Liz Elsewhere

Last Saturday, the Nevada Democratic Party’s Central Committee selected State Treasurer Kate Marshall to be the Democratic candidate in the upcoming special election to replace now-Sen. Dean Heller in the House of Representatives.
Marshall won the near-universal support of those voting, a testament to the strong backing from influential party members with which she enters the race. However, the most powerful individual behind Marshall in her fight to take Nevada’s Second...

Among many political commentators, the meme du jour regarding the 2012 presidential race is that President Obama’s real opponent is the economy; who Republicans nominate is of limited importance.
On its face, this characterization makes sense. As Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson note in their book about the 2008 election, as early as spring 2007, focus groups were turning out results that showed deep pessimism about the country’s direction, with economic worries overshadowing all...

In less than two months, members of the Republican National Committee will convene at National Harbor, just outside Washington, and select a chairman to lead the organization over the next two years.
With the midterm elections over, the race is already generating a phenomenal amount of chatter. That includes a former staffer and potential rival's criticism of the incumbent, Michael Steele.
But often lost in all this discussion is a focus on what really matters -- the personal and...

Last month, Sen. Arlen Specter, together with fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Robert Casey, introduced a bill called the Biosecurity and Vaccine Development Improvement Act.
This is legislation ostensibly intended to “ensure our country has the resources necessary to protect the American people in the event of a disease outbreak or terrorist attack.”
However, it could have another major implication: Keeping money flowing to one of recently deceased Rep. Jack...

The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been plagued by large numbers of complex, hard-to-treat combat-related injuries—a circumstance that has increasingly put the topic of electronic health record systems in the spotlight. However, fresh scrutiny of government procurement efforts relating to EHR systems has raised serious questions about what is being done to ensure that those returning home from combat receive the best possible care—something that is not the foregone conclusion one...

In recent election cycles, political campaigns’ successful leveraging and integration of technology into their political, communications and fundraising work has been increasingly evident. However, many political operations continue to treat online as simply a box that needs to be checked, or something done just to communicate with younger voters. The prevalence of both conclusions is a pet peeve of all online strategists, but data that emerged this week suggests that the latter should...

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama, to a then-unparalleled extent, leveraged the most cutting-edge technologies to reach potential supporters, organize them, raise money from them, and ultimately, get elected by them. MyBarackObama and mobile were two such groundbreaking technlogies, and with over a year having passed, many in the political world are contemplating what the “next big thing” might be. The answer could be something you’ve only vaguely heard of,...

A recent FBI raid on a Pennsylvania defense contractor has reopened old questions about the ethics and staying power of Rep. John Murtha.
Brothers Ron and Bill Kuchera are top executives with Kuchera Industries and Kuchera Defense Systems. The offices of these companies were raided late last month apparently in connection with concerns about possible misuse of corporate funds.
At the same time, federal agents raided the Kuchera brothers' homes and a game ranch owned by Bill...

Will England establish quotas on the number of foreign players allowed on each Premier League team? Probably not anytime soon, writes LIZ MAIR.
Soccer FeatureLast month, the English national soccer team failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship tournament, losing 3-2 to Croatia in front of shell-shocked supporters at London's Wembley Stadium. Though it was only the latest embarrassment for a squad that has consistently underachieved in big international matches, missing...

The youth vote: It has been eagerly courted by politicians for years, and with just weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, 2008 is set to prove no different.
But while a number of candidates continue to devote plenty of time and resources to cultivating strong support from youth voters, it remains unclear whether such backing is a valuable ingredient in the recipe for electoral success.
Past experience suggests it could be. Though both Sen. John F. Kerry and President George W. Bush...