Guest post by Benjamin Kershaw, Assistant Director for Congressional Relations, American Alliance of Museums

The Public Policy Action Institute's first panel, The Pulse of the Nation: What the 2012 Elections Mean for Our Sector, kicked off with a conversation between Joe Garofoli and Carla Marinucci, political reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle. They emphasized the key role that President Obama’s strong performance among key demographics like voters under 30, Latinos, and women played in his re-election. Along with moderator Kyle Caldwell of the Michigan Nonprofit Association, they discussed how this electoral performance could influence upcoming legislative action on immigration, tax reform, and the federal budget.

On immigration, there was consensus among the speakers that Republicans would reassess their hard-line stances on so-called "comprehensive" reform, which is often presumed to include a path to citizenship for some segments of undocumented Americans. Caldwell noted that, with House Speaker John Boehner and conservative talk show host Sean Hannity expressing openness to immigration reform, the Republican establishment had clearly gotten the message. Though the party has put forward more diverse candidates in recent years, Marinucci felt the Republicans’ lack of success would lead them to real policy shifts, rather than just changing “the color of the faces” to win.

Both reporters also felt the election results would lead to a comprehensive budget deal in the coming weeks, addressing federal tax revenues and spending on both entitlements and federal agencies. While President Obama has pledged to increase taxes on the wealthy, Garofolio saw room for negotiation over exactly which annual incomes could fall under that distinction. However, with continued Republican control of the House of Representatives, it is clear that there is still much more negotiation to come.

Caldwell also moderated a discussion with Anita Estell of Polsinelli Shughart and Rob Reich of Stanford University’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. While Reich believed Democrats should be heartened by the election results, he cautioned that many of the progressive results happened in spite of the current political system, not because of it. Estell was “101 percent confident” that Congress would take action on the federal budget before the end of this year, viewing the tax rate on capital gains as a likely target.

Both Reich and Estell closed with a positive vision for the future, with Reich noting that young people today are more committed to improving their communities and their world than ever before. In comments that moved the crowd, Estell drew a biblical parallel for the sector, noting that, while it may have taken the Israelites 40 years to complete their two-week journey, they made it to the Promised Land in the end. With big changes ahead and good reason for optimism, now is truly an exciting time for the nonprofit sector.