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- Last year, there was quite a lively debate over the role of superdelegates in the Democratic primary process, particularly whether these so-called unelected party officials would override the will of the voters. Now the DNC’s Change Commission is looking to seriously reform how the party picks candidates, including the possibility of eliminating the superdelegates altogether. More significant will be the actual primary calendar, not so much in 2012 when President Barack Obama will almost certainly face no competition, but for 2016 when the field will be wide open again.
- Did Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty really unequivocally state that he would certify the state supreme court’s ruling that will determine whether Al Franken gets to take his Senate seat? He did! But as Eric Kleefeld points out, Pawlenty also re-asserted that he would follow Coleman’s lead if the matter was appealed to a federal court, which has always been his position.
- I’m glad The New York Times has used editorial space to make the point that Republican holds on administration nominees are nothing less than deliberate obstructionism that threatens, in their words, “good government.” I know the minority party has very little in the way of pushback at this point, but it’s high time this issue received more attention than the "GOP goes ballistic over latest Democratic proposal/nominee" storyline.
- Roll Call has a brief look at the renewed focus on a “liberal agenda” for the second half of the legislative year, and it’s worth looking at the big picture in terms of prioritizing legislation. Obama could -- and should -- have done more addressing these "hot-button" cultural issues during the first five months of his term and should take some heat, but it's clear that the economic problems facing the country -- in addition to health care and energy reform -- simply dominated the early days of his administration.
- Weekend Remainders: The Census Bureau gives Michele Bachmann a lesson in high school civics; it’s not that Fox News is conservative, it’s that they don’t seem to grok the basics of journalism; apparently the John Birch Society is still chugging along even without the threat from global communism; the ACLU wants the UN to investigate extraordinary rendition; and the research goes on for those elusive ties between Barack Obama and Bill Ayers.
—Mori Dinauer
