Democracy for New Mexico

NM-01: Martin Heinrich Endorsements Week, Day 3

The third in a series of six endorsement announcements to be made over six workdays by the Heinrich campaign: Today, the United Transportation Union (UTU) local, state and federal divisions officially endorsed Martin Heinrich's campaign for Congress. The UTU represents transportation workers in New Mexico such as railroad workers. Read more about the UTU endorsement, as well as the announcements made on days one and two of six about endorsements, at the Martin Heinrich blog. Three down, three to go ...

NM Senate District 17: Tim Keller Announces His Candidacy

From the Tim Keller Campaign:
This Sunday will mark the launch of Tim Keller's Democratic Primary campaign for State Senate, District 17, in Albuquerque's Southeast Heights:

Official Campaign Launch
Sunday, February 24, 2008, 2:00-4:00 PM
El Norteno Restaurant
6416 Zuni Road SE, Albuquerque

A native of Albuquerque, Tim will bring new and ethical leadership to Santa Fe.

"I am running for office because the needs of our district are substantial. As a state senator, I will fight for working families in our district. It's that basic. I will champion affordable and accessible healthcare, ethical government, better education, safer neighborhoods, and new jobs."

Hosting the event are local neighborhood and community leaders as well as elected officials. With his family and neighbors present, Tim will discuss how with the right leadership, meaningful legislation can be passed at the state level.

"Tim will fight for the interests of our community and neighborhoods. That's the sort change we need!," says Nancy Bearce, La Mesa Neighborhood Association, President of the District 6 Neighborhood Coalition.

Tim is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. After college, he co-founded a non-profit group that helps disadvantaged people in Cambodia. Today, Tim is a business planning consultant. He puts his progressive values and business skills to work volunteering for groups that foster economic opportunities in Albuquerque's Southeast Heights.

Tim Keller has earned the endorsement of Conservation Voters New Mexico.

State Senate District 17 incorporates Albuquerque's Southeast Heights and includes: Elder Homestead,  Fair West, La Mesa, Mirabella, Manzano Manor, Princess Jeanne, Singing Arrow, South Los Altos , South San Pedro Neighborhood, Southeast Heights Neighborhood, Towne Park, Trumbull Village,  Willow Wood neighborhoods. The seat is currently held by Shannon Robinson. 

Please go to www.TimKellerForNewMexico.com for more information.

Host Committee:
Nancy Bearce, Sandy Buffett, Janet Page Reeves, John Fitzpatrick, Charlie Bennet, Dely Alcantara, Steve Estrada, Dr. Javier Aceves, Enrique Cardiel, Shannon Bacon, Javier Benavidez, Teckkiam "Chhor" Chang, Rachel LaZar, Tomas Garduno,  Steven Whitman, Leanne Leith, Cristy J. Carbon-Gaul and Albuquerque City Council Vice President Debbie O'Malley

Udall Offices Seek Summer Interns

From the Office of Rep. Tom Udall:
U.S. Representative Tom Udall, D-NM, welcomes interested college students to apply for the summer internship programs in his Capitol Hill and NM district offices. Each year, selected students gain a unique perspective of the U.S. House of Representatives while working in Udall’s Capitol Hill office. Additionally, Rep. Udall offers internships in his district offices.

“Participating in my internship program provides valuable insight into the legislative branch of government,” Udall said continuing, “I am proud to say that many former interns have built on their experience in my office to complete their education and lead successful careers.”

To apply for an internship, candidates must send a cover letter and resume to: Adam.Fullerton@mail.house.gov or fax the materials to 202-226-1331 by March 16, 2008. Applicants should indicate the city in which they prefer to intern. Interviews and selections will take place during the second half of March and notifications made by April 1, 2008. For more information, please visit Udall’s website at https://www.tomudall.house.gov.

Udall is a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He is also a member of the Democratic Education Task Force.

NM House District 47: Brian Egolf Campaign Events

From Brian Egolf for State Representative, House District 47 in Santa Fe: With just a few weeks to go before candidate filing day, I'm asking you to help me get onto the ballot. Over the next several weekends, the campaign has organized a series of canvasses that will go door-to-door in my district to collect voters' signatures on my nominating petition. This is the only way I can get on the ballot for the June 3 primary, and I hope you can give some time to the campaign by volunteering today to help.

The canvasses will be February 23, March 1, March 8, and March 16. All four will start at 1:00 PM at my office (208 Griffin Street) in downtown Santa Fe. You can find all the information and RSVP by clicking . Please take a minute to volunteer today -- your help will make a huge difference to the campaign.

One final request: during this brief period between the end of the legislative session and the anticipated beginning of the special legislative session, state law allows me to ask for campaign contributions. Would you please click HERE to make a secure online contribution today?  I have two announced opponents in my race, and I need your help to be able to run a strong campaign.

Thanks for your time.  I hope you can help with one of the canvases or with a contribution.  Please let me know if I can be of service to you.

To see our previous coverage of 2008 state legislative seat races in New Mexico, visit our archive.

Local Mainstream Media: Garbage In, Garbage Out

Awwwww. The "pundits" and "reporters" had to attend a press conference with NM Dem Party Chair Brian Colon and others when the final results of our caucus were announced last week. They're leaking complaints with the usual suspects that it was too long and held them up from their important duties, which often appear to entail a whole bunch of gossiping and groaning amongst themselves. Don't you feel sorry for them? They actually get paid to report on politics, while local and national bloggers struggle on as freebie public service outlets and writers for alternative outlets eek out a living.

I guess the insider word is that they've been devoting so much of their precious time to the caucus story that they're all tuckered out. They wanted the results immediately from a contest that was one of the closest in the nation to date. They wanted it yesterday despite a record turnout and more than 17,000 provisional ballots to qualify -- and a complex negotiation required to balance the demands of Party and the campaigns on qualification standards. With all the grunt work done by volunteers.

Not The Facts, Maam
Many local mainstream media outlets wrongly but continually compared New Mexico's Party-run caucus with contests in other states where the margins weren't even close. Sure, quick results are much easier when the time-consuming tasks of qualifying and counting provisional ballots aren't in the picture because they won't make much difference in the outcome.

Sadly, in many cases daily coverage of the story consisted almost entirely of complaints about delays and childish mockery of all those working to deal with a myriad of complexities. Guess what? The unofficial results of the regular paper ballots were pretty much ready the day after the election. Minor point, I know, when you're spinning for the opposite team or concentrating on creating "controversy." Much easier to mindlessly repeat words like "debacle" and "disaster" than to report the facts as they emerged. Or, better yet, to use the situation as an opportunity to educate the public on the finer points of voting, vote counting and the strengths and weaknesses of today's election processes.

Old fashioned, I know, yearning for the days when The Press was viewed as a powerful and important Fourth Estate, and journalists focused on providing clear, accurate and fair answers to Who? What? Where? How? Why?

Many of our local reporters obviously had no interest in pursuing rumors to their source, researching the source of problems with voter lists or compiling documented info on which caucus sites experienced problems -- and which ones didn't. Instead of following leads and pursuing facts, too many were all too content to make judgments based on heresay and tsk tsk about the "embarrassment" of it all. On any given day, the coverage in the Albuquerque Journal and on TV news shows seemed to have more in common with crime tabloids, Wonkette or COPS than anything to do with genuine journalism.

So many of the trad media writers have grown quite comfortable serving as stenographers for Republican and corporate interests. Those running TV "news" organizations seem more concerned with packing the screen with garish graphics and screeching sounds than thoughtful content. It pains them to have to listen to a Democratic point of view or anything more complex than red light camera laments. Their ears hurt. Their fingers cramp. They get all figgety and crabby.

Protectors of the Status Quo
Of course they've been assisted in this whine-fest by the usual online suspects who serve as loyal mouthpieces for "anonymous" sources like former State Party Chair John you-know-who and others who can't stand that it isn't them on the podium or in the SCC seats. Times like this are perfect for avengers to pile on, with the implicit message that they'd be doing so much better in handling everything. Well I guess that's true if you like sneeky opaqueness vs. transparency, sneering arrogance vs. openness and dissembling more than the facts. Accountability is a concept foreign to the status-quo bunch. The governor, the "tipsters," and the "Dem insiders" all spent most of their time since the caucus pointing fingers away from themselves -- a familiar M.O. regardless of the controversy.

The New Ambulance Chasers
What about accountability on the part of the local mainstream media? A major criticism about the Dem caucus has been that adequate information wasn't available to the public. Many people have reported that they didn't know where, how or when to vote, or didn't know they had to be registered Democrats to do so. Of course the Party could and should have done a better job of getting the word out, despite their pinched budget this time out. But do our newspapers and TV "news" outfits share any blame on this count?

Detailed, informative and nuanced coverage of local political and governmental news is almost nonexistent in our local mainstream media. Why bother when you can just point your cameras at the latest car crash or substitute photos of monster truck rallies for reporting? Do local media and news outlets have any civic or journalistic responsibilty to serve the public and provide educational and informative coverage about things like the political caucus?

I know for a fact that these outfits routinely receive news release after news release about such topics, but refuse to provide any decent coverage or to show up at press conferences unless there's a scandal involved. If it's something they can mock or distort into at least a pseudo-controversy, they're there. If it's something to edify the public, they're mostly missing in action. Certain types of lawyers are often labeled as no more than ambulance chasers, trying to make a profit off of misery and suffering. But I think today's most blatant ambulance chasers have to be some of our local reporters and news "editors."

Murder, mayhem and mockery rule their days -- all to pump up the bottom line and sell more ads. Even worse, they feel perfectly justified making fun of people who work on real problems in the real world.

Of course there are exceptions, but I have to say that the overall coverage of New Mexico's caucus was often inaccurate, lazy, repetitive and juvenile -- like the MSM reporting about many other aspects of politics and government. Our democracy suffers.

Given all the years we've had to endure the suffering inflicted by certain tabloid-addicted tribunes and their shallow, lead-balloon jokes, I think it's only fitting to give them a dose of their own medicine for a change, don't you?

NM-01: Martin Heinrich Endorsements Week, Day 2

The second in a series of six endorsement announcements to be released over six workdays by the Heinrich campaign: Today, the Iron Workers Local 495 officially endorsed Martin Heinrich's campaign for Congress in NM-01. Iron Workers are active in the First Congressional District and have contributed to scores of major construction projects in New Mexico. They are hard working, dedicated and skilled craftsman who build bridges, stadiums and structures all across America. See the announcement for day one of six on the endorsement of the Carpenters Local 1319. Two down, four to go ...

SFR: Repub Senate Candidates Seek to Define Post-Domenici Religion

Former State Sen. Tom Benavidez discusses his so far unsuccessful quest to get on the primary ballot to take on Repub candidates he calls "carpetbaggers."


Current NM-03 Rep. Steve Pearce views SCHIP as a socialized medicine plot and doesn't allow filming while he eats

I'm a fan of the political coverage being produced by the folks at the Santa Fe Reporter (SFR), so I'm pleased to see they've launched their own video channel on YouTube. It should come in handy as we edge ever closer to election day 2008. The videos above complement "Elephant Warfare," their cover story this week on the Republican contenders in the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico. The vids feature interviews conducted by David Alire Garcia, with camera work by Dave Maass. As Alire Garcia's story explains:

From Feb. 14-23, GOP county conventions all across the state will pick delegates to send to the March 15 state pre-primary nominating convention, the first skirmish of what is expected to be a money-soaked, hard-fought Senate primary between heavyweights Wilson and Pearce.

... On one level, this election is a struggle for the soul of the New Mexico's Republican Party in a post-Domenici religion.

Rep. Heather Wilson, who refused an interview with SFR, is now defining herself as a "common sense conservative" in contrast to Steve Pearce's to-the-right-of-Atila-the-Hun conservatism. One example of Pearce's distaste for (and ignorance about) the push for 21st century-style civil liberties:

"The pressure for same-sex marriage, the pressure for multiple partners,
polymorphism, that's a pressure that is actually going on legally right now," he says. "And then you got pressure from people saying, "˜I got a legitimate right to my pedophilia.'"

Say again?

"There will be no legal impediment to stop anything based on emotion once you get started, even pedophilia,"Pearce theorizes.

Should be a winner on the right-wing talk show circuit, no? The early positioning and framing being used by Pearce and Wilson in this race were on display Tuesday in their first debate in Alamogordo.

The  SFR story also touches on the political problems Wilson may continue to face related to her pressuring phone call to former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, which came to light during the U.S. Attorney firing scandal in Congress last year:

Some of Wilson's baggage includes her now-infamous phone call to New Mexico's former US Attorney, David Iglesias.

Iglesias testified before the House Ethics Committee last August as part of a preliminary investigation of the call Wilson placed to him inquiring about a public corruption case that targeted prominent Democrats.

"She was snooping around, she wanted me to give her privileged and confidential information that she had no business knowing," Iglesias says of Wilson. "She's clearly intelligent, she's been in office a number of years, she knows what honor means. I think she made a terrible choice and I think there needs to be consequences."

Wilson has previously defended her call to Iglesias as "entirely appropriate."

Iglesias believes Wilson's role in Attorneygate will come back to haunt her on the campaign trail.

"Part of Steve Pearce's stump speech is his three reasons why Heather Wilson is unelectable," Iglesias says. "And one of the reasons is her phone call to me."

The most recent polling available in race for U.S. Senate shows that current NM-03 Rep. Tom Udall, who'll be the Dem candidate, would beat both Pearce by 14 and Wilson by 15 points. Clearly, the NM GOP will have their hands full trying to stem the Dem momentum that's been apparent in the presidential primaries as it morphs down ticket to Senate and House races and beyond.

To help make a Dem tsunami a reality in New Mexico, visit Udall's campaign website and sign up as a supporter.

To see our previous coverage on the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, visit our archive.

Saturday: Special Dem SCC Meeting on Platform and Resolutions

The Democratic Party of New Mexico will hold a special meeting of its State Central Committee (SCC) on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at Smith-Brasher Hall at Central New Mexico Community College to consider resolutions recommended by its Platform & Resolutions Committee. Registration begins at 9:30 AM and the meeting will be called to order promptly at 11:00 AM.

SCC members will vote on Resolutions adopted at the County-level and recommended by the State Platform & Resolutions Committee. Any Democrat interested in discussing proposed Resolutions that will inform the 2008 Democratic Platform should be in attendance. The 2008 Party Platform will be up for consideration at the March 15th Pre-Primary Convention, and discussion on resolutions is an important preliminary step in forming the Platform.

Click for more information. Click to download a copy of the resolutions to be acted upon Saturday.

NM-01: Heinrich to Reveal an Endorsement a Day

Martin Heinrich's campaign announced yesterday it will roll out a new endorsement each day from unions and organizations that have recently announced their support for his NM-01 Congressional campaign. A total of xix endorsements will be announced on Heinrich's blog -- one per workday -- through next Tuesday.

To kick off endorsements week, the campaign announced that Carpenters Local 1319 has officially endorsed Martin Heinrich for Congress. According to Carpenters Local 1319 Special Representative David Barber, "Martin Heinrich understands the needs of working families. He's an honest leader that we can trust to stand up to the special interests and put New Mexico's working families first."

Throughout endorsements week, supporters of Heinrich's campaign are being asked to stand with the organizations and unions by making a contribution. As the campaign explains, "Small investments from thousands of hard working people are crucial to the success of our campaign for change and they will help to keep our momentum moving forward!" Click to make a donation and keep Martin's momentum going.

The Carpenters are the fourth major union to endorse Martin's campaign -- with more to come this week. Two New Mexico pueblos and 15 elected officials from the First District have also endorsed Martin's campaign for change.

Click for a full list of endorsements of Martin Heinrich. Remember to visit the Heinrich blog every workday between now and next Tuesday to learn the identities of the other organizations and unions that are uniting for change and supporting Heinrich for Congress in NM-01.

To see our previous coverage of the 2008 Congressional race in NM-01, visit our archive.

(Updated) Dem Prez Race: Wisconsin Primary, Hawaii Caucus

UPDATE 2/20/08: Wipeout. Not even close. Obama overwhelmed Clinton in Wisconsin 58.1% to 40.7% and in Hawaii 75.7% to 23.6%. Obama has now won in 10 straight states. According to analysts, Clinton would have to win the remaining states by something like a 60% to 40% margin to catch Obama in the pledged delegate count. In recent polling, Obama has pulled even with Clinton in Texas, and he's gaining ground in Ohio with Clinton's lead being cut in half over the past week there. The next contests will occur on March 4th in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island.

In Wisconsin, Obama's victory spanned the state and many demographic categories. Even in categories where Clinton has been winning, Obama made major inroads. Clinton did win 60-39% among those aged 65 and older but among white women, Clinton hung on by only a 51-49% margin. Among voters with only a high school education, Clinton won 52-44%. Clinton won among Catholics, but only by 51-49%. After Obama's projected victory was announced last night, Clinton gave a speech in Youngstown, Ohio and did not say a word about the Wisconsin primary or congratulate Obama on his win.

As in previous primaries and caucuses, the Democratic turnout more than doubled that of Republicans. The total Democratic vote in Wisconsin was 1,110,702 versus 409,078 for Republicans.
**********
It's arctic, windy and icy in many areas of Wisconsin today, but the weather is clear and the primary goes on. These folks are used to biting cold. Recent polling shows Obama and Clinton in a statistical tie. The polls close at 7:00 PM MST, and 74 pledged delegates are at stake. CNN results.

Not surprisingly, it's balmy and beautiful for today's Hawaii caucuses. No polling is available, but Obama is favored because he does so well in caucuses and his half-sister, Honolulu school teacher Maya Soetoro-Ng, is campaigning for him. Obama was born in Hawaii and spent most of his years through age 18 there. There are 20 pledged delegates up for grabs. CNN results aren't expected until around Midnight New Mexico time.