Democracy for New Mexico

Meet Former Ambassadors Ed Romero & Joe Wilson: Last Chance to RSVP for DPNM's Luncheon

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All proceeds to benefit the New Mexico Democratic Presidential Caucus set for February 5, 2008. All the costs of the caucus will be paid by the Democratic Party of New Mexico. Have lunch with two of the most dynamic speakers in New Mexico and support the caucus process.

Stop the TIDDs: Call Your County Commissioner Now

Mayor Marty Chavez vetoed the Albuquerque City Council's critical amendments of TIDD financing that would preclude their use for "green field" developments on the edges of Albuquerque. Tonight the Bernalillo County Commission has a chance to stop them. SWOPblogger has the story. Make a call now.

To read our previous coverage on this issue, visit our archive.

Reminder: Fundraiser Tonight for Rep. Mimi Stewart, 5:30-7:30 PM

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Have some fun and help re-elect one of our best, most hard-working New Mexico legislators!

NM-01: Heinrich Connects With Local Bloggers

Last Thursday, Democratic Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich hosted a luncheon and discussion with eight local bloggers, including yours truly, at his campaign office at 6th and Gold in downtown Albuquerque. Besides good food and company, the 90-plus-minute meeting featured lots of back and forth discussion that was wide-ranging and inclusive. Here's how Martin opened the session (mp3):

I thought Heinrich was impressive indeed -- smart, open, clear-headed, reasonable, sincere, caring and an excellent listener. He has a thoughtful way of responding to questions on various issues that effectively weaves them into a cohesively damning picture of what Bush and company have been doing to our nation and our planet. And what a real Democrat in Congress can do to help change that and move us in a positive direction to begin solving problems rather than ignoring or making them worse. Heinrich's heart definitely seems to be in the right place, and he clearly sees the big picture.

In my opinion, Heinrich has excellent positions on the major issues, whether it's health care, getting out of Iraq, economic fairness, immigration or the environment, climate change and renewable energy. And these are --  make no mistake about it -- mainstream American positions as well. In poll after poll, it's been shown that the majority of our citizens agree with Democrats on almost every critical issue of the day. The challenge will be to make sure folks register to vote, cast their ballots and have their votes counted accurately.

From a review of my meeting notes:

Background
Martin was born in Nevada and grew up on a small ranch-farm in Missouri. He's got a degree in mechanical engineering, but most of his jobs have been in the areas of youth, the environment and conservation. He's also been very active in grassroots activism in those areas. He served on the Albuquerque City Council for four years, including a term as Council President. He's now on a leave of absence from his position as New Mexico's National Resources Trustee.

Bringing People Together
Heinrich is most proud of his ability to bring together those with differing views to achieve consensus and solve problems. He cited as one example his recent success in uniting the archeological and development communities to achieve a long sought agreement on dealing with ruins discovered at building sites.

Martin believes he can use his people skills to reach out and negotiate with parties like oil and gas interests, the national labs and renewable energy proponents as we switch inevitably from a Cold War strategy to solving the challenges of global warming and energy independence. There are many areas where we need to work together to achieve change.

Gaining Widespread Support
He will draw on the contacts he has made in many walks of life and across the ethnic spectrum during his service on the City Council, and now on the Albuquerque-Bernalillo Water Board, for support. So far, he has more than 1,400 donors to his campaign fund, and about 93% of those are New Mexicans. He's one of the top ten fundraisers among Congressional candidates in open seat races nationwide.

Energy & Global Warming
He believes we're currently within a window of opportunity for taking steps critical to effectively addressing the global warming crisis, but that we must do so much more quickly than we have been. We must return to our core values to achieve sustainability, both environmentally and economically. The price of oil will continue rising, affecting many aspects of life. We must be innovative and flexible in our approach to problem-solving, and this can bring dramatic economic gains in terms of new "green collar" jobs, as well as an improved environment.

Iraq Occupation
He was strongly opposed to the Iraq invasion and occupation from the beginning and believes we must leave as soon as possible to allow the Iraqis to solve the problems that are causing a civil war. The huge sums we are spending in Iraq are stopping us from funding our critical needs at home.

Trade
Trade is never "free" and must be made "fair" if we are to lessen the gap between rich and poor that's been growing wider each year. He opposed CAFTA, for instance, because it doesn't level the playing field and instead causes a "race to the bottom" for labor, along with environmental degradation.

Immigration & Labor
Trade policies directly impact immigration. When worker pay and benefits are driven down or livelihoods are destroyed, as in Mexico, workers naturally want to resettle in places where economic conditions are better, like the U.S. However, because high numbers of immigrants can drive down wages, the middle class experiences insecurities and anxieties. We presently have an uncontrolled immigration system coupled with trade policies that cause a continual search for cheaper and cheaper labor. We need a comprehensive system with a clear path to citizenship, secure borders and penalties for employers that hire undocumented workers. We also need stronger labor organizing and a return of the rights that have been systematically weakened or destroyed by the National Labor Relations Board in recent years.

Note: Heinrich just received the first union endorsement of the campaign, from the United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1563.

Food Security
Heinrich is also concerned about food security and diversifying food production so that we can get much more of our food from local producers. At present, huge conglomerates like Con Agra receive large subsidies that result in too much land being devoted to a single crop like corn or soy, instead of a balanced array of produce. This ties in with improved land use practices, fair trade and adopting better environmental policies.

Health Care
Heinrich strongly supports universal health care from a moral standpoint and as a right. He's open-minded about how to achieve that. The first step should be to build on what we have -- and what people have come to trust -- including expanding Medicare, Medicaid, VA and SCHIP coverage. We need to move away from the current model of employers providing coverage. While on the City Council, Henrich voted for the resolution in support of the Health Security Act.

December Fundraising Challenge
Heinrich's campaign just launched a fundraising challenge at his website, with a goal of raising $10,000 by the end of 2007. If you support his candidacy, now's the time to donate a few bucks to the cause.

Suzanne Prescott, who will soon be resuming her local radio show , provided the photo and sound bite used in this post. Thanks, Suzanne! Bloggers who participated included folks from Duke City Fix, m-pyre, Cocoposts, Albloggerque, NM FBIHOP, High Desert Reports, Insight New Mexico and, of course, DFNM. P.S. The meeting really was a lot more engaging than the expressions on our faces suggest!

To see our previous coverage of the NM-01 Congressional race, visit our archive.

Speech: Al Gore Accepts Nobel Peace Prize

Al Gore, who should be ending his second term as President of the United States, yesterday accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize that he shares with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway. The video above shows his entire acceptance speech. You can read the text version at his website, AlGore.com.

Gore opened his speech with a reference to the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision that denied him the presidency. "Seven years ago tomorrow, I read my own political obituary in a judgment that seemed to me harsh and mistaken - if not premature. But that unwelcome verdict also brought a precious if painful gift: an opportunity to search for fresh new ways to serve my purpose. Unexpectedly that quest has brought me here."

Some highlights from the speech:

We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency – a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here. But there is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst – though not all – of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively and quickly.

However, despite a growing number of honorable exceptions, too many of the world’s leaders are still best described in the words Winston Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler’s threat: “They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent.”

Gore and Dr. R. K. Pachauri, who accepted the award on behalf of the UNIPCC

... So today, we dumped another 70 million tons of global-warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet, as if it were an open sewer. And tomorrow, we will dump a slightly larger amount, with the cumulative concentrations now trapping more and more heat from the sun.

As a result, the earth has a fever. And the fever is rising. The experts have told us it is not a passing affliction that will heal by itself. We asked for a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. And the consistent conclusion, restated with increasing alarm, is that something basic is wrong. We are what is wrong, and we must make it right.

... Indeed, without realizing it, we have begun to wage war on the earth itself. Now, we and the earth's climate are locked in a relationship familiar to war planners: "Mutually assured destruction."

... As the American poet Robert Frost wrote, “Some say the world will end in fire; some say in ice.” Either, he notes, “would suffice.” But neither need be our fate. It is time to make peace with the planet. We must quickly mobilize our civilization with the urgency and resolve that has previously been seen only when nations mobilized for war. These prior struggles for survival were won when leaders found words at the 11th hour that released a mighty surge of courage, hope and readiness to sacrifice for a protracted and mortal challenge.

... Now comes the threat of climate crisis – a threat that is real, rising, imminent, and universal. Once again, it is the 11th hour. The penalties for ignoring this challenge are immense and growing, and at some near point would be unsustainable and unrecoverable. For now we still have the power to choose our fate, and the remaining question is only this: Have we the will to act vigorously and in time, or will we remain imprisoned by a dangerous illusion?

... We must understand the connections between the climate crisis and the afflictions of poverty, hunger, HIV-Aids and other pandemics. As these problems are linked, so too must be their solutions. We must begin by making the common rescue of the global environment the central organizing principle of the world community.

... But the outcome will be decisively influenced by two nations that are now failing to do enough: the United States and China. While India is also growing fast in importance, it should be absolutely clear that it is the two largest CO2 emitters — most of all, my own country –– that will need to make the boldest moves, or stand accountable before history for their failure to act. Both countries should stop using the other’s behavior as an excuse for stalemate and instead develop an agenda for mutual survival in a shared global environment.

... The future is knocking at our door right now. Make no mistake, the next generation will ask us one of two questions. Either they will ask: “What were you thinking; why didn’t you act?” Or they will ask instead: “How did you find the moral courage to rise and successfully resolve a crisis that so many said was impossible to solve?”

We have everything we need to get started, save perhaps political will, but political will is a renewable resource. So let us renew it, and say together: “We have a purpose. We are many. For this purpose we will rise, and we will act.”

NM-Sen: Real Clear Politics Ranks Race #2 in Nation

The 2008 Senate race in New Mexico moved into the number two ranking at "The Exchange" created by the respected national website Real Clear Politics. The races are ranked based on the order in which they think they're most likely to change hands -- that is, the number one race is the seat most likely to switch from one party's control to the other.

2. New Mexico (R-Open): If Republicans can get bad news about New Mexico, bet that they will. When Sen. Pete Domenici announced his retirement, moderate Albuquerque Rep. Heather Wilson looked like a great candidate to retain the seat for the GOP. Then, dominoes started falling: Conservative Rep. Steve Pearce joined Wilson in the GOP primary. Rep. Tom Udall, a popular Democrat who will be well-funded, reconsidered his earlier decision not to run and jumped into the race, giving the party their strongest candidate to take the seat. But Udall's path wasn't entirely clear: He faced Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez in the primary. Until, that is, Chavez dropped his bid, giving Udall a clear shot. News can't get any worse for Republicans in New Mexico. But if it can, it probably will.

I just can't wait till the gloves come off in the Repub primary between Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce, can you? Should expose the powerful rifts within the local GOP structure and bring out all kinds of damaging things about both candidates.

NM-Sen: Why Did Marty Chavez Quit the Race? Door Still Ajar for NM-01 Run?

The abrupt departure of Mayor Martin Chavez from the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico on Friday is naturally spawning many theories about the reasons behind the move. Many have pointed to possible pressure to throw in the towel from heavyweights like Sen. Chuck Schumer, who heads the DSCC, and other powerful Dems who made it known they don't think Marty has what it takes to win a Senate race.

In a Sunday Albuquerque Journal article, Marty's campaign manager, Mark Fleisher, claims the decision to withdraw from the race was based on internal polling results, received Monday, that provided a dismal picture of Chavez's chances:

Disappointing results from an internal poll -- and not closed-door arm twisting from Democratic power brokers in Washington -- came during the run-up to Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez's surprise decision to quit the 2008 U.S. Senate race, his top campaign staffer said Saturday.

... Fleisher said he and Chavez began discussing a possible exit from the race last Monday when the Chavez camp got early results from an internal poll that "wasn't very favorable." He declined to provide specific poll numbers.

Who knows if what Fleisher is saying is true? As late as last Thursday the campaign sent out a fundraising email with another chance for folks to sign their petition to "Save New Mexico's Labs." This despite Fleisher's claim in the Journal article that "Chavez decided to quit the race Thursday and phoned Udall ... on Friday afternoon to inform him."

There are also rumors circulating that Marty's campaign fundraising was in the pits, perhaps because big donors were being discouraged from supporting Chavez by Dem leaders. Or maybe just because support for Chavez among Democrats seems to be at an all-time low, given his habit of backing Repubs and their views on issues important to Party members. And, our course, the support for Tom Udall for Senate inside and outside New Mexico is wide-spread and passionate.

Door Still Open to Chavez Congressional Run?
Although it has repeatedly been reported that Chavez has no interest in switching gears to run for Congress in NM-01, Fleisher seemed to leave the door slightly open to that possibility in his comments to the Journal:

Campaign manager Mark Fleisher added Chavez does not currently plan to jump into the race for the Albuquerque-based 1st Congressional District seat, which is also open. But Fleisher said he has been "surprised" by a large number of calls from backers urging Chavez to switch gears and enter the U.S. House race.

"We had absolutely no discussion about it -- so no, I don't think he's going to do it," Fleisher said in a Journal interview when asked about a possible House run by Chavez. "We'll see what the future brings.... But I don't think that's his intent."

Do You Hear What I Hear?
Remember all the "Run, Tom, Run!" cheers aimed at convincing Udall to enter the Senate race? Now that Udall is in and Marty is out, the calls have changed to "No, Marty, No!" in terms of Chavez entering the NM-01 primary contest. Let's hope that's what Marty keeps hearing above the rumble of his backers to run for Congress.

Former Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich has been active in the NM-01 race since this past April, and has raised a considerable amount of cash and wide-ranging support. His campaign reports more than 1,400 supporters, 93% of them New Mexicans, have contributed so far. Democrats seem to be coalescing in large numbers around his candidacy. And there's already an active primary contest going on, with firecracker Michelle Lujan Grisham, pro-impeachment candidate Jason Call and attorney Jon Adams in the race in the underdog category. Do we really need another candidate to compete for the 20% of the vote needed to get on the ballot at this Spring's Dem preprimary convention?

Remember, Chavez has never gotten even 50% of the vote in his nonpartisan mayoral runs. With little support from the progressive wing, and recent controversies swirling over issues like his red light camera program and Tax Increment Financing for "green field" developments like those of Sun Cal, the chances of Marty being victorious in a Democratic Congressional race primary in the Albuquerque area seem slim indeed.

I guess we'll have to wait a bit to get a definitive, first-hand answer on what's next for Chavez. Mayoral spokeswoman Deborah James told the Journal that Marty "would discuss his plans in coming weeks." Sounds like that rules out a press conference appearance anytime soon by Chavez to explain in person why he left the race and what he sees as his viable political options.

To read our previous coverage of the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, go here. Our post archive for coverage of the NM-01 Congressional race can be accessed here.

Christmas in Fallujah

and Cass DillonAnd So This is Xmas, 2007War is Still Over If You Want It

Net proceeds generated from downloads of "Christmas in Fallujah" will be donated to Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit that builds specially adapted homes for severely disabled veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

27 Years: Still a Dreamer

John Winston Ono Lennon
October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980BBC PhotosOfficial Site
Wikipedia

How many times have we started over for peace ....

Yoko Ono's message today (with art download). My posts from December 8, 2006 and December 8, 2005.

NM-Sen: Udall Statement on Chavez Departure

Congressman Honored by Mayor's Support
Today, Congressman Tom Udall, D-N.M., issued the following statement on Mayor Martin Chavez's departure from the Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate:

"I am honored by Mayor Martin Chavez's support and very much appreciate his decision to unite and move forward together to ensure New Mexico sends a Democrat to the United States Senate next November. I know I speak for all Democrats in thanking him for his commitment to ending the ill-conceived war in Iraq, expanding access to health care, improving our schools and turning around our struggling economy. I look forward to working with him in the future as we make progress on these and other shared values."

Tom Udall, a candidate for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, is a former prosecutor and two-term Attorney General who is currently serving his fifth term in the House of Representatives. During his career of public service, Udall has earned a reputation as a thoughtful, principled and effective legislator. He is known for reaching across party lines to find common ground on issues of importance, voting his conscience and getting things done for his constituents. Udall is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Editor's Note: Rep. Udall is in Iowa this weekend campaigning for Gov. Bill Richardson's presidential campaign. To see our previous coverage of the 2008 U.S. Senate race, visit our archive.