http://www.ksefocus.com Government Affairs and Strategic Communications Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:37:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en By Kevin Ellis and Bob Sherman The Vermont primaries are over and the general election campaign is underway but the governor’s race remains a mess as no clear winner emerged in the five-way democratic race. A recount is underway. Senator Peter Shumlin leads the crowded field by 197 votes. Issues ... http://www.ksefocus.com/health-food-for-vermont-political-junkies [caption id="attachment_1901" align="alignright" width="280" caption="Nick Sherman"][/caption]Kimbell Sherman Ellis (KSE) has many personas, faces, labels and identities; some carefully nurtured, others maliciously assigned. We are lobbyists, lawyers, legislative analysts, spin doctors, hacks, flacks and jacks of all trades. We are communicators, strategists and super salespeople. We ply our trade in the ... http://www.ksefocus.com/trp The day Elena Kagan was nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, I told a colleague of rumors around Boston that she is gay. There followed one of those fascinating conversations where you are on new ground without the benefit of party conversations or cable blather. You are out there on ... http://www.ksefocus.com/gay-politics-and-the-supreme-court KSE Partner Scott Mackey  explains why wireless consumers are popular tax targets during this interview at the 2010 International CTIA Wireless Conference.  http://www.ksefocus.com/video-scott-mackey-on-wireless-taxation Vote for Woody Tasch's modest proposal at Change.org - one day left! Click the here to vote: http://www.ksefocus.com/vote-for-slow-money It’s always great when an event throws the usual (and boring) left vs. right equation off its moorings. Such is this week’s Supreme Court 5-4 decision in which the court said the government cannot restrict the ability of corporations and unions to spend money on elections. I have lots of liberal ... http://www.ksefocus.com/citizens Every once in a while, the New York Times produces a story so chilling that you not only read it to the end  - you read it twice or three times. Nina Bernstein should get a prize for her lead story Sunday about U.S. treatment of the men and women ... http://www.ksefocus.com/u-s-immigration-jails New York Times Columnist David Brooks has the best column of the week, focusing on what he called the "second education." Not the scholastic kind, where it comes through the front door and hits you over the head via a teacher, but via a Springsteen concert - in Brooks's experience. I can ... http://www.ksefocus.com/the-second-education Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie, the presumptive GOP nominee for governor, has a “mortal lock” on the election next November. He will win the governor’s race. He will be Vermont’s next governor. There are five credible, articulate, energetic candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. The party has produced a plethora of ... http://www.ksefocus.com/dubie-wins A political junkie friend told me last year that Obama beat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination because Clinton campaign strategist Mark Penn “can’t count.” I didn’t fully understand that comment until I read the new book by Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe – “The Audacity to Win.” Ignore the reviews in ... http://www.ksefocus.com/run-%e2%80%93-don%e2%80%99t-walk-%e2%80%93-to-buy-the-new-obama-book