Democracy for New Mexico

Last Minute Dustup: Kerry KOs Rove Repubs

Unable and unwilling to debate genuine issues in honest terms, the Rovian Repubs are now smearing Kerry for a joke he made during a speech at a junior college. Must watch: Here's video of Kerry calling a spade a spade and hitting back. Excerpts:

"If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.

I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq . It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.

The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.

Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they're afraid to debate real men. And this time it won't work because we're going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq ."

From the New York Times - Think about this and how desperate to retain power Bush and Rove and Cheney and the rest must be right now:

President Bush said Monday that a Democratic triumph in the races for the House and Senate would amount to a victory for terrorists.

Here's what Kerry said to set off the rightwingnut echo chamber:

The senator, who was campaigning for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Phil Angelides, opened with several one-liners, joking at one point that President Bush had lived in Texas but now “lives in a state of denial.”

Then, Mr. Kerry said: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

How low will they go? How hard are you willing to work between now and election day to show them their dishonest smears won't work?

Cruising to Victory: Dem Rally in the Valley!

Click image for larger version. Click for flyer (PDF). Pass it on!

Bush Lies About Iraq War, Just Like Heather Wilson

Remember, according to Bush, his Iraq policy never consisted of "stay the course." And remember, according to Heather Wilson, we're "making great progress" in Iraq. These people will say anything to hold onto power. Why?

One reason: if Dems win back at least one House of Congress, we can revitalize the oversight the legislative branch was designed to extend over the executive branch and find out what's really going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the growing chaos in both of those areas, you can understand why Bush and Wilson, two peas in a pod, want to cling to their power even if they have to lie and lie and lie. Be a part of the solution: Be sure you vote, volunteer, get all your friends to vote. We need a change in America and this is our best chance to start getting it.

Sunday Bird Blogging: GOTV Edition

With only nine more days until the November 7th, 2006 election, even our birds are getting into the act. Bosco the peach-faced lovebird (above) has been doing lots of phone banking, working for a big turnout of all his Democratic avian and non-avian friends. Whenever he sees an image of Bush, Wilson or other Repub candidates he makes strange, gutteral sounds. I know how he feels.

Meanwhile, Sunny the sun conure is checking the Patricia Madrid for Congress website to sign up for GOTV volunteer work. They're organizing a big push for the 96 hours before the election, and Sunny will definitely be a part of it. In fact, he's taking off work from his seed splitting job on election day to work, work, work for a New Direction and Democratic wins up and down the ticket. How about you? (Click on photos for larger versions.)

Come On Down: Big GOTV Rally Saturday with Nancy Pelosi

DEMOCRATIC GOTV RALLY!

Join Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who just could be our next Speaker of the House if all goes well, at a big get out the vote rally this Saturday with Attorney General Patricia Madrid. Also appearing will be Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez and other candidates. Get energized with Dem candidates, music, fun, the works:

GOTV Rally
Saturday, October 28, 3:00 PM
Los Duranes Community Center
2898 Leopoldo Road NW, ABQ
Click for map

Fun Fundraiser for Dems Set for Carom Club Tuesday 10/24

From the Democratic Party of NM:
Joanie Griffin of Griffin & Associates, Jon Hendry and IATSE Local 480 invite you to an evening of karaoke and billiards -- and yes some celebrities will be there, too. All to benefit the Democratic candidates in our last push toward a democratic sweep:

Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 5 - 8 PM
Carom Club, 3rd & Central, 2nd floor, Downtown ABQ

RSVP to Griffin and Associates (505) 764-4444, ext. 221. There will be fun prizes, great food and great entertainment. Be on hand at 7 PM to view the Wilson vs. Madrid debate and take part in the post debate victory party.

Join us: $50 per person; $75 for a team of two; $125 for a team of four. Make checks payable to Democratic Party of New Mexico.

Contributions to the Democratic Party of New Mexico are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Your contribution will be used in connection with federal elections and is subject to the limitations and prohibitions of the Federal Election Campaign Act.

What Would Democrats Do?

Polling here and around the nation is demonstrating a strong trend toward Democrats winning elections, with chances improving every day for Democrats to take over the U.S. House and maybe even the Senate. What would this mean? What are Democrats planning to do if they succeed? Here's what's in the works, according to a Washington Post column by Harold Meyerson:

In the House, the Democrats have made clear that there's a first tier of legislation they mean to bring to a vote almost immediately after the new Congress convenes. It includes raising the minimum wage, repealing the Medicare legislation that forbids the government from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices, replenishing student loan programs, funding stem cell research and implementing those recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission that have thus far languished.

... Cognizant that they will owe their victory in part to the public's revulsion at the way Congress does (or avoids) business, the Democrats also plan to revise House rules to enable the opposition party to introduce amendments and to sit on conference committees, from which Republicans have routinely excluded them since Tom DeLay became majority leader. They also will ban members from accepting gifts and paid trips from lobbyists.

And doesn't this sound like a wonderful change?

By bringing such measures to a vote in the House, and conceivably in the Senate as well, the Democrats will be in the enviable position of doing both good and well: promoting long-overdue policy shifts that the public supports and putting their Republican colleagues in a pickle. Confronted with an up-or-down vote on raising the minimum wage or making medication for seniors more affordable, many Republicans will side with the Democrats. Should the Democrats win the Senate, Republicans will have to calculate the risks of filibustering such mom-and-apple-pie measures. These bills will also pose a conundrum for conservatives such as John McCain, whose presidential aspirations have not been clouded by having to vote on these issues.

How about the Iraq War?

The war in Iraq -- to which, if they win, they will owe their victory -- will surely prove the most nettlesome. If the Baker-Hamilton commission recommends a phased withdrawal, as some reports have speculated, the Democrats may be handed a relatively easy way out, whether or not the administration goes along with it. Should the administration persist in staying the course, Congress then could pass the kind of legislation it passed in the last years of the Vietnam War, stipulating the kinds of uses to which our military spending could -- and could not -- be put.

And on the environment and energy:

In the course of this year's campaign, Democrats have been pleasantly surprised by the support their proposals for greater energy independence have won in all regions and sectors of the country. They will surely boost funding for alternative energy projects, which they see as a way not just to reduce greenhouse gases but to generate jobs as well. Many congressional Democrats also want to mandate stricter fuel efficiency standards ...

These are just some of the positive developments we can expect if Dems win at least one House of Congress. By healthy margins, recent polling has shown that most Americans want change in Washington and they strongly support Democratic positions on many important fronts. Also, don't forget that core Dems will head most House and Senate committees if we take over, and provide opportunities for much-needed, serious probes into many of the corrupt, misbegotten or stealth actions permitted by the Republican rubber stamp Congress during Bush's presidency.

Can't you imagine all the cockroaches scattering as the light of day penetrates the darkness of one-party rule? Makes you want to go out and phone bank or canvass for a Dem candidate, doesn't it? We'd better. Here's what we're up against in terms of the surging Republican get out the vote (GOTV) effort.

10/22 Art in the Valley Benefit for DPBC

From the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County:
Art in the Valley
Sunday, October 22, 1-5 PM
An Art Show and Silent Auction
to benefit the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County

Help GET OUT THE VOTE this November! Join fellow Democrats for an afternoon of art, music, refreshments and politics on Sunday October 22, from 1-5 PM at two Albuquerque North Valley homes:

• 4201 Rio Grande Blvd NW, the 275-year-old renovated adobe home of acclaimed interior designer Susan Westbrook (featured in Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine, Oct. 2006) and
• 5819 Tierra Viva Place NW the home of businesswoman and North Valley real estate specialist Judith Campbell.

Your purchases of original works of art will support efforts to "Get Out the Vote" and assure Democratic candidate victories this November. $10 per person. (cash and checks only please). Call 256-1855 to RSVP and for directions!

Terri Holland, Executive Director
Democratic Party of Bernalillo County

25 Reasons to Vote Dem in November

According to 'Campaign 2006: The Issues, the Stakes, the Prospects' by Arthur Blaustein, an essay first published in Mother Jones, voting this November is incredibly important if you care about the future of our nation. Quote: "The choices are stark, the consequences are momentous, writes a public policy professor at UC Berkeley, who argues that the November elections will be the most significant in a generation."

As Professor Blaustein writes, the time is ripe for a referendum on Bush's failed policies:

Republicans running for the House and Senate in marginal districts and swing states have a problem. They’re just like Tony Blair, fatally weakened in Britain and derided in Europe as “Bush’s poodle” for rolling over for the U.S. president’s every policy demand. Republicans in Congress, however much they may try now to distance themselves from a deeply unpopular president, are in trouble for having stood on their hind legs and jumped through hoops every time the White House has fed them a new policy biscuit. Thus, the policies of George Bush and his administration are—and well should be—the defining issue of this campaign.

The professor lays out in detail the Bush political strategy, our political prospects, the issues and the foreign policy and national security implications of the November election and then lists out what is at stake:

25 reasons as to why this election is important and why you should get involved:

1. Iraq
2. Woman’s choice
3. Global warming
4. Public education
5. Civil liberties
6. Decent jobs at livable wages
7. Affordable housing
8. National health insurance
9. Torture and human rights abuse
10. Separation of church and state
11. Soaring federal deficits
12. The Supreme Court and federal judges
13. Increase in poverty and homelessness
14. Assault weapons back on the street
15. Social Security
16. Consumer protection
17. Huge national debt
18. Preemptive wars and national security
19. Mercury and acid rain
20. Disaster preparedness and Hurricane Katrina
21. Maldistribution of wealth
22. Resumption of nuclear testing
23. Homeland security—ports, mass transit and chemical plants
24. Renewable energy and gas prices
25. Pervasive corruption, cronyism, manipulation and incompetence

You could probably add a number of reasons of your own. What’s of paramount importance, though, is that the issues are basic, the choices are stark, the stakes are high and the consequences could be devastating.

So what kind of election-related volunteer work are you contributing? Contact a candidate's campaign office, an issue group or the Democratic Party and join the effort to turn things around. If we don't do it, who will?

New Grassroots Political Billboard: No More Clowns!

(Click on photo for larger version.)

From Terry Riley:
If you want a little cheer as you work toward election day I would like to suggest that you take a little drive in Albuquerque down Zuni. On the left side of the street just west of Louisiana you will catch a pony-board, small size bill board, with an evil looking clown walking down an empty New Mexico highway with typical New Mexico ranch land in the background, mountains on the horizon and a beautiful New Mexico sky (see my photo above). A pleasant picture except for the evil clown. He symbolizes the Republicans who have done so much damage to our country over the last eight plus years.  It is time for this to come to an end and therefore the message:  No More Clowns ... Vote Democratic!

I certainly hope that this makes people think about the mess our politics are in and that the general public is ready for responsible government which I am ready to ride herd on Democrats to make sure happens. I also hope that politicians notice that mud and hate are not the only ways to get a message in front of the public.  I am trying to get civility to campaigning, what a thought.

Close-up of pony board.

Take a drive and take a look. This pony board will be up until after the election. I have another full size board that will be going up for the last seven days before the election. This one will be on Menaul just west of Eubank. It will be over Brian O'Brian's Pub facing eastbound traffic.  I wish I had thought of this earlier so there would have been better coverage. I am proud of my small contribution. I certainly hope that it either gives Democratic voters confidence to go ahead and vote Democratic or maybe gives Republican voters a moment to pause and consider if they can afford to continue to support the current crop of Republican candidates.

Editor's Note: I hear that MergingLeft put up two more of their political billboards as well -- one on Isleta at the curve and one on Coors near Bridge Street. If anyone has seen them or has a photo, let me know. Power to the people!