Democracy for New Mexico

AFL-CIO Vets Launch Council, Release Video Critical of McCain

Today, AFL-CIO union veterans are launching the first Union Veterans Council, which will bring together the power of union veterans on the issues that matter most to veterans and all working families...for the 2008 elections and beyond. 

Find out more—and get the facts on John McCain’s record on veterans issues and his economic record here. If you are a veteran and a union member, retiree or Working America member, join the AFL-CIO's new Union Veterans Council now. Sign up here.

According to a statement by the AFL-CIO, more than 2 million union members are veterans. Together with other union members, union veterans will help elect leaders who will fight for working families. The Union Veterans Council will play a central role in reaching out to the 13 million union voters in battleground states about the stakes of this election—everything from quality health care to good, family-supporting jobs and funding for veterans services.

Union veterans also will share information with other union members on Sen. John McCain’s record. Union veterans like Jim Wasser (video), who served during Viet Nam and is an IBEW member, absolutely respect Sen. McCain’s military service but express deep concerns about his record in the Senate.

Not only has McCain voted against increased funding for veterans health care the past four years in a row, he publicly opposed the 21st Century GI Bill that finally passed the Senate by a 92–6 vote and was signed into law. And he has turned his back on America’s middle class. He wants to tax our health care benefits while giving tax breaks to Big Oil. And he STILL thinks the North American Free Trade Agreement is a good idea.

Sen. Obama’s voting record, on the other hand, shows that on issue after issue—the 21st Century GI Bill, wages, housing, veterans health funding, trade, health care reform—he is ready to work for working families. 

Our veterans deserve the best—not the lip service combined with second-class treatment they’ve been receiving. Do your part to make America a better place—for veterans and all working families.

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(Updated) NM-01: Lobo Coach Doesn't Know Darren White

Update: The front page of Darren White's campaign website STILL includes a listing for "An Evening with Coach Steve Alford" in their events section.
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From today's Albuquerque Journal story on the swirling controversy about NM-01 GOP Congressional candidate Darren White's (right) July 16th "Evening with Coach Steve Alford" fundraiser at the home of UNM lobbyist Joe Thompson, it's hard to tell which Republican is telling the biggest whopper. Turns out nobody knew much of anything about the event. They seemed to be participating in the event planning and were set to attend, but -- surprise -- there was only a vague idea about what the party was, why it was taking place or why Alford was asked to attend. The accounts of the people involved in the fundraiser are rather murky and confusing as to the who, what, where, how and why aspects of how things developed.

I guess this bunch has an odd habit of wandering around from place to place with no idea why. They're just out there glad-handing and touting Lobo basketball, right? No politics intended. UNM's VP of Athletics Paul Krebs (left) admits he's the one who asked Alford to attend, but "said he didn’t know the coach would be the main attraction." Oh, and he and Alford merely like to meet leaders in the state. It just so happens that takes place at candidate fundraisers:

Krebs said that while he and Alford have attended past political fundraisers, their attendance is not meant as an endorsement — “it’s in our best interests to be out and about ... and meeting the leaders in the state,” Krebs said.

Somehow some of the major players in the dustup had no idea the event was a big-ticket fundraiser for White or that Alford was scheduled to do anything but stop by to say hi. Alford must be one friendly guy, ready at the drop of a hat to attend parties and greet the guests. Even though the official invitation had allegedly been okayed by party host and UNM lobbyist Joe Thompson, no one seemed to realize that photos with Alford were going to be hawked for $1000 each. But perhaps the most hilarious revelation comes from Alford himself:

Alford told the Journal he agreed to stop by the July 16 event at [UNM VP for Athletics] Krebs’ request, but that doesn’t mean he is endorsing White — or anybody else.

“I wouldn’t know Darren White if he walked in front of me,” Alford said. “It got falsely advertised. I was just stopping by.”

Wow, I guess some jocks really are as disconnected from real life as people sometimes think. Imagine living and mixing with all the monied bigshots in a community as the $1M-a-year basketball coach (left) at the state university and not having any idea about the identity of the county sheriff, who's running for Congress or who the GOP honchos might be within UNM's family tree. Even worse, you discuss your pending appearance as the featured guest at a fundraiser for the said sheriff-candidate as a matter of following orders:

When Alford was asked if he planned to show up, he said: “As long as Paul [Krebs] tells me to.”

The old "I was just following orders" excuse. And then there's White himself, who's blaming everything on, who else, the Dems:

... [White] accused his 1st Congressional District opponent Martin Heinrich and Democratic “political bosses” — including Gov. Bill Richardson, whom he said had Alford at a fundraiser of his own — of putting the full-court press on UNM.

“We wanted to ensure every aspect of this met with the university’s approval,” White said. “This was backroom political pressure. It just stinks.”

I don't know, Darren. It seems clear the controversy erupted quite on its own merits. The event was first publicized as a short item in the Journal late last week, and nothing happened during the long 4th of July weekend. Then the story burst onto the local talk radio circuit this week via KKOB, and it was off to the races. I didn't notice the involvement of any "Democratic bosses" in the unfolding scandal. Mostly, people don't seem to like it when the university's basketball coach takes part in a highly political event not as a citizen, which is fine, but specifically as The Coach.  Darren White doesn't seem to get this distinction:

“A fundraiser is a fundraiser. Whether you’re doing photos or shaking hands, it’s irrelevant.”

You'd think Darren would know better. After all, this is the guy who chaired the Bush-Cheney campaign in Bernalillo County in 2004. He's surely been involved with the ins and outs of all kinds of political fundraising, including what's considered proper and what's not. I guess the Sheriff conveniently forgot about all that. Or maybe he just had his mind on other things, like spending precious law enforcement resources to search relentlessly for misdemeanor chicken-fighting offenders -- so he could get his mug on the local news to help his campaign.

Remember, Darren's resume includes a stint as a TV reporter in Texas. He obviously thinks he knows what sells. But his attempt to use Alford for political gain -- in his official capacity as Lobo Coach -- sure does seem to be backfiring. And rightfully so.

Just one more bit of history. The host of the Darren White-Steve Alford fundraiser, UNM lobbyist Joe Thompson (right), was a Republican State Rep who represented a district in Albuquerque's NE Heights from 1998-2004, and served for a time as minority whip. In 2004, he was arrested for DWI, "hours after attending a bill-signing ceremony to highlight the state's newest effort to crack down on DWI offenders." Why is it that so many Repubs are caught in the act while boasting so loudly about "family values" and "law and order"? Hypocrisy is a many-splendored thing on the right side of the aisle.

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Colorado Activists Set Up Defense Fund for Librarian Cited at McCain Event

Rachel Maddow reports on Denver free speech incident

Beware the wrath of foes of civil liberties if you intend to use your free speech rights anywhere near the McCain campaign events in Albuquerque next week. McCain will be here for two days -- at a big ticket fundraiser on July 14th at the home of car dealer Ken Zangara, and at a town hall meeting at the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town the next day. (Doors open at 8:45 AM but all seats have been filled.)

McCain held what was called a "public" town hall meeting yesterday in Denver, but it turned out to be none too public as a peaceful and polite woman holding a sign outside the event was cited and threatened with arrest for "trespassing." ProgressNowAction, a network of Colorado grassroots activists, fills in the details with an email today, and asks for donations for a defense fund they've set up for Carol and others who may get caught exercising their rights:

This is what we're up against. 

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain's Secret Service detail had a 60 year-old librarian removed from a public plaza.  The librarian, Carol Kreck, was merely carrying a sign that said: McCain = Bush.

As our state moves to the national spotlight later this summer, you can bet there will be more occurrences like this. And you can bet we'll be there to document and publicize it [see video above].

... After you've seen it for yourself, I hope you'll pitch in and help us help Coloradans like Carol Kreck. Please make a donation today at the following link.

Here's the thing: while other people in line were sporting pro-McCain messages only the 60 year-old librarian was cited - for trespassing and ordered to appear in court July 23rd.  That's just wrong. And illegal. 

We believe her First Amendment Rights were violated and we're going to help her fight back.  We can't allow this instance to set the precedent for how Colorado treats its citizens who choose to make good on their freedom of speech during a critical election year.

Like New Mexico, Colorado is a battleground state this election cycle and has a good chance of turning Blue. Both presidential candidates are sure to visit often and then, of course, there's the Democratic Convention in Denver on August 25-28. Time to stake a claim for freedom of speech and help Colorado progressives prepare for the possibility of many more incidents like this one. Click to make a donation to our compadres to the North. I just did. Who knows? Since I'll be covering the Dem Convention as New Mexico's rep on the DNC's State Blogger Corps, it could be me that needs some help later this summer.

Lawsuit Already Filed on First Amendment Rights
By the way, the ACLU and several advocacy groups have filed suit against the U.S. Secret Service and the city and county of Denver that says protestors and demonstrators may have their First Amendment rights violated by security restrictions for the Convention. One point of contention is a chicken-wire or chain-link fence that will be placed around the so-called "public demonstration zone" outside the Pepsi Center, which is the main Convention venue. Stay tuned.

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NM-01: Poll Shows Heinrich Up 3 Over White Before Alford Scandal Broke

Dem Martin Heinrich leads Darren White, his GOP rival in the NM-01 Congressional race, by a margin of 3 points in an internal poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. The survey of 518 likely voters in the district was conducted from June 29 to July 2, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%.

Greenberg's polling memo, entitled "Heinrich Surging in NM-1," compares the new results favorable to Heinrich with those released nine months ago by White's camp that showed the Sheriff ahead 51% to 33% -- when a DC newspaper said said White was "untouchable." Obviously, things have changed, and ominously so for White, who's been perceived to have the edge due to his strong name recognition in Bernalillo County and beyond.

According to The Crypt on Politico, the poll "suggests the race will be one of the most competitive in the country" and the article characterizes the results this way:

White has been touted as one of the Republicans’ top recruits, and for Heinrich to be holding a lead at this point against the better-known White shows his campaign is in solid shape. Heinrich handily won his party’s nomination in June against three under-funded opponents.

White and Coach Alford
This poll was conducted before the scandal began to unfold related to White's inviting UNM Lobos basketball coach Steve Alford to a gathering, only to reportedly blindside him by billing the event as "An Evening With Coach Steve Alford" and offering photos with the Coach to elite donors for $1000 each.

UNM VP for Athletics Paul Krebs, who was also set to attend, claimed on KKOB-AM that he and Alford had no idea they were being invited to the event to support White and help raise campaign funds. The July 16th event is being hosted by UNM lobbyist and former State Rep. Joe Thompson.

Many callers into KKOB-AM are reportedly expressing disgust with the situation, although it's not entirely clear who's to blame. Were Alford and Krebs really unaware of the nature of the event and how it was being publicized? If so, who in the White campaign designed a sneaky ploy to use the popularity of the Lobos to garner political support for the Sheriff? It's a bad situation any way you look at it. Can you say SNAFU?

Sheriff Darren White has also been on the receiving end of criticism from other law enforcement officers about using his pursuit of a misdemeanor cockfighting bust in Albuquerque last month instead of focusing on DWI and other more serious crimes. He's definitely not on a roll of late. Why am I not surprised?

Help Martin keep up his momentum by contributing to his campaign via True Blue New Mexico.

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(Updates) Capitulation Day on FISA

Rachel Maddow and constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley discuss the Senate's cave-in

See voting result updates below the fold.

Today's the day for the Senate showcase on political convenience and expediency on FISA. Apparently it's focus groups before the Fourth Amendment or the rule of law. Hey, it's not their problem, as Jonathan Turley explains in the above clip. "The founders would have found this incomprehensible," he says. Many of us do too.

So far, a significant majority of our noble Senators have defeated the Dodd amendment to strip the immunity provisions from the bill by a 32-66 margin. They then proceeded to off the Specter amendment, which would allow broader court review and require the cases to be dismissed if the court determines that the warrantless wiretapping programming was legal, by a margin of 37-61. Next they killed Sen. Bingaman's amendment, which would delay the immunity and make it contingent upon the results of a report on the telecom surveillance by the Inspector General, by a 42-56 vote.

Bravo Senators! No wonder the approval rating of the Congress is down to an all-time low of NINE PERCENT according to the latest Rasmussen survey.

The Senate is now in recess and will reconvene at 2:15 PM EDT to vote on cloture and the bill itself. The telecom lobbyists and felons in the White House must be ecstatic!

Update: Here are the Dems who voted for Dodd's amendment to strip retroative telecom immunity from the bill. Remember these names -- and then see how they vote on the bill itself:

YEAs ---32
Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Biden (D-DE) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Byrd (D-WV) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Casey (D-PA) Clinton (D-NY)	Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI) Harkin (D-IA) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Menendez (D-NJ)	Murray (D-WA) Obama (D-IL) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Stabenow (D-MI) Tester (D-MT) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)

The spineless Dems who voted against Dodd's amendment:

Bayh (D-IN), Carper (D-DE), Conrad (D-ND), Feinstein (D-CA), Inouye (D-HI), Johnson (D-SD), Kohl (D-WI), Landrieu (D-LA), Lincoln (D-AR), McCaskill (D-MO), Mikulski (D-MD), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Rockefeller (D-WV), Salazar (D-CO), Webb (D-VA).

And of course faux-Dem-Lieberman Party-Independent Joe voted nay too. No surprise there. My biggest disappointments are McCaskill and Webb, whom I've generally come to admire, and Feinstein, who represents a deep Blue state. I think Bayh should be stricken from consideration by Obama as a possible VP based on this vote alone.

More to come on the other votes when they're available.

Update: Cloture passed 72-26. FISA Amendments Act passed 69-28. Obama voted for the bill as advertised. Clinton voted against it, probably to show how much more liberal she is than Obama. We can all predict how she would have voted if she had the nomination in hand. Good job by Tester from Montana who voted nay even though he represents what's still considered a Red state.

Shout out to Sen. Jeff Bingaman, who voted the right way on everything and worked hard to get support for his amendment. Thank you, Senator. McCain didn't bother to show up to vote today.

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FISA: Last Stand

I could write more about tomorrow's vote on the FISA bill and why the bill is awful, but anyone who would bother to read it probably already knows what I know, or understands more than I understand. The rest of our fine citizens apparently don't care or understand the implications, and many actually think the executive branch should be conducting unlimited wiretapping and data vacuuming without any oversite. It makes them feel "safe."

I don't claim to entirely understand all the complexities of the FISA bill, but when the ACLU, acclaimed constitutional and legal scholars, Glenn Greenwald and Senators I respect are all against it, that's essentially enough for me. And then there's the whistleblowers.

I'll leave you with a diary by mcjoan at Daily Kos that discusses the views of two recent telecom surveillence whistleblowers, as well as those of one of America's most famous all-time whistleblowers, Daniel Ellsberg. Ellsberg, as you may recall, is a former military and intelligence analyst who risked everything to release the Pentagon Papers in the early 70s, showing the horrors going on within the government related to the Viet Nam war and other matters. Excerpt from the statement by Ellsberg on FISA:

You can't have a democracy with the state--the executive branch--having that kind of information, total information about every communication, every credit card, every transaction, every fax, e-mail, telephone conversation of everyone. And as far as we know, that's what's being collected now. We do need to know whether that's yet true or not, but I think it's a pretty good assumption.... You can't keep a republic, a constitutional republic with that degree of knowledge by the president, by the executive branch of all of our private affairs. You can't have it. You have something else, you have, you can call it an autocracy, a dictatorship. It's the basis for tyranny, and that's what the Constitution was meant to prevent and that's what this bill would confer--unlimited power....

I have to say that no senator, Republican or Democrat, should be voting for this Senate bill. Not one. Everyone who does so is in fact, I would say, violating his or her oath to defend the Constitution. But they can do better than that.

This New York Times op-ed provides an excellent overview of the flawed FISA bill. There are still three amendments out there that would quash at least the tip of the iceberg of bad stuff in this bill. They aim to either delete telecom immunity from the bill or make it more conditional. Not one of them is expected to gain the votes necessary tomorrow. My understanding is that they'd have to get the support of at least 60 Senators due to some rule or agreement in play.

Last Ditch Efforts
Those who care about the rule of law are being urged to contact their Senators and persuade them to at least vote for NM Sen. Jeff Bingaman's amendment, which would put off retroactive telecom immunity at least until Congress gets a report on an investigation to be done by the Inspector General on what happened. Bingaman has gotten a lot of praise for the effort in the netroots and from civil liberties authorities. The word is that his amendment has the best chance of passing, although the chances are still slim so close to an election. We all know what happens when an election is nigh.

The diary by mcjoan also suggests we call the Senators who did not vote for FISA last time to urge them to stand their ground:

These are the 30 Senators and the potential president who can hold firm now and lead the charge to fix this next year. Holding them to their previous vote now is critical to making those improvements in the next Congress.

Akaka (D-HI)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting
Clinton (D-NY)
Obama (D-IL)

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Care About Fair and Accurate Elections?

If so, you should definitely give a listen to an interview with Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver conducted by Peter St. Cyr. It's posted on his blog, "What's the Word?" Peter is a well-known reporter with KKOB News Radio. His blog permits him to share interviews and other stories in their entirety, expanding on the short sound-bites that are typically aired on the radio.

As I'm sure most of you know, Maggie is running to retain her office after initially being appointed County Clerk in 2007 to replace Mary Herrera, who was elected Secretary of State. She's earned significant and widespread praise for the innovations and organizational prowess she's displayed since taking on the wide-ranging responsibilities of County Clerk in New Mexico's largest county.

St. Cyr's interview with Toulouse Oliver covers a lot of ground, from her experience with a recent audit of the county's electronic tabulator accuracy funded by the Pew Center to what she's doing to make sure the November 4th election runs just right. One of her top priorities is to ensure that an adequate supply of poll workers is well-trained and available to handle the massive turnout expected on election day this Fall:

“I’m going to be out this summer visiting neighborhood associations, and civic organization meetings, all over the place trying to recruit poll workers,” said Toulouse-Oliver. “I’m also meeting with a variety of stakeholder groups to ensure they are getting their people and parties, union organization and other activist groups who care about elections and the outcomes of elections.”

Toulouse-Oliver says if you don’t mind working a long shift you should consider volunteering. Election poll workers are compensated for their time, but need to be patient working with the public. More information about being a poll worker is posted on the Bernalillo County Clerk's website here.

We need to pitch in if we want the incredibly important election this year to run smoothly, with results we can count on. Maggie and her excellent staff are doing all they can to make that happen, but they need our help. Just do it.

Maggie also needs our help to retain her office. She'll face Republican Richard Lloyd Abraham on November 4th. You can sign up volunteer and/or donate at her campaign website.

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Dems/Obama Ask for Input on National Platform; Patricia Madrid Co-Chairs National Platform Committee

Be a Part of the Process
As I reported back in January, former NM Attorney General Patricia Madrid was elected to serve as one of three Co-Chairs of the DNC's national Platform Committee, along with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and former president and chief executive of Discovery Communications, Judith McHale. The Co-Chairs will be overseeing an intensive party platform process -- designed to be inclusive and transparent -- that will ultimately produce the Dem's national platform for 2008.

Today, the DNC and Obama for America released a statement announcing an initiative to reach out to Democrats nationwide for their input into the national platform. This year, for the first time, voters will have the opportunity to take part in Platform Meetings in all 50 states to help shape the Democratic Platform. DNC Chairman Howard also announced that Governor Napolitano will chair the Platform Drafting Committee. Michael Yaki will serve as National Platform Director and Karen Kornbluh will be the Principal Author of the Platform.

How You Can Get Involved
Members of the public are invited to host and/or attend Platform Meetings in their communities as an opportunity to exchange ideas and share perspectives on the challenges we face. To facilitate the process, the Obama campaign and the DNC will send policy experts and DNC Platform Committee members to as many meetings as possible to serve as facilitators. Each Platform Meeting will produce a written summary that will be reviewed and considered by the Platform Committee.

From today through July 15th, you can register to attend or host a Platform Meeting here -- where you can also download a host guide with everything you need to create your won Platform event. The Platform Meetings will occur across the country from July 19th through July 27th.

"From the beginning, we said we were going bring down the traditional walls of the Democratic Convention and make this event more accessible and include as many people as possible," said Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean in a statement today.

"This process will empower Americans in all 50 states to make their voices heard as they help write the document that embodies our Party's values and vision for the future. Barack Obama will bring real change to Washington, and as we write the Democratic Platform, there will be a clear choice between more of the same failed policies of the Bush Administration with John McCain or real change with Barack Obama who will make the American people, not the special interests, the priority again."

"Barack Obama believes that every American should be able to contribute to the Democratic Platform, just as record numbers have participated in this campaign," said Steve Hildebrand of Obama for America. "It's not the lawmakers in Washington who live the day-to-day reality of our policies--it's workers, teachers, parents and first responders--everyday Americans who just want to the best for their families. What better way than to incorporate their voices into the process than to have them help shape the Democratic Platform, the statement of our ideals, values, and proposal for change."

What Happens Next?
A National Hearing will take place August 1st in Cleveland, Ohio, where presentations will be made before the Platform Drafting Committee. The Committee will then meet separately August 2nd and 3rd to draft the Democratic Platform. The Platform Drafting Committee is responsible for preparing an initial draft of the Platform, which is used as a working document by the Platform Committee at its meeting.

Also named as members to serve on the Platform Drafting Committee are: U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin; State Representative Dan Blue of North Carolina; Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony Brown; Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman; U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro; DNC Secretary Alice Germond; Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm; Donna Harris-Aiken, a National Education Association Policy Advisor; Platform Policy Advisor Heather Higginbottom; Platform Policy Advisor Chris Jennings; Florida Tallahassee Commissioner Alan Katz; AFL-CIO Policy Director Thea Lee; UFCW Local 1428 President Connie Leyva; U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy; Speaker Emeritus of the California State Assembly Fabian Nunez; Obama for America Foreign Policy Advisor Susan Rice; U.S. Representative Linda Sanchez; Youth Representative Giancarlo Sopa of Florida; Ron His Horse is Thunder, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota.

Madrid's Role
The full Platform Committee will meet and recommend adoption of the platform August 9th in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid, and former Discovery Communications President and CEO Judith McHale serve as Chairs of the full Platform Committee. At the Platform Committee meeting, members discuss each plank of a draft platform. They have the opportunity to submit new proposed planks, or amendments to the draft. Proposals and amendments must be approved by a majority of the members present and voting.

Meetings of the Drafting Committee and full Committee are open to the public and press. Details will be announced at a later date.

Michael Yaki will serve as National Platform Director. A lawyer in private practice, Yaki is a former senior aide to Speaker Pelosi from 1989-1996 and worked on the 1992 Democratic Platform. He also served as a member of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco, CA from 1996-2001 and has served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 2005 to the present.

Karen Kornbluh will be the Principal Author of the Platform, while on leave from Senator Obama's Senate office where she serves as Policy Director. Previously, Kornbluh directed the New America Foundation's Work and Family Program, where she published articles in the Atlantic Monthly, New York Times and Washington Post calling for new policies to support families in the global economy. Kornbluh served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the US Treasury Department and Director of Legislative Affairs at the Federal Communications Commission.

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NM-01: Heinrich Once Again in Top 5 ActBlue Fundraisers

Martin getting the treatment at a recent visit to a local farmer's market

ActBlue reported its latest weekly fundraising totals this morning, and NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich is once again in the top five:

Top Fundraisers on ActBlue June 30-July 6, 2008:
1. Darcy Burner | WA-08 | $112,706.88
2. Rick Noriega | TX-Sen | $93,572.22
3. Kay Hagan | NC-Sen | $86,021.37
4. Joseph Sestak, Jr. | PA-07 | $55,892.32
5. Martin Heinrich | NM-01 | $34,164.38
6. Scott Harper | IL-13 | $27,447.31
7. Dan Seals | IL-10 | $27,351.66
8. Mark Warner | VA-Sen | $26,639.75
9. Ronnie Musgrove | MS-Sen | $24,269.01
10. Andrew Rice | OK-Sen | $22,999.19

ActBlue has this to say about Martin:

The Heinrich campaign's end-of-quarter fundraising push, initially set to raise $35,000 and "Fill the Balloon!" on its website, launched the balloon into the stratosphere of political fundraising by bringing in nearly $100,000. Heinrich's weekly total is nearly double the amount he brought in only two weeks ago, which first catapulted him onto our Top 10 list.

See our previous post about Heinrich's fundraising success via ActBlue. Martin was ranked fourth on ActBlue last week and fifth the week before. No word yet on Heinrich's total fundraising for the period April thru June. The campaign's report to the FEC for the second quarter is due by July 15th.

Hike Winners
By the way, the winners of the Hike with Martin drawing were revealed over the weekend to be Daniel I., Karen F. and Don & Hilda W. Everyone who donated to the campaign between June 19th and the end of the month were entered in the drawing. The hike will take place in one of Martin's favorite hiking areas sometime later this month, and the campaign says it will post photos.

Martin Heinrich is a True Blue New Mexico candidate. Please support him with whatever you can afford in terms of time and/or money.

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Tom Udall in Lead at LCV's Give Green

Over the weekend, New Mexico's U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall took the lead in Give Green donations over his cousin Mark, who's running for U.S. Senate in Colorado. As of today, Tom's campaign has garnered more than $2,400 from 71 donors since the site launched a little over a week ago -- the most of any candidate on the site. Meanwhile, NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich has received more than $870 to date in Give Green donations from 48 donors. Haven't heard of Give Green? Keep on reading.

The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, which works to turn environmental values into national priorities, recently launched Give Green, the first donation bundling website to raise money exclusively for environmental champions and candidates. The non-partisan website at is similar to the highly successful ActBlue and EMILY’s List fundraising sites, but is unaffiliated. Why did LCV decide to launch Give Green? 

“Ever increasing numbers of environmental voters and donors live in every part of the country,” LCVAF President Gene Karpinski said in a statement. “But America’s clean energy future is not just a local issue. Give Green makes it easy for concerned citizens to support not only local environmental candidates, but also future members of Congress from across the country who will fight for a clean, renewable energy future.”

Today, Give Green features 20 federal candidates who are environmental champions and who have earned LCV’s endorsement. As the election nears, other champions will be added to the site.

“Give Green is the bundling portal for the whole environmental movement,” LCV Board Member and Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder said. “This site will be a great tool for the environmental community to help elect pro-environment candidates and to change the face of Washington.”

“This is for donors from both parties to join together in support of environmental issues,” former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) said. “For the first time, Americans from every party who are committed to clean, renewable energy and conservation will be able to express their support through meaningful financial backing of environmental champions.”

To donate to one or all of LCV's Give Green candidates. You can also create your own page there to raise funds for a candidate, just as you can at similar sites like ActBlue.

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