NV Sen: Sen. John Ensign (R) announced yesterday he will resign from the Senate effective May 3rd. Since the Senate Ethics Committee has no jurisdiction over former members, the early departure ensures the committee’s report on Ensign’s affair with a former staffer will not be made public. Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) is likely to appoint Rep. Dean Heller (R) to fill the rest of Ensign’s term. Heller had already announced he would run for the seat in 2012 and Rep. Shelley Berkley (D) announced she would oppose him last week.

Grassroots #fail: Politico reports today that the SEIU plans to spend millions of dollars” to try to build a grass-roots movement of public protest and organization similar to the massive show of pro-labor support that overran Wisconsin last month.” Specifically, the SEIU will fund a “17-city blitz” in which more than 1,500 SEIU staffers will visit more than 3,000 households in areas where the average income is less than $35,000 a year. The astroturf campaign comes at the same time that genuine grassroots anger has failed to materialize at town hall events this Easter recess. Progressives had hoped that the Republican House vote for the Paul Ryan budget would produce the same kind of town hall moments that the Tea Party did after the Democratic House voted for Obamacare in 2009. But as Slate‘s David Weigel reports, despite some isolated skepticism, the passion on the left just isn’t there. Part of the reason why could be seen outside President Obama’s campaign stop in Los Angeles where protestors were holding signs that read: “$ for jobs & schools, not war” and “OBUSHA. We’ve been had,” with the O replaced by the blue and red Obama campaign symbol.