Comments on: Ballot Watch: West Midwest

By: Logarchism » 113 th Congress: Veer Slightly Left; It’s the Last One on the Right

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:02:27 +0000

[…] 2 Florida 10 Florida 16 Florida 18 Florida 22 Florida 26 Georgia 12 Iowa 1 Iowa 2 Iowa 3 Iowa 4 Illinois 8 Illinois 10 Illinois 11 Illinois 12 Illinois 13 Illinois 17 Indiana 2 Indiana 8 […]

By: filistro

filistro — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 02:10:09 +0000

@dude… first claiming that “merkan” was the traditional spelling and then describing what a “merkin” is.

Gulp. I just looked up “merkin” and am still blushing. Truly. I mean… who knew? (Well, obviously not me…)

Only in Canada, eh? From now on I will only refer to “Merkans.” Count on it.

By: astrodude

astrodude — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 02:01:10 +0000

Hey filistro,

I was just in your lovely country for a visit, and read a letter in the Globe and Mail saying that "Merkans" was preferred over "Merkins", first claiming that "merkan" was the traditional spelling and then describing what a "merkin" is. It was not the kind of letter that I would have expected to see in a nation-wide US paper, and I mean that as a compliment to the Globe and Mail.

By: Logarchism » Ballot Watch: East Midwest

Logarchism » Ballot Watch: East Midwest — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 23:38:27 +0000

[...] Facebook Page « Ballot Watch: West Midwest Who We Are [...]

By: dcpetterson

dcpetterson — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:50:02 +0000

If I'm not mistaken (and I could be), I think the state Supreme Court just rejected a question about how the law had been enacted, not a ruling on the law itself. The state legislature played a little loose with its own rules, and the Democrats sued based on the premise that the law had not been enacted legally. The state Supreme Court ruled otherwise. But I don't think that case had anything to do with the content of the law, as the current case does.

Again, my memory could be playing tricks on me. But also, the current case rejects the law on the basis that it violates the US Constitution. That makes it a federal concern, and if the state Supreme Court upholds it, the law can then be brought to federal court. It may well be overturned there.

By: Michael Weiss

Michael Weiss — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:16:16 +0000

filistro,

wasn’t that law upheld by the state’s Supreme Court?

Yes.

Can a county judge really overturn the state’s highest court?

No. This will be appealed to the state Supreme Court, and they will uphold the law. Again.

By: filistro

filistro — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:06:08 +0000

@DC… Wisconsin doesn’t have much on which to comment at the moment

LOL… now there’s a case of being overtaken by events!

So a county judge in WI has, as of late yesterday, apparently thrown out most of Walker’s union-stripping law. Walker has vowed to appeal.

My question… wasn’t that law upheld by the state’s Supreme Court? Can a county judge really overturn the state’s highest court? (You Merkins have such odd ways of doing things…)

By: channelclemente

channelclemente — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:44:37 +0000

Of course not. My expectations have been calibrated by polls suggesting Warren being 4-5 points down. I know it's commonly accepted, but I'm not convinced that averaging polls such as these last few on Warren are a sound measure of her position in any case, given I don't know if a weighting function shouldn't be used for each one. In this particular case, IMO, these polls could become a self fulfilling prophecy. But I have to admit, Mass. can be a fickle, unpredictable electorate.

By: Michael Weiss

Michael Weiss — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:52:43 +0000

cc, Not to make a big deal of it or anything, but PPP's new poll shows Warren ahead by two unadjusted points, which adjusts to a tie. There's no doubt that Warren's position is improving (PPP's last poll had Brown up by five unadjusted). Is the movement a trend, or a new equilibrium? That's the next question for which we need answers.

By: Monotreme

Monotreme — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 04:25:34 +0000

Channelclemente,

This is great news...for BARACK OBAMA!!!

Seriously, in all but one category (the Federal budget deficit), voters estimate Obama will do a better job than Romney.

Even on the economy, Obama does slightly better than Romney among LVs.

The right direction/wrong track question has "right direction" at 40 percent, the best in a year or more. Obama is more likeable than Romney, and Democrats are more likeable than Republicans.