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Friday, July 25, 2008
Quick Hits
There's so much going on, I thought I'd link to some stories I don't have any time to write about.
About time: The Brennan Center for Justice has filed suit in state court on behalf of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas Inc. (FAWCO), New Mexico Public Interest Research Group (NMPIRG), and the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) challenging New Mexico's voter registration rules that were enacted in 2005:
"New Mexico has enacted one of the most chilling and restrictive voter registration laws in the country," stated Wendy Weiser, the Brennan Center's Director of Voting Rights and Elections and one of the attorneys in the case. "In a year in which unprecedented numbers of Americans are interested in participating in our democracy, New Mexico should be welcoming new voters, not putting up barriers to their participation," she added.
A public hearing is set for September 8th in Santa Fe on New Mexico's proposed medical marijuana rules.
The Santa Fe New Mexican will lay off 16.5 workers, including 10 in their newsroom due to fading advertising revenues.
Gov. Bill Richardson may miss the Dem Convention if the special session of the New Mexico Legislature is still in progress when Dems convene in Denver on August 25-28.
The latest poll by the Pew Hispanic Center shows Obama with a large lead among Hispanics, including those who supported Hillary Clinton.
The after raising $10.8 million in June, compared with only $24.6 million left in the coffers of its GOP counterpart, which raised $6 million last month. CQ Politics said this $20 million and growing cash advantage means likely Senate gains for Dems, and reported that the DSCC transferred $128,617 to the Democratic Party of New Mexico.
CQ Politics has changed its race ratings in 14 Congressional contests, . One of those is our own NM-02 race:
New Mexico’s 2nd (New Rating: Leans Republican. Previous Rating: Republican Favored). Steve Pearce made this southern New Mexico district all but untouchable since winning the seat in 2002, but his departure to run for the seat of retiring Sen. Pete V. Domenici opens up the race. Democratic pick-up efforts are aided by the fact that their nominee is a conservative Democrat who can appeal to a broad swath of the party. Harry Teague, an oilman and former member of the Lea County Board of Commissioners, defeated progressive Democrat Bill McCamley in the June 3 primary after bolstering his campaign with $765,000 through May.
The DCCC has added Teague to its “Red to Blue” list of highly competitive challenges to Republican seats that the campaign committee will give logistical support and, in many cases, money. Restaurant chain owner Ed Tinsley won the five-way GOP primary with 31 percent of the vote after putting $296,000 into his own campaign through May. Southern New Mexico’s longstanding preference for Republican representation gives Tinsley a slight edge in the race, but Teague guarantees a highly competitive contest.
The Obama campaign is buying $5M of network and cabe TV ads during NBC's coverage of the Olympics, the first significant network-TV buy of any presidential candidate in at least 16 years.
The massive federal housing bill is on a fast track to enactment. The usual Repub suspects voted against it in the U.S. House, including Steve Pearce, who apparently wants suffering homeowners and communities to fend for themselves. Even Bush has changed his tune, agreeing not to veto the measure, but Pearce won't budge. You know how he is when it comes to offering a helping hand to anyone but our most wealthy citizens.
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July 25, 2008 at 10:13 AM in Current Affairs, Media | Permalink
Comments
This lawsuit about voter registration is absurd! I'm a registration agent in Albuquerque, and the rules are not onerous. There are many groups, especially of young people volunteering for Democratic candidates, doing voter registration this year. Look at how the numbers of registrations are up!
The rules were changed to fix particular problems with third-party registration agents. There used to be no record for the voter that a registration had been changed, so they were done by groups without the voter's knowledge or consent, and kept them from voting at their usual places.
The requirement for quick mailing is to solve the problem of groups not turning in the forms for parties they didn't like. Each one of these forms is a postage-paid self-mailer, so they are easy to send after completion.
One of the erroneous things they say is that voter registration drives must be registered, and that groups only get 50 forms at a time. Forms are signed out to individuals, and the training is simple. In Bern. County, the Clerk's office will hold a training for a group that requests it, outside office hours and away from the office.
Anyone can get a form for themselves -- or have someone else get it for them -- from a library or online, avoiding the third-party system altogether. Or they can call the County Clerk's office and have one mailed to them. They can also change their voter registration at polling places when they vote. If they don't vote, eventually they will be dropped from the rolls.
Posted by: michelle meaders | Jul 25, 2008 2:43:41 PM
Michelle you're buying into the republican talking points. No big problems with voter registration have ever been proven. You may think the registration process is easy but others don't. Why create barriers to people registering? You know why or you should.
I believe you're wrong about organizations. They used to be able to have a kind of overall regisration effort so anyone who volunteered for them could register voters but now they can get only 50 forms for that. If more are needed the individuals have to each be trained. I've been to the training and it's a farce.
I will trust the judgment of the groups suing and the Brennan Center and they see the law as horrible.
Posted by: I Vote | Jul 25, 2008 2:57:57 PM
