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Wednesday, November 28, 2007
(Updated) NM-Sen: Udall to Officially Announce Candidacy Thursday in ABQ, 8-City Tour Follows
UPDATE 2:35 PM: Here's the complete schedule for Rep. Udall's announcement tour:
- Thursday, November 29th
- Albuquerque – National Hispanic Cultural Center – 11:30 AM, 1701 4th Street, SW – Salon Ortega Room
- Los Lunas – Casa de Pizza – 6PM, 221 U.S. Highway 314
- Friday, November 30th
- Las Cruces – Roberto’s Restaurant – 8 AM, 908 East Amador Avenue
- Silver City – The Red Barn Restaurant – 12 PM, 708 Silver Heights Boulevard
- Clovis – Clovis-Carver Public Library – 5 PM, 701 North Main Street – North Annex
- Saturday, December 1st
- Las Vegas – Spic and Span – 8:30 AM, 715 Douglas Avenue
- Mora – Hatcha’s Restaurant – 9:30 AM, Highway 518
- Taos – The Kachina Lodge – 12 PM, 413 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte
- Santa Fe – Eldorado Hotel – 4 PM, 309 West San Francisco – Sunset Room
************
Here's what we've been waiting for. Rep. Tom Udall (NM-03) will officially announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate tomorrow! Here's the statement released by his campaign:
NEW MEXICO – New Mexico Democrat Tom Udall, D-N.M., will be making his bid for the United States Senate official this week in a series of events scheduled around the state.
The Tom Udall for Senate announcement tour will kick-off tomorrow at 11:45 A.M. in Albuquerque at the National Hispanic Cultural Center's Salon Ortega room. Udall will then travel the state hitting eight additional cities in three days, with events scheduled in Los Lunas, Las Cruces, Silver City, Clovis, Las Vegas, Mora, Taos, and finally concluding in his hometown of Santa Fe on Saturday. All events will be open to the public and press.
"As a prosecutor, state attorney general and congressman, I have stood strong for New Mexico values," said Udall. "I am proud to bring my proven record of leadership to the United States Senate. New Mexicans know my record on issues like reducing domestic violence and DUI, improving access to health care and education, protecting our Constitutional freedoms, conserving our natural treasures, and ending the misguided war in Iraq. New Mexico deserves a Senator who has the courage to do what's right, and I have the integrity and experience they can trust. As we begin this campaign, I ask for all of your support."
Tom Udall currently is serving in his fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he has earned a reputation as a principled and effective legislator known for taking courageous stands. During his two terms as Attorney General, he reduced domestic violence and instances of DUI, tackled political corruption, and protected consumers from corporate misdeeds. In Congress, he consistently has voted to end the war in Iraq; improve access to health care and educational opportunity; fight for our brave veterans and small businesses; as well as protect our natural treasures like the Valle Vidal, Ojito Wilderness, and Valles Caldera. Tom Udall has demonstrated his effectiveness to reach across partisan lines for the benefit of all New Mexicans, and he will take that same courage to the Senate.
The dream of Draft Udall comes to fruition!
To see our previous coverage of the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, visit our archive.
November 28, 2007 at 01:51 PM in 2008 NM Senate Race | Permalink
Comments
I think its great that Tom has done so much for the state, but wouldnt New Mexico be better served if he kept his seat on the Appropriations Committee? How can Tom do any good if hes a freshman in the US senate? And with everyone else rushing to vacate their seats as well, who is looking out for New Mexico?
Posted by: Tina | Nov 28, 2007 2:46:22 PM
Having a Democrat capturing another seat in the Senate would be a very important thing. If we can increase our majority there, we can effectively begin repairing all the horrible damage done by Bush and the Republicans including Domenici. This Senate seat is vital to that effort and I am so pleased that Udall decided to run for that reason. He is the very best candidate we can have!
Posted by: Old Dem | Nov 28, 2007 2:51:37 PM
Good. Now Tom can start to respond to Marty's scurrilous, Rove-like attacks.
Posted by: Don Schiff | Nov 28, 2007 5:18:04 PM
Maybe Udall should ignore Marty like he's a mere gnat. Tom should be Tom and let Marty keep buzzing around trying to get attention.
Posted by: | Nov 28, 2007 5:30:41 PM
I like Tom Udall, very much.
BUT,
As long as Impeachment is off the table for Tom, I can not and will not support or vote for him, at any level. Impeachment is not a political issue, it is about the Rule of Law, it is about our most fundamental liberties, guaranteed by a founding document thst we all CLAIM to revere.
I am sure Tom believes he is for the Rule of Law; but is he really when there may be some vague political cost involved?
And if his reason is that Congress has important issues to consider, I would ask him: how can there possibly be a more important issue than whether our country stays attached to its Constitution and Bill of Rights, and whether from now on the President is to be our Legislature, even our Courts. None of the issues before Congress, not even the Iraq War, is as important as this for the future of what has been the greatest democracy the world has ever known.
Respectfully,
Posted by: | Nov 28, 2007 5:45:05 PM
Well if you are looking for the perfect candidate you'll be waiting a long time. I think Udall is the very best candidate who's run for a major office in New Mexico in a long, long time and I intend to work my tail off for him. We need to increase our majority in the Senate and this is one way.
I supported impeachment earlier in the game but it's evident now that it's too late and it has zero chance of getting enough support.
Let's face reality.
Posted by: JO | Nov 28, 2007 5:50:12 PM
"Let's face reality"
Does that mean that 'reality' is a Congress that won't do its job?
I get so tired of this reality, and we have been so suckered by it for so long that we just curl up and take it. We (the People) have, I guess, been defeated by a system that is supposed to be OUR system.
We, the People, support impeachment, all across the country. Yet Congress effectively says, "No, you silly little people. What do you know about government? You clearly don't know what's best for you."
Well I give that a big old raspberry.
Congresspersons ar elected to represent the people (hence the title 'representative') and swears an oath to uphold the Constitution.
Either do your job or get out of the game.
And I don't care if the votes don't exist in the Senate to convict and remove Bush from office. All of that is speculation, anyway. You still move forward with an investigation in the House because its the right thing to do. My hope would be that any Senator who voted against conviction in the face of what I’m sure would be overwhelming evidence of sheer criminality in the Bush administration – criminality that would be laid bare for the American public – would essentially be forfeiting his position at the ballot box. This is essentially the way I feel about Democrats who will not support an impeachment investigation, regardless of other positions they may have. Most Americans are not supportive of Bush and Cheney primarily because of Iraq. Imagine if all of the other criminality were exposed, what would that do support for impeachment? And what do the Democrats have to lose for a show of strength and unity here, unless they too have something to hide (in which case, root them out also.) Iraq is only the tip of the iceberg of what these crooks have done to us over the last seven years – and what they will continue to do if we allow them. That’s what this is about, more than anything – it’s taking a stand for the future. We must have rule of law and justice first, we must expose and expel corruption, and any house member who seeks to withhold that from the American people should feel that he/she is doing so at his/her peril.
What we are settling for, if we do not at least investigate impeachment in the House Judiciary, is the notion that not only do we not have a lawful government, but that we cannot even expect a lawful government.
Sincerely, and in Peace
Jason Call
www.Call4Democracy.org
Candidate, US Congress, New Mexico CD 1
Posted by: | Nov 29, 2007 6:14:51 AM
Why didn't Kucinich introduce his impeachment bill earlier, when there was a real chance to get somewhere? He waits till there's no chance because this way he can get publicity but not have to really do anything. He hasn't had one of his bills passed in his career in the House. What does that tell you?
Pie in the sky makes people feel good but it does nothing in the real world to change things. I think it's very poor judgment to be complaining about Udall when he voted against the war and against the Patriot Act. I wish you would go after the real enemies instead of one of our best. I support your running for office but how you are going about it isn't effective. Do you really want Heather Wilson or Steve Pearce in the Senate?
I also wonder where you've been for the last 7 years when so many others were working for change not just showing up at the end of Bush's term to complain.
Posted by: Josie | Nov 29, 2007 8:10:07 AM
As for Tom "abandoning" the House in favor of a Senate run, I can't imagine anything better for the state or the nation under the given circumstances. NONE (as in not one) of the other Democrats currently running could defeat either Wilson or Pearce, but Mr. Udall will easily defeat either one. With Mr. Wiviott changing his ambitions from the Senate to the House and the strong candidacy of Martin Heinrich, we now have an unprecedented opportunity to turn our national delegation decidedly Blue. And between Joe Cervantes, Mary Jane Garcia or Jeff Steinborn, the democrats could put up a strong offensive for the CD-2 seat.
Posted by: Rodney | Nov 29, 2007 8:16:35 AM
Josie,
You probably aren't aware that Kucinich's impeachment bill had been sitting in the house judiciary committee (HR 333) for seven months before he decided to reintroduce it earlier this month. The judiciary sat on it because Nancy Pelosi told them to. John Conyers, head of the house judiciary committee has done some extensive work with the afterdowningstreet.org organization, and he knows that impeachment is warranted. It all has to do with leadership and political will. Pelosi has even threatened Conyers' judiciary chairmanship if he moves forward with impeachment hearings. How's that for representing the people?
As for my "showing up to complain" and "where have I been", I would encourage you to read this week's Alibi article on where and when the current field of Democrats were on opposition to the war: https://alibi.com/index.php?story=21283&scn=news
I have been an activist for half of my life, but much of that has been in Washington State. I have been elected as a PCO in the city of Everett, WA, and I was recruited to run for city council there but declined at the time. I have worked with Howard Dean, Veterans for Peace, ANSWER, World Can't Wait, Arlington West, and numerous other peace and justice activist groups over the last seven years. I'll be happy to send you pictures of my car, if you want to know "where I've been" for the last seven years. I've met with congressmen, councilmen, and journalists, I've been published in newspapers for my editorials. I've worked within my own job as a high school teacher to get military recruiters off campus, and to bring awareness to the NCLB laws on providing the military with student information.
You've every right, even obligation, to ask where I have been for the last seven years. The answer is "a lot of places, doing a lot of things", and I'm certainly not just "showing up" at the end of Bush's term.
I'd encourage you to read my website, if you think I'm just complaining.
Jason
www.Call4Democracy.org
Posted by: < | Nov 29, 2007 8:57:42 AM
Kucinich could have reintroduced it earlier. Everyone knows it's too late now. I have my problems with Pelosi but to constantly criticize Udall is counterproductive.
Glad you have been involved and are running for office. I think you should get more involved in party stuff and work for change on the inside like many of us are doing. I also think you should run for an office you can win. I think you'd make a great addition to our city council or county commission.
Posted by: Josie | Nov 29, 2007 9:46:51 AM
Josie,
I know my chances of winning are slim and none. My purpose at this point is to raise awareness of issues that I, and many others, think are vital to democracy: secure elections, elimination of corruption (big money politics), the politics of peace, single payer healthcare, truth in government, and so on.
As a candidate, I will dog other candidates to deal with these issues. I'm running because these are my concerns as a citizen, and I don't see that the current system, or field of candidates, deals effectively with these problems.
I have committed to voting for whomever the Democratic candidate is. If it's Martin Heinrich, that's great. He made an excellent closing statement at the Nov 19th council meeting (his last) about the need for local governments to be vigilant on the excesses of the federal government. It gave me some measure of confidence that he might be a part of changing the political climate in Washington. But I still intend to press issues of lawlessness (impeachment), and these other issues of broken and unresponsive government, throughout this political season.
I've said this before: if I don't get on the ballot in March, the rest of the season becomes a money race between Heinrich and Grisham (assuming she get's on the ballot), and not an issues race. Effectively, necessary debate ends. That's what I don't want to see happen. My campaign is not about me winning, necessarily (although I don't want that to be misconstrued as I'm not running to win, because I am.) I'm not a career politician. I got a BS in Poli Sci from UW back in '94, and didn't go into politics back then (which was my original intent with the degree) because the nature of the beast was stomach turning. But if I can get the person who is the Democratic nominee to commit to some (dare I say all?) of the ideals that I think are necessary to a functioning constitutional republic, then that, for me, is winning.
Jason
Posted by: | Nov 29, 2007 10:35:47 AM
Keep 'em honest Jason but be careful not to toss the baby out with the bathwater.
Posted by: Red or Green | Nov 29, 2007 11:47:43 AM
