Democracy for New Mexico

Kerry Trifecta

According to Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog:

WHO WON?....The post-debate polls are solidly in Kerry's favor:
CNN/USA Today/Gallup: Kerry wins 53%-39%.
CBS News poll of uncommitted voters: Kerry wins 39%-25%
ABC News: Kerry wins 42%-41%, even though their audience leaned heavily Republican.
Democracy Corps: Kerry wins 41%-36%.
That's by far the biggest win for Kerry of the three debates. By next week I'll bet Kerry is 3-4 points ahead of Bush in nearly every poll.

Since the phone polls from the first two presidential debates were also won by Kerry, that makes it three in a row. It seems clear Kerry did what he had to do. Contrary to all the Bush spin, Kerry now is seen as a competent and strong commander-in-chief and a likeable and "presidential" candidate.

The Gadflyer has a feature on polling results from Democracy Corps. that examines how much Kerry has gained during the debate on a variety of issues:

. . .people's opinions of Bush after the debates are just where they were before the debates, while Kerry has improved dramatically on every measure. Bush's average improvement was one-half of a percentage point, while Kerry's average improvement was 9.5%. Let's run it down, starting with Kerry:

"Cares about people like you"
Before debates: 51
After debates: 62
Improvement: 11 points

"Honest and trustworthy"
Before debates: 47
After debates: 57
Improvement: 10 points

"Strong leader"
Before debates: 43
After debates: 54
Improvement: 11 points

"Has good plans for the economy"
Before debates: 50
After debates: 57
Improvement: 7 points

"Has good plans for Iraq"
Before debates: 38
After debates: 47
Improvement: 9 points

"Offers a hopeful vision of the future"
Before debates: 51
After debates: 60
Improvement: 9 points

"Will make America safer and more secure"
Before debates: 42
After debates: 52
Improvement: 10 points

"Gives me confidence when I see him"
Before debates: 39
After debates: 52
Improvement: 13 points

"Likeable"
Before debates: 48
After debates: 62
Improvement: 14 points

"Flip-flops on important issues"
Before debates: 58
After debates: 52
Improvement: 6 points

"Not strong enough on security and defense"
Before debates: 54
After debates: 49
Improvement: 5 points

And how about Bush's claim that "I don't think I ever said I’m not worried about Osama bin Laden. I think that's one of those exaggerations." Check out the DNC video clip Exaggeration to witness the truth.

Last but not least, Salon offers a photo that allegedly shows Bush's Bulge still present. Perhaps he's just glad to see us and has a backward way of showing it . . . .

(Photo Credit: Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. from Sharon Farmer, click for larger view)

Debate Night: Operation Truth Needs Your Help, Kerry Needs Your Rapid Response

The veteran's organization, Operation Truth, is raising money to fund a new tv ad that communicates the tragedy of this misbegotten war, as told by someone who has fought it. This devastating and effective ad is a must see IMO, and I can think of no better response to the shameless lying by Bush in tonight's third and final debate than to make a donation to help run this ad.

According to their website:

Operation Truth is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to educate the American public about the truth of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the perspective of the troops who have experienced them first-hand.

The website is chock-full of first person accounts of troop experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, legislative news, video footage from the war zones and much more.

I hope you'll contribute a few bucks for the ad and then head over to a debate response page to take action tonight to counteract the always horrendous Republican spin machine. Here's one provided by Buzzflash, courtesy of the DNC. I'm sure the official Kerry site, Daily Kos and others will have similar tools for voting in online polls and writing letters to the editor.

Steve Terrell's Blogspot: Kerry in Santa Fe

I recently added links to some New Mexico blogs (see left-hand sidebar), including Steve Terrell's. Steve is a political reporter and music columnist for The Santa Fe New Mexican, and producer of Terrell's Sound World and The Santa Fe Opry on KSFR, Santa Fe Public Radio. In the last couple of days his blog has featured his newspaper articles about Kerry's visit to Santa Fe, including Kerry's speech on energy at the Sweeney Center, CNN's visit to the Plaza and Kerry's bike ride up Canyon Road. Worth a read. And worth checking out some of the other local bloggers listed.

Sound Off! US Chamber of Commerce vs. NM Democratic Judges

Folks:

The national chamber of commerce has landed in New Mexico. In case you're feeling apathetic or indifferent about that fact, know this: the chamber has been successful in 21 out of 24 races they have entered. They have spent an average of something like $300,000 per race -- they recently spent $1.5 million in a PRIMARY in Washington state.

The purpose of the campaign is to elect right-wing ideological flunkies who are not qualified to serve the public in a judicial capacity. They bash injured plaintiffs, trial lawyers, and sitting judges. They enter late because (i) that is when negative ads (read, "lies") are most effective and (ii) their presence does not have to be disclosed -- usually for two weeks after dropping funds -- by the candidates they back until it is too late to do anything about it. The ads are based almost entirely on deception and falsehoods aimed at blaming the country's economic woes on our court system.

We know you won't be fooled. Keeping open access to our courts is the only way to preserve basic liberties and to hold the powerful and the corporations in some way accountable for their misdeeds. It is also the only way to make sure that people who are injured through no fault of their own are fairly compensated. Ultimately, access to the courts keeps New Mexico safe.

The judges listed below were selected based on their qualifications for office and they were vetted and nominated through the judicial selection process, a process that was implemented in order to try to take special interest money and partisan politics out of judicial races. The Chamber of Commerce is trying to undo that system by pouring in large sums of money and overwhelming the system.

Please tell your friends and acquaintances about the judicial candidates you think are most qualified, but please also let them know about the presence of outside forces trying to manipulate New Mexico elections. Please also put up yard signs and talk to your neighbors.

Following is information I have collected about various judges who are fine judges who should receive your support:

1. NM Supreme Court Justice Edward L. Chavez -- signs were available beginning September 10. Get in line to get yours from John Blair, e-mail: john@edchavez2004.com; phone: 243-9112; and fax 248-0261. Justice Chavez is facing a contested election with a right-wing ideologue as his opponent. Justice Chavez is the main target of the Chamber of Commerce.

2. NM Supreme Court Justice Richard Bosson. Justice Bosson is up for a retention election.

3. Ct. App. Judge Michael Vigil -- signs can be obtained through his campaign coordinator, Maria Berry, at 341-0324.

4. Judge Rod Kennedy, Ct. App. (retention election).

5. 2nd Judicial District Judge Linda Vanzi -- signs can be obtained from Maureen Sanders for pick up at 102 Granite NW in Albuquerque; phone is 243-2243. Judge Vanzi is being attacked for having done work for the ACLU and for working on civil rights cases for plaintiffs.

6. 2nd Judicial District Judge Valerie Mackie Huling -- she is running low on signs, but they can be obtained from Joann Erickson at 823-4745.

7. 2nd Judicial District Judge Nan Nash -- signs can be obtained from Edward Messett at 764-6086.

8. 2nd Judicial District Judge Michael Kavanaugh -- signs can be obtained from his bailiff at 841-7499 or 841-7500 (Robert).

9. Metro Court candidate Clyde Demersseman.
   

Thank you very much. Have a nice day.

Scott E. Borg
Rosenfelt, Buffington & Borg, P.A.
1805 Carlisle, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
266-3441, 266-8972 (fax)

(Note from editor: There's a link under our Candidates sidebar on the left-hand side of this page to many of the judicial candidates' web pages. There's also a link to the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which evaluates judges and is another source of information on candidates.)

Hit Sinclair Broadcasting Where It Hurts

You must have already heard about the intent of Sinclair Broadcasting to air a sleazy "documentary," which tells a highly distorted story about Kerry's antiwar activities, just 2 weeks before the election. Sinclair is owned and operated by extreme right-wing Bush supporters, and the main guy behind the film has close ties with the Moonies -- who own the Washington Times rag and have long had their way with the Bush family. For details on this issue, go here.

We can now access a databank of companies that advertise on the network, which operates in most swing states. We can tell them we plan to boycott their products if they don't urge Sinclair to stop their blatantly unfair and even illegal Bush propaganda initiative. Check out the Boycottsbg.com site.

You can also call the local affiliates that Sinclair is trying to force to air the show, preempting their normal schedule. Here's a list of them provided by the DNC.

And this site makes it easy to contact Sinclair Broadcasting and register a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.

You know what to do.

NM is Kerry country!

I'm sure many of you know Page from the Dean days and beyond. She created an excellent diary on Daily Kos about the Kerry rally at the airport last night in Albuquerque and included photos: Click for story.

And here's a nice photo of Kerry and Richard Romero at the event courtesy of the Kerry website (click for larger view):

(Photo credit: Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. from Sharon Farmer)

Michael Moore's Election Eve Surprise

From TV Guide: MUST-SEE TV?: Michael Moore is this close to inking a deal with pay-per-view giant In Demand to bring Fahrenheit 9/11 to television on Nov. 1 -- one night before the big election. According to Variety, The Michael Moore Pre-Election Special will consist of a screening of Fahrenheit 9/11 bookended by interviews with "politically committed" celebrities who'll discuss the charges leveled in the movie and the importance of voting. The three-hour anti-Dubya extravaganza will cost $9.95 and every purchase comes with a package of Ramen noodles, a pair of slightly used boxer briefs and a Clorox Bleach Pen.

Sound Off! The Dark Side of the Force

I’m not sure when it happened, but I think a majority of the citizens of the United States were brainwashed. They were brainwashed into giving up their civil liberties with the Patriot Act, they were brainwashed into thinking that tax cuts could help the middle class, and they were brainwashed into thinking that Republicans supported their issues. When you think about it, their attacks have been both direct and subtle. Those of us who live in New Mexico have seen the vicious Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ads. But today, I’m going to take you on a journey that might explain why “rational” people have become Bush supporters (or remain supporters) over the past four years.

One of the most unfortunate facts about American politics is that Republicans control a lot of news and radio stations. For viewers looking to get a view from the left or an unbiased view, they are left with very few choices. Among those choices, even the most balanced news networks have bias though they try to buffer it with their different reporters. Today, I’d like to examine CNN’s Paula Zahn Now. On the surface, Paula seems unbiased as she tries to have both Democrat and Republican representatives discussing topics on her show. But when a guest makes a strong Democrat point on her show, look at her eyes first and then her mouth. She’s smiling, but her eyes show anger.

Another disturbing trend that I’ve noticed on the news is the quoting of Republican fabrications. One popular one goes like this, “Kerry voted to go into Iraq and then voted against the $87 billion dollars to support our troops.” Surprisingly, you actually get to hear about Kerry’s side of the story on CNN’s website when the $87 billion is mentioned in an article. But you rarely hear about it on television. He voted against the bill because it included billions of dollars in no bid contracts for Haliburton. Kerry voted against the bill because it would increase our deficit and put the burden of taxes on all Americans. Now, let me ask you a question. Do you think the rich outnumber the combined poor and middle class in America? I didn’t think so. Let me ask another question. Do people making over $200K a year need tax breaks? Why not roll back the tax breaks from the richest 2% of Americans to fund body armor for our troops? But I digress.

I think most of us can agree that things haven’t been the same since 9/11/2001. But I miss some of the things we lost after 9/11: media criticism of the President, American civil liberties, and the right to speak out against this administration’s policies. It seems like anyone who speaks out against President Bush ends up getting ridiculed, fired, or resigning. Look at all the people who have stepped down in his administration. Some acted as scape goats for bad policies and others were pressured to step down after being critical of the administration. Remember how Robert Novak leaked the identity of a CIA operative whose spouse was openly critical of the administration?

After 9/11, I’ll agree it was okay for the media to go easy on the administration for a few months while they got their bearings together. But why hasn’t the party ended? It seems like the only people that are pointing out mistakes made by this administration are the Democrat talking heads that show up on some of the prime time news shows. And don’t forget about the comedians, Bush always offers plenty of material for them. Wait a minute, I sense that one of them named Dennis Miller has moved to the dark side. I think the Daily Show put it best when they showed Bush and his entourage walking together to the tune of the “dark side theme” from Star Wars.

I would like to finish by saying thanks to all of the hard working 527s that have worked so hard in New Mexico to ensure that our election this year is not close by any means in this state. You all know who you are and now we need to focus on voter turn out before November. Thanks for reading and keep fighting the good fight and tune into Air America Radio on 1350 AM. Watch the debates, be well informed, and inform others. It’s the only way we’re going to win this election and get Bush Out The Door in 2004.

Howard Jow, a concerned voter

Quite a Day for Albuquerque

I just got back from a full day of political activities here in Albuquerque and I'm beat and energized to the max, both at the same time. We started out this morning at 10:30 AM at Kerry HQ to see Rep. Barney Frank and John Kerry's brother, Cam Kerry, at an event hosted by GLBT for Kerry. Nothing like bagels and Barney to start things off. Next it was phonebanking for Kerry and Richard Romero at HQ, a late lunch at Kelly's across the street, more phonebanking and then the Michael Moore rally at The Pit. I could string a bunch of positive adjectives together here to try and describe how inspiring and funny and empowering everything was, but I'm sure you get the picture and I need to put my feet up. Now.

We're gonna win this. I can feel it. I've never seen so many types and ages of people all over town all working toward the same goal in a myriad of creative and effective ways. The Republicans can't touch this. Can't you feel it building?

Wired? Bush's Mystery Bulge.

Salon has an excellent compilation of the rumors and evidence going around the web that Bush was wired during the first Bush/Kerry debate and perhaps earlier in his term. A screen capture of Bush's back (above) clearly shows a bulge that looks suspiciously electronic in shape, despite the fact that the debate commission has stated the mics at the venue were on the podium and that nothing was placed on the bodies of the debaters. You may recall Bush saying "let me finish" during one of his answers, despite the fact the green light was still on and the moderator hadn't said anything to him. (Click photo for larger view.)

The accusation is that Bush was being fed audio answers through some type of earpiece, which in this case caused him to try and hush the audio cues. Folks are saying this explains Bush taking those long pauses between sentences and his odd facial expressions and eye movements. There's also speculation that Bush has some sort of neurological deterioration. If you compare his speech and demeanor during his debates with Gore with his latest one, it seems clear something has changed drastically. It also seems strange that Bush skipped his usual August physical, with his campaign claiming he hasn't had time. Considering how much time he's spent at his "ranch," this explanation seems more than a little disingenuous.

To decide for yourself, check out the Salon story and the links it provides, and then visit the Is Bush Wired website. (If you don't have a subscription to Salon you may have to join for the day for free and watch an ad.) The story recently made it into the mainstream media in the New York Times.