Democracy for New Mexico

Bolton Appointment in Trouble?

(Cartoon courtesy of Center for American Progress. Click to enlarge.)

Senate Shocker!

In a surprise turn of events on earlier this week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee decided to postpone the scheduled vote on the nomination of John Bolton to allow for further review of new allegations which "cast doubt on Mr. Bolton's temperament and credibility." Many questions still surround Bolton's qualifications to become ambassador to the United Nations.

As Sen. John Kerry charged, ending debate on the nomination with so many outstanding allegations would be akin to "voting in the blind." Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN), however, still attempted to shut down any further investigation into the new charges in order to "muscle a vote through." At the last minute, however, Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-OH), who had remained quiet during the hearing, stepped forward and said he too wanted more time to look into allegations, saying: "I've heard enough today that I don't feel comfortable about voting for Mr. Bolton." (As Sen. Lincoln Chaffee (R-RI) told reporters after the session: "I don't know if I've ever seen, in a setting like this, a senator changing his mind as a result of what other senators said. The process worked. It's kind of refreshing.")

As a result, the Bolton nomination will not be considered again until the week of May 9, allowing senators from both parties to examine Bolton's record of bullying and intimidation.

(Add your voice: write or call your senators today and tell them to vote against John Bolton because we need a diplomat with real credibility at the U.N. Congress.org makes it easy.)

Forums Added to Bernalillo County Dem Website

The website of the Bernalillo County Democratic Party has added a forum feature. To participate, you'll need to register, and then you'll be able to post in a variety of topic forums.

To check out the new feature, go to the main site and click on Discussion Forum at the top of the page.

Rally for Social Security in ABQ

From True Majority and NM United to Protect Social Security:
The fight to save Social Security is tilting our way, but it’s far from over. So, here’s another opportunity to have your voice heard on the issue, at a key moment.

On Tuesday, April 26, 2005, our friends at New Mexico United to Protect Social Security is organizing a large rally in Albuquerque to coincide with the Senate Finance Committee's hearing discussing proposals to privatize Social Security in Washington, DC.  In addition to the rally in Albuquerque, rallies will be held in over 30 states and Washington, DC on that day.  By attending the rally we can make it clear to our members of Congress that Social Security privatization is wrong and unacceptable.

New Mexico United to Protect Social Security's Rally for Social Security in Albuquerque, New Mexico:

Date:  Tuesday, April 26th, 2005 Time: 9:30 AM

Location:  20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603, Albuquerque, NM 87102

SIGNS WILL BE PROVIDED

Contact Information:  If you have any questions or to RSVP, please contact: Santiago Juarez at 505-255-4268 or santiago316@la-tierra.com

For an impressive list of local organizations that are members of NM United to Protect Social Security, click through to the continuation page of this post.

(Editor's Note: Folks who attended Democracy for New Mexico's April Meetup will surely remember Santiago Juarez and his passionate speech about Social Security and core progressive values. If you can, please attend this rally and press conference, and let the Bush administration and Heather Wilson know where Albuquerqueans stand on Social Security privatization.)

ACORN
AFSCME New Mexico
AARP New Mexico
ARA NM (Alliance for Retired Americans)
Gray Panthers
LACLA
Mesquite Community Action Committee
National Education Association
New Mexico Educational Employees/AFT
New Mexico Federation of International Association of Machinists
NM PRIG
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
PACE (Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment)
Rock the Vote
Rio Arriba Family Care Network
Re-Visioning New Mexico
Southwest Organizing Project
New Mexico State Federation of Labor – AFL-CIO
SAGE Council
Tribal Environmental Watch Alliance

Join NM PIRG and Sierra Club on EARTH DAY!

From NM PIRG:

Join us on Earth Day, Saturday, April 23, 9 AM, to prevent drilling in the Arctic. 

Immanuel Presbyterian Church at the corner of Carlisle and Silver in Albuquerque.

NM PIRG is working with the Sierra Club and we will be collecting petition signatures for two issues.  PIRG is gathering signatures in opposition to the Bush energy plan (drilling in ANWR in particular).  The Sierra Club is collecting signatures to protect Valle Vidal.  It's the same event, but the volunteers will be collecting signatures for both.

At 9 AM, we will have a fun little introduction to the campaign -- with coffee and bagels, etc.

The petitioning starts at 10 AM, and will run until approximately 2 PM.  If people can only join us for part of that time, that's fine as well. 

For more information, contact Lisa at 254-1244 or send email to lkramer@nmpirg.org.

Historic Call to Exit Iraq Includes NM

As you read the article below, I hope it will serve to underline the importance of supporting our own Democratic Party Iraq War exit resolution in New Mexico. Bring the troops home resolutions were passed at the Democratic Party County Central Committee meetings in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Taos, Los Alamos and San Juan counties, and a finalized version was approved at last Saturday's State Resolutions Committee meeting for submittal to the State Central Committee this coming Saturday.

See resolution number 12, "A Resolution to Bring the Troops Home," on the passed by Bernalillo County. This is the version that was passed at the State Resolutions Committee and will be voted on by the SCC.

If you are a voting member of the SCC, you are urged to vote for this resolution. If you're aren't a voting member, I hope you'll urge members to approve it.

As the article shows, there's a growing network of progressives around the country who are stepping up to run for Democratic Party offices at all levels, working hard for adoption of progressive planks in State Party platforms and forming progressive caucuses at the state level. By supporting our Iraq War resolution and attending the planning meeting for a progressive caucus in New Mexico on Saturday afternoon, we'll be working in tandem with Progressive Democrats of America and others around the nation participating in this passionate movement for change:

PDA Activists Spur Historic Call to Exit Iraq
By William Rivers Pitt:
This past weekend, at the California State Democratic Party Convention in Los Angeles, the largest gathering of state-party Democrats in the nation, activists with Progressive Democrats of America led by PDA Executive Director Tim Carpenter successfully lobbied 2,000 delegates to pass a resolution calling for the termination of the occupation of Iraq. The resolution included specific language demanding the withdrawal of American troops from that country. "The California Democratic Party," reads the resolution in part, "calls for the termination of the occupation…of American troops in Iraq."

This victory is a powerful statement not only to the national Democratic Party but to the Republican administration and the majority in Congress.

Carpenter and his tireless crew spent the weekend working all corners of the convention to create a coalition of delegates large enough and strong enough to support the proposed resolution. Elements of the convention attempted to water down the language of the resolution, but the PDA activists successfully beat back the challenge. Meeting and overcoming this challenge was significant in and of itself, because it resoundingly demonstrated the ability of grassroots activism to overcome the go-along-to-get-along inertia of machine politics.

The resolution passed in California this weekend is more than mere words on a piece of paper. The document itself, along with the activism that created it, is a starting point, a blueprint for future action that must be taken in every state in the nation. PDA, with your help, intends to take the work from this weekend and duplicate it in legislature after legislature, until our combined voices carry our soldiers out of Iraq and home to their families.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this weekend in California was the emergence of so many new faces in the ranks of the PDA-inspired activism. Of the dozens of people who contributed to the effort that led to this resolution, most had never before been involved in this kind of political action. Carpenter and his crew shepherded them through the process, showed them how to get it done, and gave them the chance to be a part of positive history.

After the gavel came down and the resolution passed, most of the convention went their separate ways. Not so with the PDA activists, new and old, who met in a large gathering to strategize how to carry this great work to all points on the compass. They had completed their task for the weekend, but were not at all interested in stopping. Following this meeting, these activists committed themselves to convincing their own Congressional members to sign on to Rep. Lynn Woolsey's call to end the occupation.

To read Rep. Woolsey's call to end the occupation, please go here.

This is a victory to build on. If the energy and passion demonstrated by Tim Carpenter is any indication, if the energy and passion demonstrated by the activists who stood with him is any indication, if the effectiveness of PDA in overcoming all obstacles to achieve this victory is any indication, the winds of this action promise to blow great and necessary changes across this nation and the world.

The Resolution on IRAQ:

WHEREAS:  The Bush Administration, using false intelligence estimates, misled the country into an illegal, unnecessary and unwise invasion and occupation of Iraq, against a country that had neither attacked nor posed an immediate threat to the United States, thus jeopardizing our national security; and

WHEREAS:  As a result of that action, more than 1,500 American troops have been killed and more than 10,000 other brave Americans have been maimed or injured, and tens of thousands of Iraqis, including many innocent civilians, have also lost their lives, been injured, and seen their property and country’s infrastructure destroyed; and

WHEREAS:  The invasion and occupation have created a severe burden on our economy, stretched the capacity of our armed forces including Reserve and National Guard troops who are serving unexpectedly long and difficult tours in Iraq, and continues to cause deep concern at home and abroad about the policies and intentions of the United States to the point where the United States is widely regarded with suspicion, hostility and distrust, and elections in Iraq confirmed that Iraqis wish the United States to withdraw

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:  That the California Democratic Party calls for termination of the occupation at the earliest possible time with the withdrawal of American troops, coupled with the creation of an international body that can assist the Iraqi people in freely and peacefully determining their own future, and that we participate in multi-lateral reconstruction.

Submitted by: 3rd AD Comm.; 5th AD Comm.; 13th AD Comm.; 16th AD Comm.; 18th AD Comm.; 21st AD Comm.; 27th AD Comm.; 28th AD Comm.; 33rd AD Comm.; 35th AD Comm.; 38th AD Comm.; 41st AD Comm.; 42nd AD Comm.; 45th AD Comm.; 68th AD Comm.; 69th AD Comm.; 4th AD Steering Comm.; City of Alameda Demo Club; Marin CCC; San Benito CCC; San Mateo CCC; Malibu Demo Club; West Orange Demo Club; Valley Dems United; Dem Club of Conejo Valley; Progressive Democrats of America & LA; DSCC members, Ruth Group; Progressive Demo;
Congresswoman Maxine Waters

* * *

Adopted by the California Democratic Party
At Its 2005 State Convention
Los Angeles Convention Center
April 17, 2005

Governor Richardson to Make BIG Announcement on Otero Mesa This Friday

Be a part of New Mexico History when Governor Bill Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid make an Important Announcement on Otero Mesa on Earth Day!

Over the past four years a lot of hard work has been done and a lot progress has been made for protecting New Mexico’s Otero Mesa. Your support and efforts have made a difference! NOW—the State of New Mexico, using all of its power, will stand up for your voice and tell the Federal Government NO to drilling in Otero Mesa!

Show your support for Otero Mesa. Join us in making New Mexico History!

Who: Governor Richardson, Attorney General Madrid, and YOU!!!

What: Monumental Moment in New Mexico and Otero Mesa History!!!

When: Friday, April 22nd, 2005—11:00 am (Get There @ 10:30 if possible)

Where: UNM Campus—East of the Duck Pond

For more info. contact Nathan Newcomer at 505-843-8696 or nathan@nmwild.org

EPC Commissioner to Announce Candidacy for ABQ Mayor

As of Sunday, we'll have a third officially declared candidate for Mayor of Albuquerque. EPC Commissioner David Steele will join City Councilor Eric Griego and former Secretary of the NM Transportation and Environment Departments Judy Espinosa in the race. Mayor Martin Chavez is also expected to run and is building up a large campaign fund even though he hasn't yet officially declared himself in the race.

There are also rumors that Bernalillo County Commissioner Alan Armijo and former NM Senator and congressional candidate Richard Romero are contemplating a run.

From the David Steele for Mayor Campaign:

DAVID L. STEELE will declare his candidacy for Mayor of Albuquerque at the Sheraton Uptown (Roxy Room) at 2600 Louisiana on Sunday, April 24, at 4PM.   

Mr. Steele enters the race because he wants to scrap the city’s existing Planned Growth Strategy in favor of a more realistic plan that deals with sprawl, traffic congestion, and  neighborhood crime reduction.

Mr. Steele currently represents City Council District 7 on the Environmental Planning Commission.

Mr. Steele was Assistant Director of City Planning and Chief Building Official for the City of Albuquerque prior to his retirement after 25 years of government service in 2003.  He was recognized for outstanding service by every single mayoral administration since he started in 1985 under Mayor Ken Schultz. 

Mr. Steele also was: 

*  Business Manager, New Mexico Building Construction Trades Council, 1976 to 1982..

*  Director, New Mexico Construction Industries Division, 1983 to 1987.

*  Appointed by Governor King to the Corrections Industries Commission in 1982.

*  Appointed by Governor King to the Labor and Industrial Commission in 1991.

Mr. Steele, 65, a former ironworker, began his career in Colorado where he oversaw the construction of critical facilities for the federal government, including silos for Titan II Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles and the Rocky Mountain Flats Nuclear Weapons Facility.

Mr. Steele and his wife Janet have been married since 1957.  They have two children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

E-mail:                        dsfmayor@qwest.net
Website Address:       www.steeleformayor.com

REMINDER: Dem Meetings This Week

TOWNHALL MEETING TONIGHT, TUESDAY, APRIL 19:

As reported previously, a special Democratic Party of Bernalillo County Town Hall Meeting will take place tonight at 7PM tonight in Room 2401 at the UNM Law School featuring local legislative leaders and Lt. Governor Diane Denish.

In addition, the regular Third Thursday Meeting of the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County will be held on Thursday. This is an especially important meeting for folks who won precinct, ward and State Central Committee positions and folks who'd like to learn more about how the Party works:

THIRD THURSDAY MEETING, APRIL 21:

The Third Thursday meeting of the DPBC will be held at the UNM Law School, Room 2401, April 21 at 6 PM. It is strongly advised that Ward Chairs attend. Ward Vice Chairs, Precinct Chairs and Precinct Vice Chairs are likewise urged to come as are other interested Democrats. Items for discussion will be officer responsibilities, procedures, coordination with the state party, increased voter registration efforts, information dissemination in respective wards and precincts and issues important to the Democratic Party at all levels.

STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE EVENTS, FRIDAY & SATURDAY 4/22-23:

if you haven't already done so, now is the time to check out and register for events this Friday and Saturday in Socorro for the NM Democratic Party State Central Committee meeting. Click for event descriptions and registration forms.

DFA Says: Vote for Your Favorite Tom DeLay Billboard

From Democracy for America:
Over 20,000 people submitted slogans for the billboards we plan to put up in Tom DeLay's backyard. When the call went out to get the truth to people in DeLay's district, you responded with a groundswell that even DeLay himself can't miss.

Suggestions came through all channels: email, on the phone, on the web, and by fax. They varied widely, but the message was always loud and clear: when it comes to this man who calls himself "the Hammer," we're ready to hammer back.

We've worked down to thirty terrific responses, but you need to pick the finalist. Vote now to send a message to Tom DeLay:

https://www.democracyforamerica.com/billboard

Even DeLay can't deny the stench of corruption surrounding his leadership. In an interview this week, a reporter asked him if he had "ever crossed the line of ethical behavior in terms of dealing with lobbyists, [his] use of government authority or with fundraising." His response? "Ever is a very strong word."

He has made Congress a playground for corporate lobbyists and he has made Texas a case study in abuse of power for personal gain. He has run roughshod over ethics rules and Texas laws and he's threatened judges, prosecutors and even Republican colleagues who get in his way. DeLay is the definition of out of touch, out of control leadership.

Even in the face of all this, Tom DeLay's Republican Party is determined to protect him. Outside groups and DeLay's defenders in Congress have stepped up their campaign to smear anyone who challenges him. But you can take the case against Tom DeLay directly to the people:

https://www.democracyforamerica.com/billboard

Democracy for America is about clean government that works for all Americans. Tom DeLay and the Republican Party he has built are about the opposite -- a government bought and paid for by corporate interests and right-wing billionaires.

DeLay insists that he represents the values of his constituents. But judging by the responses we received from all over Texas -- and all over the country -- that's just not the case.

So let's put our message up for all to see, and let the people decide.

Thank you.
Tom Hughes, Executive Director
Democracy for America

Social Justice Sunday 4/24

From Tom Soloman:
George Lakoff has declared Sunday April 24th as Social Justice Sunday, in response to Senator Bill Frist's radical plan to declare a religious war on that same day, calling it "Justice Sunday".

As Lakoff says below,

We must respond. We will call April 24 "Social Justice Sunday." We must show that spiritual progressives are alive and well and willing not just to speak out, but to shout out. The Clergy and Laity Network and DriveDemocracy.org are leading the effort.

Herewith is some background, and the message from Lakoff, posted today on DailyKos.com.

If you belong to a church, synagogue or other religious organization, please consider writing your religious leader and helping to fight this.

Background:
+++++++++++++++++++
https://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/4/15/22721/0651
The news that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist plans to join a telecast whose organizing theme is that those who oppose some of President Bush's judicial nominees are engaged in an assault on "people of faith" is more than troubling; it is disingenuous, dangerous, and demagogic.  We call on him to reconsider his decision to appear on the telecast and to forcefully disassociate himself from this outrageous claim.

Senator Frist must not give legitimacy to those who claim they hold a monopoly on faith. They do not.  They assert, in the words of Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and organizer of the telecast, that there is a vast conspiracy by the courts "to rob us of our Christian heritage and our religious freedoms."  There is no such conspiracy.  They have been unable to ram through the most extreme of the President's nominees, and now they are spinning new claims out of thin air. [...]

The telecast is scheduled to take place on the second night of the Passover holiday, when Jews around the world gather together to celebrate our religious freedom.  It was in part for exactly such freedom that we fled Egypt.  It was in part for exactly such freedom that so many of us came to this great land.  And it is in very large part because of exactly such freedom that we and our neighbors here have built a nation uniquely welcoming to people of faith - of all faiths.  We believe Senator Frist knows these things as well.  His association with the scheduled telecast is, in a word, shameful.  We call upon to him to disassociate himself from the claim that the Senate is participating in a filibuster against faith, and to withdraw his participation from the April 24th event.

    -- Rabbi David Saperstein
        Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

And the call to action by George Lakoff:

Social Justice Sunday by George Lakoff
Fri Apr 15th, 2005 at 17:01:06 MST

The right-wing frame is now complete and Bill Frist has signed on with Tom DeLay: "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias, and it is now used against people of faith." This is not just the nuclear option; it is the thermonuclear option. The implicit claim is that every religious person is a right-wing conservative. Filibustering against horrendous right-wing judges is repudiating all believers in every religion - and being racist to boot.  The national campaign is on. Sunday April 24 is booked for national TV at a Kentucky megachurch and called "Justice Sunday."

We must respond. We will call April 24 "Social Justice Sunday." We must show that spiritual progressives are alive and well and willing not just to speak out, but to shout out. The Clergy and Laity Network and DriveDemocracy.org are leading the effort.

Religious progressives support social justice, not injustice. We want to protect life all the way from birth up until the edge of death. We will brook no government interference in difficult, even agonizing family decisions. We believe the common good is necessary if we are to pursue our private goods, and that government should use the common wealth for the common good. And we need our judges, and we need to keep them safe.

There are more religious progressives than right-wing fundamentalists. There are more of us than of them. They may be better organized, but this is changing and that change starts April 24. This is our test. Will we stand up to them? Will we write to our ministers, priests, imams and rabbis asking them to join us in speaking out? Will they put signs on their places of worship celebrating "Social Justice Sunday?"  Will we organize and hold candle-light vigils and marches on the evening of April 24? Will we invite the media to sermons on Social Justice Sunday and to vigils?

We have already begun to organize - in just hours. Drivedemocracy.org and the Clergy and Laity Network issued a press release and activated their coalition of sixty progressive religious organizations. We called upon every religious organization to join with us.

We are members of Martin Luther King's "beloved community."
George Lakoff