Democracy for New Mexico

NM-03: Luján Town Halls in Cuba & Rio Rancho Sunday

From Luján for Congress:
Public Regulation Commissioner and candidate for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District Ben R. Luján invites Sandoval County and Rio Rancho residents to two town halls on Sunday. The town halls are part of Ben's Standing Up for New Mexico Tour. Ben will visit every county in the 3rd Congressional District at least once before the June 3 Democratic primary to speak with voters and discuss New Mexico's most pressing issues.

• The first town hall will be held at the Cuba City Hall at 1:00 PM, Sunday, April 27.
• The second town hall will be held at the Flying Star restaurant, 10700 Corrales Road, Rio Rancho, NM at 5:00 PM, Sunday, April 27.

Technorati Tags:Ben R. Lujan, Sandoval County, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, NM-03, Democrats, primaries

Domenici Admonished by Senate Ethics Committee for Calling Iglesias; More Serious Probes Continue

Amazingly, the overwhelmingly toothless U.S. Senate Ethics Committee deigned to administer a mild rebuke to Sen. Pete Domenici for the "appearance of impropriety” in connection with his call to former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias demanding information about the timing of pending corruption indictments. The Ethics Committee has been mostly comatose for a number of years, reportedly due to an informal, mutual agreement between Dems and Repubs to refrain from taking any meaningful action on ethics complaints against Senators of one another's parties. Foxes guarding the henhouse and all that. One hand washes the other.

The Ethics Committee issued a three-page letter yesterday "admonishing" Domenici but claiming there was no "substantial evidence" of purposeful wrongdoing on his part and recommending no punishment for the infraction. As reported by the ,

The committee finds no substantial evidence to determine that you attempted to improperly influence an ongoing investigation," the committee letter said.

"The committee does find that you should have known that a federal prosecutor receiving such a telephone call, coupled with an approaching election which may have turned on or been influenced by the prosecutor's actions ... created an appearance of impropriety that reflected unfavorably on the Senate."

Domenici and Iglesias Respond
Naturally, the Domenici camp is spinning that the letter clears Pete, while Iglesias says the Committee's action bolsters his claim that Domenici was trying to influence the outcome of the November 2006 NM-01 Congressional election between Repub incumbent Rep. Heather Wilson and Dem challenger Patricia Madrid. Domenici responded to the letter in a prepared statement, saying,

"I am gratified the Senate ethics committee has concluded its inquiry favorably without a formal adjudicatory review, confirming what I have always maintained: I did not attempt to improperly influence an ongoing investigation when I telephoned the former United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico.

"Nevertheless, as I said publicly last March when this complaint was originally filed, I regret the distraction this controversy has caused my colleagues, my staff, my family and, most importantly, my constituents. Now that this matter has concluded favorably, I am anxious to focus all of my time and attention on the business of the people of New Mexico."

So, Domenici is sorry only for the "distraction" he caused, not for the pressuring phone call itself. He refuses to acknowledge that what he did was just plain wrong. Ironic that Repubs are always droning on about "personal accountability," but never seem to believe the concept should apply to their own actions. Do as I say, not as I do. Domenici also failed to apologize for lying to the media by claiming he knew nothing about any call by him to Iglesias when the story first broke.

Iglesias, who will be making an appearance at Page One in Albuquerque next month to discuss his new book about the U.S. Attorney firing scandal, interpreted the letter as publicly admonishing Domenici for "improper activity" and said:

"I trust this will serve as a warning to other members of Congress that contacting United States attorneys in this manner is impermissible and unacceptable behavior.

"This official reprimand to a senior senator who knew better has revived my confidence in the rule of law and the sanctity of a prosecutor's independence."

CREW Criticizes Ethics Committee
The nonpartisan group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which filed a complaint against Domenici with the Senate Ethics Committee on March 7, 2007, had this to say about the panel's action:

The Senate Ethics Committee turned in its usual lackluster performance with its “qualified admonition” of Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) ... Adding insult to injury, the committee actually commended Sen. Domenici on his candor despite the fact that when Mr. Iglesias first revealed Sen. Domenici’s actions, the senator adamantly denied ever making the call, telling The Washington Post, “I have no idea what he’s talking about.”

CREW’s executive director Melanie Sloan stated, “The ethics committee may have been unable to wholeheartedly condemn Senator Domenici’s conduct, but we have no such compunction.” Sloan continued, “The committee’s effort to minimize its reprimand of Senator Domenici itself reflects poorly on the Senate. Little is more destructive to our democracy than an attempt to use political power to influence a criminal investigation and it should be distressing to all Americans that the Senate Ethics Committee does not appear to share that view.”

Domenici called Iglesias at home one evening in October of 2006 and asked him when the pending indictments would be issued. When Domenici didn't receive assurances from Iglesias that the indictments would be filed before the November election, he said he was "sorry to hear that" and hung up abruptly on Iglesias. Iglesias was fired about a month after the call, and he became one of the major players in a U.S. Senate probe into the firing of eight U.S. Attorney's across the country for what many claim were political reasons. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales eventually resigned in connection with the scandal.

More Serious Probes Continue
According to The Hill, more serious and wide-ranging inquiries into the U.S. Attorney firing scandal continue:

The Ethics Committee’s review is hardly an end to the firings of the U.S. attorneys. Both chambers are pursuing contempt of Congress charges against White House officials for refusing to testify on the matter, and the Justice Department’s inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility have launched far-reaching probes. 

Several people close to that investigation told The Hill in January that the internal inquiry was looking at a wide-range of questions, including whether senior Justice officials lied to Congress, violated the criminal provisions in the Hatch Act, tampered with witnesses preparing to testify to Congress, obstructed justice, took improper political considerations into account during the hiring and firing of U.S. attorneys and created widespread problems in the department’s Civil Rights Division.

Rep. Heather Wilson also called Iglesias about the "sealed indictments" and that matter is still before the U.S. House Ethics Committee. I won't hold my breath waiting for any meaningful resolution of that case.

Technorati Tags:Pete Domenici, David Iglesias, Senate Ethics Committee, U.S. Attorney firings, New Mexico, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, CREW, Heather Wilson

Guest Blog: Bruce Barnaby for DNC Commiteeman

On Saturday, April 26, the Democratic Party of New Mexico's State Central Committee will be electing a DNC Committeeman and Committeewoman to represent NM Dems on the Democratic National Committee. The terms of those elected this Saturday will begin next year. Below is a guest blog by Dallas Timmons supporting the candidacy of Bruce Barnaby for DNC Committeeman. I want to personally second what Dallas has to say. I believe Bruce would work tirelessly on our behalf, as he has for years within the State and County Party. No task is left undone and no problem remains unaddressed if Bruce is around.

I first met Mr. Barnaby (right) when he agreed to help our group of mostly inexperienced grassroots activists learn the sometimes complicated ins and outs of getting more involved in the Dem Party and running for office within the Party structure. Bruce has been instrumental in helping many ordinary people become actively involved in Party affairs. He's also helped to improve how the Party operates through his service on the Rules Committee, as well as on the SCC and as a precinct chair. Very important to me -- he's a strong supporter of Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy.

From SCC member Dallas Timmons:
I know many of you as friends and many others through the SCC. I am taking this opportunity to ask you to support Bruce Barnaby to be our next Democratic Party National Committee Man from New Mexico. I have worked with Bruce over the last three years in the SCC and at the Rules Committee, which he now chairs. He is committed to a strong Democratic Party and recognizes that the party faces many challenges over the next four years. His FLYER (doc) outlines some of these as well as his commitment to maintain active communication with all of us and to seek our inputs on solutions.

Meet Bruce
Bruce will have a hospitality suite this Friday, April 26, from 5-7:00 PM at the Barcelona Suites (where the SCC meeting will be held on Saturday). Please come by and meet Bruce and take the opportunity to find out what his ideas are for this position.

Thanks for your commitment to the party and please consider casting your vote for Bruce this Saturday at the SCC meeting.

Thank-you,
Dallas Timmons
Ward 11A Chair (Bernalillo County)
State Rules Committee member
SCC member

Technorati Tags:Bruce Barnaby, Democratic Party of New Mexico, Democratic National Committee, DNC, DNC Committeeman, Albuquerque, New Mexico

NM-01: Slew of New Heinrich Events

Part of the Heinrich family lines up for chow at recent house party event

The campaign of Martin Heinrich for Congress in NM-01 is picking up the pace as the June 3rd primary showdown nears. Besides participating in a number of candidate forums over the past few weeks (with more to come), Martin was busy last weekend shooting a TV ad with supporters. Heinrich's TV ad campaign will start soon. Martin will also be attending a series of campaign fundraisers through next month. If you'd like to meet Martin, ask him questions and hear more about his positions on the issues, RSVP for one of the house parties or other events listed here, or contact the campaign to organize your own event.

Next Up: Sunday Brunch
The next scheduled fundraiser is a Sunday brunch hosted by Pauline Núñez, Louis Kolker, Cara McCulloch, Diane Albert on April 27th at 11:00 AM. Click to check out a FLYER (doc) for more info.

Celebrate, Celebrate
Of special interest -- on Saturday, May 10th, at 2:00 PM, everyone's invited to celebrate the official grand opening of Heinrich's new campaign office at 131 Adams St. NE in Albuquerque. Hang out with Martin, his campaign staffers and fellow supporters. There'll be hamburgers and hotdogs, veggie options, drinks, live music, and games for the kids.

Martin with part of the crowd at a recent house party event

Donate for Chance to Lunch with Martin
Also, there's still time to earn a free lunch with Martin. All you have to do is make a campaign donation of at least $5 by Midnight on April 30 to have a chance. Click here to learn more or make a donation. You'll also find out how to improve your odds by creating your own Act Blue fundraising page for Martin's campaign and getting your friends, family and neighbors to contribute.

Money from the Many
The campaign's fundraising effort has been top-notch, raising a hefty total of $665,000 this election cycle. About $200,000 of that was donated during first quarter of 2008, and the campaign has almost $350,000 cash on hand -- demonstrating a wise use of funds. Martin has received donations from more than 2,000 individuals to date, showing strong grassroots support for his candidacy.

DFA-Democracy for New Mexico has officially endorsed Martin Heinrich for Congress. If you're reading this, please do what you can to support his campaign by volunteering for phone banking or other tasks, making a small donation or hosting a house party. Visit www.MartinHeinrich.com.

Technorati Tags:Martin Heinrich, NM-01, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Democrats, U.S. Congress, primaries

Taos Earns Fair Trade Town Designation

Good news from the Town of Taos. The Northern New Mexico community has earned the designation as a Fair Trade Town. In February 2008, Town councilors passed a resolution and enacted stringent guidelines to prepare for the coveted designation. Taos is the first Fair Trade Town in New Mexico, and the first in the Western United States. Now, which NM town or city will be next? There are already more than 300 communities in Europe recognized as Fair Trade Towns.

Fair Trade is a rigorous third party certification guaranteeing excellent products for consumers: goods produced in a sustainable fashion; safe and healthy working conditions; no slave, forced or child labor; the encouragement of long-term relationships between producers and buyers; and an internal structure for producers that allow decisions about profits to be made democratically.   

"We know the importance of Fair Trade and recognize our responsibility to help educate others, including art and culture tourists, about the importance of Fair Trade," said Town of Taos Mayor Bobby F. Duran. "We view buying fair and buying local as objectives that are not in competition but are complementary. For example, in Taos, customers can buy Fair Trade coffee through our local Taos Roasters -- either directly wholesale, or retail through our numerous coffee houses or grocery stores," continued Duran.

"Fair Trade is a market model that allows farmers and producers of goods a fair price for their products, and establishes economic sustainability and security for entire communities," said Chris Pieper, Chair of the new Town of Taos Fair Trade Steering Committee, and owner of the local Mudd & Flood Mountain Shop. 

"It is also a designation that means people are being treated better relative to buying non-Fair Trade items," said Steve Gloss, founder of Sustaining Cultures, a nonprofit educational organization in Taos focusing on cultural awareness.

"Now, we must actively educate our local consumers - and visitors - to change our purchasing habits by 'voting with our hands' when we reach for that pound of coffee, bananas, or bunch of flowers for Mother's Day," said Gloss who was the impetus for the town's resolution.

Fair Trade goods are increasingly available in Taos as more retail outlets and grocery stores are carrying Fair Trade lines. Products are easily identified with the TransFair seal (right).          

With adoption of the resolution, the Town of Taos joins only five other cities and towns in the United States who have become Fair Trade Towns. There are over 300 communities in Europe who have adopted these guidelines to become Fair Trade Towns.  Fair Trade Town U.S.A. status requires the qualifying community to have:

• Passed a resolution supporting fair trade.
• Offer a range of readily available fair trade products in the area's shops and local cafes
  and catering establishments.
• Numerous workplaces and community organizations that use fair trade products.
• Media coverage and popular support for the fair trade city campaign.
• A local fair trade steering committee to ensure continued commitment to fair
  trade city status.

For more information about locating Fair Trade products go to TransfairUSA.org and FairTradeFederation.org. For more information on meeting city certification guides visit FairTradeTownsUSA.org. To view the town's Fair Trade Resolution visit:  TaosGov.com.

For more information contact:
Sara Stender,
Fair Trade Towns USA,
(828) 658-1340 or (802) 356-0551
sara@fairtradetownsusa.org
or
Steve Gloss,
Taos Fair Trade Steering Committee
Sustaining Cultures
(505) 751-0959
sgloss@sustainingcultures.org

Technorati Tags:Taos, New Mexico, fair trade, Fair Trade Town

Richardson to Carville: Clintons "Clinging to the Throne"

Gov. Bill Richardson and an antagonistic James Carville traded barbs in a heated discussion on Larry King last night (video above and below the fold). They tangled about the results of the Pennsyvania primary, where the race now stands and what it's doing to the chances for a Dem presidential win.

Richardson was once again highly critical of the negative campaign tactics of Hillary Clinton, and accused the Clintons of "clinging to the throne" instead of facing the realities of the contest at this point in time. You know, we're America, not Monaco," said Richardson, adding, "We've had enough of [the Bush and Clinton] famlies running the country." Carville countered that Richardson's remarks were "idiocy."

Richardson also called into question the Clintons' push to go against the DNC rules that disqualified the primaries in Michigan and Florda -- rules that all the candidates long ago pledged to uphold. "You're changing the rules and this is what I'm saying about the Clinton campaign, they're changing the rules" said Richardson. "And they're basically saying about Obama that he can't win in November when he is obviously the strongest general election candidate winning battleground states and his message with independents, and now the presidency is slipping away and they'll do anything to keep it." Richardson termed the Clinton's attempt to use the Florida and Michigan results to claim they are ahead in the popular vote as "lunacy."

Just for fun, Carville also said the people on the New York Times editorial board "don't know anything about politics" in response to yesterday's editorial that came down hard on Clinton and its use of right-wing framing and tactics to bash Obama.

Carville accused the Obama campaign of "whining" and "namby-pambyism" and then proceeded to whine about the disqualified Florida and Michigan primaries and Obama's reluctance to add two more debates to the 20 that have already been held on the Dem side. The unasked question? Why would Obama want to debate a candidate who can no longer win the nomination via pledged delegates, the popular vote, states won, money raised or any other conventional measure?

The latest twist in the Clinton spin is that more people voted for Hillary than for Obama. The problem? It's blatantly untrue. To concoct their new brag, the Clinton camp eliminates the votes Obama received in the caucus states and adds in her totals from Michigan, where she was the only candidate on the ballot, and Florida, where it's been widely reported her surrogates campaigned for her despite the agreed-to disqualification of the race. Moreover, Clinton's campaign doesn't count any of the votes in those contests that didn't go to her in the totals for Obama.

It's obvious that all the Clintons have left is the weakest of arguments about results, and the hope that the Obama campaign implodes or they can tarnish him enough with Rove-style smears to claim he's "unelectable." Then they can push for the superdelegates to overturn the will of the people.

Richardson called for the winner to be determined after the June 3rd primaries -- based on the pledged delegate count, popular vote, total states won, battleground states won and success with independents. "The worst thing we can do is continue this negativity, this backbiting, these negative ads all the way till August," said Richardson. "The ending if fairly clear, that  Senator Clinton is gonna need 70% of all future delegate votes to even come close. That's not gonna happen," said Richardson.

You can see more of the discussion in the above videos. The first includes some footage from the video at the top of this post, and then continues beyond it. The second continues from there to the end of the discussion.

Technorati Tags:Bill Richardson, James Carville, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, Pennsylvania, primaries, Democrats, Larry King, New York Times

Women's Reception to Benefit Maggie Toulouse Oliver for Bernalillo County Clerk

Please Join ...
Diane Albert* Mimi Aledo *
Deanna Archuleta * Shannon Bacon* Heather Brewer *
Traci Cadigan * Anathea Chino * Claire Dudley *
Judith Espinosa * Karen Hopkins *
Linda Joyce * Candy Patterson * Laura Sanchez

For a Women’s Event to Help Keep
Maggie Toulouse Oliver
Bernalillo County Clerk
Wednesday, April 30
5:30—7:30 PM
St. Clair Winery and Bistro
901 Rio Grande Blvd. NW
See FLYER (pdf) for More Info

Technorati Tags:Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bernalillo County, Democrats, political events

Action Alert & Campaign Updates: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

From Ed Yoon, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund:
Starting today, I greatly look forward to communicating with you about our campaign periodically to share with you exciting updates and new and ongoing action opportunities. As we grow in staff numbers, we will be expanding our campaign activities beyond the Albuquerque area, so please be patient and stay tuned if you would like to be part of our campaign efforts but do not see any activity nearby where you live. We will also look forward to getting ideas from you about campaign activities that you would like to see us organize. I thank you in advance for your support of our campaign’s work.  Together, we will win in November.

1. SATURDAY, MAY 3RD: VOLUNTEER CANVASS AND LUNCH: Our volunteer canvass starts on Saturday, May 3rd and recurs every Saturday thereafter.  We will provide free sandwiches and snacks and water bottles to make sure you’re fed and energized, and we will have all the materials ready for you, so you just have to RSVP and show up!  You will also get to meet some of our new staff members.

Please join us at our temporary campaign office located at: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, 824 Gold Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102

Please RSVP so that we know how many walk packets and food to prepare.  You can call or e-mail Brian McGann to RSVP at: (505) 248-0118 x 3; or BMcGann@DefendersActionFund.org. Starting June 1st when we move into our new spacious office, we will expand our volunteer canvass days and hours to any available Mondays through Saturdays.

2. CAMPAIGN UPDATES

Have you seen our “2 Bad for New Mexico” TV and radio ads? Some of you may have seen our recent TV ad or heard our radio ad on broadcast calling Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce for what they are: “Two Bad for New Mexico”.  If you haven’t, you can visit our campaign website www.2bad4nm.org to view and hear the ads.

Our campaign team is growing! Our campaign has recently hired a highly experienced Field Director, several Field Organizers, and an experienced Media Coordinator to start very soon in May and June as part of our first wave of staff expansion, with more on the way.

Canvassing starting May 1st through Election Day to help elect Tom Udall to the U.S. Senate. The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is starting our full-time canvass to persuade swing voters to support Tom Udall every Monday-Saturday from May 1st through Election Day.  We will also eventually endorse and work to help elect the pro-conservation candidate for President starting in the summer.

3. MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: Our campaign has recently been featured on several media outlets:

• Santa Fe New Mexican: April 9, 2008: Wildlife Group Targets NM Senate Race
• Associated Press, Las Cruces Sun News, KOAT-ABC7 TV and KVIA-ABC7 TV: April 10, 2008: Environmental group targets NM Republican Senate candidates
• Albuquerque Journal: April 10, 2008: Jeff Jones’ Reporter’s Notebook
• Environment & Energy News: April 15, 2008: Defenders of Wildlife Fires First Shot in NM Senate Race
• Blogs: Democracy for New Mexico, New Mexico FBIHOP, Steve Terrell's Web Log, and Daily Kos.

Thank you for your support, and together, let’s win this darn thing!

Ed Yoon
New Mexico Campaign Manager
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
www.2Bad4NM.org

See some of our previous posts on Defenders of Wildlife's activities in New Mexico here, here, and here.

Technorati Tags:Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tom Udall, NM-Sen, U.S. Senate, political action

Quote of the Day on PA Primary: McAuliffe Hearts Fox Noise

From the Philadelphia Daily News:

On Fox News Channel, the first of the three 24-hour news networks to call Pennsylvania for Clinton, the suspense lasted a full 45 minutes. At 8:45 p.m., with fewer than 1 percent of the votes in, Fox blew the whistle. ... "Fair and balanced Fox, you beat them all!" Clinton adviser Terry McAuliffe told Fox News' Major Garrett during an interview, to anchor Brit Hume's delight.

Add in Richard Scaife's hearty endorsement of Clinton and you've got a vast right-wing conspiracy -- on Hillary's behalf this time.

Thursday 4/24: Fundraiser to Re-Elect Sen. Linda Lopez

NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico  Rep. Gail Chasey
Terri Nikole Baca  Mario Benavidez  David Duhigg
Katy Duhigg  Michael Gritzbaugh  Larry Horan  Julie Koob
Margie Lockwood  Cassandra Malone Toni Martorelli
Brian Miller  Rosalyn Nguyen  Richard Romero

Invite you to a fundraiser for Senator Linda Lopez
Candidate for Re-Election in District 11
On: Thursday, April 24, 2008, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
At the home of Richard Romero and Margie Lockwood
907 Silver Ave. SW, 87102
More Info: Click for FLYER (doc)