Get out the vote initiative?

There has long been debate on whether the various anti-gay marriage ban initiatives that found their way on to ballots in 2004 helped re-elect George W. Bush. Now, Josh Green wonders if the various marijuana initiatives finding their way on to ballots around the country this year could boost Democrats otherwise dicey chances this Fall. California could provide an excellent lab experiment.

Republican outreach

ACORN, this isn't.

Orange County authorities are launching an investigation into possible voter registration fraud after a local newspaper reported over a hundred cases of voters being tricked into registering as Republicans by petitioners who asked them to sign petitions for, among other causes, legalizing pot.

No jokes

Paul Waldman has an encouraging piece on the growing support for decriminalizing marijuana possession. He also adds a postscript that is sadly necessary:

Postscript: You may have noticed that this was a column about the legal status of marijuana that contained no pot jokes. Unfortunately, many reporters (not to mention bloggers) who write about this topic can't help but start their pieces by saying something like, "Fire up the skull bong and get out your copy of 'Terrapin Station'" followed by a liberal sprinkling of puns about someone "blowing smoke" or gratuitous references to the munchies. Wouldn't it be nice if we could talk about this issue like adults?

Yes, yes it would.