Carolina legislators receive is likely a top concern for many who contemplate serving. The small salary of about $14,000 a year for a commitment that often goes beyond the half of full-time surely gives pause to most.
And it should also unquestionably give pause to the rest of us.
Certainly, the low pay provides a powerful symbol of the kind of participatory democracy voters like to cherish. It represents public service at its best. Nothing, however, could be further from the demanding realities of our time.   Read more…

  Cybersecurity Becomes a Campaign Issue

By Eric Chabrow
May 20, 2015 – “Rubio is playing the traditional hawk card and he wants to appear strong on foreign policy, and he’s taken the positon that it’s OK to pass the Patriot Act and empower the NSA,” says veteran political consultant Nino Saviano, who worked on the presidential campaign of Bob Dole in 1996.   Read more…

Paul’s 2016 bid banks on DC ire

By Jonathan Easley
April 7, 2015 – GOP strategist Nino Saviano said that Paul has positioned himself in a GOP sweet spot: to the right of establishment candidates like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and to the left of hard-line social conservatives like Cruz. “I see him getting a bump in the polls, probably larger than Cruz’s,” Saviano added. “Rand Paul is going after a much broader conservative base. And because he is more of an unconventional Republican, I can see him even crossing party lines to gain support on some issues.”   Read more…

Respect the office, if not the man   

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
March 31, 2015 – I am no fan of President Barack Obama. I have been openly critical of him, particularly of his foreign policy. I think he has led this country in the wrong direction, both when he could reign unopposed during his first two years backed by a full Democratic majority and when we, Republicans, let him continue to do so through a mostly ineffective, divided opposition.   Read more…

Indiana governor in crisis mode

By Mike Lillis
March 31, 2015 – Nino Saviano, a D.C.-based Republican strategist, said Pence’s handling of the religious freedom law has created “an image problem” that hurts his shot at the presidency. “The religious freedom law is actually not that polarizing — they [Pence’s office] just failed to prevent the opposition from defining the issue,” Saviano said Tuesday. “They slept at the wheel. Now they are playing defense. It’s too late. The opposition gained enough momentum and they won’t let go. They are defining Pence’s image along with the law.” Read more…

 

Chris Christie’s heckler dilemma

By Alyiah Frumin

March 15, 2014 – Nino Saviano, a Washington, D.C.-based political consultant, said Christie’s decision to tone it down, however, was the right one. And he should continue to ignore such protesters.  “As an elected official in an executive position, Christie’s image suffered with Bridgegate because it partly showed that he was not in control of his staff … At least that it is the perception in many ways. Before, he could afford going ‘off script’ and rough up his hecklers in public appearances. But if he keeps doing that — or if goes back to doing that — most people will perceive him as someone who cannot be in control, not only of his staff or office, but also of himself when criticized or heckled in a town hall meeting,” Saviano said.   Read more…

Muslim Brotherhood must be considered a political force in Egypt   

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
August 1, 2013 – Egypt appears to have turned the clock back to the Mubarak era. The military is the kingmaker while Muslim Brotherhood leaders are imprisoned and the organization is being driven underground. But there is a key difference: Democratic elections are in the making. And while that’s a positive development filled with high expectations, the bloodstained crackdown of the Muslim Brotherhood places Egypt’s future democratic governability in question. There can be no moderate democratic Egypt without a positively engaged Muslim Brotherhood.   Read more…

What’s the future of the referendum industry after Prop 8? 

June 27, 2013 – Interview on National Public Radio (NPR) with Nino Saviano

TV Interview – DIGI 24 Romania

TV Interview with Nino Saviano

America’s best export: Politics   

By Farah Stockman
March 5, 2013 – Republican strategist Nino Saviano is not who you would expect to find at the helm of a political campaign in Kenya. But a Kenyan politician was so eager to win a seat in parliament that he brought Saviano, of Savi Political Consulting, to his dusty, rural hometown to craft an American-style, get-out-the-vote push. There were no voters’ lists. Few people had landlines. Door-knocking was tough because houses were often many miles apart. So they held street rallies and collected the cell phone numbers from people who accepted free buttons, hats, and stickers from the campaign. “You really have to get creative,” he said.   Read more…

President’s Putin Political Challenges After Divorce

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
June 9, 2013 –  A divorce rarely constitutes a neutral development in a politician’s career. Divorces often successfully blur the line between the private and public lives of elected officials. While their potential effect on political image can be mitigated by how effectively they are managed, the allaying of any impact on future electoral support requires outright strategic acumen and determination.   Read more…

Will Race Influnce How Whites Vote for Obama in 2012?

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
September 25, 2012 – The United States made history in 2008 with the election of our first African-American president. For this to happen, Barack Obama had to win over an electoral coalition that included African-Americans as well as voters from other ethic backgrounds–including certain whites who may have not likely come out to vote for another Democrat. These same white voters may play a role in potentially defeating Barack Obama in 2012.   Read more…

Democrats Seek Political Blood, Republicans Stand By Naively

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
August 14, 2012 – The days following Paul Ryan’s pick as Mitt Romney’s running mate are being filled with assessments of how the addition of the young Congressman to the Republican presidential ticket will reshape the debate on the campaign trail. Ryan’s conservative ideals and policy solutions will interject a dose of much needed intellectual substance into the political discourse between presumptive nominee Mitt Romney’s camp and Barrack Obama’s.  Or at least that is the hope.   Read more…

Strategy 101: Obama, taxes, and political fault lines

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
August 02, 2012 – On fiscal grounds, the Buffet Rule falls short on delivery. According to Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation, it would collect a mere $47 billion over 10 years – very little compared to the projected federal deficits of $7 trillion over that same period.  Alongside this millionaire tax, the president also renewed his call for ending tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000. Enacted during President George W. Bush’s first term, those cuts are due to expire at the end of this year.   Read more…

Obama’s foreign policy pragmatism: Cautious or indecisive?

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
March 02, 2011 – If one is forced to describe Obama’s foreign policy approach with one simple word, ‘cautious’ would be the best choice. Caution – in the Administration’s own statements – has helped define every response by President Obama to any sudden political development around the world, from the Korean Peninsula to North Africa. The president has been cautious in responding to security challenges with respect to Taiwan-China relations and North Korea’s military threats toward South Korea. He reacted with great caution in his response to the mass protests in Iran last year and last month. And he has been very cautious concerning the unrest in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and beyond.

Substantively, and arguably rightly so, his pragmatic policies have been met with some success and mostly bipartisan support in Congress. Cautious pragmatism, in fact, would certainly fit as a more appropriate and sophisticated depiction of the president’s approach. But there is a fine line between cautious pragmatism and indecisiveness – a line that is often blurred and easily crossed. And being indecisive, or even appearing so, can lead to unassertiveness in America’s posture in the world. That in turn undermines American leadership.   Read more…

It’s Investment In People, Not High-Speed Rail That Will Keep America Competitive

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
February 11, 2011 – The competitiveness of America’s economy has been recently placed at the forefront of the policy debate by the White House. Improving our competitiveness, President Obama argues, is important in “winning the future.” More specifically, Obama calls for investment in innovation and infrastructure, such as the proposed $53 billion in developing high speed rail links.  Competitiveness is a rather elusive concept. In economic terms, it refers to how productively a nation utilizes its resources – human, financial and natural. Everything matters to competitiveness: from transportation and financial markets, to education and business regulation.   Read more…

Should the GOP play chicken game with the debt ceiling? Yes

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
January 07, 2011 – Certainly, the sheer magnitude of the deficit and debt and their related obligations make a failure to raise the limit extremely risky. In 1997, the last time the ceiling was raised, the deficit was a mere $163 billion. Today, it is $1.4 trillion or more.  On the backdrop of such a scenario and in the face of an entrenched GOP opposition on the issue, the president and his economic advisers are unlikely to want to make any concessions in terms of spending reductions.  But the GOP has much to gain from indeed playing the chicken game rather than merely playing chicken on the issue. Republicans, in fact, can pursue both reductions in spending and consolidate their leadership in the debate over the issue of fiscal discipline.   Read more…

Tax-cut extension to 2012: Obama’s gimmick, GOP’s gamble

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
December 23, 2010 – The president, remarkably so, even cried foul at bill signing. He sounded defeated and maintained having been held “hostage” by the Republicans. In order not to raise taxes on struggling middle America, he was forced into a compromise extending tax breaks to “wealthy” Americans.  Don’t be fooled. This is a victory for him.  The White House successfully outmaneuvered the GOP and assured that the president’s likely reelection bid will turn into a referendum on his liberal tax policy positions – an electoral choice for or against tax cuts for those who they define as the rich.   Read more…

Robert Gibbs and Sigmund Freud

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
July 21, 2010 – White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, recently on “Meet the Press,” landed in hot waters for statements he made about the upcoming elections. Mr. Gibbs acknowledged a possible Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in November. His “unfortunate” slip up has had ripple effects throughout the Democratic leadership. And the rifts have been expected as well as open, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi being the most vocal.  Mr. Gibbs’s “blunder,” however, was not a mere slip of the tongue. His, this time, was a Freudian slip.   Read more…

Within hours of outburst, money pours in for Miller

By Erika Lovley

In Faces We Trust

By Anna J. Abramson
Republican strategist Nino Saviano says it’s possible to temper emotional impulses through rational processes. “Interaction is key,” he says. “When candidates engage voters, they move past initial superficial considerations and voters look deeper into a candidate’s other qualities.”   Read more…

GOP had better pay more attention to young voters

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
Most political pundits argue that presidential candidates Barack Obama and Ron Paul have been particularly apt at energizing an otherwise apathetic young voting population. Others, namely the young themselves, say that the right message only untapped a deep interest and enthusiasm that was already there. Regardless of the reasons, young voters have their sight on November and they are bound to reshape the electoral politics of North Carolina. The youth vote turnout during the primary season has been unparalleled.   Read more…

Boseman’s main failing is arrogance

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
The recent revelations about state Sen. Julia Boseman will have little noticeable effect on the outcome of the Nov. 4 race for her contested seat. While all of the issues revealed – drug use, failure to pay taxes and the home foreclosure – exceed the private-public threshold for an elected official, they are of little electoral value when placed within the current political context.  The political context is the light prism through which this story enters and beams out. But don’t expect much light to beam out. If any shines through, it is likely to highlight how inconsiderate politicians can be with respect to the voters of our district.   Read more…

Don’t give up on geezers: a few smart tricks can bring them into the high-tech fold

By Joel Berg

Will the Youth Vote Deliver for Obama?

By Ryan Reeh

Dirty campaigns becoming a major U.S. export

By Michael Coleman

Hail to the Chief; Medal to the People

OP-ED by Nino Saviano
The Indonesian people just received an award. Their president accepted it on their behalf. The award is no small matter — it has to do with Indonesia’s democratic achievement. Precisely, it is an acknowledgment for the Indonesian people’s unambiguous quest for self-determination and democratic progress. Proud must have been their president in accepting such an award. And indeed he was. In fact, it looked more like: Hail to the chief. Medal to the chief.  On Nov. 11, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono accepted the International Association of Political Consultants’ 2007 Democracy Award on behalf of the citizens of Indonesia. The IAPC, a global organization of political and public affairs advisers, awarded the medal at its 40th World Conference in Bali. With the award, the Indonesian people joined the likes of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and other prominent leaders who strive in the achievement of democracy.   Read more…