Democracy for New Mexico

NM-Sen: Pearce Demands Firm Dates for Debates with Hippies at Woodstock

Wait, that can't be right. That headline must have popped into my head because the strange vibes of GOP Senate candidate Steve Pearce's attack on hippies are still lingering in my head. You know how it is. What his campaign is really doing is trying to set a seven-day deadline for a decision from Dem Tom Udall's camp on debate dates.

The Pearce campaign sent out an open letter to the media yesterday whining that the Udall campaign isn't moving quickly enough to finalize a set of debates. Pearce must be postively itching to get onstage with Udall and chant his drill, drill, drill and nuke plant, nuke plant, nuke plant mantras, thinking that will seal the deal with New Mexico voters. Authoritarian personalities are like that.

Udall spokeswoman Marissa Padilla says the letter surprised her because the two campaign managers had what she described as a civil telephone conversation Friday and had agreed to talk again this week to finalize the debate details. "We're seeing another disingenuous cheap attack on Tom Udall from Steve Pearce," Padilla said. "Given Pearce's lockstep support for the failed Bush administration policies that got us here in the first place, I would not be too eager to debate Tom Udall."

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Monday: Bush Legacy Tour Comes to Albuquerque

Brace yourself and watch the video to refresh your memory about some of the too-numerous-to-name failures that make up the disastrous legacy of Bush and his conservative cronies. Then think about what's at stake in November when one of those conservative cronies has a chance to win another four years for the team. Then get off the couch and get active.

has created a museum on wheels that documents some of the worst moments of the last eight years under Bush and the conservatives, and it's coming to Albuquerque on Monday, August 11, 2008. Stop by the bio-diesel-fueled bus to see the memorabilia and show your support for American United:

Monday, August 11th, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
In front of Natural Sound music store and Flying Star Cafe
Central Avenue and Carlisle Blvd, Albuquerque, NM

Pass it on. To learn more about the Bush Legacy Tour, and to see what other stops it will be making this summer and fall, visit BushLegacyTour.com. The tour will be in Farmington, NM on Tuesday.

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Concerned About Election Integrity? Sign Up Here

Many people complain about how elections are run, but too few step up to the plate to help them run smoothly and effectively. If you're concerned about making sure every vote counts, consider signing up to be a poll official.

From the Bernalillo County Clerk's Office:
The Bernalillo County Clerk's Office, Bureau of Elections, is actively recruiting Poll Officials for the General Election to be held on November 4th, 2008. Training classes will be provided, and are mandatory. There will be a selection of training times from which to choose, and each will last approximately 2 to 3 hours. Poll Officials are compensated for their Election Day work as well as Training time. 

The Election Day work schedule is 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM. Please be prepared to attend the entire day. Poll Official Requirements:

• Must be a Registered Voter in Bernalillo County
• Must have no Felony Convictions
• Cannot be a relative of a candidate
• Cannot be an active Law Enforcement Officer

Poll Official Information:

• Channon – 468-1221, cdishman-flores@bernco.gov
• Amber – 468-1253, agarley@bernco.gov

General Information: 468-1291, clerk@bernco.gov

Poll officials are also needed in most other counties. Click for county clerk contact info and get in touch to learn how you can help on election day.

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Albuquerque Sighting: CNN Express Yourself Tour

It's no surprise that New Mexico is one of the most important states in the nation during this election cycle. With three House seats and one Senate seat up for grabs and another tight presidential race shaping up here, we're already getting lots of attention from the national press, bloggers, pundits, political analysts and TV talking heads. There'll be much more to come as we inch closer to November 4th.

John Blair, Obama New Mexico's Political Director, told the DFA-DFNM Meetup last night that New Mexico is ranked Number 6 on Obama's list of vital battleground states. The campaign will be focusing much attention on New Mexico and devoting a ton of resources here from now until election day.

You never know who or what you're going to run into on any given day in our moving-to-all-Blue state. This morning, Mary Ellen ran into the CNN Express Yourself Tour trailer parked near her workplace. The trailer is traveling around the country seeking out and interviewing first time voters as part of CNN's League of First-Time Voters project. It'll be exploring Albuquerque all day today looking for newbies, including a stop outside Isotopes Park starting at 5:00 PM.

If you're a new voter, you can also submit your own video with questions you have about the election at the League's web page. Selected videos will be featured on CNN's Election Center broadcast weekdays.

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

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Register Now for Camp Wellstone Training in ABQ

From Camp Wellstone: Camp Wellstone is on the road again. With a big election coming in November, we're training candidates, campaign workers, and community activists across the country in key states. Our next stop -- Albuquerque, NM. Make plans now to join us, August 16-17, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency. Register today for Camp Wellstone Albuquerque.

This two-day training, in collaboration with America Votes, the Center for Civic Policy and the Center for Progressive Leadership, is geared toward individuals wanting to make an impact in the 2008 election. With offerings for candidates and campaign workers, this training will combine lectures from highly experienced trainers and interactive exercises and simulations. Check-in and an opening reception kick off the weekend on Friday evening and the training will run from 10 AM Saturday through 5 PM on Sunday. Participate in one of these tracks:

• Working on a Campaign--learn how to run successful electoral campaigns
• Being a Candidate--learn the skills needed to run for office yourself

The cost of this training is based on a sliding scale ability to pay. We are committed to keeping this training accessible to all. If you are able to cover the full cost of your participation in this training, please do so as this will help us continue to train progressives across the country. Rates are as follows: $100 or $50; you choose the option that works best for you. This fee includes our book, Politics the Wellstone Way, customized materials, and meals during the weekend.

To learn more about Camp Wellstone, click here. Know someone working on a campaign or running for office?  Recommend Camp Wellstone to a friend! For further questions, contact Jen Haut at jennifer@wellstone.org or 651.414.6037.

Wellstone Action is a national center for training and leadership development for the progressive movement. Founded in January 2003, Wellstone Action’s mission is to honor the legacy of Paul and Sheila Wellstone by continuing their work through training, educating, mobilizing and organizing a vast network of progressive individuals and organizations.

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NM-Sen: Take2 for Udall and Udall Town Hall Meeting at Page One

Jill Cooper Udall explains the Take2 for Udall program
(Turn your volume way up)

Join the Take2 Team: At a Women for Udall rally yesterday at the UNM Law School, Jill Cooper Udall unveiled the campaign's new Take2 for Udall project. The idea is for each Udall supporter to get two new voters registered and make sure they vote in the November election. Those two can be encouraged to find two more new voters and so it goes. Or you can find two more yourself. Sign up to join the Take2 Team here or text Take2 to MYTOM. Once you sign up, you'll get the forms and info you need to get folks registered.

Albuquerque Town Hall: A town hall meeting with Tom Udall is set for Saturday, August 16 at 11 AM at Page One Bookstore, 11018 Montgomery Blvd. NE in Albuquerque. You will have an opportunity to discuss the campaign and ask any questions that you may have on issues that are most important to you. For more information contact Andrew Marshall at (505) 884-3055. Everyone is welcome.

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Steve Pearce's Hippie Hippie Shake: Don't You Want Somebody to Love?

Stare into the center of the mandala, Steve

As I commented on Matt's post at NM FBIHOP about the Steve Pearce hippie attack ad on Tom Udall, Grace Slick used to sing "One pill makes you larger. And one pill makes you small." Steve Pearce must have gotten the one that makes you small -- and that causes flashbacks for 40 years. Steve isn't looking for somebody to love -- he's trying to get people to dredge up old grudges from decades past. He must still carry that baggage from all those years ago. Stuck in the past like an angrily buzzing fly in a time-warp web.

Early Beatles do Hippie Hippie Shake.
Steve only shakes it to the right.

I highly doubt Steve can shake his hips. Maybe he never could and that's why he's still so angry about days gone by. I wouldn't be surprised if Pearce resented the Beatles too -- all that long hair, infectious energy and lust for life and love. He's carried the battle against everything liberating all the way to the 21st century.

Somebody had to do it. Why not someone so incensed by uppity women, peace symbols, solar energy, 1969 love beads and silvery minnows that he takes out a full-page ad in the Albuquerque Journal on them in the year 2008. And then tries to hang all the bathos and pathos of an era gone by on Tom Udall, his highly popular Senate seat rival -- who has a nasty habit of living in the present and approaching the future with optimism and ideas. Change and the future are scary to those stuck in the past and hung up over milk that spilled in the days of yore. Fear of the new. Fear of the other. Fear of creative thinking and being.

Tell Me This Is Sane
Check out what Pearce has to say in this Albuquerque Journal article. Does he sound sane speaking about his full-page Journal ad full of faux-hippies?

“This picture is a picture from my past,” Pearce said, referring to a photo of a pair of hippies in his Wednesday newspaper ad that maintains Udall is allied with “hysterical left-wing” environmentalists — an ad the Udall campaign calls bogus.

“In 1969, I was the president of the student body at New Mexico State University, and the radicals were going to burn down the administration building — as they had done across the country,” Pearce said. “I took it on myself to go out and stand on the wall where (a) guy was actually wrapping the crowd into an enthusiasm to go burn the building, because at that time, I felt like these extremists had hijacked our policies, and they were controlling our universities. And we're finding the same thing today. The extremists have hijacked our policies, so that we can't live.”

Asked by a reporter whether he was charging that Udall stands with the kinds of people who once wanted to raze college buildings, Pearce, who went on to be an Air Force pilot in Vietnam, responded:

“There's a counterculture that was epitomized by the hippies. They were against the war. They were against America. It was always that criminals have more rights than the victim. That America's enemies have more rights. And what I'm saying is, that push from the past is still being carried forward. The counterculture is the same today. And it's people who think America is wrong. I don't think America is wrong. I don't think American jobs are wrong. I don't think the American economy is wrong. And so that's the distinction that I see between Tom Udall and myself.

Cue the Twilight Zone Music
I can't imagine what Republicans with even a modicum of sense are thinking about these weird and wildly inappropriate attacks by their candidate in one of the most important and spotlighted Senate races in the nation. After this, it's hard to see who will be able to take Pearce seriously, regardless of their political leanings. Only the most paleoconservative -- and rageful -- of voters could see this line of attack as anything but deranged and desperate indeed. I find that the scariest part is that he may well believe what he's saying ....

Imagine having this guy in on setting the course for our future and that of our children and grandchildren. Then again, don't. Just do what you can to make sure Tom Udall is elected to the Senate.

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Albuquerque DFA-DFNM Meetup Tonight: New Obama Political Director for NM

Tonight's the night for the monthly DFA-DFNM Meetup -- at 7:00 PM at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. Click to join the group and/or RSVP.

We're excited that we'll be hearing from John Blair, the new State Political Director for the Obama campaign in New Mexico. He'll be discussing how the Campaign for Change is going, where it's headed and how we can get involved. He'll be happy to take on your questions.

We'll also be discussing the upcoming special legislative session, the Democratic Convention in Denver, the backlash against local progressive victories and how we can help turn New Mexico Totally True Blue on November 4th. We'll also be asking for your input on what you want to focus on in the coming months. There's so much going on it can be difficult to prioritize our energies. Come on down and join in the discussions.

NM-01: Hey Darren, Who Paid for Your Hospital Stay?

The rumors are swirling about the possibility that Heather Wilson and her power brokers (like Pete Domenici) are trying to push Darren White out  as the GOP Congressional candidate in NM-01. The talk is that Darren is such a weak candidate, poor fundraiser and loose cannon on the campaign trail that certain biggies in the GOP would love to shove him aside and insert Heather into the race for what is currently her seat. No matter. To me, Darren and Heather are two peas in a pod. And the pod is owned by the mega-corp lobbyists who are part and parcel of the Bush-McCain team.

Nobody seems to know where the rumors started, or if they have any validity. But what we do know is that even though White lacks some important candidate skills, he has something that more than 419,000 New Mexicans and 47 million American don't have -- health insurance. Last week, when White injured his back, New Mexico's government and taxpayers picked up the tab for his hospital stay.

White Was Against Universal Health Care Before He Was For It: Darren has his top-notch health insurance but he's been against making sure that New Mexicans have theirs. White said he opposed health care for every New Mexican at the Health Action New Mexico Forum earlier this year. However, now that his injury has put him in the spotlight on health care, he's changing his tune -- at least rhetorically. He's suddenly pretending he's all for universal health care. Yesterday, he said our country should, "provide affordable, accessible, and portable health care to all those New Mexico families and children." 

Quite a flip flop.

This is the guy who in 2004 worked as the Bernalillo County campaign chair to re-elect President George Bush -- a president who has fought tooth and nail against sane health care policies and for very damaging ones. For instance, Bush and his cohorts have refused to expand S-CHIP coverage for children and pushed hard for cutting Medicare payments to phyisicians.

The Bush-White health care policies have clearly failed New Mexico. For instance, since 2000, premiums for family health insurance in New Mexico have risen by more than 50% under George Bush's administration.

"The issue of health care is too important to trust Darren White and his election year flip-flops," said Josh Geise, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. "Obviously, we're glad that Darren White received quality care and is back on the campaign trail, but we can't help but ask, how about New Mexico's working families? Should they be able to receive the same quality of care? Which position is it, Darren?"

Background:

• In New Mexico, an average of 419,000 people lacked health insurance in 2005-06. In America, 47 million people lack health insurance. [Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce; Joint Economic Committee]
• Darren White said, "I oppose universal health care." [Health Action New Mexico Forum, 5/08/08]
• Between 2000 and 2005, premiums for family health insurance in New Mexico increased by more than 50 percent. [Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]

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McCain Will Reward Supporters Who Plant Comments on Blogs

You can't make this stuff up. The McCain campaign is now using online tactics similar to those reportedly employed by the Chinese government. They're rewarding supporters who plant comments on designated blogs that echo Johnny's talking points:

On McCain's website, visitors are invited to "Spread the Word" about the presumptive Republican nominee by sending campaign-supplied comments to blogs and Web sites under the visitor's screen name. The site offers sample comments ("John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan . . .") and a list of dozens of suggested destinations, conveniently broken down into "conservative," "liberal," "moderate" and "other" categories. Just cut and paste.

For each positive, verified comment they post, McCain's citizen spinners earn points that count towards prizes like books autographed by McCain, preferred seating at campaign events or a ride with the MCain on his bus. The campaign suggests posting on the liberal blogs ColoradoPols, Crooks and Liars, DailyKos, MyDD and Think Progress. I guess McCain's pollsters are especially worried about Colorado.

Mario Burgos in the Mix: Believe it or not, under the category of "Other," the campaign suggests that comments be inserted at the Albuquerque right-wing blog, Mario Burgos. Okay, what I wanna know is why no suggestion to plant comments at Democracy for New Mexico? I'm feeling a little left out. Get it, LEFT out.

As the Washington Post notes:

... dissidents alleged earlier this year that the Chinese government has paid Chinese citizens token sums for each favorable comment about government policies they post in chat rooms and on blogs.

In good company, Johnny! And I'm sure all the Dems at DailyKos will be overcome with the beauty and logic of your positions and switch right over to your side. If you're gonna dream, dream big.

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