Democracy for New Mexico

Clinton Visits Santa Fe Plaza This Saturday

Bill Clinton will be rallying for Kerry/Edwards on the Santa Fe Plaza this Saturday. Gates open at 3:30 PM. Tickets are required and will be available starting at 6 PM today (Thursday). Call the Kerry/Edwards campaign at 256-2570 in Albuquerque or 982-5727 in Santa Fe for information.

JUST ADDED: Teresa Heinz Kerry will join Clinton on the Plaza at this rally.

(Photo of Clinton and Kerry in Philadelphia courtesy of Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. from Sharon Farmer. Click image for larger version.)

What's Good for the Red Sox Is Good For Kerry?

Quite a night for the 18,000 plus supporters (including me) at the Kerry rally last night at Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerque. I don't think I've ever seen as many people in one place in the Duke City except at a sporting event or concert.

Steve Terrell, who writes for the Santa Fe New Mexican, has an excellent article on his website about last night's rally. Our own Frank from Amsterdam, of Frank and Page, has a rally diary with photos on Daily Kos that's worth a look. And there's a bunch of excellent photos from last night at .

A highlight of the rally was a Navajo (Dine) corn pollen blessing bestowed on Kerry and the crowd by 83-year-old Chester Nez, one of the four surviving members of the 29 Navajo Code Talkers who served so ably in WWII. You could hear a pin drop when Mr. Nez opened his small deerskin pouch and offered pinches of the sacred pollen to the Four Directions while offering blessings to those present. Many Navajos and members of the 19 New Mexico Pueblos were present at the rally, and Kerry has received the endorsement of each of the tribal councils.

Mr. Nez's blessings have apparently been very effective in helping the Boston Red Sox in their record-breaking surge to the World Series. On April 10th, Mr. Nez threw out the ceremonial first pitch and offered a blessing for the Red Sox. They won the next 7 of 9 games. And when the team was down 3-0 in their league championship series with the Yankees, Mr. Nez stepped outside his home in Albuquerque, faced east and bestowed another blessing. You know what happened next.

The Red Sox are now 3-0 in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Our own Mary Ellen, born in Salem MA and a diehard Sox fan, was equipped with a headphone radio last night at the rally so she could keep up with the game. She helped update Kerry on the score at one point and her Red Sox cap and sweatshirt were a good match for the Red Sox jacket and cap worn by Mr. Nez himself while onstage. Red Sox Nation!

As for Kerry, he gave another excellent stump speech and had the crowd cheering and almost giddy at times at what may well be his final visit to New Mexico before the election. There are rumors, however, that Teresa Heinz Kerry and Wesley Clark will travel here before the election, and Bill Clinton is slated for a visit to Santa Fe and Albuquerque this Saturday and Sunday. Stay tuned.

(Photo of Kerry and Chester Nez courtesy of Frank's Daily Kos diary. Click image for larger version.)

Join MoveOn PAC's 72 Hour GOTV Blitz

MoveOn PAC is looking for volunteers from around the country to work the precincts in battlegrounds states, including New Mexico, during the last 72 hours before the election. They need more NM volunteers to work their nearby neighborhoods to get out the progressive vote. for more information on how to volunteer. Howard Dean and Democracy for America are partnering with MoveOn in this effort. You know what to do. It's now or never.

Kerry Blog Features Albuquerque

Yesterday the Official Kerry Blog featured the Albuquerque canvassing/phone banking event this past Saturday. I was there and can verify that the place was positively packed with volunteers of all ages and from many places, all enthusiastic as hell about this race. Really inspiring.

The Kerry site also has a couple of boffo photos of Kerry campaigning with Bill Clinton today in Philadelphia where the crowd came in at 100,000 plus! Here's one of them below. Victory is ours. Victory is ours. Victory is ours.

(Top photo courtesy Kerry Blog. Bottom photo courtesy Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. from Sharon Farmer.)

Support Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change in ABQ, Taos and SF

Two powerful speakers from a group in DC called Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change will be visiting New Mexico this week. These are non-partisan, very senior people from the world of diplomacy and the military who are criticizing the Bush administration's foreign policies and calling for Bush's defeat. The two individuals appearing here are Ann Wright and Brady Kiesling, who both resigned from their senior posts with the State Department last year in protest over the Iraq war.

Kiesling's letter of resignation received a great deal of national press when it was published in the New York Times and the Washington Post in March 2003. The perspective they bring -- from decades of work in the military and foreign service, gives a different angle to the disaster that is the Bush administration.

Click this link for more information on Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change. And here's a link to the resignation letter of Brady Kiesling as published in the New York Times. Click here for (Mary) Ann Wright's eloquent resignation letter.

The public events are:

Thursday, October 28, 7 PM, Albuquerque
University of New Mexico President's Election 2004 Forum Series
Mitchell Hall 101 (just south of the duck pond)

Friday, October 29, 6:30 PM , Taos
Ramada Inn (615 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur)
Sponsored by Peace Action New Mexico (PANM)

Saturday, October 30, 1:00 PM, Santa Fe
Unitarian Church (107 W. Barcelona Rd.)
Co-sponsored by PANM and the Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Church.

It would be great if these events are well attended, as the resulting media coverage could reach a lot of people who might reconsider their support for Bush and even consider voting for Kerry (or reconsider their decision whether or not to vote at all). Pass this information on to your friends, and come on out!

Kerry Wows Las Cruces ... and Anthony

has a couple of pages of photos from Kerry's rally in Las Cruces yesterday, October 23rd. The wildly enthusiastic crowd numbered more than 17,000 people! The Official Kerry-Edwards website has additional photos from the Las Cruces event, as well as a couple from the Pueblo, CO rally that same day.

The El Paso Times has a nice story on the Las Cruces event. And as described in this article, Kerry visited the Red Rooster Cafe in Anthony NM after the rally, with Gov. Bill Richardson and Lt. Governor Diane Denish in tow. Later, he attended Saturday night mass at St. Anthony's Catholic Church. ABC News also has a story on this.

I note that on the same day, Cheney held a closed event in Farmington NM with 1,300 people. You do the math . . . .

Oh, and be sure to check out Wolfpacks for Truth, wherein the wolves used in Bush's latest ad express their distain for how they were used and lied to! You can see the ridiculous "Wolves" ad at the Bush campaign website. Wash your hands after visiting. And toss a few dollars to one of these wolf conservation groups.

(Photo of Kerry in Las Cruces 10/24/04 courtesy of Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. from Sharon Farmer. Click it for a larger image. Wolf photo courtesy of Wolfpacks for Truth.)

LAST CHANCE RALLY: Kerry at ABQ Civic Plaza, Tuesday 10/26!

Crowd of 30,000 at Minneapolis, 10/21/04. Photographer: Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. from Sharon Farmer From the Kerry/Edwards Campaign. (Click for larger version.)

On Tuesday, October 26, the next President of the United States will be right here in Albuquerque! Please join thousands of New Mexicans in welcoming John Kerry to the Civic Plaza (Downtown), which could be his last visit to Albuquerque! Also in attendance will be Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Jeff Bingaman, Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, Attorney General Patsy Madrid and others. Entertainment includes New Mexico native Tobias Rene and free Kerry gear. Gates open at 4:30 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

This election will determine the future of this country like none other in recent memory. Let’s show the rest of the country that New Mexico is ready to push John Kerry to victory on November 2. Come see John Kerry in Albuquerque this Tuesday at the Civic Plaza!

You may pick up your free tickets at any of the following locations:

New Mexico Victory 2004, State Office
3301 Central Avenue NE
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 256-2570

New Mexico Victory 2004, Rio Rancho
4300 Ridgecrest Drive
Rio Rancho, NM
(505) 804-7823

New Mexico Victory 2004, ABQ South Valley
2017 Yale Blvd.
Albuquerque, NM
(505) 243-2387

Northern New Mexico Victory 2004
947 West Alameda
Santa Fe, NM
(505) 982-5727

You can also download tickets at the Kerry website.

Thank you for all of your support and remember to vote early!
Marci Youngmark, Volunteer Coordinator
(505) 256-2570

URGENT: ABQ Kerry Campaign Needs Your Help!

From the Kerry Campaign: Please join us for a very important event on Saturday, October 23, 2004. We will be testing our Election Day capabilities by getting out the Early Vote this Saturday in our Election Day Walk Through.

We are calling all volunteers to come to headquarters and help out! Meet at 8:30 a.m.

Canvass for Kerry:

-talk to newly registered voters and urge them, and in some cases drive them, to vote early;

-Call supporters and inform them of nearby early voting sites;

-Train volunteers and test our communication system so we can run a smooth operation on Election Day;

-Enjoy free breakfast and lunch;

-Feel good, because together we are going to win!

If you have limited time to give between now and November 2: these are the critical times - Saturday, October 23 and "Get out the Vote Weekend" (October 30, 31, and November 1) and Tuesday, November 2. We still need more volunteers and we still need to talk to many more voters, so sign up now if you haven't already - and pass this along to friends and family.

New Mexico is a MUST WIN state and we cannot rest until each and every potential Kerry vote is cast and counted.

Yours truly for the next 12 days!

Kerry's Youth Vote Bus Tour & GOTV Rally Comes to UNM on Friday

Chris Heinz, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl Headline Youth Vote Bus Tour

Washington, DC - Chris Heinz will reunite with Tom DeLonge of Blink-182, Max Weinberg of the “E” Street Band and Scott Wolf of Party of Five for a two week “get out the vote” bus tour through ten battleground states. The GOTV team traveled through Iowa and New Hampshire together during the primary contests in an RV.

The campus bus tour kicked off in Las Vegas Tuesday evening with a rare public appearance by Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, formerly of Nirvana. The former band-mates have remained close friends, but the early vote rally will mark their first formal public appearance together in over ten years.

During the first week, the bus, which includes Wolf, his wife Kelly Limp of the Real World-New Orleans, Melissa Fitgerald from the West Wing, Novaselic, Grohl, Heinz and DeLonge, will reach schools in Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico. The tour will pick up in Minnesota the following Monday and travel through Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania before November 2nd. Max Weinberg will join tour during the second week. Celebrities, sports stars and other elected officials will join Heinz throughout the tour.

The Kerry-Edwards campaign has spent the last two months visiting college campuses across the country. A recent online registration tracking effort by the Kerry campaign showed that over 112,000 new Democratic student voters have registered on campuses across the country. In 2000, Al Gore won several states by margins approximating the size of one college dorm-for instance, New Mexico by 366 votes and Florida by 537 votes.

Heinz and company will encourage students to vote early and volunteer for the final push to November 2nd. Young Americans are facing tough choices with skyrocketing educations costs, a dwindling job market and a war in Iraq with no foreseeable end. John Kerry and John Edwards offer students hope for the future by investing in education, creating jobs and keeping our country safe by building international alliances to work for peace in Iraq.

Here's the info on the UNM visit:

Friday, October 22
6:00 PM MT -ALBUQUERQUE, NM
Ten Day Countdown GOTV Rally
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM

Click through to the continuation page for appearances in other states. From the John Kerry Blog.

Tuesday, October 19
6:00 PM PT (9 PM ET)-LAS VEGAS, NV
CHRIS HEINZ, ALEX KERRY, TOM DELONGE, DAVE GROHL, KRIST NOVASELIC, SCOTT WOLFE, KELLY LIMP AND MELISSA FITZGERALD
College Campus Bus Tour Kick Off Rally
University of Nevada – Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV

Wednesday, October 20
12:00 PM MT (2:00 PM ET)-FORT COLLINS, CO
Turn Colorado Blue “GOTV” Rally
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO

2:30 PM MT (4:30 PM ET)-GREELEY, CO
Turn Colorado Blue GOTV Rally
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO

5:30 PM MT (7:30 PM ET)-BOULDER, CO
Turn Colorado Blue GOTV Rally
University of Colorado -- Boulder
Boulder, CO

Thursday, October 21
12:00 PM MT (2:00 PM ET)-DENVER, CO
Turn Colorado Blue GOTV Rally
University of Denver
Denver, CO

6:00 PM MT (8:00 PM ET)-DENVER, CO
Reception for Ken Salazar/CO Coordinated Campaign
Location TBA
Denver, CO

Friday, October 22
11:00 AM MT (1:00 PM ET)-COLORADO SPRINGS, CO
Turn Colorado Blue GOTV Rally
Colorado College
Colorado Springs, CO

GOTV With ACT in NM

From ACT New Mexico: Get Out the Vote -- Sign up to work Election Day in New Mexico

The 2004 Elections will be won on the ground, through person-to-person contacts in targeted precincts accross the battleground states. ACT has built the infrastructure for the largest get-out-the-vote effort in history – now we need you to make it work in the final days.

We are offering an opportunity to receive up to a $210 stipend for volunteering up to four days of Get Out The Vote. Sign up for as many days as you can. A New Mexico GOTV coordinator will contact you soon to discuss your plans.

We are also looking for individuals to lead groups of 3-5 GOTV canvassers. Individuals with a vehicle or that have doorknocking experience are preferred.

In addition, we still need volunteers at phone banks to call voters, reminding them to vote. Click here to sign up or get more information.

ACT Field Offices:

Albuquerque: 5600 Menaul Blvd NE
Phone: (505) 830-9250, Contact: Monica Estrada

Las Cruces: 940 North Main St., Suite A
Phone: (505) 647-0072, Contact: Gianina Irlando Garcia

Santa Fe: 1500 Fifth Street, Suite 13
Phone: (505) 982-4091, Contact: Charlie Kelly