Democracy for New Mexico

NM-Sen: Meet Tom Udall at Official Opening of Campaign HQ This Thursday

From Tom Udall for U.S. Senate:
You're invited to join us in welcoming Congressman Tom Udall as we celebrate the formal opening of the Tom Udall for Senate Campaign Headquarters in Albuquerque! There will be light refreshments and information about how you can get involved in helping to elect Congressman Udall to serve as New Mexico's next US Senator!

• When? Thursday, May 29th, 5 PM until 7 PM
• Where? 3311 Candelaria Rd NE, Suite B (Just West of Carlisle), Albuquerque
• Click for FLYER and pass it on

RSVP by contacting Andrew Marshall at 505.884.3055 or by email at amarshall@tomudall.com.

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NM-Sen: New DSCC Videos, Tom Udall the Un-Politician

The videos above were released by the DSCC as part of their Road to Victory series on Democratic Senate candidates being conducted by Amy Rubin, who's been hitting the road with a video camera and interviewing Dems running for U.S. Senate. Visit the Road to Victory website for more videos and Amy's travel diary.

Also see this diary by liberaltruthsayer on Daily Kos about Rep. Udall, his family and the videos. And don't miss the New Mexico Independent's exclusive interview with Rep. Udall. Nice work. Excerpt on Rep. Udall's position on endorsing a Dem presidential candidate:

NMI: Your party’s presidential primary looks like it’s pretty much over. So, as a superdelegate to the national convention in Denver, you’ll be voting for Obama, right?

TU: I promised New Mexico citizens that I would let the voters speak first and I told them I would wait until June 3rd until all the voters in the nation had spoken. So I’m going to keep that promise and then shortly after that be visiting with superdelegates with both campaigns and make up my mind.

NMI: Just in terms of practical politics, one reason you’re not endorsing anyone is because you don’t want to unnecessarily alienate any Clinton supporters, right?

TU: Well, one of the practical reasons I chose not to endorse was so that I could be a healer and I could bring both camps together. I think that’s a very important role for some of us to play so that we have a united party going into the fall.

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NM-Sen: Udall to Air First Two TV Ads in Tandem

"Doing What's Right" on NM roots and record as prosecutor and AG

"Same Opportunity" on veterans' benefits

These two ads will begin airing tomorrow across New Mexico according to the Tom Udall for U.S. Senate campaign. They're the first of what promises to be a long election season for Rep. Udall. As is conventional, they're designed to communicate biographical and experience information -- to introduce the candidate. As we know, Tom Udall doesn't need much introduction to many voters, but I'm sure there are young voters and newcomers out there who aren't aware of the info the ads provide.

In a statement, the campaign described the ads this way:

The first, a 60-second advertisement entitled “What’s Right”, highlights Udall’s roots in New Mexico, beginning with his grandmother Louise Lee who was born in Luna, N.M. in 1893. The ad focuses on his record as a prosecutor and Attorney General, working to pass tough anti-stalking laws, a tougher DWI law, and prosecuting corrupt political officials, regardless of party. The ad also touches on Udall’s strong record of doing what’s right for New Mexico in the United States Congress, helping save Cannon Air Force Base, fighting for new counterterrorism jobs at Los Alamos and requiring utilities to use more alternative energy.  To watch “What’s Right” click HERE.

Also debuting tomorrow is a 30-second spot emphasizing Udall’s commitment to doing what’s right for our nation’s veterans. In the ad, entitled “Same Opportunity,” Udall reflects on his father’s military service and the G.I. Bill that helped him start a new life. The ad highlights his work increasing support for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder. Udall also discusses the need for a new G.I. Bill to help veterans afford college. To view “Same Opportunity” click HERE.

“These first ads will help New Mexicans see that Tom Udall has the integrity to do what’s right for New Mexico,” said Udall Campaign Manager Amanda Cooper. “As Attorney General and Congressman, Tom has a long record of fighting for the people of New Mexico.  He’s repeatedly taken on the special interests because it was the right thing to do for the people of New Mexico.  And he’ll continue to do that in the United States Senate.”

PS: Have you checked out the Udogs yet? Ruff, ruff!

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Michelle Obama, George Bush, John McCain Heading to New Mexico

Get ready for the general election onslaught -- even though we're technically not yet out of primary season. Bush, McSame and Michelle Obama will all be at events in New Mexico next week -- the start of what will no doubt be an unprecedented torrent of A-list politicos, surrogates galore and 24/7 campaign ads blanketing our political landscape. With three open Congressional seats and one Senate seat up for grabs, and with New Mexico expected once again to be a much sought after swing state in the prez race, this should be a doozy of a general election cycle in Enchantment Land.

The Failed President
Bush himself will be here next Tuesday, March 27, at a $1000 per person fundraiser for Senate candidate Darren White and the New Mexico Repub Party. It looks like the event will be held at a private residence in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. Could it be that the GOP bigwigs will gather once again at the home of Los Ranchos Mayor Larry Abraham? Bush appeared at a fundraiser there for Pete Domenici back on August 27, 2007, when Domenici still claimed he was running for another Senate term.

If so, it would be ironic given that the ACLU has filed suit against Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White and others for their actions during Bush's August '07 visit. The suite complains that law enforcement officials kept protestors out of sight, more than 150 yards away, while a group of people holding a banner reading “God Bless George Bush! We Pray for You!” were allowed within feet of Abraham's house.

Michelle Obama Fundraisers
Also scheduled for next Tuesday, May 27, are two fundraisers with Michelle Obama -- one in Santa Fe and one in Albuquerque, according to the AP. A $500 per guest - $2300 per co-host reception and luncheon with Gov. Bill Richardson and Michelle Obama will be held at Yanni's Mediterranean Bar and Grill in Albuquerque. A $1000 per person fundraiser with Michelle will take place later that day at the home of former AG Paul Bardacke in Santa Fe. These events are a little rich for my taste. Sure would be nice if Michelle squeezed in a low dollar event for People Like Us, or we're out of luck catching Michelle this time around.

The Man Who Would Be Bush II
John McCain will be in Albuquerque on Monday, May 26th, to speak at a Memorial Day tribute to veterans that's open to the public. It will take place from 10 AM to Noon at the New Mexico Veterans' Memorial at 1100 Louisiana SE. McCain will attend another event in Albuquerque that day, but details haven't yet been released.

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Video-David Iglesias on Darren White: "A Shoot from the Hip Kind of Lawman"; Also Disses Heather Wilson

Here's a blockbuster clip of New Mexico's former U.S. Attorney, David Iglesias, answering a question about Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White at a recent appearance at Bookworks in Albuquerque. Iglesias, a Republican, was discussing his new book, In Justice: Inside the Scandal That Rocked the Bush Administration. White, also a Republican, is running for Congress in NM-01.

Iglesias quotes from his book to describe White as "a shoot from the hip kind of lawman" who "shoots first, aims later." Iglesias also says,"I've been very disappointed in Darren. He doesn't understand his duties as a Sheriff. He put, and, this is what I'm very critical of people like [Alberto] Gonzales [as well], they put loyalty to their party at a higher level than their loyalty to the Constitution. Darren did the same thing. So I hope the voters understand that, come November."

He then discusses White's unprofessional behavior in pushing him to file voter fraud charges despite their being no evidence of such fraud in New Mexico.

George Bush is coming to Albuquerque on Tuesday, May 27th, for a big-ticket fundraiser to benefit Darren White's Congressional campaign and the New Mexico GOP. Could White be more joined at the hip to Bush and his administration's often unconstitutional or illegal actions related to the U.S. Justice Department? Never forget, White served as Bush's campaign chairman in Bernalillo County during the 2004 presidential race.

UPDATE: Also see an expanded clip of this exchange from the New Mexico Independent that includes Iglesias' criticism of Heather Wilson and her phone call pressuring him about issuing indictments in a political corruption case involving Democrats. Heather Wilson is battling Steve Pearce in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate.

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Awkward Befuddlement Rules Saturday's Wilson-Pearce Debate

It bores me no end to watch Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce debate (video) as they did this past Saturday in Roswell. Judge for yourself but, to me, the event's most telling moments came with the general befuddlement produced by Wilson arguing that the moderators weren't following the rules set for the debate. Heavy. Lots of back and forth over nothing, like most of the GOP rhetoric we hear today.

The biggest tussles, according to the AP, were over Pearce's vote for the humongous farm subsidy bill and Heather's vote against it, as well as Wilson's vote of "present" on the Iraq occupation funding amendment, which Pearce voted for despite Bush's orders from on high to oppose it because of a requirement in the measure that troops start being withdrawn from Iraq in 30 days.

Heather and Steve seem to be scraping to come up with small differences between their twin-like conservative agendas, mostly making suspect and strained accusations that the other voted against something within a huge bill going through complex maneuvers in the U.S. House. Bottom line: both of them are proponents of continuing the Bush-Cheney agenda. They're against almost everything a majority of Americans are for today and for almost everything most Americans are against. That's according to extensive and detailed polling over months and months that consistently shows that most Americans agree with Democratic positions -- if they actually get a chance to hear them in the mainstream media in between the shouting heads or buried in the generally shallow print coverage.

Granted, Pearce is a smidgeon farther to the right than Wilson. Heather does cave at times on issues like health care for children or stem cell research meaning to show some compassion. And granted, Pearce's public personna is much more nasty and domineering. But both of them are all for continuing the Iraq occupation into infinity, he-man saber-rattling against Iran, virtually unlimited blobs of money for anything that can be tagged as "national defense" or "homeland security," walling off our Southern border, giving the government free rein to surveill its citizens without meaningful oversight and shielding the elite economic class from paying its fair share of taxes.

They both want to make our health care system more profitable for the profit makers and to hell with any citizens' rights to affordable, accessible, quality health care. They both are for inserting the government into the process of women making personal health care decisions with their doctors. They both believe that GLBT citizens should be denied equal rights under the law. And they both claim to detest government spending except when it happens in New Mexico.

For the most part, Heather and Steve content themselves with trying to out-butch one another's claims to be willing and able to get more defense and lab funds than their opponent, regardless of what they are used for. Yes, if we can only cement the labs' hold on the past and deflect the juggernaut that's pushing for a change in mission to renewable energy and other green technology research, all will be well in New Mexico. I guess that's why they call themsleve "conservatives," as in trying to keep the power and money where it currently resides rather than opening things up to a future that requires innovation and thinking out of the box. They are both in the box and are dedicated to keeping the narrative inside that well-defined, virtual prison of stale and greed-based thinking. I can't wait until one them has to face Tom Udall.

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NM-Sen: Boots Made for Walkin' - Happy Birthday Tom Udall!

Click on photo to get the details on Tom Udall's boots

Rep. Tom Udall flew back to New Mexico yesterday for two main reasons: to cast his (paper) ballot on the first day of expanded early voting in Santa Fe for our June 3rd primary, and to celebrate his 60th birthday today with his family.

Happy Birthday, Congressman Udall! Now about those boots ....

Mary Ellen caught up with Rep. Udall at the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds where the media was invited to witness his voting. The only other person to show up was fellow-blogger Julia Goldberg. (You can read her account of the Udall voting experience here.)

Julia tried to get Udall to reveal who he's supporting in the NM-03 Congressional race and who he'll endorse for the Dem prez nomination, but it was no dice. Tom's the tall and silent type when it comes to revelations like these it seems, though he's a super friendly guy and down to earth as all get out. Take his boots, for instance. They're well worn, patched up and broken in. Udall seems as comfortable in his boots as he is in his own skin -- a trait we like in our politicos and our friends here in New Mexico.

It's clear that Tom Udall has walked many miles in his boots -- in the halls of Congress, on the campaign trail, along the sidewalks of our cities, the sandy paths of the high desert and the stream beds in the mountains. The boots tell a tale of hard work for constituents, moseying and mingling and touching base on the ground in every corner of the state.

Some slick pols like George Bush wear boots too, but they're almost always brand new boots without a crack, crease or speck of dust in sight. Udall is the real deal, as are his boots. Unlike Bush, who's afraid of horses (a fact), Udall heads out on horseback whenever he gets the chance. Martin Heinrich shared an anecdote the other day about a six-hour trail ride he enjoyed with Tom recently. Six hours. Martin admitted he had a bit of trouble walking when he finally dismounted. Tom got off the horse and didn't wince once. I bet he had his old boots on, too.

Asked about the state of his boots, Udall told the story of the famous photo of Adlai Stevenson and the hole in his shoe, worn into the leather by tireless political work and equally tireless campaigning. As Stevenson said then, better a hole in the shoe than a hole in the head. Amen.

Bucks to Honor the Boots & Birthday
To honor Tom Udall's 60th birthday today -- and show him how much we appreciate all those miles he's walked for us in his down home boots -- we're gonna donate a buck for each year that Tom's been on the planet to his Senate campaign. Click to do the same. If we want Tom Udall as our next Senator from New Mexico, we need to help him NOW. Just do it.

Oh, and about that voting yesterday ...

It was an intimate gathering in a distinctly New Mexican location -- 4H and animal feed company signs on the walls of an old fairgrounds barn. Tom's wonderful wife, Jill Cooper Udall, drove up in a Prius and met him in the parking lot. They chatted up the bloggers and the intrepid poll workers, voted and got on with their busy lives. It all went down very quickly. You can vote early and easy too -- click here to find out how.

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NM-Sen: Udall Canvassing Off to Good Start

About 30 enthusiastic people showed up today to participate in a canvass organized by the Tom Udall for Senate campaign and the Dem Party of New Mexico in Albuquerque. There will be many more to come. Even though Udall is getting terrific polling numbers in this race, the GOP will definitely be waging a no-holds-barred battle to hang onto the Senate seat in New Mexico. We have to work hard from now until November to make sure the Dems take this seat.

It's always good to stay informed by following the poll numbers and the latest political news, but if we're not phone banking, canvassing or helping out in other ways with the campaign(s) of our choice, we can't really call ourselves activists, can we? I know -- nag, nag, nag, but it's vital we all do what we can.

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

With early voting going on now for the June 3rd primary, volunteers are needed by candidates in all the contested Legislative races, county elections and Congressional contests to work on identifying voters and getting them to vote. The Democratic Party of New Mexico and your County Dem Party also need help. Please check in at the campaign of your choice and do what you can between now and June 3rd. Some ideas:

Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Bernalillo County Clerk
https://www.keepmaggie.com/

Eric Griego, State Senate 14
https://www.ericgriegofornewmexico.com/

John Blair, State Senate 15
https://www.johnblair.org/

Tim Keller, State Senate District 17
https://www.timkellerfornewmexico.com/

Martin Heinrich, U.S. House, NM-01
https://www.martinheinrich.com/

Bill McCamley, U.S. House, NM-02
https://www.billmccamley.com/

Ben R. Lujan, U.S. House, NM-03
https://www.benrlujan.com/

Benny Shendo Jr., U.S. House NM-03
https://runningwithbenny.blogspot.com/

Tom Udall, U.S. Senate, New Mexico
https://tomudall.com/

Jason Marks, Public Regulation Commission, District 1
https://www.jasonmarks.com/index.html

Democratic Party of New Mexico
https://www.nmdemocrats.net/

Technorati Tags:Tom Udall, NM-Sen, Albuquerque, New Mexico, canvassing, activism, Democrats, Democratic Party of New Mexico

NM-Sen: Albuquerque Journal Fails to Report SUSA Poll Numbers for Udall

Now there's one more reason to question the fairness of the Albuquerque Journal. In today's Political Update section, the newspaper reported the statistical tie between Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson, the GOP primary candidates in the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, in the recent SurveyUSA poll. However, I guess they don't think that SUSA results from the same day showing Tom Udall beating both Wilson and Pearce by about 25 points are of interest to their readers because they failed to report those numbers. Just an oversight, I'm sure.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Journal also chooses to ignore the results from a new 5/14 Rasmussen poll of likely voters that shows:

Tom Udall (D): 53 (54)
Steve Pearce (R): 37 (40)

Tom Udall (D): 57 (56)
Heather Wilson (R): 36 (36)

(4/8 Rasmussen results in parentheses)

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NM-Sen: Check New Udall Website and Join the Udall Canvass This Saturday

It's been a long time comin' but it's finally here. Check out the new and improved Tom Udall for Senate campaign website and blog. Fresh, clean, interactive, more widgets and feaures on the way.

Next, consider participating in the campaign's big Canvass Day tomorrow, May 17, held in conjunction with the Democratic Party of New Mexico. Assemble at 10:00 AM at the Udall Campaign Office at 3311 Candelaria NE, Suite A, in Albuquerque (map). Call Andrew Marshal at 505.884.3055 to RSVP or learn more. There'll be coffee and AM munchies to help you prime your pump.

Internet Director Steve Olson and Online Communications Manager Bryan Barash -- the campaign's friendly, neighborhood web team (as they describe themselves) -- will be heading out tomorrow too, so remember to smile for the video camera while you knock on those doors. Mary Ellen and I will be there too, so come on down and join us if you can. You know it's always invigorating to be among a bunch of Dems working for change. This year, the energy is percolating stronger than I've ever felt it. Come and see for yourself.

Also recommended: check out NM FBIHOP's with Udall's internet team for a humorous (corny look at what's up at TomUdall.com.