Sunday Clips

Leftovers from the week

Cleaning out the tabs and passing it along:

At FiveThirtyEight, a good look at the Democratic nomination reform committee and its hopes to promote regional or semi-regional primary "clusters."

Prosecutors have discretion: in Seattle, new DA plans to dismiss all simple marijuana possession cases.

All is doom and gloom out of Massachusetts. Cedit an inept candidate for that; Martha Coakley started picking out office furniture after the primary and forgot to work on winning the general.

But in the big picture, all is not lost, according to Washington Post polling:

Obama continues to benefit from GOP weak points. Three-quarters of all adults lack confidence in the Republicans in Congress to make good decisions for the future, and when it comes to assigning blame for the nation's economic woes, about twice as many fault the George W. Bush administration as do Obama's.

So Democrats benefit from their opposition. Case in point...

...the Iowa governor's race. desmoinesdem asks: Could Vander Plaats pull off an upset? I won't even call it an upset; my money's on BVP, and that'll save Chet's bacon. Branstad rolled out his committee list this week and it's more interesting for the missing names.

Shane Vander Hart thinks the Iowa Family Policy Center stepped on its own message by endorsing BVP at its marriage inequality rally, and he wants to give also-rans Rants and Roberts a chance. But he's firmly in the Anyone But Terry camp:

Vander Plaats is the only one who has said he would issue an executive order in regards to the same-sex marriage ruling. A move that I believe is not only foolish, but likely unconstitutional. Both Roberts and Rants have significant experience which Vander Plaats does not...

I share IFPC’s concern about Terry Branstad... I also am troubled by Gross and Corning. I could completely support Iowa Family Policy Center making a statement of non-support for the Branstad campaign sharing that they would not endorse him if he were the Republican nominee. But there are two other excellent candidates, who in my opinion, would make a far better governor than Bob Vander Plaats.

If Rants and Roberts spinter off, say, 10 percent each, that lowers the bar for Vander Plaats winning a plurality nomination.