Craig Shirley is President and CEO of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs, the public relations, marketing, and government affairs firm he originally founded in 1984.  The firm has become internationally recognized over the years among public opinion leaders and the national media with clients such as the Allied Pilots Association, Crown Publishing, Northpoint Technology, Simon and Schuster Publishing, Westinghouse, the Orphan Foundation of America, Freedom Alliance, Center for Individual Freedom, defense contractors, utility companies, and a host of other corporate, trade and issue concerns.   Mr. Shirley has been professionally involved in American politics and government for almost three decades.  He has worked in government and on campaigns at the congressional, gubernatorial, and presidential levels.  A graduate of Springfield College, Mr. Shirley's fields of specialization include strategic public relations, crisis management, marketing, and government affairs, as well as political consulting and government affairs.  He was honored as the school's "Outstanding Alumnus of 2005." Mr. Shirley is the bestselling author of Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All.  The book, which analyzes Ronald Reagan's pivotal 1976 presidential campaign, was released by Nelson Current Publishing in January 2005.  Favorable reviews of the book appeared in such publications as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, and The Weekly Standard among dozens of others.  Reagan's Revolution also scored a spot on The Washington Post's bestsellers list.  A documentary based on the book is currently in production.  Mr. Shirley is now working on his second book that details Reagan's 1980 Campaign.   In 1987, Mr. Shirley and David Keene formed Keene, Shirley & Associates, Inc.  During the five year association, he tripled the billings for Keene, Shirley & Associates, ran a major advertising and public relations campaign supporting President Bush and Operation Desert Storm, successfully represented the Embassy of the State of Kuwait, and was placed in charge of public relations for an international conference on democracy hosted in Prague by President Vaclav Havel of then Czechoslovakia.  In 1992, Mr. Shirley re-opened Craig Shirley & Associates.  In addition to working with a host of political, corporate, and trade concerns, Mr. Shirley served as an informal advisor to the 1996 campaign of Republican Presidential nominee Sen. Bob Dole.  In 2000, the firm provided in-kind support to the presidential campaign of then Governor George W. Bush as well as the Florida recount.  In that same year, Craig Shirley & Associates became Shirley & Banister Public Affairs with the promotion of Diana Banister from vice president to partner.   Mr. Shirley's past efforts include the Fund for America's Future, the political action committee of Vice President George Bush.  Mr. Shirley worked closely with the future President George W. Bush, organizing conservative support for his father's 1988 presidential bid.   During the 1984 campaign, he was the Director of Communications for the National Conservative Political Action Committee, America's largest independent political committee, which spent over $14 million on behalf of President Reagan's re-election.   As Communications Advisor to the Republican National Committee in 1982, Mr. Shirley traveled across the country advising dozens of campaigns and state committees on public relations, political advertising, and campaign strategy.   In 198l, Shirley served as an account executive with a major New York advertising firm.  There he managed and supervised agency programs for the New York Racing Association and other high profile clients.   In 1980, he directed the Fund for a Conservative Majority's $750,000 independent expenditure campaign in support of Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign.  In 1978, Mr. Shirley served as press secretary to U.S. Senator Gordon Humphrey on his upset win in New Hampshire and came with the Senator to Washington, D.C. to serve on his Capitol Hill staff.   Mr. Shirley is a frequently sought-after commentator and speaker by the national media on politics, ideology, and Washington and has appeared on national television including C-SPAN, CNBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, FOX News Channel and others.  Mr. Shirley also lectures at various seminars and has contributed articles to numerous publications including The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, USA Weekend, Campaigns and Elections, The Weekly Standard, Conservative Digest, and Insight Magazine. He currently holds membership on the boards of the American Conservative Union, Campaigns & Elections magazine, the United Seniors Association, the Northern Virginia Youth Lacrosse League, and the Fort Hunt Youth Athletic Association.  He has also edited two books, the first, by Vic Kamber and Brad O'Leary, entitled Are You a Conservative or a Liberal? and Coaching Youth Lacrosse, published by the Lacrosse Foundation.   Craig Shirley resides in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife, Zorine, and their four children.  He and his family enjoy sailing and other aquatic activities at their river home, familiarly known as "Trickle Down Point," in Lancaster, Virginia. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley http://media.townhall.com/TownHall/icons/TH-feed-icon-128x128.gif http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley TownHall.com, Where your opinion counts. 128 Copyright (c) 2012 Townhall.com, A Salem Communications Web. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:01:00 GMT Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:01:00 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ This column was co-authored by Borko Komnenovic Newt Gingrich is getting attacked again by the redundant liberals at the Washington Post. Yawn. That isn’t big news, especially when the Post does... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2012/02/26/posties_again_try_to_toast_newt_or_what_else_is_new 44e38c9a-5e37-4f14-8a80-a531ce4cee4e Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:01:00 GMT As of the last count by the Associated Press several years ago, there had been over 900 books written about Ronald Reagan. In the last several years, more have been added and given the abiding interest in the Gipper,... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2011/08/09/march_30,_1981_what_really_happened fba40cad-11a5-413c-b57a-113f30b82e77 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:01:00 GMT After reading the coverage in the Washington Post over the past two weeks of the legacy of Ronald Reagan many Reaganites don't quite recognize the man who drew them into the movement as presented in the venerable... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2011/02/15/recognize_this_man f85c38d7-c2c2-4766-91d8-9db58c0a81f9 Tue, 15 Feb 2011 05:01:00 GMT Being here in Simi Valley this weekend at the Reagan Library, looking at all the displays, all the history, all the memorabilia, all the testimonies and all the thousands of people who travel off the beaten path to... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2011/02/08/the_many_legacies_of_ronald_reagan 982c15e9-a3a5-40f0-afe4-198b07b1b478 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 05:01:00 GMT As the Beach Boys once sang, today is the day for heroes and villains. The heroes are those brave and honorable 133 House Republicans who stood on principle, up to enormous pressure and scathing criticism and voted... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2008/09/30/heroes_and_villains e2461676-5385-404b-9d33-294609d6cff6 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:17:27 GMT In the early days of the first Reagan Administration, an issue before the Cabinet was a financial crisis at the International Monetary Fund. They had come to Washington, hat in hand, asking for $4 billion dollars to... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2008/09/25/bailout_boondoggle 2d602d90-f300-45e1-8fc2-1f9baebe4b68 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:20:46 GMT When he was running for President in 1952, an excited supporter told Governor Adlai Stevenson, "All the intelligent people are voting for you" to which Stevenson quipped, "Yes Ma'am, but I need a majority." Stevenson... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2008/09/02/it_is_the_character,_stupid 61614162-2eb6-4f78-8720-befb319294d8 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:54:49 GMT Every four years, the sun dawns over the "silly season" of pre-convention blather in Washington, centered mostly, on which of the prospective candidates for the vice presidential slot seemingly makes the most... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2008/08/06/morning_dawns_over_the_silly_season be9d18bd-e904-4738-951f-a11e8775a265 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:08:30 GMT Sir George Bernard Shaw once said, "If you can't hide the skeleton in your closet, then you'd better learn how to make him dance." Democrats and their enablers in the liberal media would like nothing better than to hide... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2008/05/21/skeletons_in_the_closets 46c22d13-99f4-4983-ad4b-bf75081ff635 Wed, 21 May 2008 04:00:16 GMT It was a beautiful day as accounts noted. September 18, 1793, found President George Washington decked out in his ceremonial Masonic apron festooned with the universal Masonic square and compass symbols. That day, in... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2008/04/02/romancing_the_cornerstone 0ef658fc-aefb-49ae-8fc7-927b66679506 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:38:46 GMT On Election Day in 1978, Republican State Senator John Briggs of California surveyed the wreckage of his political career. Briggs was the sponsor of Proposition 6, a ban on homosexuals teaching in the Golden State's... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2008/01/14/its_freedom,_stupid 1c31341a-0ebe-40b8-b13f-eaa6742e2c47 Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:11:20 GMT In his now infamous "Malaise" speech in 1979, Jimmy Carter demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of his country and his countrymen. It was the tipping point for his presidency. Last week, President Bush... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2007/06/02/bush's_malaise_moment 62abd1e8-3998-42aa-aa5a-beeed5ccd94e Sat, 02 Jun 2007 04:01:12 GMT Aspirants to the mantle of Ronald Reagan will gather tonight at his presidential library to debate who among them is his most worthy heir. One person who won't be participating in the debate in Simi Valley is the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2007/05/03/advice_to_the_reagan_lorn 6f6454c3-2236-4605-a80b-64617525e549 Thu, 03 May 2007 04:02:00 GMT Conservatives gathering this weekend in Washington at a summit sponsored by National Review magazine will be pondering their movement's future, inside the GOP, separate from the party or even if it has a future.... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2007/01/29/a_conservative_crackup 8abaf37e-4075-4099-bdad-d410f29ffbfb Mon, 29 Jan 2007 15:00:05 GMT Scientists discovered recently that elephants can indeed see their reflection in a mirror but it was not reported whether or not they could also peer into their political souls. One thing is for sure however; the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2006/11/20/duck_and_cover_republicans 16a3897e-841d-4bdf-9e37-d8cc7e3e37b6 Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:24:05 GMT In the movie, A League of Their Own, Tom Hanks was given two of the best lines in the history of baseball flicks. The first, as we all know, was, "There's no crying in baseball!" The second came when one of his players... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CraigShirley/2006/10/23/gotta_play_to_win 5240c2d1-bc8a-4987-b7c6-80900c5bb194 Mon, 23 Oct 2006 22:09:17 GMT