Daily Kos: Conlin "within striking range"

Daily Kos: Conlin "within striking range"

Numbers, we got numbers, and even though prolific pollster Rasmussen is known for a strong Republican "house effect" at Rasmussen, Steve Singiser at Daily Kos says:

Is it possible that one of the most invulnerable Senators in recent American history is really within striking range. Looking at the Rasmussen poll in Iowa, it appears so.

IA-Sen: Sen. Charles Grassley (R) 53%, Roxanne Conlin (D) 40%

desmoinesdem has more:

Grassley led Conlin 55-36 in Rasmussen's previous Iowa poll, taken in mid-March. Rasmussen's summary notes that Grassley "now leads Conlin by only five points among women."

Grassley leads Democrat Bob Krause by 57 percent to 31 percent, the same as in Rasmussen's March poll. He leads Tom Fiegen by 57 percent to 30 percent, a slightly smaller margin than his 57-28 lead in March.

...a few stumbles by Grassley could make this race highly competitive in a hurry. At the very least Conlin is going to make it a lot closer than any other Democrat has against Grassley in the last 25 years.

Things aren't looking as good for Gov. Big Lug:

IA-Gov: Terry Branstad (R) 53%, Gov. Chet Culver (D) 38%
IA-Gov: Bob Vander Plaats (R) 45%, Gov. Chet Culver (D) 41%
IA-Gov: Gov. Chet Culver (D) 43%, Rod Roberts (R) 41%

With numbers like these, will the ultra-right feel comfortable going for the whole loaf with BVP rather than settling for Back To The Future?

As for the Senate race, Tom Fiegen is trying to play the inside baseball "issue" of attacking Conlin for her donors. Unfortunately for him he gets the names wrong. I write more at the Register in Fiegen Complains: Conlin is Able to Raise Money. "Conlin has voluntarily turned down more money, in just those two refunded checks ($1750), than the Fiegen and Krause campaigns combined have in cash on hand."

Ironic after the Big Dorm Overkill Weed Raid, but praise due to two of my local officials, county attorney Janet Lyness and sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek, for steering minor weed smokers to treatment rather than jail. Not quite what I want but still a big improvement:

Lyness' stance appears to deviate from her predecessor J. Patrick White. In response to a 2006 suggestion by Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek to decrease the penalty for small amounts of marijuana to, in effect, a cite-and-release policy, White said reducing marijuana penalties would send the wrong message.

"I think (changing marijuana laws) sends exactly the wrong message. We've spent years telling people not to get into the drug culture," White said at the time.

Finally, DITV must have had a really slow news day because they interviewed me for a story on political blogs. It's about a quarter of the way in (no time stamp or embedding) and I don't sound too goofy. I look kind of goofy, though, as I try to find my way around a Mac.