Liz Elsewhere

Last week, after intensive calling, emailing, and even threatening by opponents of "amnesty," the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 - a.k.a., comprehensive immigration reform - finally died in the Senate.
For one of the bill's key supporters, Senator Graham (derided as "Grahamnesty" by his critics) of South Carolina, one of the questions in the aftermath of the defeat has to be: If the conservative base could bring this bill down, what could...

Maine is not a state that gets much attention. But, heading into 2008, it's set to become one of the most-watched places in the country as the incumbent Republican senator, Susan Collins, faces off against Democrat Rep. Tom Allen, and observers look northward to see whether New England is a total write-off for Republicans - or whether it just takes a certain breed of elephant to win there.
Once the home base of moderate Republicans, New England suffered a swathe of congressional,...

Just over a week ago, a Democratic-led House Appropriations subcommittee voted to increase funding for abstinence education programs by $27.8 million - an increase that the last, Republican-led Congress had been unwilling to authorize.
Surprised? So were liberal activists. In a party that regards such religious right-approved programs as disseminating "false, misleading or distorted information," to quote California Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman, the vote led to reproductive rights...

2008: If you thought 2006 was bad, you ain't seen nothing yet.
That's the message that Senator Schumer of New York, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has for anyone who has it in mind to support a Republican senator up for re-election next year - and especially for anyone living in Oregon, home state to Senator Smith, a moderate Republican and obvious target for the Democrats heading into 2008.
Mr. Smith is, after all, a rare animal in the Senate, and one...

Next month, Michael Moore's new film, "Sicko," will debut, focusing media attention on the problem of health care in America. Voters — liberal or not — will hear the message: Health care in America is a disaster, and we need to fix it.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards will, of course, be waiting in the wings to tell us just what to do about this sorry state of affairs. Though each candidate will offer variations on a theme, in broad-brush terms, they...

Last week, the governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, confirmed that an election will be held on October 16 to decide who will succeed the fifth district's Martin Meehan in the House of Representatives, from which he is due to retire shortly.
To outsiders, a good question might seem to be, why did Mr. Patrick bother? After all, Massachusetts is a state represented only by Democrats in Congress - five of whom ran unopposed in 2006. Wouldn't it be easier if the Democrats just...

Last week, John McCain gave a major speech on the environment. Before that, Mitt Romney made alternative energies a focal point of an appearance in Northern Virginia. And before that, Newt Gingrich debated John Kerry on global warming, with both leaders more or less ending in agreement that climate change is a reality and a serious concern. And, of course, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards all focused on the environment for Earth Day, trying to put the issue of global...

Conventional wisdom says that American elections are won by the candidates who can raise the most money. But 2008 just might be the year that disproves that notion, once and for all.
As it stands today, if one had to bet on who the Democratic and Republican nominees for president would be in 2008 - based solely on their fundraising prowess - the savvy gambler would put money on Barack Obama (who thus far has raised nearly $25 million, and could quite possibly continue to out-raise...

The recent endorsement of Hillary Clinton by the National Organization for Women (NOW) was not surprising - she is, after all, the only female candidate in the presidential race, and in 2005, she earned a 100% rating from the organization.
However, it is significant.
Earlier this month, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Mrs. Clinton's campaign "intends to use social networking tools and other Web technology to develop a thousands-strong Women's Leadership Network,...

On Valentine's Day, humorist Al Franken announced that he would run for the Minnesota Senate seat currently held by Republican Norm Coleman. The announcement was immediately greeted by cheers from Republicans and jeers from liberal pundits, who dismissed Mr. Franken as a comedy candidate, with no experience and outlandish political views that would provide Mr. Coleman with an easy ride to reelection.
Developments since then, however, make it clear that Mr. Franken's candidacy is...