Democracy for New Mexico

Obama Launches First General Election Ad in New Mexico, 17 Other States

The ad, called "Country I Love," will start airing tomorrow in Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia -- all considered battleground states this year. And yes, Obama's campaign apparently views Alaska as competitive.

The ad covers Obama's unique rise from child of a single mom to presidential candidate and stresses his love of America and American values. I think it serves as a strong rebuttal to attempts by the GOP to smear him as unpatriotic and out of the mainstream.

To see how Obama's doing, check out Chris Bowers' post on Open Left based on polling analysis that forecasts Obama with 272 Electoral College votes to McCain's 218, with 48 a toss-up at this point. And recent polling by Quinnipiac has Obama ahead in three important battleground states:

Obama is also doing well in two other tightly contested states, although Michigan may be tougher than anticipated for Barack. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal:

Recent statewide polls in Virginia and Wisconsin also offer good signs for Sen. Obama. Public Policy Polling results for Virginia showed the state split nearly evenly, with Sen. Obama carrying 47% of voters to Sen. McCain's 45%. A close race in Virginia is good news for Sen. Obama because the state hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. Sen. Obama made Virginia his first stop after Sen. Clinton conceded the nomination.

In Wisconsin, a SurveyUSA poll gave Sen. Obama a 52%-43% lead, although Sen. McCain was again slightly ahead among men.

The one significant red flag for Sen. Obama in recent state polling comes from Michigan. There, a Rasmussen survey taken last week showed Sen. Obama leading by just 45% to 42%, a tight race for a state plagued by a downtrodden economy that many thought would benefit Democrats this year. Other recent polls have shown Sen. McCain leading.

Here's the text transcript of Obama's new ad:

SCRIPT – "Country I Love"

OBAMA: I'm Barack Obama. 

America is a country of strong families and strong values.  My life's been blessed by both.

I was raised by a single mom and my grandparents. We didn't have much money, but they taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland where they grew up.  Accountability and self-reliance.  Love of country.  Working hard without making excuses. Treating your neighbor as you'd like to be treated.  It's what guided me as I worked my way up – taking jobs and loans to make it through college.

It's what led me to pass up Wall Street jobs and go to Chicago instead, helping neighborhoods devastated when steel plants closed.

That's why I passed laws moving people from welfare to work, cut taxes for working families and extended health care for wounded troops who'd been neglected.

I approved this message because I'll never forget those values, and if I have the honor of taking the oath of office as President, it will be with a deep and abiding faith in the country I love.

Barack Obama is a True Blue New Mexico candidate. Please give what you can. Every dollar helps.

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Four Democratic Governors in One Room

From Brian S. Colón, Chair, Democratic Party of New Mexico:
It is a great year for Democrats as we come together after an exhilarating primary season that registered more voters, trained more volunteers and activated more individuals to become involved with the Democratic Party than ever before.

On June 24th, the Democratic Party of New Mexico will host an historic event as we bring together four Democratic Governors for the first time. We will honor Governors Bill Richardson, Bruce King, Toney Anaya and Jerry Apodaca for their service to New Mexico. This is the first time Democrats have been able to thank all four Governors in one evening.

Please join us at the Democratic Party of New Mexico's Democratic Governors' Unity Reception and be a part of history.

Where: Sandia Resort and Casino
When: Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Time: 5:30-7:00 PM
Get your E-Ticket
Click for Invitation (doc)

I hope you will be able to support the party and attend this historic event.

P.S. I know you don't want to miss this exciting event, but if you can't make it, please consider contributing to the party to help us prepare for the Republican smear campaign ahead.

Democratic Governors'
UNITY Reception

Sponsored By
Coast Range Investments, Mr. David Buchholtz,
Angela & Nestor Romero, Drew Setter & Associates, 
Hon. Hector H. Balderas, Peterson Properties,
Committee to Elect Brian Egolf, NM Federation of Labor,
AFSCME, Robles, Rael & Anaya, P.C.

We will honor four Democratic Governors
BILL RICHARDSON, BRUCE KING,
TONEY ANAYA AND JERRY APODACA 

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sandia Resort and Casino 
  Council Levels - Hummingbird B
5:00 - 6:00
General Ticket - Salon D
5:30 - 7:00 PM

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NM-01: Physicians Host Fundraiser for Heinrich

An Evening for Physicians
with Martin Heinrich,
Democratic Candidate for Congress

Saturday, June 28
723-B Silver, SW
(Beneath Downtown Flying Star Cafe, corner 8th & Silver)

5:00 – Drinks and Hors d'oevres
5:30-6:30 – A dialogue with Martin Heinrich about health care
Family and friends welcome. 

Martin Heinrich would like to hear from us about health care reform needs. Here's our opportunity to make our views known, and to support a congressional candidate who believes in universal health care.

Hosted By:  Dora Wang, M.D., Jon Abrams, M.D., Michael Bogenschutz, M.D., Ellen Cosgrove, M.D., Eve Espey, M.D., Jeffrey Fahl, M.D., Steve Jenkusky, M.D., Kevin Rexroad, M.D., Mark Ricciardi, M.D., Helene Silverblatt, M.D., Mark Unverzagt, M.D., Gerardo Villarreal, M.D.

RSVP useful but not required to:  DoraLWang@aol.com
Contributions will go toward Martin Heinrich's campaign for congress.
Any amount helps, even $5, $25, or $100.   
$2,300 maximum allowable contribution.

Approved by Martin Heinrich for Congress, Inc., Treasurer, David Duhigg.

Martin Heinrich is a True Blue New Mexico candidate. Please give what you can to support his campaign.

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True Blue New Mexico: Harry Teague on Why We Will Win

This is a guest post from True Blue New Mexico candidate Harry Teague. Yesterday, Martin Heinrich guest blogged here and at New Mexico FBIHOP, and tomorrow we'll have Ben Ray Lujan.

This year, we have a chance to bring real change and results to the working families of Southern New Mexico. Despite a high profile Republican Senate race and many competitive local GOP races, more democrats turned out to vote than did Republicans in the June 3rd Primary in the New Mexico 2nd District.  I received over 70% more votes than Ed Tinsley, with 20,206 votes to Tinsley's 11,469.  We demonstrated our ability to compete across the district, carrying 15 of 18 counties, including the traditional Republican strongholds of Eddy, Chavez, and Lea Counties, where we received between 55%-85% of the vote.   

I also received strong financial support, raising and spending over $1.2 million, more money than any other Democrat in a 2nd Congressional District primary and general election combined. Our campaign has been upgraded from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican" by the Cook Political Report, and today, we were added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's exclusive "Red to Blue" program.

The momentum is on our side, but I can't do it without you.

I want to bring our brave men and women home from Iraq. I want to use that $3 billion a week here at home, on healthcare, alternative energy, and education. And I want to change Washington and get results for working families.

But I need your help to do that.

Sign up for our e-mail updates, volunteer a few hours of your time, or consider donating just a few dollars to my campaign. Your help will make the difference this November.

Thanks for everything you do, and I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.

-Harry Teague
Campaign Website: https://harryteagueforcongress08.com/

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NM-Sen: Pearce Campaign Can't Identify Tom Udall

For the record that's NM's Tom Udall (left) and CO's Mark Udall (right)

Yes, this is some of the weirdest news I've encountered on a long day filled with weird reports about GOP lies, flip-flops and negative campaign predictions. With each passing day, the GOP and its candidates seem to be sliding closer to the edge of confused disaster, and it's not even July.

You couldn't make this up if you tried. Seems that the Pearce for Senate campaign sent out a press release criticizing Rep. Tom Udall, the Dem candidate for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, for offering an amendment on preventing oil shale leases. The only problem is that it was actually MARK Udall's amendment. Mark is Toms' cousin and he's running for U.S. Senate in Colorado. Quite a spectacular error on the part of the Pearce campaign. Then again, we're getting used to Pearce et al. having a little trouble absorbing and communicating facts.

You really must read the Pearce press release -- and don't miss the Tom Udall campaign's three word response -- over at the TU blog.

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(Updated) Jim O'Donnell Guest Blog: The Right-Wing Offshore Drilling Scam

Update: Also see New Mexico FBIHOP's post that expands on this post by discussing this issue in terms of the views being expressed by New Mexico's Congressional delegation.
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We're very pleased to have another insightful guest blog from Jim O'Donnell, author and former coordinator of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal in northern New Mexico:

Over the past eight years, the number of drilling permits issued for development of public lands increased by more than 361%. Have you seen your gasoline costs drop? How about your electricity costs? Propane? Natural gas? Uh ... no.

Don’t be fooled, amigos. All this talk about offshore oil drilling and the price of gas and the pump is a bunch of horse manure. In fact, the Republican Party is colluding with the oil and gas industry to drive up the price of energy.

This is criminal.

The oil and gas industry, buoyed by their Right-Wing minions are on a coordinated and well-thought out mission to end the twenty-six year old moratorium on off-shore oil and gas drilling. The goal?  Increase corporate profit at your expense.

First of all, there is no “ban” on drilling. In reality, there is a moratorium on drilling in certain coastal areas. Other areas are not only open to drilling but leases and drilling permits have already been issued. And they are not being drilled.

In fact, only 17% of the leased areas are in production. So, with about 33 million acres of offshore areas already available to drill and not being drilled, why does the oil and gas industry need to have access to still more? The fact is that tens of BILLIONS of barrels of oil off the coast of the United States are currently available for drilling ... and industry is not drilling it. It has been estimated by the Energy Information Administration that if all of those currently inactive leases were drilled, the USA would produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas EVERY DAY, accounting for a doubling of US oil production and a 75% increase in US natural gas production. The Minerals Management Service tells us that about 80% of fossil fuels available in offshore are currently available for development.

This is the story throughout the country. All told (onshore and offshore), 68 million acres are leased and sitting idle. Over 10,000 permits are currently 'stockpiled' by industry. But still they want more.

Meanwhile, Senate Republican last week blocked debate of a bill that would have offered about $17.7 billion in tax incentives for consumers to build renewable energy sources.  Nice.

What's going on here is yet another cynical attempt by the GOP and the oil and gas robber barons to increase and assure huge industry profits at the expense of the American people.

These companies don’t want to drill these areas. They want to hold them as assets to limit the amount of oil and gas on the market so that prices rise still further - and they make more money. They want to hold on to these areas so that they can drill them ten or fifteen years from now when oil is at $300 a barrel and make an even bigger fortune. 

This is criminal.

John McCain, George W. Bush and the Republican Party don’t give a damn about high energy prices. In fact, they are colluding with the oil and gas industry and Wall Street traders to deliberately drive up prices and increase profits while you and I suffer.

Don’t be fooled.

This is a guest blog by Jim O’Donnell, who is the former coordinator of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal. He is also the author of "Notes for the Aurora Society," due out later this summer. He writes, walks and marvels from northern New Mexico.

Guest blogs provide our readers with an opportunity to express their opinions on pertinent political issues. If you'd like to submit a piece for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of the page.

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NM-03: Ben Ray Luján Endorses Barack Obama

Note: Ben Ray Luján is live-blogging today at 4:30 PM MDT at Daily Kos. Click to participate.

Welcome news from Ben Ray Luján, the Dem nominee in NM-03, that he has formally endorsed Barack Obama for President. Luján is expected to be a big help in marshaling support for Obama in Northern New Mexico and other areas of the state, as well as convincing former supporters of Hillary Clinton to unite behind Obama. Unity!

"Senator Barack Obama has inspired and invigorated Americans who want change in Washington," said Luján. "He's spoken honestly about how we can put people first and move past the failed policies of the Bush Administration. I am proud to endorse Barack Obama for President. At this pivotal moment in history, we need new leaders with vision, judgment and a commitment to change who will work on behalf of the American people."

"We must come together as Democrats to achieve our goals and stand up for the American people," said Luján. "Juntos podemos. We can end the War in Iraq. We can provide health care for all. We can make our economy work for the middle class. We can develop renewable energy to lower prices and create jobs. Sí, se puede. This is what New Mexico needs, and this is what America needs. I look forward to working with Sen. Obama and Rep. Tom Udall to stand up for the people of New Mexico and our great country. Juntos podemos."

"Senator Obama has the vision, judgment and experience to solve the problems facing our families and our country in the 21st century," said Luján. "He was right from the beginning on the Iraq War, and he knows from firsthand experience as a community organizer the importance of putting people first. Senator Obama is the leader who will change how Washington works and move past the failed policies of the Bush Administration to end the War in Iraq, fix our economy and expand renewable energy production."

Barack Obama and Ben Ray Luján are two of the candidates we are supporting in our True Blue New Mexico, which we launched Monday with New Mexico FBIHOP. Please visit the site and contribute so that our candidates have what they need to start the general election season with a bang. Even a single dollar contributed to each candidate will help if we all pitch in.

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Come Celebrate Monday with Eric Griego

I'm definitely going to be at this one to celebrate one of our most exciting progressive victories!

From Eric Griego, State Senator-Elect: Please join me next Monday to celebrate my victory in the race for State Senate District 14.  Here are the details:

Monday, June 23, 5:30 - 7:00 PM
At the home of
Richard Romero & Margie Lockwood
907 Silver Ave SW, Albuquerque

I am pleased to be joined in the celebration by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, State Auditor Hector Balderas, State Senators Dede Feldman, Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Cisco McSorley, State Representatives Gail Chasey, Peter Wirth and Moe Maestas, and State Representative Elect Brian Egolf.

The party will be hosted by Richard Romero, Drew Setter, Mike Puelle, David Duhigg, Natasha Ning, Reese Edwards, Cate Stetson, J.D. Bullington, Marcus Rael, Ricardo Barros and Nerissa Whittington, to whom I am grateful.

Thank you for your support and friendship, and I hope to see you Monday!

PS: reminder to those of you who already have contributed and/or volunteered for my campaign: You are my guests at this celebration. While some supporters who haven't contributed yet may wish to do so at this event, I want you to just come celebrate!

To see our previous posts on this and other New Mexico legislative races, visit our archive.

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Sprouts for Change: Obamarama T-Shirt Art Show July 6 in Santa Fe

My problem with this creative project is that there are too many outstanding designs to choose from, produced by some of our treasured artists to just folks. I''ll have to buy at least two ....

More than 50 T-shirts inspired by Barack Obama and designed by a diverse cross section of people young and old, ranging in age from seven to ninety, will be exhibited at Obamarama, an art event at Hahn Ross Gallery, 409 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Obamarama will take place July 6, from 4:00-7:00 PM, and is sponsored by Sprouts for Change and members of Santa Fe Grassroots for Obama.

Can't Make It to Art Show? Buy Online
T-shirts will be given to New Mexico delegates to wear at the Democratic Convention in August. The T-shirts can be purchased at the event or online. Proceeds will benefit Meds and Food for Kids. In addition to being displayed on the Sprouts for Challenge virtual gallery, the exhibit of 50 T-shirts will be made available to other art galleries nationally.

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Obama Quote of the Day: McCain's Flip-Flop on Offshore Oil Drilling

"John McCain's support of the moratorium on offshore drilling during his first presidential campaign was certainly laudable, but his decision to completely change his position and tell a group of Houston oil executives exactly what they wanted to hear today was the same Washington politics that has prevented us from achieving energy independence for decades. 

"Much like his gas tax gimmick that would leave consumers with pennies in savings, opening our coastlines to offshore drilling would take at least a decade to produce any oil at all, and the effect on gasoline prices would be negligible at best since America only has 3% of the world's oil. It's another example of short-term political posturing from Washington, not the long-term leadership we need to solve our dependence on oil.

"Instead of giving oil executives another way to boost their record profits, I believe we should put in place a windfall profits tax that will help to ease the burden of higher energy costs on working families, and we should invest in the affordable, renewable sources of energy that Senator McCain has opposed in the past," said Barack Obama.

Pearce = McCain = Bush
It should be noted that Repub Steve Pearce, who's running against Rep. Tom Udall for the U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico, also strongly supports offshore drilling. Not surprising given that Pearce backs the Bush-McCain agenda on pretty much every issue.

Visit Obama '08 to sign up with his campaign. And consider donating to the campaigns of Obama, Udall and others at True Blue New Mexico -- organized by the progressive New Mexico netroots, including New Mexico FBIHOP and the Democracy for New Mexico blog.

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