Labor backs justice center

Johnson County's central labor body, the Iowa City Federation of Labor, Thursday endorsed the $46.8 million justice center ballot issue that'll be on the presidential ballot. So that happened.

It's District Of The Day 3 night tonight so check back for that. The drill goes like this: As soon after the 5 PM filing deadline as the Secretary of State's site posts the candidate list, I start posting summaries, 50 of them, a senate district and its two House districts at a time, till I'm done. How long that takes depends on how soon the list goes up and how many last second surprises we get.

In the meantime a few clips:

Shocked, shocked I am: "A new National Agenda Opinion Poll by the University of Delaware's Center for Political Communication reveals support for voter identification laws is strongest among Americans who harbor negative sentiments toward African Americans."

Speaking of Delaware, it's Biden Bashing week. I've never bought into the Biden as buffoon image because as an Iowan I was lucky enough to meet and hear him at length at length during caucus season. The man is brilliant and deep, especially on foreign policy, and God forbid but he could step in and do The Big Job at a moment's notice. His biggest frailty is an excess of heart which translates poorly into sound bites.

Best quote on the subject that DOES translate into a sound bite: "The president is going to replace Joe Biden right after the brokered conventions but before the Electoral College deadlock throws the election into the House." A fun fantasy for the chattering class, but nothing more.

Anothe good soundbite, from The Fix: "Radical idea-What if 2012 is a battle to turnout the bases of each party, not a fight for the political middle?" Exactly, and Rebecca Berg at NYT elaborates.

What political middle? Back in the day, the low water mark for a major party was in the upper 30s. Goldwater got 38.5, McGovern got 37.5. The remaining quarter of the electorate was potentially in play.

For many, many reasons we have now polarized to the point that the floor for a major party is the upper 40s instead. There's no way either Romney or Obama drops below 48. The three or four percent that's left hates both of them, and rather than hold their noses or cast a protest vote for Gary Johnson or Roseanne Barr, they're more likely to be no-shows.

So this comes down to ground game, and I like my team's chances there. This situation is likely to endure until we see a major realignment when the Republican Party inevitably splinters into its sub-tribes of Money Republicans, Jesus Republicans, and Ron Paul "Republicans."

As for the Money Republicans, Nathan Tucker at TheIowaRepublican has a piece called "The Vulture" that he actually thinks HELPS his man Romney. If you don't have time, here's the shorter version: