Democracy for New Mexico

Blogwitness News: Flying Star Obama Meets with Albuquerque Working Women

Obama enters the Flying Star Commissary

See the rest of the photos from Obama's event at Flickr and my later post with video clips.
Also go read NM FBIHOP's excellent (as usual) on this, as well as Udall blogger Bryan Barash's coverage.

Living in New Mexico during the 2008 election cycle can be a rather surreal experience at times. Like earlier today when Mary Ellen and I found ourselves joining the print and TV media and other local bloggers at Barack Obama's small and intimate meeting with working women at the Flying Star Commissary in Albuquerque.

Obama at the podium

Michael Isikoff of Newsweek, Kate Nash of the Santa Fe New Mexican, Stuart Dyson of KOB-4 News, Doug Fernandez of KOAT-7 News and, well, us -- part of the local unpaid blog and photo brigade. Many members of the paid media looked very bored, by the way. Years of doing these kinds of events evidently take their toll. But we were psyched with our press credentials safety-pinned to our shirts, and operatives and Secret Service all around.

Minglilng

The Commissary is where they roast all those coffee beans and bake all those desserts for the however many Flying Stars that are now open in the metro area. We hung out first in an area to the side of the main room where big wooden pallets piled high with sacks of coffee beans from around the world were interspersed with tables of lesser media lights, busy with their cell phones and laptops.

Speaking to working women

Eventually, Mary Ellen and Matt from New Mexico FBIHOP made it all the way to the center of the press camera riser that looked right down at Obama standing at a podium. When he finally arrived, Obama was tightly ringed by a few rows of seats where ordinary women, who work in various lower income jobs at Flying Star, listened to his speech and got to ask him questions. I thought he came across as grounded, open, laid-back, down to earth, yet charismatic.

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and NM First Lady Barbara Richardson greet crowd

Obama was introduced by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, one of Hillary Clinton's most loyal backers. Our Governor's wife, Barbara Richardson, was also in attendence. We know her husband endorsed Obama but no word on who her favorite was during the primary season.

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish introduces Obama, next prez of the U.S.

The event was informal, serious and low key. No chants of "Yes We Can" or O-BA-MA. Barack gave a short and pointed speech (text and video), briefly tracing his younger days and discussing how the current troubled economy is particularly cruel on working women -- we're generally way behind the curve economically even in good times. He pledged to change this situation with initiatives ranging from strengthening the Small Business Association to lowering taxes, greatly expanding the Medical and Family Leave Act, indexing the minimum wage to the cost of living, offering more grants for college tuition and more.

Answering questions from the group

Then Obama took what he said were unscreened questions from the small group of women, abandoning the podium for a hand mic and moving among the participants.

Charms from his pocket

I thought the most interesting question asked why we should trust that Obama will stay true to himself if he wins the presidency. Barack explained we should first look at his life, and the constancy of his dedication to working to address the concerns of ordinary people. We should also consider the sacrifice he's making to be away from his family so much while running for office, and ask if it would be worth it to him if he didn't believe he could help bring real change.

Finally, Obama discussed how moving it is to realize how much people are investing their hopes in him. He reached into a pocket and dug out a big handful of good luck charms people have given him as he's traveled America -- tangible reminders of people's hopes for his campaign, for his leadership and for the chances we have for a positive future.

I'll be writing more about our experiences today, and hope to post some decent video clips later. In the meantime, check out this Flickr album to see more photos from today's event.

On the Scene: Udall peeps and Matt of NM FBIHOP (he's smiling!)

Matt Reichbach has more coverage at the NM Independent.

(Tip o' the hat to Steve Olson at the Udall campaign for the heads up on today's Obamarama.)

Click on photos for larger versions. All photos by M.E. Broderick.

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(Updated) Obama Invitation Only Event Monday in ABQ

UPDATE: The Obama campaign has publicly released info saying "Senator Obama will take a tour of a local business and have a discussion with working women" in Albuquerque tomorrow. The event is still by invitation only. They also released the location but stated it wasn't for publication. If you help me buy a new video cam for blogging use, I'll tell you where it is.*
**********
I'm not sure exactly what this means, but I bet I'm not on the invitation list. According to an email from Obama's campaign: United States Senator Barack Obama will return to New Mexico and Nevada next week as part of his “Change That Works for You” economic tour. Senator Obama will hold an event in the Albuquerque area on Monday, June 23rd and an event in Las Vegas on Tuesday, June 24th. Events are invitation only. More details will be announced as soon as they are available.

*Just kidding! But I might as well come out and say it: We really could use donations for a video device better than the digital still camera we're using for video, not to mention what it will cost to stay in Denver to cover the DNC Convention in August as New Mexico's rep on the State Blogger Corps. Click on the orange DONATE button on the upper left-hand side of the page. The blog email address is dfnm_albq AT comcast.net. Show us some love.

Unacceptable: Call Obama on FISA and Telecom Immunity

That didn't take long. Our presumptive nominee is already apparently reneging on a promise he made to the electorate. Back in October 2007, Bill Burton of Obama's campaign TPM Election Central that Obama would filibuster any FISA bill with retroactive immunity for telecoms. The exact words:

"To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."

Fast-forward to last Friday and Obama's statement about the so-called "compromise" FISA bill passed by the House. He's says he's still against immunity:

[The bill] does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses.

BUT, he also says he'll back the bill if retroactive immunity is still included:

It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives – and the liberty – of the American people.

Call the Obama Campaign
Don't like what he's saying? If this is the kind of double talk we're going to get from a President Obama, heaven help us. Let him know what you think by calling the Obama campaign and communicating in no uncertain terms why his position on this bill is unacceptable. MoveOn .

Demand That Obama Live Up to His Promises
Many other parts of the "compromise" FISA bill are bad enough, but the inclusion of retroactive immunity is incredibly craven and unprincipled. It's just one more example of the willingness of too many Dems to cave to corporate pressure and cower in fear that Repubs might call them "soft on terror." I guess they don't care if we call them unwilling to uphold their oaths of office that require them to preserve and protect the U.S. Constitution -- including the Fourth Amendment.

It's hard enough to stomach the DINOs who consistently vote with Repubs on issues like this. Now we're expected to work passionately for a presidential nominee who's already backsliding into Repub-lite territory and falling into line with the same old same old -- give up your civil liberties because it's too dangerous to preserve our constitution while there are terrorists out there. Hint: There've always been terrorists out there and there always will be.

You really should read Glenn Greenwald's careful and persuasive analysis of the "compromise" bill and why Obama should be strongly taken to task for his wobbly, too cute by half statement on it. His links lead you to must-reads too. Excerpt:

It is absolutely false that the only unconstitutional and destructive provision of this "compromise" bill is the telecom amnesty part. It's true that most people working to defeat the Cheney/Rockefeller bill viewed opposition to telecom amnesty as the most politically potent way to defeat the bill, but the bill's expansion of warrantless eavesdropping powers vested in the President, and its evisceration of safeguards against abuses of those powers, is at least as long-lasting and destructive as the telecom amnesty provisions. The bill legalizes many of the warrantless eavesdropping activities George Bush secretly and illegally ordered in 2001. Those warrantless eavesdropping powers violate core Fourth Amendment protections. And Barack Obama now supports all of it, and will vote it into law. Those are just facts.

... This bill doesn't legalize every part of Bush's illegal warrantless eavesdropping program but it takes a large step beyond FISA towards what Bush did. There was absolutely no reason to destroy the FISA framework, which is already an extraordinarily pro-Executive instrument that vests vast eavesdropping powers in the President, in order to empower the President to spy on large parts of our international communications with no warrants at all. This was all done by invoking the scary spectre of Terrorism -- "you must give up your privacy and constitutional rights to us if you want us to keep you safe" -- and it is Obama's willingness to embrace that rancid framework, the defining mindset of the Bush years, that is most deserving of intense criticism here.

I'm a big Obama fan and I think he has unique and much-needed talents that are head and shoulders above most of our recent presidential candidates. But I know we can't let him get away with this spineless position on dangerous, unconstitutional and unnecessary provisions we've all been fighting to stop since at least last summer. I think we have to stand strong now and let him know we won't stand for more hypocritical business as usual -- especially from a candidate who's running on turning the page on fearmongering and fakery.

Tom Udall, our Senate candidate, voted against the House "compromise" FISA bill. Should Obama be allowed to get away with refusing to do what's right? He's our presidential nominee -- he should be leading the fight against the FISA sellout, not capitulating to it.

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True Blue New Mexico: Win a Chance to Hike with Heinrich

Heinrich speaks at DFA Campaign Academy yesterday in ABQ

Martin Heinrich's NM-01 Congressional campaign is retooling now that primary season is over and attention gets refocused on defeating GOP nominee Darren White on November 4th. For one thing, the campaign office has moved to a new location at 4105 Silver SE in Albuquerque, just south of Central near the corner of Montclaire and Silver.

A new fundraising blitz is also underway. Martin needs us to help him replenish his campaign coffers after an intense (and expensive) primary contest. The goal is to raise $35,000 by the end of this month when the current FEC fundraising quarter ends -- and you can track progress at the their website's rapidly filling balloon. As an added incentive to donate, you'll be entered into a drawing for a chance to take a hike (literally) with Martin when you donate to his campaign via his website OR our True Blue New Mexico page. As Heinrich explains, everyone who donates before Midnight on June 30th will be entered in the drawing for the hike -- and Martin knows hiking:

As many of you know, I served as Executive Director of the Cottonwood Gulch Foundation for many years. In that capacity, I managed six figure budgets, oversaw scores of employees and provided outdoor educational experiences for hundreds of kids. I also gained a deep appreciation for New Mexico's outdoors.

Everyone that contributes online between now and the end of the quarter will be entered into a drawing to go hiking with me on one of my favorite trails in the district. So, please, contribute today and let's send a message to Darren White that cozying up to George Bush isn't the kind of leadership New Mexicans are looking for!

FILL THE BALLOON! CONTRIBUTE $25, $50, $100 OR MORE TODAY!

Let me be blunt. We spent a lot of money uniting the Democratic Party with a strong win on June 3rd. I need your help to refill our tank so that we can be ready to fight the George Bush-funded smears that we all know are coming.

By the way, both Robert Novak and Chris Cillizza predicted last week that Heinrich has an excellent chance for victory in November. Cillizza rates the race as #9 in his top picks for a change to Dem:

9. New Mexico's 1st (Open seat, R): As expected, Bernalillo County Sheriff (R) and former Albuquerque City Councilman Martin Heinrich (D) won their respective party primaries on June 3. White's chances were struck something of a blow, however, when Rep. Heather Wilson (R), who has held the 1st District since 1998, lost in the Senate primary. That means White won't have the advantage of Wilson driving turnout in her political base come the fall. Still, this is a race to watch as it features two quality candidates in a district that is as evenly split along partisan lines as any in the country. (Previous ranking: 10)

True Blue New Mexico was launched last Monday by this blog and New Mexico FBIHOP, and both of us featured personal messages by True Blue New Mexico candidates during the past week. Please give what you can to get the campaigns off to a rousing start now that the general election has kicked off in earnest.

I also wanted to give a shout-out to Avelino Maestas at Live From Silver City for designing our smashing True Blue New Mexico logo, and putting up with a slew of emails as we planned the launch. Thanks, Ave!

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Terry Riley: Help Publicize Dem Party Platform with Donation

This is a guest blog by Terry Riley and others listed below:
I have been working on the Resolutions and Platform Committee of the Democratic Party of New Mexico this year. If you have not seen the platform yet you should go to the state party website and read it here.

The platform is created by compiling the resolutions that have been submitted through the county central committees from around the state. People who submit resolutions work hard to explain their issues and the county and state resolution committees work hard to compile similar resolutions into meaningful planks for our platform. That work has been done for this election cycle and the result is our platform.

Very few people know what the Democratic Party of New Mexico represents. We need to change this. We need to share what we stand for so people can learn why they should join us and work with us. We can do this by distributing copies of our platform or listing key "hot points" from our platform to get people's attention. The Democratic Kicking Donkeys can be a tool to help make that happen. Last year we handed out flyers along the State Fair Parade route. These flyers consisted of four categories and had four or five topics under each category. The idea is to generate interest in the party.

I would like to ask for people to make a special donation to the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County to be used ONLY for this project. We should also consider the same thing for the Democratic Party of New Mexico. This way the state party could provide copies at events that are specific to the state and the county can provide copies for all events that we participate in.

I expect that we will need a couple thousand dollars to get enough flyers for this election cycle. People who are canvassing should have copies with them to offer to people who complain that they don't know what the Democratic Party stands for. We will be able to show them what the Democratic Party of New Mexico stands for. We can also show our legislators what we expect of them.

This is a very important project.  Please support the ideals of the people of the Democratic Party of New Mexico and the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County. Please help us to educate and stimulate the potential Democrats out there.

To donate for this project, send a check made out to the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County or the Democratic Party of New Mexico to 1301 San Pedro NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, and include a note that your contribution should be used for the platform flyer project.

Terry Riley
State Platform and Resolutions Committee Member
State Central Committee Member
County Central Committee Member
Ward 15A Vice-Chair

George Boersig
State Central Committee Member
County Central Committee Member
State Platform & Resolutions Committee Ad-hoc Member
Precinct 117 Chair
DPBC Outreach Committee Co-chair
DPBC Party Building Committee Co-chair

Robb Chavez
State Platform and Resolutions Committee
State Central Committee
Bernalillo County Central Committee
Precinct 123 Chair

Nancy Denker
Vice-chair precinct 244
County/State Resolutions and Platform Committee
County/State Central Committee

Betsy Barnett
DPNM Resolutions and Platform Committee
State Central Committee
Bernalillo County Central Committee

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True Blue New Mexico: Tom Udall on the Clear Choice We Have This Year

We're very pleased to feature a personal message from True Blue New Mexico candidate Tom Udall, our outstanding candidate for U.S. Senate. Tom took time away from his busy schedule in Washington to reach out to us this morning and talk about what's at stake in November.

During this past week, DFNM and New Mexico FBIHOP also published guest posts from fellow True Blue candidates Martin Heinrich, Harry Teague amd Ben Ray Lujan, which you can see here and here. Now we need some help from you. Please donate whatever you can afford to demonstrate real Democratic UNITY up and down the ticket in New Mexico this year. Rep. Tom Udall tells us why it's so important:

I’d really like to start off by saying thank you to both Democracy for New Mexico and New Mexico FBIHOP for hosting True Blue New Mexico 2.0! It is an honor to have the support of DFNM and NMFBIHOP. I know how hard you all work to bring new stories to light, support candidates, and hold those of us that are in office accountable – and I know that you’ll keep my feet to the fire throughout this campaign. New Mexico really benefits from your service, so keep it up!

I am running for the Senate because it really is extraordinary what’s happened over the last eight years. George Bush and Steve Pearce took a surplus and lost it. They took a strong military and exhausted it, they took an impartial Department of Justice and politicized it and finally took our reputation in the world and destroyed it. We’ve gone from being a beacon of hope to a defender of torture and pre-emptive war.

This choice that New Mexicans have in this election could not be more clear. We can continue the policies of a failed president and a Congress that was thrown out of office or we can return government to the proposition that it should pay its bills, abide by the constitution, strengthen the middle class, honor our veterans and respect the lives of our soldiers.

I’m running for the United States Senate because we have to do what’s right for New Mexico. 

That’s why I’ve worked with both Senators Bingaman and Domenici, along with Governor Richardson to keep Cannon Air Force Base open when it was threatened. It is why I am fighting to expand the mission of Los Alamos to create new jobs in counter-terrorism and alternative energy research.  It isn’t just the right thing to do for New Mexico, but the right thing to do for our country.

That’s the standard we have to live up to. As New Mexico’s Attorney General, I prosecuted corrupt public officials even though they were fellow Democrats. Big Special Interests went crazy when I wrote the law requiring utility companies to use more renewable energy, but it didn’t matter - because it was the right thing to do.

There’s a lot of work to be done to bring change and we can’t wait until November. I am fighting right now in Congress to do right by our veterans  - and I want to thank both New Mexico FBIHOP and Democracy for New Mexico for helping me to publicize our work on the New GI Bill. We need to stop the Big Oil profiteers from running up the price of gasoline, end this war in Iraq and start doing right by our troops. We need to reform No Child Left Behind and start helping our schools do better. We have to take responsibility for our planet and restore respect for one another in Washington.

We here in New Mexico are the inheritors of a great legacy. The Camino Real was the cultural and physical center of this great continent. We have a chance to lead this nation again – and with your help, alongside Martin, Harry, and Ben Ray , we will.

-Tom Udall

Please click here and give what you can to support our True Blue New Mexico candidates. If everyone reading this post would donate even a dollar per candidate, our totals would quickly add up -- and our candidates would have more of what they need to get out in front early, and stay there. You know what to do.

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Novak Pessimistic About GOP Chances in New Mexico

National political curmudgeon Robert Novak, a venomously right-wing Republican, presents a decidedly pessimistic picture for GOP candidates in federal races this year in New Mexico. He reports that Pearce has big odds to beat in the U.S. Senate race:

New Mexico: The retirement of Sen. Pete Domenici (R) because of degenerative brain disease looks likely to give another Senate seat to Democrats ... Udall has a huge cash advantage, stemming from his uncontested primary and an energized nationwide fundraising Democratic base. As of May 14, Udall had raised $3.2 million and had $2.9 million on hand. Pearce had raised $1.9 million, but he spent almost all of it on his competitive primary.

Udall is a well-known and well-liked politician who taps perfectly into the environmentalist zeitgeist of the state. His liberal base is large and energetic while Pearce's conservative base is much smaller. Bush hangs like a rain cloud over the GOP here, and McCain might not bring any coattails.

It's believable then when one New Mexico Republican tells us of a poll showing Udall up by 31 points.

Pearce will distance himself from the White House and work hard for Wilson's moderate backers, and Republicans will beat up Udall to knock him down a peg. Still, it's hard to see how Pearce wins without a major scandal that brings down Udall. Likely Democratic Takeover.

Novak is also downbeat about GOP chances to retain the U.S. House seats currently being held by Rep. Heather Wilson (NM-01) and Rep. Steve Pearce (NM-02):

Considering only the candidates, White has the edge [in NM-01], but the political landscape seriously favors Heinrich. Bush's name and the GOP brand are dirt in New Mexico. Tom Udall is likely to dominate the Senate race. In Albuquerque at least, Obama enthusiasm could drive up Democratic turnout, while luke-warmness about McCain could suppress GOP turnout. Domenici won't be able to help White, while Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D) could be on hand to boost all of the Democratic candidates.

Because we expect a strong Democratic tide, White's strengths look likely to be wiped out by a Democratic surge.
...
[NM-02] is the "Republican district" in New Mexico, but it could be represented by a Democrat next year. In 2004, Bush took 58 percent of this district, which covers the Southern half of the state, but the GOP might have nominated the wrong candidate [in Ed Tinsley].

Making things even worse for Darren White and Ed Tinsley, Martin Heinrich and Harry Teague will get lots of help from the Democratic Congressional Campagin Committee. Both of them were recently added to the DCC'Cs powerful Red to Blue program.

As for NM-03, Novak gives Ben Ray Lujan the nod, saying that "Republicans nominated contractor Dan East (R), who doesn't have much of a chance. Likely Democratic Retention."

Just more reasons we think there'll be a True Blue New Mexico come November, IF everyone chips in a few bucks right now to help make it happen.

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Prompting Discussion Today: Taos Conservation Area

Read John Arnold's excellent article No Slam Dunk at the New Mexico Independent. It presents competing versions of what went wrong with a proposal to legislate a national conservation area in the vicinity of Taos, how Jim O'Donnell of the Wilderness Alliance got blamed and fired for it and what role Sen. Jeff Bingaman and his staff played in the situation. If you're so inclined, join in the discussion in the comments section of that article. I did.

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True Blue New Mexico: Ben Ray Luján on Standing Up for New Mexico and the Change We Need

This is a guest post from True Blue New Mexico candidate Ben Ray Luján. We previously posted personal messages from fellow True Blue candidates Martin Heinrich and Harry Teague, which you can see here. Check back tomorrow for a post from Tom Udall, our candidate for U.S. Senate.

Thank you to Democracy for New Mexico and New Mexico FBIHOP for the opportunity to speak directly to New Mexico’s progressive community. Without a dedicated and active progressive community, we would not have the opportunity to elect strong Democrats to represent New Mexico in November. 

At New Mexico FBIHOP, I why the 3rd Congressional District race is important. Here I want to write about my priorities, and the change I’ll bring to Washington.

After eight years of the Bush Administration’s failed policies, we need to refocus our economy on the middle class, cover the uninsured, develop renewable energy and end the War in Iraq. This is the change New Mexico and the United States needs.

I have already fought for change as a Public Regulation Commissioner. When I arrived at the PRC, it was mired in scandal. Now, the PRC is a well-respected agency. It’s more consumer-friendly and there’s been a greater focus on renewable energy development. Under my leadership as Chairman, we closed loopholes that allowed health insurance companies to deny coverage, and we took on big corporations when they tried to take advantage of New Mexicans.

My experience fighting for change has prepared me to go to Washington and find real solutions for the people of New Mexico. I’ll work to expand renewable energy production, refocus the economy on the middle class, provide health care coverage for the uninsured and give our teachers the resources they need to educate our children, which starts with scraping by No Child Left Behind. I’ll also work to end the War in Iraq and take care of our veterans, ensuring they get the benefits they earned and deserved. I’ll put the people of my district first in every decision I make, and I'll always stand up for New Mexico.

We must elect strong Democrats to bring the right change to Washington. It’s up to you to make your voices heard early. Help me stand up for New Mexico. Now is the time for you to turn New Mexico and the country True Blue.

Thank you for your support.

Ben Ray Luján

Please click here and give what you can to support our True Blue New Mexico candidates. If everyone reading this post would donate even a dollar per candidate, our totals would quickly add up -- and our candidates would have more of what they need to get out in front early, and stay there. You know what to do.

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Richardson Announces 1300 Hewlett Packard Jobs Coming to Rio Rancho

Rah. Read all about it.