Democracy for New Mexico

Steve Pearce's Hippie Hippie Shake: Don't You Want Somebody to Love?

Stare into the center of the mandala, Steve

As I commented on Matt's post at NM FBIHOP about the Steve Pearce hippie attack ad on Tom Udall, Grace Slick used to sing "One pill makes you larger. And one pill makes you small." Steve Pearce must have gotten the one that makes you small -- and that causes flashbacks for 40 years. Steve isn't looking for somebody to love -- he's trying to get people to dredge up old grudges from decades past. He must still carry that baggage from all those years ago. Stuck in the past like an angrily buzzing fly in a time-warp web.

Early Beatles do Hippie Hippie Shake.
Steve only shakes it to the right.

I highly doubt Steve can shake his hips. Maybe he never could and that's why he's still so angry about days gone by. I wouldn't be surprised if Pearce resented the Beatles too -- all that long hair, infectious energy and lust for life and love. He's carried the battle against everything liberating all the way to the 21st century.

Somebody had to do it. Why not someone so incensed by uppity women, peace symbols, solar energy, 1969 love beads and silvery minnows that he takes out a full-page ad in the Albuquerque Journal on them in the year 2008. And then tries to hang all the bathos and pathos of an era gone by on Tom Udall, his highly popular Senate seat rival -- who has a nasty habit of living in the present and approaching the future with optimism and ideas. Change and the future are scary to those stuck in the past and hung up over milk that spilled in the days of yore. Fear of the new. Fear of the other. Fear of creative thinking and being.

Tell Me This Is Sane
Check out what Pearce has to say in this Albuquerque Journal article. Does he sound sane speaking about his full-page Journal ad full of faux-hippies?

“This picture is a picture from my past,” Pearce said, referring to a photo of a pair of hippies in his Wednesday newspaper ad that maintains Udall is allied with “hysterical left-wing” environmentalists — an ad the Udall campaign calls bogus.

“In 1969, I was the president of the student body at New Mexico State University, and the radicals were going to burn down the administration building — as they had done across the country,” Pearce said. “I took it on myself to go out and stand on the wall where (a) guy was actually wrapping the crowd into an enthusiasm to go burn the building, because at that time, I felt like these extremists had hijacked our policies, and they were controlling our universities. And we're finding the same thing today. The extremists have hijacked our policies, so that we can't live.”

Asked by a reporter whether he was charging that Udall stands with the kinds of people who once wanted to raze college buildings, Pearce, who went on to be an Air Force pilot in Vietnam, responded:

“There's a counterculture that was epitomized by the hippies. They were against the war. They were against America. It was always that criminals have more rights than the victim. That America's enemies have more rights. And what I'm saying is, that push from the past is still being carried forward. The counterculture is the same today. And it's people who think America is wrong. I don't think America is wrong. I don't think American jobs are wrong. I don't think the American economy is wrong. And so that's the distinction that I see between Tom Udall and myself.

Cue the Twilight Zone Music
I can't imagine what Republicans with even a modicum of sense are thinking about these weird and wildly inappropriate attacks by their candidate in one of the most important and spotlighted Senate races in the nation. After this, it's hard to see who will be able to take Pearce seriously, regardless of their political leanings. Only the most paleoconservative -- and rageful -- of voters could see this line of attack as anything but deranged and desperate indeed. I find that the scariest part is that he may well believe what he's saying ....

Imagine having this guy in on setting the course for our future and that of our children and grandchildren. Then again, don't. Just do what you can to make sure Tom Udall is elected to the Senate.

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NM-Sen: Pearce's First TV Ad Shows Backward Thinking Extremism

I won't post a copy of the first TV ad being aired by the GOP's U.S. Senate candidate in New Mexico. Let him pay to get it shown using his meager campaign funds. No free rides here for the backward thinking right-wing extremist. I don't want Pearce to follow in the footsteps of John McCain, who makes small media buys and then has the media and blogs show his ad for free. Let 'em pay.

I will say that the ad attacks "far-left environmentalists" and ties them to Tom Udall. Far-left, to Pearce, apparently means anything other than drilling everywhere no matter the impact and putting a nuke plant in every town. Some in Pearce's party at least pretend to be interested in significantly increasing alternative energy production and getting in on the ground floor in terms of developing green economy jobs.

Not Pearce. He doesn't mention anything except drilling and nuke plants -- so I take it that those two items constitute his entire energy plan. In fact, the ad seems to imply (at least to me) that nuke power can solve all our problems, maybe even cure cancer! I know that even many environmentalists think that some additional nuclear power may be necessary in the short-term, but Pearce seems to view it as a cure-all. He doesn't mention where all the poisonous waste would go.

I know "conservatives" are all about preserving the status quo, but Pearce seems to be going even further in recommending a return to the energy policies of the 1950s. Of course, given his narrow-minded social views, he'd probably like to return us to that era in most ways. When everybody knew their place and few dared to raise any questions or challenge the power structure.

After all, this is a guy that voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act that recently passed in the House, as well as the 2007 Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Equal pay for equal work? Not in Pearce's world. A paradigm shift to alernative energy? Not in Pearce's world. New paradigms and progressive ideas seem to scare him. He's a clinger. To the past. To known entities. To the present corporate power structure. To things as they were, not things as they can be.

Actively support the candidate who looks to the future with excitement and hope -- and help make sure a narrow-minded throwback to the 1950s doesn't get anywhere near the U.S. Senate. Do what you can to help True Blue New Mexico candidate Tom Udall. If we don't do it, who will?

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Tonight: IndyMedia TV Tackles Big Oil Issues

From Allan Cooper of the IndyMedia Collective: Watch IndyMedia TV tonight on Comcast Cable's Channel 27 in Albuquerque at 7:00 PM. We're on the web too at https://quote-unquote.org/ in real time.

Shrayas Jatkar from the Sierra Club will be talking with us about the fallacy of 'Peak Oil' and how the big oil companies are raking in billions off the lie. Also, Senators Pierce and Mc Cain are recipients of millions for their upcoming campaigns. Last quarter the so-called big four oil companies made over 35 billions dollars in profits! That's 'our' money sisters and brothers ... Capitol X, political Hip-Hop artist will join us by phone to give us an ear full (and eye full). Plus, Armon from Burque will update us on the resistance building to stop the next war/attack on Iran. We all need to stand up and speak up NOW, please, for the children. Our call-in phone is 505-346-1633. Info? Call 505-304-3144.

Thursday: Labor & Environment Groups to Parody McCain & Pearce’s Pro-Industry Energy Plans

Are you in the mood for some lampooning? Some satire? Some pointed parody? Feeling so upset about how things are going that you need to laugh or you'll cry? This is the event for you. I'm informed that New Mexicans affiliated with labor and pro-environment groups will gather on Thursday, July 31st, to highlight Big Oil’s latest round of billions in quarterly profits -- at a time when people are paying record prices at the pump.

Donning their tiaras and puffing their cigars, a troupe of ‘Big Oil Billionaires for McCain & Pearce’ will be on hand to toast John McCain’s plan for a $3.8 billion tax cut for the top five oil companies. They'll be sniveling over Barack Obama’s plan for an immediate $1,000 tax cut to provide American consumers with real relief, while putting us on the path to energy independence through a $150 billion investment in clean, renewable energy. The troupe will also raise a glass to Rep. Steve Pearce for voting time and again to extend and maintain billions in tax cuts for the oil and gas industry, while opposing any increase in fuel efficiency standards -– all for only about $650,000 in campaign contributions. Be there tomorrow to join in the revelry:

• WHERE: ConocoPhillips gas station, Lomas & San Pedro (6121 Lomas Blvd, NE), ABQ
• WHEN: Thursday, July 31, 2008 – 4:30 PM

WHAT: Visibility event – including the ‘Big Oil Billionaires for McCain & Pearce’ troupe – on oil companies’ record profits and McCain & Pearce’s pro-industry energy plans   

WHO: Sierra Club, AFL-CIO International, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, and AFSCME Council 18

VISUALS: ‘Big Oil Billionaires for McCain & Pearce’ troupe, mock gas station sign with top 3 oil companies’ profits and other informative graphics on presidential & senatorial candidates’ energy plans

According to event organizers, the largest oil companies are together expected to post more than $35 billion in profits for the second quarter alone –- putting them on pace to exceed last year’s all-time high of more than $123 billion. The event will also draw attention to campaign contributions that John McCain and Steve Pearce took from oil companies, and expose how their energy plans stand to benefit Big Oil rather than hard-working consumers.

Don't miss it. It's not often that we get tiaras, cigars and billionaires in one place in this town!

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Sierra Club Calls Out McCain on 'Energy Misses'

The Sierra Club is challenging John McCain on his energy policies and his campaign's behavior in recent days. They noted in a release that John McCain canceled a planned trip to Louisiana today—a trip during which he was slated to visit offshore drilling platforms and tout his misguided offshore drilling plan. The cancellation came amid a spill of some 419,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil into the Mississippi River, Following a collision of a tanker and a barge, the massive spill caused a slick approximately 12 miles long and closed a 29 mile stretch of the Mississippi River. In a statement, Cathy Duvall, Political Director of the Sierra Club, had this to say:

"It comes as no surprise that the McCain campaign blamed the cancellation of their trip to Louisiana on the weather. Apparently hundreds of thousands of gallons of spilled oil, dead fish, and oil-covered birds aren't ideal conditions for peddling a misguided plan for more offshore drilling. Unfortunately, the risk for such spills—and far worse—would only increase if John McCain and George Bush get their way and allow Big Oil to begin the 'exploitation' of our coasts.

"It's a shame that John McCain is going to miss the opportunity to see first-hand just how damaging an oil spill can be. 

"After going straight to Houston to tell Big Oil he was their new best friend, it looks like John McCain has decided to embark on a tour of our country's greatest energy misses. He's already been to Santa Barbara, he then told the people of Nevada how he wants to stick them with more than 70,000 tons of dangerous nuclear waste, and Lousiana was the site of the biggest offshore oil spill in our nation's history. Maybe next he'll visit Prince William Sound or Three Mile Island?"

The Sierra Club described some of McCain's recent campaign destinations this way:

McCain's Greatest Energy Misses Summer 2008 Tour

1. Houston, Texas—June 17
McCain announced his flip-flop on offshore drilling and received a standing ovation from the Big Oil fat cats that have given over $5 million to his campaign and the Republican National Committee. A 1979 offshore well blowout in the Bay of Campeche spilled more than 126,000,000 gallons of oil—coating beaches in Texas and Mexico with crude. 

2. Santa Barbara, California—June 24
McCain pushed his misguided offshore drilling plan at the site of a 1969 oil spill from an offshore well that coated the beaches of Santa Barbara with at least 3,234,000 gallons of oil.

3. Las Vegas, Nevada—June 25
John McCain went to Nevada to push his plans to build 100 new nuclear power plants and stick the residents of the state with more than 77,000 tons of highly dangerous nuclear waste at the unsafe and unproven Yucca Mountain site.

4. Louisiana—July 24 CANCELED 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita resulted in more than 9,000,000 gallons of oil being spilled off-shore and at related facilities onshore. Louisiana is also the site of the nation's largest ever offshore oil spill, the 1967 Humble Oil spill that spewed at least 6,726,000 gallons of oil from an undersea pipeline. 

5. Prince William Sound, Alaska--???
The 1989 ExxonValdez disaster spilled 10,800,000 gallons of oil into the Pristine Waters of Prince William Sound. Mere months after the tragic spill, John McCain voted against requiring double-hull tankers. McCain also wants to appoint more Supreme Court justices like Alito and Roberts, who recently decided to cut ExxonMobil's punitive damages to just $500 million—the same amount the company paid former CEO Lee Raymond during his final year with the company.

6. Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania—???
Site of the nation's worst nuclear accident, 1979 partial meltdown of one of the station's two reactors.  John McCain wants to build 100 new nuclear reactors, a plan that by utilities' own estimates could cost AT LEAST $1 TRILLION. 

Click here to read more from the Sierra Club about the top three myths McCain and other Republicans like Steve Pearce and Darren White are spreading about offshore drilling.

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Obama Campaign Knock's Bush Call for Offshore Drilling

Here's the Obama campaign's statement in response to Bush's lifting of the executive order banning offshore drilling:

"If offshore drilling would provide short-term relief at the pump or a long-term strategy for energy independence, it would be worthy of our consideration, regardless of the risks.  But most experts, even within the Bush Administration, concede it would do neither.  It would merely prolong the failed energy policies we have seen from Washington for thirty years. Senator Obama believes Americans need real short-term relief, which is why he has proposed a second round of stimulus with energy rebates for working families. And over the long-term, Senator Obama understands that our national security and the survival of the planet demand a real strategy to break our dependence on foreign oil by developing clean, new sources of energy and by vastly improving the energy efficiency of our cars, trucks and our economy.  He is ready to lead such a transformation," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

And what about the Bush-McCain call for oil shale extraction? Sen. Ken Salazar, the moderate Dem from Colorado, answers with some facts. Fact, you know, those things avoided by those pushing the myth that more drilling and extraction can solve all our problems with energy. And damn the environment of course.

Large Turnout for Saturday's Progressive Community Kickoff (Vids, Photos)

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish speaks to the activists

See photo album at Flickr and event videos at YouTube.

Ed Yoon (blue shirt), Diane Denish, Defenders, America Votes folks

Saturday's Progressive Community Kick-Off Day of Action, hosted by the America Votes coalition and Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, was packed with participants energized to bring progressive change to New Mexico this November.

Droves of door-to-door canvassers took to the streets on issues like the economy, the environment, health care, education and family and women's issues before and after a rally and lunch at the offices of SEIU - Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund in Albuquerque.

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish explains what's at stake

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, State Auditor Hector Balderas, UNM's Dr. Shadi Battah, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund Campaign Manager Ed Yoon, and America Votes New Mexico Director Jennifer Ford were on hand to motivate the crowd and discuss what we need to do to ensure that progress is made a myriad of domestic issues.

Hector Balderas says we're part of a great movement for change

Educating voters on the issues and getting them out to vote will be the priorities, and anyone interested in helping can contact America Votes at 228-1452, Defenders of Widllife Action Fund at 255-2326, or any of the organizations that make up the expansive America Votes coalition.

Hector Balderas talks about reaching out to new voters with hope

Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund plans to lead canvasses DAILY from now until November 4th. Many other America Votes coalition organizations will be active as well. Get hooked up and volunteer.

Hector Balderas and family ready for change

Also, if you haven't yet entered to win a 2008 hybrid car that will be awarded this November by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, visit wrong4nm.org/.

And because M.E. promised, here's Hector Balderas Jr. explaining why his dad would make a great lieutenant governor.

Click on photos for larger versions. All photos and videos by M.E. Broderick.

See our complete photo album on this event at Flickr. View all our videos from this event on this YouTube playlist.

Important Note: We'd like to provide you with better digital photos and video clips but we need to buy better equipment to do that. We want to replace our current digital camera plus add a compact video camera within the next  month because we'll be the only New Mexico blog that's part of the official DNC State Blogger Corps at the Dem Convention in Denver. It will also be expensive to pay for our travel and hotel costs to attend the Convention, where we'll be seated with New Mexico's delegation.

If you'd like to donate for new equipment and/or help us with our Convention costs, just click on the Donate button on the upper left-hand corner of the page or contact me at dfnm_albq AT comcast.net to learn where to send a check. Many thanks to those who have donated so far -- you know who you are!

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NM Attorney General and Environment Department Intervene in Desert Rock Suit

Bravo to Attorney General Gary King and the NM Environment Department. Let's hope this works and that a new Dem administration is in place before the Desert Rock coal-fired power plant can be approved for construction. The Durango Herald reports on a move yesterday by the AG's office and the ED to intervene in a lawsuit between the EPA and proponents of the plant that's been proposed for land on the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners area of New Mexico:

New Mexico's attorney general and environmental department say the proposed Desert Rock coal-fired power plant cannot be given an air-quality permit by a July 31 deadline because it would be a violation of the Endangered Species Act. More studies - which will take months, at a minimum - are required, they say.

The two offices filed a joint motion Thursday to intervene in a federal lawsuit between proponents of the power plant and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Desert Rock developers are suing the EPA for delaying action on a Clean Air Act permit for the plant.

The AG's office issued a press release yesterday explaining the action:

"New Mexico can not afford to sit idly by as attempts are being made to skirt the legal requirements for a new coal-fired power plant to be built in the state," says Attorney General Gary King.

... "This permitting process is truly putting the cart before the horse. We believe there are a number of regulatory issues that need to be addressed by the EPA before it can make a decision on this permit," says Attorney General King. "The effects on fish and other wildlife under the Endangered Species Act must be considered; carbon dioxide pollutant levels must be determined; compliance with new federal standards for ozone pollution must be met; and the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards for hazardous air pollutants have yet to be addressed by the EPA."

... In a letter last month to the EPA, AG King and Governor Bill Richardson warned that fast-tracking the permit for Desert Rock without the required analyses could worsen air quality and adversely affect the health of those in the region.

Additional legal action is being contemplated by environmental groups:

Mike Eisenfeld, the New Mexico energy coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance, said a coalition of environmental groups will likely file a motion today to dismiss the lawsuit between Desert Rock and the EPA outright.

Spearheading the dismissal motion is the organization Earth Justice; others participating include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, San Juan Citizens Alliance and Diné Care, a group founded by Navajo tribal members opposed to the power plant.

Eisenfeld said if the lawsuit is not dismissed, the groups will push for a change of venue. It is currently being heard in federal court in Texas, and the groups believe it should be moved to New Mexico or California, which is the home state of the EPA's Region 9, which oversees operations in New Mexico.

Meanwhile, the EPA has been unilaterally attempting to water down clean air standards that govern how air quality is measured in areas that take in 48 national parks, including Mesa Verde in southwest Colorado in the Four Corners area. Gee, do you think it has anything to do with clearing the way for the filthy pollution of the Desert Rock power plant nearby?

A repository of material on the power plant is at the desert-rock-blog. Also see the website of the San Juan Citizens Alliance.

You can find some of our previous coverage of this issue here and here, including links to additional posts and other sources of information.

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Tom Udall in Lead at LCV's Give Green

Over the weekend, New Mexico's U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall took the lead in Give Green donations over his cousin Mark, who's running for U.S. Senate in Colorado. As of today, Tom's campaign has garnered more than $2,400 from 71 donors since the site launched a little over a week ago -- the most of any candidate on the site. Meanwhile, NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich has received more than $870 to date in Give Green donations from 48 donors. Haven't heard of Give Green? Keep on reading.

The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, which works to turn environmental values into national priorities, recently launched Give Green, the first donation bundling website to raise money exclusively for environmental champions and candidates. The non-partisan website at is similar to the highly successful ActBlue and EMILY’s List fundraising sites, but is unaffiliated. Why did LCV decide to launch Give Green? 

“Ever increasing numbers of environmental voters and donors live in every part of the country,” LCVAF President Gene Karpinski said in a statement. “But America’s clean energy future is not just a local issue. Give Green makes it easy for concerned citizens to support not only local environmental candidates, but also future members of Congress from across the country who will fight for a clean, renewable energy future.”

Today, Give Green features 20 federal candidates who are environmental champions and who have earned LCV’s endorsement. As the election nears, other champions will be added to the site.

“Give Green is the bundling portal for the whole environmental movement,” LCV Board Member and Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder said. “This site will be a great tool for the environmental community to help elect pro-environment candidates and to change the face of Washington.”

“This is for donors from both parties to join together in support of environmental issues,” former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) said. “For the first time, Americans from every party who are committed to clean, renewable energy and conservation will be able to express their support through meaningful financial backing of environmental champions.”

To donate to one or all of LCV's Give Green candidates. You can also create your own page there to raise funds for a candidate, just as you can at similar sites like ActBlue.

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Catching Up After the Fourth

Dem float in Capitan NM 4th of July parade*

The long Independence Day weekend has been a welcome respite from blogging and politics, but now it's time to jump back into the fray. Here are a few items to help you do just that:

Following on rumors bubbling up over the holiday weekend, the DNCC announced that Obama will give his nomination acceptance speech on the final day of the Dem Convention in Denver at Mile High stadium (er, Invesco Field), where the Broncos play. Pepsi Center, site of the Convention, holds 20,000. Mile High 75,000. All of Thursday evening's Convention events will take place at the stadium and the public will included in the festivities.

Iraqi prime minister al-Maliki is signaling he just might want to set a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops. Imagine that.

Nathan P. Small's post on Heath Haussamen responds very effectively to Jim Scarantino's claim that Rep. Steve Pearce's phony Dona Ana County public lands bill is a widely supported and effective way to protect the Organ Mountains and other natural jewels down south. But then, passing off an anti-public lands bill as being pro-public lands is something of a GOP habit.

The New York Times profiles Mark and Tom Udall and examines the pluses and minuses of their family's history of environmental activism.

Another photo from the Capitan NM 4th of July parade*

Contrary to the talking heads, Obama has Hispanic voters solidly behind him according to polling by Gallup. In June, Obama had the support of 59% compared to McCain's 29% nationally. And in data collected by Pacific Market Research and combined for the Southwestern battleground states, which include New Mexico, Obama is leading McCain 57 percent to 26 percent. Read the New Mexico Independent by Marjorie Childress for more.

An anti-worker business PAC is backing Darren White for Congress in NM-01.

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will appear at Netroots Nation in Austin on Saturday morning, July 19th to take questions. (You can submit your question at the link.) Our state should be well-represented at the blogger convention. Mary Ellen and I will be there, as will Matt of New Mexico FBIHOP and a number of other New Mexicans who participate at Daily Kos. Dem Congressional candidates Martin Heinrich (NM-01) and Ben Ray Luján (NM-03) will be panelists for a discussion on New Mexico: Case Study for the Interior West.

*Note: Photos sent along from Dem Ellen Wedum, who's running for the NM House in HD 59. She had this to say about the celebration in Capitan: "I was in the 4th of July parade in Capitan (which is actually 2 miles west of the border of House District 59 in Lincoln County) and both NM-02 Congressional candidate Ed Tinsley and his wife were there. Lots of Tinsley stickers around. Both HD 57 candidates, Democrat Mary Barron and Republican Dennis Kintigh, were there -- Capitan is in HD 57. My HD 59 opponent, Nora Espinoza, was not. She missed a fun parade. The Capitan main street is lined with trees and friendly people."

Meanwhile, NM-02 Dem Congressional candidate Harry Teague visited five communities during the holiday weekend.

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