Effort to recall Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder dies

Rick Snyder recall effort dies, Rick Scott is getting more unpopular, Obama clarifies his comments on the economy and Elizabeth Warren says she won’t back down.

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WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

* In the wake of Wisconsin Democrats’ humiliating recall defeat, a group in Michigan attempting to recall Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has given up the ghost. But that effort never looked likely to get past the petition-gathering phase. More likely, the labor showdown in Michigan will be over a ballot amendment, as in Ohio last year.

* A new Public Policy Polling survey suggests Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s popularity is dropping again — among Republicans as well as Democrats. The governor has sunk to 31 percent in polls, and he would lose to barely-known Democrat Nan Rich by 12 points. Only 53 percent of Republicans approve of his job performance, down from 60 percent in April.

* Republicans are jumping all over Obama for saying “the private sector is doing fine” in his press conference this morning. The president was trying to push congressional Republicans to act on public sector job losses. But that message will likely not get much traction, and this press conference clearly did not do much to turn around Obama’s bad week. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney quickly called Obama’s statement an “extraordinary miscalculation” that will “go down in history.” Obama clarified later in the day, saying, “It is absolutely clear the economy is not doing fine.”

* Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren (D) got an enthusiastic reception at Netroots Nation, an annual liberal conference held this year in Providence, R.I. She did not mention the controversy over her Native American heritage, instead focusing on linking Sen. Scott Brown (R) to Romney. But she did say, “Let me make clear, I am not backing down.”

WHAT YOU SHOULDN’T MISS:

* Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (R) will campaign and fundraise for Romney in North Carolina this weekend. The trip looks like a chance for the bland but well-credentialed former Bush administration official to prove himself as a potential VP nominee.

* Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) will air his first ad next week in the state’s Aug. 28 Senate primary, a sign that he is worried about the attacks from self-funded real estate mogul Wil Cardon.

* Kurt Bardella, the outspoken Hill aide to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) who was fired and then rehired by the congressman last year, is headed to California to work for 24th district Congressional candidate Abel Maldonado (R). Maldonado faces Rep. Lois Capps (D). In this week’s jungle primary, two Republicans together got 51 percent of the vote, suggesting Capps is vulnerable.

* Jonathan Burks, the top policy aide to House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has joined Romney’s presidential campaign as deputy policy director. It’s a sign of how committed the candidate is to the congressman’s budget ideas and possibly of Romney’s VP leanings.

THE FIX MIX:

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