Government relations in brief. The author, Peter R. Dahlen is an American lawyer and the Director of Government Relations at TransLegal. As a Legislative Counsel in Washington, D.C., Peter advised a U.S. Senator on legal questions and legislative language. He helped draft U.S. legislation regarding intellectual property, criminal law, privacy, election and campaign finance law, Internet crime and security, and critical infrastructure protection. Peter regularly contributes items on the language of lobbying and public policy.

The phrase third rail is a political metaphor used to denote an issue or topic that is so controversial or charged that it is actually politically dangerous. Indeed, any politician who introduces such a subject runs the risk of suffering political damage. [read more]