A panel of experts recently surprised AAPC members with their take on the immediate aftermath of the SCOTUS decision in the Citizen United case.   The Phoenix, AZ conference panel said that unions are likely to be the most immediate beneficiaries because they have a history of activism and the boldness to step forward; whereas traditional corporate America, barred from express advocacy for more than 60 years, will be more hesitant at first to engage.  All expect many trade associations to push their members for a more aggressive role, with the biggest change in 2010 not the size of the independent expenditures but the changing nature of the messaging—the TV ads and mail pieces from these IE’s will be much more hard hitting than in years past. To put IE’s in context, the special US Senate election in MA where Scott Brown emerged victorious included more than $3 M spent by outside groups.  By 2012, these lawyers predict that the climate will have evolved so that independent groups are engaged much earlier in the process.