Democracy for New Mexico

Reid: All-Night Debate If Repubs Block Vote on War Amendment

At last. Some spunk on the part of Senate Dems. And a real filibuster! If Repub Senators follow through on their threat to block an up or down vote on the Reed-Levin troop redeployment amendment to the Defense Authorization Act, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he will use a parliamentary maneuver to devote up to 30 hours to a full debate on the issues to call attention to the Repub obstructionism:

[Reid] just announced on the Senate floor that he's invoking cloture on the Reed-Levin troop redeployment bill and, if the Republicans filibuster it tomorrow, he's going to force the Senate into an all-night session -- with cots brought in and everything -- to make them stand up in public for their beliefs.  Unless they agree to a simple-majority vote on Reed-Levin, the Senate stays in ongoing session ... Senate Democrats are prepared to speak all night and to force Republicans to stay in the chamber by invoking ongoing quorum calls.

I like it! Who knows what it will actually mean in terms of getting our troops out of Iraq, but at least it appears that Reid et al., have finally gotten it on some level that they need to make some noise to show how strongly they feel about ending this thing:

"Now, Republicans are using a filibuster to block us from even voting on an amendment that could bring the war to a responsible end," said Reid. "They are protecting the President rather than protecting our troops. They are denying us an up or down - yes or no - vote on the most important issue our country faces."

The Reed-Levin amendment to the Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization Bill requires George W. Bush to "commence the reduction of the number of United States forces in Iraq not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act" and mandates a withdrawal of most combat forces by April 30, 2008.

... The legislation, S.AMDT.2087, has bipartisan support and is cosponsored by Gordon Smith (R-OR), Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

It's a start. Keeping the pressure on our Dem Senators about the occupation appears to be bearing some fruit, despite last week's capitulation on Lieberman's awful Iran amendment. You know what to do.

Sen. Dick Durban explains the Dems' move.

Dem Senators Vote Unanimously for Iran War Run-Up Amendment

Yes, you read that right. And not only did all the Dem Senators vote for it -- EVERY SENATOR voted for it. What's the amendment in question that was tacked onto the Defense Authorization Act? Chris Floyd over at Empire Burlesque has the story:

[On Wednesday] the U.S. Senate unanimously declared that Iran was committing acts of war against the United States: a 97-0 vote to give George W. Bush a clear and unmistakable casus belli for attacking Iran whenever Dick Cheney tells him to.

The bipartisan Senate resolution – the brainchild (or rather the bilechild) of Fightin' Joe Lieberman – affirmed as official fact all of the specious, unproven, ever-changing allegations of direct Iranian involvement in attacks on the American forces now occupying Iraq. The Senators appear to have relied heavily on the recent that stovepiped unchallenged Pentagon spin directly onto the paper's front page. As Firedoglake points out, John McCain cited the heavily criticized story on the Senate floor as he cast his vote. [Senators Levin (D-MI) and Salazar (D-CO) were added as cosponsors.]

It goes without saying that all of this is a nightmarish replay of the run-up to the war of aggression against Iraq: The NYT funneling false flag stories from Bush insiders. Warmongers citing the NYT stories as "proof" justifying any and all action to "defend the Homeland." Credulous and craven Democratic politicians swallowing the Bush line hook and sinker.

... Of course, the United States is already at war with Iran. We are directing covert ops and terrorist attacks inside Iran, with the help of groups that our own government has declared terrorist renegades. We are kidnapping Iranian officials in Iraq and holding them hostage. We have a bristling naval armada on Iran's doorstep, put there for the express purpose of threatening Tehran with military action. The U.S. Congress has overwhelmingly passed measures calling for the overthrow of the Iranian government. And now the U.S. Senate has unanimously declared that Iran is waging war on America, and has given official notice that this will not be tolerated. It is only a very small step to move from this war in all but name to the full monty of an overt military assault.

Democrats like our Senate leader Dick Durbin insist their vote for this amendment doesn't provide King George with permission to, you know, start another war of choice whenever he feels like it. After all, George has been so profoundly dedicated to telling the truth, following the Constitution and honoring the separation of powers that you'd have to be crazy to doubt him. Why not go ahead and continue trying to appear as "strong" as Bush by embracing war drumming and "national defense" madness? Election time is coming and the swing voters will demand it, even if the polls say otherwise!

Oops, there is the tiny matter of Bush's already having issued one of his royal edicts on July 10th to the feckless Carl Levin to inform the supine Congress he won't pay any attention to their Constitutionally derived powers, whether they pertain to Iraq or now Iran:

[The letter] says the White House will veto any Congressional effort to either "direct or prohibit" any military, intelligence or diplomatic action regarding Iran.

So what does Levin do in response? Cosponsor Lieberman's bogus Iran amendment laying out how war with Iran is justified. Now that's some Democratic backbone.

Notice that no edicts or amendments are circulating to threaten Saudi Arabia even though it's been determined that the majority of the small numbers of foreign fighters in Iraq are from that country, not Iran, not Syria, not Jordan.

One has to figure that either Levin and the others who voted for Lieberman's warmongering amendment have been programmed by cosmic rays to suddenly trust Bush to use the amendment to achieve peace, not war, or that they support attacking Iran. What other options are there?

Ben Luce Guest Blog: The Real Reason Desert Rock Coal Plant is Happening

This is a guest blog from Ben Luce of Break the Grip!:
Have no doubt, plans for the Desert Rock Power Plant are still rolling forward: Break The Grip! has learned that Sithe Global intends once again to seek a tax incentive from the New Mexico Legislature, and recently obtained more money from the Navajo Nation to keep their development on track. Although there are upcoming hearings on the plant's Environmental Impact Statement, there is little reason to believe that these hearings will be little more than pro-forma inputs to an unresponsive EPA.

Why is this happening? How, in an age of near panic about global warming, and with New Mexico supposedly adopting greenhouse gas reduction targets and policies to achieve those measures, can another massive conventional coal plant be built in New Mexico?

The answer is simple: The Richardson Administration and the Majority Leadership in the Legislature have utterly failed to oppose this project. True, the Administration and the Legislature have little jurisdiction over the Navajo Nation. But this is beside the point: They do have jurisdiction over the proposed tax incentive, and if the Governor were really serious about doing something about global warming, he would use his bully pulpit to oppose the project and press for economic incentives to help convince the Navajo Nation that they do not need Desert Rock.

Instead, Richardson only indicated some mild concern about Desert Rock's impact in one newspaper article during the last Legislative Session, and nothing since, a far cry from his extensive opposition to drilling in Otero Mesa (which he also lacked jurisdiction over). The impact from Desert Rock will likely be far greater than drilling in Otero Mesa, by about a factor of 50 in terms of emissions (and more over the long term).

What about the Democratic Majority Leadership? They were fully FOR Desert Rock: The Senate Sponsor was the Senate Pro Tem Ben Altamirano and the House Leadership, headed by Speaker Ben Lujan, was by all accounts pushing hard for Desert Rock behind the scenes. Watch for the Speaker to route the Desert Rock incentive directly to the House Business & Industry Committee in the next session, to simply bypass the House Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Committee (which opposed and helped kill the bill during this past session). The House Business & Industry Committee is completely hopeless from an environmental issues standpoint (and the committee is chaired by the Speaker's goddaughter).

Why is the Democratic Leadership so in favor of Desert Rock? It is enough to note that the lobbyist of Sithe Global, Richard Minzer, is a major fund-raiser for the Democratic Party, and that Sithe Global has lots of money to contribute. It's another classic example of undue corporate influence in New Mexico.

It's great that there are environmental groups and Navajo groups like Dooda Desert Rock out there fighting hard. But they have no power to stop this project directly: Their role can only be to get our governments to oppose this project. Either that or be dragged off the site in hand-cuffs at the bitter end.

Unfortunately, they will likely fail to sway our state leaders, because the Governor, and the majority leadership, completely let us down. And the Navajo Nation, in the face of the possibility of $50 million in cash from Sithe Global each year, and with no counter offer from the State, is unlikely to change course either.

It's time for the New Mexico public to realize that the environmental and Navajo opposition to Desert Rock has effectively been steam-rolled by our elected officials, and to start really holding those officials accountable.

You can email the Governor at https://www.governor.state.nm.us/emailchoice.php?mm=6.

Editor's Note: This is a guest blog by Ben Luce, the former Chair and Policy Director of the New Mexico Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy (CCAE). Luce recently launched the nonpartisan citizen action group Break the Grip! because of concerns about the undue influence of powerful corporations on New Mexico government. Ben's previous guest blogs can be found here and here.

Guest blogs provide our readers with an opportunity to express their views on pertinent issues. The views expressed may or may not represent our views. If you'd like to submit a post for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand side of the page.

You can access recent posts on DFNM about the Desert Rock Power Plant and the public environmental impact statement hearings now being held around the state here and here.

July 16, 2007 at 09:03 AM in Corporatism, Democratic Party, Energy, Environment, Guest Blogger, Native Americans | Permalink | Comments (5)

Sunday, July 15, 2007

What's Goin' On While Congress and The Commander Do the Politico Shuffle

We'll never see this on anything to do with the American mainstream media. Good thing, since so many of our dishonorable, dishonest, cold-blooded politicos think it's just fine to wait until September to get out of Iraq, or maybe next year, or perhaps 2009, or even decades down the road. Or is it widening and eternal war that's on our horizon? We wouldn't want the media to show the American people what's really happening on the ground in Iraq. They'd be even madder than they are today. Not that it matters much to those in power and those who allow them to stay in power.

What we've got is one political party full of pseudo-power and oil addicts and another political party too full of enablers and go-alongs. I mean, they don't even make adjustments in response to poll results anymore, except maybe in terms of their half-hearted rhetoric. Most of our political "leaders" and "representatives" seem to be residing in a bubble, apart from the passions of the people and the suffering they are prolonging. Lip service is the order of the day.

But then, you all know that. What needs to be found is some way to stop them on their unrelenting descent into unconstitutional and unconscionable madness in almost every area of endeavor, from foreign policy to health care to the environement to the economy and beyond. So much is broken, but widespread denial brings only paralysis and business as usual attitudes. Out here, we're sensing and often experiencing real emergencies and a profound sense of foreboding. But inside the privileged status quo it's still the same as it ever was -- sloganeering and posturing seems enough. When will the bubble break? And what will happen then? So much depends on us, yet many of us have rarely felt so helpless. And time is running out. What can we do?

July 15, 2007 at 11:48 AM in Candidates & Races, Current Affairs, Democratic Party, Iran, Iraq War | Permalink | Comments (3)

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Today's Must Read: Lady Bird the Liberal

Lest we forget how we got here from there. A Southern, and Liberal, Lady by Sidney Blumenthal.

(above, left to right) Bella Abzug, Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford, Lady Bird Johnson, Linda Johnson Robb, Maya Angelou, and Coretta Scott King recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the 1977 Houston Women’s Conference. Photo by Jo Freeman.

July 14, 2007 at 03:25 PM in Civil Liberties, Current Affairs, Democratic Party, Media | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, July 13, 2007

Blue America: Bush Approval Ratings in June '07

Click on thumbnail for full-sized image.

Approval ratings for Bush continue to plunge. There are no safe districts for Republicans in 2008. See why.

July 13, 2007 at 09:56 AM in Democratic Party, Visuals | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thursday, July 12, 2007

First-Cut Finalists Revealed in DPNM Search for Executive Director

A field of 27 applicants for the job of Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico has been whittled down to 12 by a Search Committee appointed by State Chair Brian Colón. However, one candidate who made the cut, Chris Cervini, has decided to withdraw his application and focus on opportunities at his current employer. The 11 individuals listed below (with short bios) will be interviewed next week by the Committee, and then the candidate list will be pared down once again.

According to Chairman Colón, if folks have feedback on the candidates, they're welcome to send it to him at brian@nmdemocrats.org.

Yvette Ramirez Ammeran, NM: Regional Field Organizer, National Association of Community Health Centers; Former Executive Director, NM Primary Care Association; Masters, Education, University of Texas-Austin

Francisco Apodaca, NM: Valencia County Manager, Former Executive Director, Conservation Voters NM; Masters, Public Affairs, NM Highlands University.

Joe Casados, NM: DNC Regional Field Director, DPNM; BA Arts in Philosophy, UNM.

WITHDREW: Chris Cervini, NM: Manager of External Communications, Lovelace Health System; Former Chief of Staff, Commications and Policy Director, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish; Masters, Political Science, American University, Washington DC.

Eamonn Donovan, MD: Various GOTV and campaign staff positions in NH, OH, MA; BA Political Science, Salisbury University, MD.

Terri Holland, NM: Former Executive Director, Democratic Party of Bernalillo County; Former Director of Party Affairs, DPNM; MBA, University of Phoenix, Albuquerque.

Christopher Honey, CA: California Political Director, Progressive Majority; BA History, Auburn University at Montgomery.

Michael Minh Nguyen, DC: Special Events Coordinator, Center for American Progress; BA Political Science, University of California-Davis.

Laura Sanchez, NM: Energy Solutions Policy Fellow, National Resources Defense Council; Board Member, NM Hispanic Bar Association; Juris Doctor, UCLA School of Law; MPA, University of Arizona-Tucson.

Arturo Terrazas, NM: Vice Chair, Democratic Party of Dona Ana County; Deputy Director, Anthony-Berino Economic Development Corporation; Former Director, Communities United; BA Government, NM State University.

Rebecca Vigil-Giron, NM: Former NM Secretary of State; BA in French and Social Sciences, NM Highlands Univesity.

Nate Williams, WI: Greenbay Regional Director, Cong. Steve Kagan; Juris Doctor, Tulsa College of Law; BS in Political Science and History, Eastern New Mexico University.

July 12, 2007 at 12:59 PM in Democratic Party, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Lady Bird Johnson: December 22, 1912 - July 11, 2007

Left, in 1926, with friend. Right, with Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1959.

Left, with Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall (father of Rep. Tom Udall of NM), at Grand Teton National Park, 1964. Right, with some of her beloved wildflowers, 1990. (Photos courtesy LBJ Library. Click on images for larger versions.)

Lady Bird Johnson passed away this afternoon at 94 years of age. She died at her Austin home of natural causes and she was surrounded by family and friends.

“The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become.” -- Lady Bird

The Austin Statesman has a special section on Lady Bird and her life. Tribute at LBJ Library site. New York Times obituary. PBS documentary with many resources.

July 11, 2007 at 07:26 PM in Current Affairs, Democratic Party, Environment | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Heinrich Exceeds Fundraising Goal, Garners National Praise

Democratic Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich, who's running to replace Repub incumbent Heather Wilson in NM-01, announced that his campaign raised about $181,000 in the quarter that ended on June 30th. That's $31,000 more than the goal of $150,000 set by his campaign when he entered the race in April. Donations came from about 700 individuals in only nine weeks of fundraising. According to the campaign, about 71% of donations came from within New Mexico's first Congressional District, and about 88% from within the state.

As reported in a previous post, Heinrich's campaign was one of the top 20 online fundraisers at ActBlue, the Democratic netroots website. Donations to his campaign this quarter on ActBlue totaled more than $35,000, $800 of which was donated via Democracy for New Mexico's netroots page on the site.

According to an Albuquerque Tribune article:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says it is impressed with Martin Heinrich's quick start in raising money ... That's a good showing, a committee spokesman said. "We think he's a strong candidate," said Fernando Cuevas, Western regional press secretary for the DCCC.

An Albuquerque Journal article quotes Heinrich's reaction to the news:

"I am really humbled at the amount of support we've gotten in a short period of time," said Heinrich ... "We exceeded our goal for the quarter fairly substantially. I was trying to hit $150,000— and obviously we went past that ... I think this will be another top-tier race ..."

In a press release, Heinrich continued:

“The outpouring of grassroots energy I have witnessed since entering this race demonstrates to me that voters are ready for new leadership. As I have spoken with voters across this district, they have told me that they’re sick and tired of the failed policies of George Bush and Heather Wilson, and they’re ready to put our country back on the right track.”

To gain some perspective, recall that at this time two years ago, no Democratic candidate had yet announced a run for the NM-01 seat. The eventual Democratic contender, former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, didn't start raising money for the race until Octobe 2005.

Rep. Heather Wilson has until July 15th to report her fundraising totals for the second quarter to the Federal Election Commission. Her campaign raised more than $274,000 in the first quarter of 2007.

As of July 5th, the NM-01 race has another Dem contender in the form of attorney Jon Adams. has the details.

Note: Martin Heinrich will be the featured guest at our next DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup set for Thursday, August 2nd, at 7:00 PM, at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church at Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. He'll be speaking to the group about his campaign and taking questions and comments. To join the DFA-DFNM Meetup group and get on our email list, click here. We've been meeting since 2003, when the Meetup originated as Dean for America.

To check out our previous posts on the NM-01 race, visit our archive.

July 10, 2007 at 10:01 AM in Democratic Party, NM-01 Congressional Seat 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Friday, July 06, 2007

Say What, Pete? NM Dem Party Chair Challenges Domenici to Clarify Confusing Iraq Stance(s)

Dick Knipfing of Albuquerque's KRQE News 13 interviewed Sen. Pete Domenici yesterday about his election season conversion on Bush's Iraq strategy. Click for video of the interview. In response, Democratic Party of New Mexico (DPNM) Chairman Brian S. Colón says he's disappointed by the senior senator’s confusing statements. According to Colón, Domenici’s main objective appears to be propping the door open for other vulnerable Republicans to distance themselves from previous positions.

“It’s about time Senator Domenici realized the error of his ways concerning Iraq, but his public statements sent so many mixed messages,” said Colón. “The more I think about what Senator Domenici is saying, the more confusing his position becomes.  New Mexicans deserve clarity on matters of conscience.”

When asked during a live interview yesterday on KRQE-TV, “what are you calling for and why?” New Mexico’s senior senator delivers a rambling hodge-podge of statements that never address the original question. Chairman Colón is asking Senator Domenici to clarify:

• What do you mean when you say the President “will never lose the war (in Iraq)”?
• What on earth makes you think that the new Secretary of Defense could become a hero as a result of the Bush Administration’s colossal failures in Iraq?
• What relevance is your feeling that President Bush “is a very close friend”?
• Besides blaming the Iraqis for their country’s misfortune, do you plan to take responsibility for facilitating the mismanaged war, the loss of over 3500 American lives and $440 billion, and the undermining of the nation’s domestic priorities (i.e. expanded health care access, improved education, and a safer and more secure environment)?

Will zealous Bush loyalists Rep. Heather Wilson and Rep. Steve Pearce be the next NM Republicans to try and spin a new, more politically palatable position on the Iraq occuation? Stay tuned. Anything's possible with Bush's approval ratings dipping lower than Nixon's during the Watergate era.

You can see and read other KRQE News coverage of Domenici's sudden awareness of the realities of the Iraq war here.

For our previous posts on Domenici and the 2008 Senate race in New Mexico, visit this archive.

July 6, 2007 at 04:32 PM in 2008 NM Senate Race, Democratic Party, Iraq War, Media | Permalink | Comments (3)

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