Democracy for New Mexico

All Three NM Repubs Make CREW's Most Corrupt in Congress List

Today, the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its third annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress. The report, entitled Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch), catalogues the corruption in the 110th Congress and documents the unethical and possibly illegal activities of its most tainted members. CREW has compiled the members’ transgressions and analyzed them in light of federal laws and congressional rules.

The misdeeds of New Mexico's entire Republican Congressional delegation -- Sen. Pete Domenici, Rep. Heather Wilson (NM-01) and Rep. Steve Pearce (NM-02) -- placed them among the top 22 offenders out of 535 members of Congress.

CREW also has re-launched the report’s website, BeyondDelay.com. The site offers short summaries of each member’s transgressions as well as the full-length profiles and all accompanying exhibits. I'm providing a summary of the transgressions of New Mexico's Republicans, but be sure to click on their names to access the complete reports:

Summary: Former NM U.S. Attorney David Iglesias has claimed that Sen. Domenici contacted him before the November 2006 elections to pressure him about an ongoing corruption probe into state Democrats. Iglesias previously stated that in mid-October, he was pressured about the pace of the investigation by two NM lawmakers. Initially, when asked about Iglesias’s allegations, Domenici stated, “I have no idea what he’s talking about.” Apparently, Rep. Heather Wilson first called Iglesias and Domenici called a week later. Domenici later admitted that he called Iglesias, stating “I asked Mr. Iglesias if he could tell me what was going on in that investigation and give me an idea of what time frame we were looking at."

Summary: The former U.S. Attorney in Albuquerque, David Iglesias, stated that, in mid-October 2006, two members of Congress from New Mexico pressured him about an ongoing corruption probe of state Democrats. Apparently, Rep. Wilson first called Iglesias and Sen. Pete Domenici called a week later. After Domenici admitted that he called Iglesias, Wilson finally admitted that she too had called the U.S. Attorney. Wilson stated that she contacted Iglesias to complain about the pace of his public corruption investigation. She claimed, “I did not ask about the timing of any indictments and I did not tell Mr. Iglesias what course of action I thought he should take or pressure him in any way. The conversation was brief and professional.”

Summary: 1) Rep. Pearce was the president of Lea Fishing Tools, Inc. In the fall of 2003, Pearce sold the company’s assets to Texas-based Key Energy, in exchange for 542,477 shares of common stock, but failed to include the transaction on his 2003 financial disclosure report. In that report Pearce indicated that he was the president of Trinity Industries, Inc., “F/K/A Lea Fishing Tools, Inc.,” and that he held between $5 and $25 million of stock in the company. Given that all of Lea Fishing Tools’ assets were transferred to Key Energy, it appears that Trinity Industries may be a holding company for the Key Energy stock, but this is unclear.

After selling Lea Fishing Tools’ assets to Key Energy, Pearce was required to report the sale on his financial disclosure form as a transaction, but he failed to do so. By failing to list the sale, Pearce appears to have violated the Ethics in Government Act.

2) Rep. Pearce has been a consistent and strong advocate of drilling in Otero Mesa, NM despite environmentalists and the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) assertion that only a minuscule amount of oil and natural gas lie beneath the grasslands. Pearce, however, contends that drilling in the area would keep natural gas prices level and create jobs thereby stimulating the state’s economy. Initially, the BLM opposed opening the area arguing that drilling would both directly and indirectly destruct the habitat for wildlife. In 2000, however, BLM reversed its decision and proposed a plan that would open nearly 1.4 million acres to drilling. The BLM turnaround coincided with the largest lease holder in the Otero Mesa, Yates Petroleum, donating over $230,000 to the GOP over the last three election cycles.

Yates Petroleum also has been the single largest donor to Pearce’s campaign committees since 2002 with $32,490 in donations. Individually, members of the Yates family have contributed $78,379.99 to Pearce since he first ran for office in 2002. If Rep. Pearce advocated opening up Otero Mesa to drilling in exchange for campaign contributions, he may have violated the bribery statute or accepted illegal gratuities.

Bad Company
The complete list of the most corrupt members of Congress according to CREW:

Members of House:                     Members of the Senate:
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)               Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA)        Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)               Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)            Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)       Dishonorable Mention:
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)                Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-CA)            Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA)
Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM)
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)
Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL)
Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-NM)

“Every year CREW creates this compendium of corruption to expose and hold accountable those members of Congress who believe they are above the law,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said today. “With the third edition of Beyond DeLay it has become abundantly clear that many public officials believe that the rules don’t apply to them.”

Several members in the study are already under federal investigation including: Reps. Calvert, Doolittle, Feeney, Jefferson, Lewis, Miller, Mollohan, Murphy, Renzi and Young, as well as Senator Stevens.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit, nonpartisan legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, you can visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565 or nseligman@citizensforethics.org.

Domenici Rejoined at the Hip with Bush: Mayor Marty Considering a Challenge?

After pretending to change his position on the Iraq occupation -- at least superficially -- Sen. Pete Domenici is now back in line, having given up trying to separate himself cosmetically from Bush and the war forever bunch. As the parade of shameless surge pushers and propagandists finished their performances last week, I guess Pete decided it made some sort of cynical political sense to return to lockstep with his keepers. has more on Domenici's return to the fold.

Meanwhile, Matt Stoller over at Open Left asks -- as many others have -- if Domenici intends to retire. Musing on why Bush spent time to raise funds for Domenici here in New Mexico recently, Stoller says:

But why Domenici? Maybe it's personal. It's possible he just hates fundraising, and wanted someone else to do it for him. Or maybe the New Mexico Republican Party is going to need the money since Domenici is going to retire and the seat will be very competitive.  Anyway, I heard just such a rumor, that Domenici is going to retire, that Albuquerque mayor Martin Chavez will run on the Democratic side, and Congresscritters Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce will fight it out in the primary on the Republican side.

There IS a lot of conjecture going around about what Mayor Marty intends to do next. He's obviously gained little traction in his initial efforts towards running for governor in 2010 against our very popular Lt. Gov. . In the recent Albuquerque Journal polling, likely Dem primary voters picked Denish as their favored gubernatorial candidate over Chavez by a 50% to 30% margin (with 20% undecided). Even on his home turf in metro Albuquerque, Chavez trailed Denish 29 to 54 percent among the Dems polled.

Chavez has said that he supports Domenici and won't run against him for Senate. But if Pete's enthusiasm wanes for the rigors of the job or his health worsens and he decides to retire, I wouldn't be surprised if Chavez tried his luck. Whether he'd get more support in the Dem primary than current candidate Don Wiviott is another matter. Mayor Marty isn't well liked within large portions of the Dem base, and he'd have to work some miracles to win them over. Of course there's always the possibility he could encourage his Repub supporters to change their registrations for the primary. He has a fair amount of support among less rabid Repubs, at least in parts of the Albuquerque area.

To check out our previous posts on the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, visit our archive.

Wiviott Among Top 5 Fundraisers on Act Blue Last Week

Don Wiviott (L) speaking at YearlyKos Netroots Convention

Don Wiviott, a Dem candidate running to take on Sen. Pete Domenici for a Senate seat in New Mexico in 2008, garnered enough campaign donations on ActBlue last week to place his totals fifth among all those who received contributions via the progressive online site for the period:

	Rank	Name	District	Raised
	1	Tim Johnson	SD-SEN	$77,982.05
	2	John Edwards	President	$50,879.38
	3	Tom Harkin	IA-SEN	$21,740.00
	4	Courage Campaign	CA PAC	$13,180.71
	5	Don Wiviott	NM-Sen	$11,520.00

Source: ActBlue.com for the period September 2nd-9th, 2007.

Since he entered the race in June, Wiviott's campaign has been the beneficiary of a total of $28,434 donations across ActBlue pages, including $514 via the Beat Back Bush New Mexico page supported by New Mexico blogs Democracy for New Mexico and New Mexico FBIHOP. You can add to those totals by kicking in a few bucks right here.

Mark your calendars: Wiviott at Meetup
Don Wiviott will our special guest at the next Albuquerque DFA-DFNM Meetup to be held on Thursday, October 4th, at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church at Carlisle and Comanche.

He'll be speaking to the group and taking questions. To RSVP for the Meetup or join the group and get on our email list, click here. Come on down and meet the candidate who just might be our next Senator from New Mexico.

Click to read our previous posts about the New Mexico Senate race or visit our Beat Back Bush New Mexico archive to learn more about that ongoing effort.

(Click on photo for larger image. Photo credit: M.E. Broderick.)

Heinrich Ranks 14th Among ActBlue Congressional Fundraisers

The chart below, provided by Swing State Project, ranks the top twenty Congressional candidate fundraisers on ActBlue through August in this election cycle. As you can see, NM-01 candidate Martin Heinrich ranks 14th, not bad for any candidate this early the race. In total, his campaign raised about $181,000 in the quarter that ended on June 30th from all sources, $31,000 more than the goal of $150,000 set by his campaign. Heinrich is running for a chance to take on incumbent Repub Rep. Heather Wilson.

State	CD	Candidate	ActBlue Total	Donors	Average Donation
MA	5	Niki Tsongas	$195,933	570	$343.74
CO	2	Jared Polis	$162,837	422	$385.87
WA	8	Darcy Burner	$111,018	3,107	$35.73
ME	1	Chellie Pingree	$107,820	273	$394.95
CA	26	Russ Warner	$96,214	348	$276.48
IL	10	Dan Seals	$78,703	250	$314.81
MO	6	Kay Barnes	$75,829	133	$570.14
NY	29	Eric Massa	$74,053	904	$81.92
AZ	3	Bob Lord	$73,715	190	$387.97
TX	10	Dan Grant	$62,080	165	$376.24
NY	26	Jon Powers	$56,062	347	$161.56
CA	4	Charlie Brown	$49,960	1,168	$42.77
FL	8	Mike Smith	$49,925	74	$674.66
NM	1	Martin Heinrich	$46,399	249	$186.34
MD	4	Donna Edwards	$46,001	828	$55.56
NC	8	Larry Kissell	$35,968	362	$99.36
CT	4	Jim Himes	$30,452	203	$150.01
MT	AL	Bill Kennedy	$21,016	80	$262.70
IL	14	John Laesch	$19,136	285	$67.14
IA	4	Selden Spencer	$19,000	126	$150.79

ActBlue.com makes online donations to Democratic candidates a snap. Used by supporters of netroots-grassroots candidates all over the nation, they've helped raise a total of $26,860,650 since 2004, mostly in small donations. Anyone can create a fundraising page, pubicize it and start raising donations, even very small ones, for a favorite candidate. The beauty of ActBlue is that it makes it easy for folks to donate to candidates anywhere in the nation who are attracting netroots support. In this way, we can have a real impact on races that feature strong, progressive candidates, whether they're running locally or in another district where we have a chance to pick up a seat.

For instance, a recent effort using ActBlue called Burn Bush, propelled by blogs such as DailyKos, Eschaton, OpenLeft, MyDD, Firedoglake, SwingStateProject and other local and national blogs, raised more than $100,000 nationwide for netroots favorite Darcy Burner, running for Congress in WA-08. The blog-coordinated fundraising campaign was organized to counteract Bush's visit to the district to raise funds for Burner's Repub opponent and included an online townhall meeting with Burner and other creative elements.

Working with local blogger , we tried a similar (but much smaller scale) ActBlue fundraiser here when Bush visited to raise bucks for Sen. Pete Domenici last month. Our Beat Back Bush New Mexico page raised almost $800 for Martin Heinrich and Dem Senate candidate Don Wiviott. In addition, our ongoing DFNM Netroots for Martin Heinrich effort at ActBlue has so far raised more than $900 for Heinrich's Congressional campaign. You can find the links near the top of our left-hand sidebar on our main page. Click and donate a few bucks to the cause -- it's that easy.

A couple of our previous posts on the Heinrich campaign's fundraising can be found here and here. You can check out all our previous posts related to the NM-01 Congressional race at our archive. For our 2008 Senate race archive, click here.

Dem Donkeys Kick Up Heels at NM State Fair Parade

DPBC Chair Ana Canales waves from new State Dem Party float

Ana Canales and the State Dem float

Dem U.S. Senate candidate Don Wiviott passes out literature

Float pulled by Terry Riley and his peace van

Kickin' Donkeys

Don Wiviott for U.S Senate banner

Mike Davis and truck with Dem prez candidate signs

Mike Davis' decorated truck

Jon Adams, Dem primary candidate for Congress NM-01

Click on photos for larger versions. For more photos of a variety of marchers in today's NM State Fair Parade, check out our Flickr album.

The 2007 State Fair Parade traveled up Central to from Louisiana to Eubank on Saturday morning. The Parade Marshall was Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, though M.E. didn't get a picture of her or the Democratic Women's float. Fast-moving parades are like that. There were more than 220 units participating.

The Democratic Party float shown in the photos is new this year and was designed and built by volunteers including Barbara Grothus, Terry Riley, Joe Boersig, Paul and Laura Stokes and Bill and Anne Kass. Members of Democracy for New Mexico donated money to help pay for the float at our last Meetup, adding to funds provided by the Party. We think those lively donkeys "kick ass."

The runs until September 23rd at Expo NM in Albuquerque. The Democratic Party will also have a booth at the Fair where you can register to vote or get information about the Party and Dem candidates. The Party needs more people to step up and help staff the booth. If you'd like to volunteer for a shift (and get free entry), please contact the DPNM office at 830-3650.

All photos by M.E. Broderick. Links:

• Democratic Party of New Mexico
• Democratic Party of Bernalillo County
• Democratic Women of New Mexico
• Office of Lt. Governor Diane Denish
• Jon Adams for Congress NM-01

Elevator 9 Trial: Guilty

I hope Sen. Pete Domenici, his staff and the federal government feel proud and powerful today after the "win" against Domenici's constituents. For irony's sake, it's just too bad the case wasn't tried in the new federal courthouse instead of the old one. The new one is named after Domenici. As reported in an article in the Albuquerque Journal:

A federal magistrate handed down guilty verdicts Thursday against six anti-war activists who occupied an elevator for more than five hours last year at a federal office building in Santa Fe. Magistrate Don Svet ruled that the activists "unreasonably" blocked access to the elevator when they tried unsuccessfully to deliver an anti-war message to the office of Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

The six defendants were among nine activists who remained on the elevator at the Joseph M. Montoya Federal Building from about 11 a.m. to after 5 p.m. on Sept. 26, 2006. Security guards cut power to the elevator as the activists tried to reach Domenici's third-floor office, witnesses testified.

Each faces a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail and a $5,000 fine for the class C federal misdemeanor offense of failing to comply with signs and directions. Svet said he will hold a sentencing hearing within 30 days. Svet also accepted negotiated plea agreements Thursday from two of the nine activists and ordered each to pay a $25 fine. The two are Bruno Keller and Jan Lustig, both of Santa Fe. Federal prosecutors dropped charges against a ninth activist because he is a juvenile.

The Rev. John Dear, one of the six found guilty Thursday, said Svet's ruling is an attempt to silence anti-war protest. The ruling "sent a very strong signal to people who care about" the Iraq war, Dear said outside a federal court building in Albuquerque after the daylong trial. That message is, "don't speak out against the war," Dear said.

... An attorney for the co-defendants, Todd Hotchkiss of Albuquerque, said in closing that he was "surprised by the pettiness" federal officials showed by cutting power to the elevator when the activists tried to visit Domenici's office. "That response does not speak to the heart of democracy," Hotchkiss said.

... The co-defendants testified that they intended to visit Domenici's office as a group. Guards turned off power to the elevator after the nine entered the car, they said.

I'll bet if a group of Domenici's deep pocket campaign donors wanted to ride up in the elevator to express themselves, his staff would have fallen over backwards to accommodate them. Apparently constituents have to pay to get the Senator's ear. You know how he is.

See our previous post for more info on this case.

Friday: Campaign Kick Off for Don Wiviott for Senate

Please Join Us for the Campaign Kick Off Event
for
Don Wiviott
Democratic Candidate
for
United States Senate
New MexicoFriday, September 7th
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Ventana Fine Art
400 Canyon Road, Santa Fe
RSVP@donfornewmexico.com
505.820.2008Patron $250     Curator $100     Artist $50

“New Mexicans, no matter what your political views are, we agree that we need a change in Washington. It’s time for a fresh start.  Let’s get our troops out of Iraq, balance the federal budget, and increase our nation’s energy independence through a focus on renewable energy and sustainable building.”

Meet Don Wiviott
Don Wiviott, 51, is a community leader and small businessman who builds environmentally-friendly live/work spaces here in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  With a vision of creating diverse, sustainable and green communities where people can both live and work, Don’s award-winning THE LOFTS ™ and the Lofts at Marquez Place are home to over 150 businesses and residents, including numerous artists and technology companies.

Don serves on the Governor’s “Our Communities, Our Future” Task Force and is Chairman of the Mayor’s Economic Development Review Committee in Santa Fe. He is an active member of the Santa Fe Area Chamber of Commerce, Build Green New Mexico and the Santa Fe Alliance.  Don and his wife, Kelley Owen Wiviott, a prominent realtor, support more than 25 state and local charities, including 1000 Friends of New Mexico, Art Smart, Santa Fe Aids Walk, LENSIC, Warehouse 21, Santa Fe Design Week, Theatre Grottesco and other education, disability, youth, arts and environmental organizations.

Don worked as a union laborer while earning his B.A. from Dartmouth College and holds an M.B.A. from Harvard. Don and Kelley share their lives with two adult children: Jonathan and Hillary, as well as their dog Scooter.

Rove Paid Homage to Domenici on Bush Visit to NM

Turns out Karl Rove was on a stealth mission with The Decider when Bush zoomed into Albuquerque on August 27th to attend a big dollar fundraiser for Sen. Pete Domenici at the home of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Mayor Larry Abraham. According to a report by Jeff Jones in today's Albuquerque Journal (which I can't find online), Abraham told him he rode back to Kirtland Air Foce Base in the presidential limo with both Bush and Rove after the luncheon fundraiser.

There had been no previous mention of Rove's presence in New Mexico with Bush, probably with good reason. Testimony and emails have linked Rove with the U.S. Attorney firing scandal in no uncertain terms. And Domenici and NM GOP operatives were clearly enmeshed with Rove in the unethical political maneuvering that unsuccessfully pressured New Mexico's former U.S. Attorney, David Iglesias, to file bogus "voter fraud" cases and rush indictments in the Albuquerque courthouse case before the November 2006 election. Domenici and other New Mexican Repubs, you may recall, reportedly urged Rove and others to see that Iglesias was fired when he didn't buckle under their pressure.

Iglesias was back in the news recently when Alberto Gonzales finally resigned in disgrace. He's quoted in an article in the Albuquerque Tribune:

"Alberto Gonzales is not solely responsible for my illicit firing. People like (Sen.) Pete Domenici also were responsible," Iglesias told The Tribune.

Iglesias said he believes Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff, "cooked up" the plan to fire the U.S. attorneys with the aid of people such as Domenici, the Albuquerque Republican who today hosted President Bush at a fund-raiser in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque

Since Rove's last day on the job was August 31st, one of his last acts while on the White House payroll was to jet here to see his old cronies in the New Mexico GOP. Rove apparently thought it important to touch base with Domenici, helping him raise cash while undoubtedly urging him to continue his support for Bush's miserably misbegotten Iraq occupation. I'm sure Karl also made a point of hugging Pat Rogers, Mickey Barnett and Repub Party Chair Allen Weh, who were so instrumental in attempting to execute Rove's long running battleground state "voter fraud" strategy to disenfranchise and discourage Dem voters. The three, along with Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, were also heavily involved in the process that led to former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias getting fired.

To refresh your memory, Domenici and Weh reportedly urged Rove to pass along the word to Bush and Alberto Gonzales that they wanted Iglesias fired for refusing to make the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico an arm of the GOP political operation. Soon afterwards, Iglesias was gone.

Check out the discussion about the involvement of Rogers and Barnett in our post from May of this year. Also be sure to revisit the excellent piece by James Scarantino from the May 24-30, 2007 edition of the alibi that details the shady dealings of Pat Rogers, Pete Domenici and Rove related to the "voter fraud" campaign and Iglesias' firing.

No wonder Rove accompanied the president to New Mexico last month. He wanted to link up once again with the New Mexico Repubs who were such important cogs in the machine Rove created to politicize the U.S. Department of Justice and make the federal government just another element of his grand plan for GOP dominance at the polls. Oh to have been a fly on the wall when Rove reunited with his New Mexico GOP hit team to reminisce and plot one last time before he left his post at the White House to pursue who knows what. I'm sure Rove wanted to remind his cronies to stick with the party line in any future proceedings in DC about the attorney firings. After all, neither Domenici nor Wilson have yet to be cleared of wrongdoing in their admitted calls to Iglesias before the 2006 election. Silence is golden, and loose lips sink ships -- even ships of state.

For a collection of our previous posts on the firing of David Iglesias and the U.S. Attorney scandal, visit our archive.

Visuals: Iraq Summer 'Take a Stand' in Albuquerque

I haven't had a chance to report on the moving and well-attended Take a Stand Town Hall organized in Albuquerque by the Iraq Summer campaign and others. The August 28th event at the UNM Continuing Education Auditorium attracted more than 300 people to hear Albuquerque City Counselor Martin Heinrich; ex-Marine Bruce Clark (videos above), the parent of two sons in the military, one of whom is stationed north of Baghdad right now; Major General Mel Montano, US Air National Guard, Retired, and former Adjunct General of New Mexico; Judy Pratt, activist, former NM State Senator and 1984 U.S. Senate candidate against Pete Domenici; and Greg Richardson of the Iraq Summer campaign.

Both Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson were invited to participate, but refused the invitation to speak with their constituents about what they plan to do to end the carnage in Iraq.

I've compiled images from the Albuquerque event in this photo album for you to check out.

City Councilor Martin Heinrich speaks to crowd

The videos at the top of this post are excerpts of Bruce Clark's extremely emotional and passionate speech. They're of rather poor quality, taken with our little digital camera, but I hope you'll listen to Bruce's words about the real intent of Bush, his cronies and his supporters like Domenici and Wilson. If everyone in New Mexico could hear Bruce speak, I know that most of them would have a clear picture of what's truly at stake here. The other speakers were also excellent, and I'll cover more of what they had to say later. For now, please listen to Mr. Clark and do what you can to convince Domenici and Wilson to do what's right for the country, not what's right for the GOP or the Bush administration.

The event was moderated by Carter Bundy of AFSCME, who did a bang up job, and began with what seemed like an eternity of total silence as we watched a slideshow with the faces and names of members of the military from New Mexico who have died in the war. Lives are at stake. Time is of the essence. And still Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson won't vote to stop the deadly and damaging occupation.

By the way, Iraq Summer, MoveOn, True Majority and others helped organize similar events in many other states around the nation that day. Click to see a slide show of photos from other states.

Help Elect Replacements for Wilson and Domenici
The Beat Back Bush New Mexico page was created at Act Blue to counteract Bush's recent visit to Albuquerque to raise money for Pete Domenici. It's designed to raise donations from New Mexico's progressive netroots-grassroots for candidates who will run against the Republicans here. If you haven't donated yet, there's still time. Contrbute a few bucks to Martin Heinrich and Don Wiviot -- candidates who want to get rid of Heather Wilson and Pete Domenici once and for all in November 2008.

Click to read our previous posts about Beat Back Bush New Mexico.

TONIGHT: Take a Stand and Demand that Domenici & Wilson Do the Same

Watch this video, listen to Iraq Vet John Bruhns (who has been blogging on AMERICAblog this month) -- and do what he says. Today, there will be over 700 "Take a Stand" events around the country. You can find one here. Take a Stand. In Albuquerque: UNM Continuing Education Auditorium, 1634 University Blvd. NE, 7 PM. If you can't make it, check in at AMERICAblog tonight for the live blogging on Take a Stand efforts. You might even get some right here.