Democracy for New Mexico

Saturday Music Hall: Hillary Song

I was wandering the web this morning and came upon this ancient clip. I can't entirely explain it but, for some reason, all I could think of when listening to it (besides how young the lads were back then) was how descriptive it is in some way of the corporatist, "free" trade black hole that lies inside the faux-Democratic facade that is Hillary. She can't really be our nominee, can she? Let's hope Democrats "find out" before it's too late....

Elizabeth Edwards to Host John Edwards Fundraiser in Albuquerque

Elizabeth and John Edwards at recent campaign event

From John Edwards '08:
Elizabeth Edwards will be in Albuquerque this month at a house party to benefit her husband John's presidential campaign:

What: John Edwards for President Fundraiser
with Elizabeth Edwards
Date: Friday, June 22nd
Time: 6 PM
Place: Home of Ron Morgan, 508 Solano SE, ABQ
Tickets: $250, $500, $1000, and $2300
RSVP: Amanda Scott (505) 224-8089 or ascott@johnedwards.com

August 2-5, 2007: Yearly Kos II

Anyone else going to the second annual Yearly Kos Convention at McCormick Place on Chicago's lakefront? We've registered, reserved our hotel room and bought our airline tickets. Slots are filling up fast. In fact, the event's room block at the Hyatt next to the convention center has sold out. A second room block, at the Michigan Avenue Hilton Hotel, has just opened. Sounds like this year's YK will be even better than the first gathering in Las Vegas last year, which we regretfully had to miss. We're not missing it this year! After all, I was born and raised in Chicago and haven't seen it in more than 5 years.

Already confirmed for Saturday's Dem presidential candidate forum: Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Barack Obama, and our own Gov. Bill Richardson. Matt Bai, writer for The New York Times Magazine and author of a book on Democratic politics to be released in August, and Joan McCarter, contributing editor at Daily Kos, will moderate. Author and blogger Dr. Jeffrey Feldman will facilitate questions from convention attendees and those submitted in advance from tens of thousands of blog readers.

Just announced: Howard Dean will be the keynote speaker at Thursday evening's kickoff event. Markos and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) will provide the welcoming remarks that night. A reception will be held afterwards. Wesley Clark has also confirmed he'll be the keynote speaker on Friday morning.

In addition to the forum, the conference will include panels and caucuses led by national and international experts; prominent nationally recognized political, issue and policy-oriented speakers; a progressive film screening series; and the most concentrated gathering of high-profile progressive bloggers to date

Yearly Kos is entirely organized by volunteers who came up with the idea on their own last year. They had no idea how large and influential it would become. For more information or to register, visit the Yearly Kos Convention website.

Hero-For-Sale Rudy Giuliani Trolling for Cash in NM This Weekend

The Albuquerque Journal reports Repub prez hopeful Rudy Giuliani will be in Albuquerque this Saturday looking for big dollar donations from NM GOP bigwigs at a private luncheon fundraiser. It will cost $4,600 to participate in a "round table discussion" with Rudy, and a mere $2,300 for a photo standing next to the former New York City Mayor. When Giuliani goes after the big bucks, playing on his carefully crafted image as an alleged American hero and patriot for his actions during the 9-11 tragedy, he doesn't fool around. He milks it to the nth degree.

To get the full flavor of how craven Giuliani has been in parlaying his 9-11 connections into cash and pseudo-credibility, you really have to read the new article by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone. According to a sidebar in the print version of the article, Rudy was worth only $7,000 in 2001, as reported to divorce court. This year his net worth is $30 MILLION, as disclosed in federal election reports. Not bad for "America's Mayor," as he bills himself.

Excerpts from the online version:

Although few people outside of New York know it yet, there is an emerging controversy over Giuliani's heroic 9/11 legacy. Critics charge that Rudy's failure to resolve the feuding between the city's police and firefighters prior to the attack led to untold numbers of deaths, the most tragic example being the inability of firemen to hear warnings from police helicopters about the impending collapse of the South Tower. The 9/11 Commission concluded that the two departments had been "designed to work independently, not together," and that greater coordination would have spared many lives.

... Rudy Giuliani is a true American hero, and we know this because he does all the things we expect of heroes these days -- like make $16 million a year, and lobby for Hugo Chávez and Rupert Murdoch, and promote wars without ever having served in the military, and hire a lawyer to call his second wife a "stuck pig," and organize absurd, grandstanding pogroms against minor foreign artists, and generally drift through life being a shameless opportunist with an outsize ego who doesn't even bother to conceal the fact that he's had a hard-on for the presidency since he was in diapers. In the media age, we can't have a hero humble enough to actually be one; what is needed is a tireless scoundrel, a cad willing to pose all day long for photos, who'll accept $100,000 to talk about heroism for an hour, who has the balls to take a $2.7 million advance to write a book about himself called Leadership. That's Rudy Giuliani. Our hero. And a perfect choice to uphold the legacy of George W. Bush.

You might have surmised by now that Taibbi isn't known for mincing words. Here he is highlighting Giuliani's hookups with Karl Rove's henchmen and a Swift Boat-style attack on Hillary:

... there's no question that Giuliani has made the continuation of Swift-Boating politics a linchpin of his candidacy. His political hires speak deeply to that tendency. Chris Henick, formerly Karl Rove's most trusted deputy, is now a key aide at Giuliani Partners, the security firm set up by the mayor to cash in on his 9/11 image. One of his top donors, Richard Collins, is a longtime Bush supporter who was instrumental in setting up "Stop Her Now," a 527 group modeled on Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that will be used to attack Hillary Clinton. And the money for the smear campaign comes from the same Texas sources behind the Swift Boaters, including oilman T. Boone Pickens and Houston home builder Bob Perry.

... And let's not forget Bernie Kerik, Rudy's very own hairy-assed Sancho Panza, who was nixed as director of Homeland Security after investigators uncovered a gift he received from a construction firm with alleged mob ties that wanted to do business with Giuliani's administration. It is a testament to the monstrous breadth of Rudy's chutzpah that he used his post-9/11 celebrity to push his personal bagman for a post that milks the world's hugest security-contracts tit -- at the very moment when he himself was creating a security-services company.

The article also goes into detail describing how Rudy's inept and careless handling of the clean-up of the 9-11 wreckage is producing medical problems galore for many who participated. And how his stint as Mayor of New York and his subsequent role as a lobbyist were characterized primarily by his jumping into bed with whoever had big bucks to give. Ever since 9-11, Rudy's focused on setting up private companies that benefit hugely from "homeland security" contracts, and grabbing up to $200,000 per speech to talk about his patriotism and how he saved the day in NYC. His main message? Pay me, I'm a hero!" In 2002 he he reported $8 million in speaking income. Last year it topped $11 million. Not bad for someone who basically held the spotlight during the tragedy during one day before the TV cameras while Bush was hiding out.

I'm sure he'll get more than a few standing ovations (and big checks) when he appears this weekend before New Mexico's Repub elite. He's not known for doing anything without a big personal payoff. Cha-ching!

Ranting the Dem Prez Debate: Blitzer Glitz

I confess I'm finding these psuedo-debates more and more useless, shallow and boring. I can only imagine how unappealing non-political junkies are finding this fare. I think the CNN version was the worst yet, clearly staged mostly to show off the self-perceived incisiveness and cleverness of Wolf Blitzer. He is, after all, a legend in his own mind. Mostly, he needs a shave and an apprenticeship with a real journalist (or a serious blogger) so he can learn to avoid the vapid questions he poses in his gotcha game-show performances: "Raise your hand if you are for English! Raise your hand if you're for higher gas prices! Raise your hand if you think I'm a pontificating control freak!" And then there's always some variation on "What would you do if Osama bin Laden threw an A-bomb into the middle of Washington DC?" to test whether candidates are "tough enough" on terrorism. Juvenile, juvenile, juvenile.

Every time a candidate veered even slightly towards saying something meaningful, Wolfie shut them down like a sh-shing schoolmarm. It was heartening to witness a few of the "debaters" pounce on him more than once for his silly attempts to elicit a "devisive" or "newsworthy" sound bite from the bunch.

Pickin' and Choosin'
I'm also sick of these mainstream media types deciding for us who should get to be center stage and who should get the most air time. You could barely see or hear Kucinich or Gravel, who were placed at the far edges of the glamour lineup even though, once again, they were the only candidates entirely willing to utter what they really believed instead of canned PR lines. Agree or disagree with their positions, at least they offered them without much window dressing or weasling.

I loved how they called out the others on their pro-attack-Iraq votes, and their insistence that universal, single payer health coverage is the ONLY sensible and practical way to improve our system. If you don't cut out the profit suckers in the middle and the for-profits that waste about 19% of health care spending on administrative costs, you ain't gonna be able to afford to cover everyone. I don't care how much exercise and "preventive care" you require of Americans. The "serious" candidates all know this but prefer to pretend otherwise, trying instead to baffle Americans with BS on this issue. Oh, they're all for universal health care, as we've heard from every Dem candidate for decades now. They're just not prepared to do what it would take to really provide it: confront Big Pharma and Big Insurance in no uncertain terms.

Bill Richardson didn't get to answer a question until almost 20 minutes into the two-hour event, and he was repeatedly shut down throughout. Personally, I thought he gave one of his strongest answers on gay rights:

"I love all this parsing and senatorial courtesy and 'on the one hand, on the other hand.' Here's what I would do. I would do what I did as governor of New Mexico. One, I would move in the Congress for a hate crimes law. I would have domestic partnerships. I would have civil unions. I would initiate laws that practice non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. I would get rid of 'don't ask, don't tell.' I voted against it as a congressman. A president has to show leadership...and this country should not be asking a person who is giving up their life for this country in the military...they should not be given...a lecture on sexual orientation."

I also liked his proposal to threaten to boycott the Peking Olympics if China doesn't quit coddling Sudan's murderous behavior in Darfur so they keep their oil spigot open to them. I thought his worst answer had to do with providing Presidents with line item veto power on the budget. Can you imagine what Bush would have done with that? And how it would decimate Congress' powers to negotiate?

Wolfie felt perfectly justified in cutting Richardson off in mid-sentence whenever he felt like it, something he rarely, if ever, did with the media's preferred "top three." Biden and Dodd got the same treatment. Wolfie seemed to give the most time by far to Hillary, Barack and Edwards. He is one powerful dude. He gets to pick and choose and shape and sell and to hell with fairness and equal time.

Pre-Fab Bells and Whistles
I really didn't like the contrived and artificial attempt to include "audience questions" in the second hour. Could the CNN producers have selected a more canned and melodrama-enriched group of questioners? There were the obligatory people with relatives serving in Iraq, and the "everyman" and "everywoman" types who own hair salons and teach school. Does anyone really care how many kids they have or what they do for a living when they're posing another milquetoast, generic question?

Did you get a load of that graphically imposing stage set CNN no doubt spent tens of thousands of dollars to create? Too bad they couldn't get the reporters' microphones to work properly. Minor detail, I know. More time wasted on repeating certain questions over and over because a candidate couldn't hear a thing. Hey CNN: less graphics and strobing lights, more basic broadcasting professionalism.

Probing Past Pablum Answers
I note the endless regurgitating of the media over who "won" the debate, which really entails determining which candidate managed to cram the most prepackaged, scripted gotcha quotes into their answers, and do so as fast as possible without any ums or ers. This is how we judge candidates for a job that will require enlightened leadership and out-of-the-box thinking to the nth degree given the emergencies wreaking havoc in almost every area of foreign and domestic affairs?

Just once, I'd like to see the polished talking points of the frontrunners punctured by real followup questions. You know, the kind serious journalists used to ask back when reporting was more than a ratings game. One example: how about probing a little deeper on the (always evolving) excuse used by Hillary to justify voting for unlimited war powers for Bush in Iraq? Her latest tactic is to claim she really thought she was voting merely to give Bush a way to get inspectors on the ground in Iraq. Heaven forbid -- she had no idea Bush Boy would use his open-ended permission slip to rush to war! Who'da thunk it?

Bottom line: I think these fake debates are worthless in every aspect except, perhaps, judging the quality of the candidates' hair and makeup teams. Did you notice that Hillary's face didn't have one wrinkle evident? An amazing feat given her age. Did you dig the latest evolution of Biden's intricate comb over of his balding head? Did you notice the tannish skin tones on so many of the candidates? Pockmarks and pimples begone.

Dream Debates
Wouldn't you like to see someone like Juan Cole asking the quesions about Iraq? Or Paul Krugman pummeling the candidates with questions about health care reform and economic fairness? How about David Sirota stripping the candidates down to their real views on "free" trade? Or Bill Moyers posing pointed questions about media conglomerates and big money in politics? Wouldn't you like to witness Glenn Greenwald pressuring the candidates to explain their views on habeas corpus and warrantless wiretapping? Now THAT would be must-see TV....

In case you missed the debate and want to see it, visit the CNN debate page. And Steve Terrell was in New Hampshire for the debate and has blow by blow coverage, as well as lots of photos. Photos: Reuters.

Richardson Campaign Organizing Dem Prez Debate Watch Parties Today

A Democratic presidential candidate debate will be held in New Hampshire today from 5:00 to 7:00 PM Mountain Time, and broadcast on CNN. Wolf Blitzer will be the moderator. The Richardson for President campaign is helping to organize debate watch parties, plus a virtual debate watch party online. Click for .

Santa Fe for Gore '08 Campaign: Monday Morning Welcome and Visibility Event

From Linda Perrone: The Santa Fe for Gore ’08 Campaign welcomes Vice President Al Gore with a visibility event to show support.

Bernalillo, NM -- Santa Fe for Gore ’08 Campaign members will be rallying to welcome the Former Vice President, Al Gore, to New Mexico.  We will be supporting his efforts to bring attention and call to action steps to combat the climate crisis and to encourage him to run for President, so he can make the necessary changes needed on this and the many other challenges we face to move us forward. This event serves as a kick off for World Environment Day on Tuesday, June 5, 2007. Please join us and show your support, pick up a list of steps you can take and pick up a button, while supplies last.

Who:  Santa Fe for Gore ’08 Campaign
What:  Visibility and Support Rally
When:  Monday, June 4, 2007, 7:30 AM-10:00 AM
Where:  At intersection of Highway 550 & Jemez Dam Rd.

Contact:  Linda Perrone, mailforldp@gmail.com

Editor's Note: Gore will be speaking at a private event, the Sustainable Operations Summit, at the Tamaya Resort and Spa near Bernalillo on Monday.

Adding Insult to Injury on the Iraq Betrayal

Total U.S. Troop Deaths: 3,441 (104-April, 90 so far-May)
Total U.S. Troops Wounded: 25,242 (thru 5/10)
Untold Thousands of Iraqis Dead and Mutilated
$94 Billion More War Dollars Appropriated

It's difficult to write anything original about passage of the Iraq Occupation Capitulation Act yesterday. A myriad of passionate responses and pointed analyses dominate Dem sites all over the web. We all know in our hearts what a calculated betrayal this was.

In the House a majority of Dems voted against the capitulation, including Pelosi and Obey, the bill's sponsor. In the Senate, only 10 Dems (and Sanders) voted against the funding bill. Once again way too many Dems chose to protect their political hides from "scary" criticism by the rightwingos, and vote with the Republicans. Some opposition party. They couldn't or wouldn't muster the nerve to vote for what is right -- to protect our troops from further exploitation in a boiling cauldron of bloody chaos. Our own Senator Bingaman is one of them. The only NM member of Congress to vote to end this failed and bloody experiment in 21st century imperialism was Rep. Tom Udall (NM-03). At the moment, he's the only NM member of Congress I respect. The rest are either deluded or lacking honest conviction in my book.

As bad as the vote was, the explanation being offered to the media and the base by Dems is worse -- exhibiting the lowest form of cynical manipulation. As is so often the case, I think David Sirota has it exactly right in this post, which I hope you'll read. His bottom line:

This is what we're dealing with folks. A party that runs to the press to brag about the brilliance of using their majority not to end the war, but to create a situation that makes it seem as if they oppose the war, while actually helping Republicans continue it.

You can check out the roll call votes to see who caved and who didn't:

• Senate
• House

As I'm sure you know by now, Obama and Clinton both ended up voting against the funding bill at the very last possible minute. All during the debate, both of them had indignantly refused to reveal how they would vote. I guess they were each in the process of psyching the other out to make sure their rival didn't get away with a yes vote if they dared to vote no. It's clear what's most important to these two "frontrunners," and it isn't supporting the troops or ending their futile bloodshed. They did nothing to urge their fellow Dems to vote against the cave in.

A number of Dems were very critical of those voting to issue another blank check to Bush while pretending to do otherwise. Go Google Bill Richardson, Russ Feingold, Chris Dodd or John Edwards for starters. And check out what Keith Olbermann had to say about Dems and Repubs alike in his latest Special Comment.

But the fact remains that a large contingent of Dems believes it's safe to pretend to be representing the will of the people while voting primarily to protect themselves from criticism from the right. This despite abundant polling results showing a growing majority of Americans want Congress to stand up against the madness and mean it. When will that fact penetrate their pointy little heads? They'd have to get out of the Beltway Big Donor Bubble long enough to give the real world a chance to seep into their conciousness. Don't hold your breath.

Do something, anything, to express your sorrow and anger publicly this Memorial Day weekend in response to the indefensible continuation of this unjust, illegal, deathly occupation.

Iowa Dem Prez Polling: Top 3 Tight As A Drum, Richardson Gaining

Democratic Iowa Polling, 5/12-5/20

Poll	Edwards	Obama	Clinton	Richardson
Strategic Vision	29	24	16	9
Research 2000	26	22	28	7
DM Register	29	23	21	10
Zogby	26	22	24	6
Mean	27.50	22.75	22.25	8.00

Hat tip MyDD

Edwards Rejects "War on Terror" Frame

John Edwards gave a major policy speech on foreign relations today in New York. Although, like every Democratic presidential candidate except Kucinich, he advocates increased military spending -- he does come out strongly against Bush's politically useful and calculated framing of a "global war on terror." Like the damaging and deceptive "war on drugs," this construct does nothing to solve the real problems afoot in our world, but works quite well as a fear-making slogan. Click to read an outline of Edwards' remarks or a complete text of his speech. Excerpt:

Moving Beyond the "War on Terror"
“The core of this presidency has been a political doctrine that George Bush calls the ‘Global War on Terror.’ He has used this doctrine like a sledgehammer to justify the worst abuses and biggest mistakes of his administration, from Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, to the war in Iraq. The worst thing about the Global War on Terror approach is that it has backfired—our military has been strained to the breaking point and the threat from terrorism has grown.”

“We need a post-Bush, post-9/11, post-Iraq American military that is mission-focused on protecting Americans from 21st century threats, not misused for discredited ideological pursuits. We need to recognize that we have far more powerful weapons available to us than just bombs, and we need to bring them to bear. We need to reengage the world with the full weight of our moral leadership.”

“What we need is not more slogans but a comprehensive strategy to deal with the complex challenge of both delivering justice and being just. Not hard power. Not soft power. Smart power.”

Wouldn't it be refreshing -- and effective -- if we started approaching problems as complex situations that require wise and nuanced long-term strategies instead of labeling each as another "war" on something? To me, what these "war on whatever" assaults do is create more chaos, fear and hysteria so that huge sums of money can be pumped into the hands of special interests. Oh, the DEA and Halliburton and arms merchants love all the "wars on whatever." Then again, they don't have to keep paying for them for generations as the real causes of the problems are left to fester. What a merry-go-round for well connected war profiteers and corporatists.