Tuesday, April 26, 2005

My Take on the SCC Meeting

Running effective meetings isn't rocket science. Here's my take on the State Central Committee meeting in Socorro this past weekend:

If you have a more heavily populated congressional district, add people at the registration table so the line there doesn't stretch into infinity while lines for the other CDs are empty.

If the morning session is running late due to long-winded speeches by politicos, break for lunch before 2:30 PM so that people aren't cranky and starving during the business meeting. Better yet, tell the politicos to keep it short because the people's business is as important, or moreso, than hearing repeatedly that everything is peachy and how we "own" this (Red) state. John Wertheim kept repeating he'd hold the resolutions debate to 50 minutes. He should have said that about the speeches.

Don't seat the Party's officeholders and candidates in a separate, roped off VIP section if you want people to believe these politicos are our Democratic public servants instead of the other way around. Put the events that are the reason for the SCC meeting -- the officer elections and consideration of resolutions -- first. That way, our state and federal office holders will have to actually listen to the views of the Party's members and take part in the meeting instead of merely showing up to speak and then leaving soon afterwards.

Have each Congressional District break off into separate meetings to elect their vice chairs and resolutions committee members. In an already overly long meeting, it's excruciating to have to sit through nominating speeches and elections from other districts.

Require that the State Chair read and understand the Party rules before getting on stage to run elections and motions. I couldn't believe that John Wertheim didn't know the rules for electing CD members of the State Resolutions Committee. And that he gave the WRONG interpretation after he tried to scan them on stage during the start of the election. The rules require each district to elect one male and one female. Wertheim said otherwise, though I understand the vote counting went by the rules. His error caused more women to run for Resolutions, while only one man ran.

Considering how important afternoon activities were pushed to the side and almost abandoned because of the long-running morning session, it might make sense to schedule the SCC to run for two days. Jamming speeches, elections, resolutions, training sessions and caucus meetings into one day makes everyone frazzled and doesn't allow for time to reflect, meet people from around the state, see a little of the town or do justice to the work at hand. I know some people are there just to party, but I think most people would welcome time to do things right.

Urge the politico speakers to utter phrases like "grassroots power," "equal rights for all including gay people," "Iraq war," "living wage," "Social Security", "election reform" and "universal healthcare" to show that they realize which issues are important in the Democratic Party. The only speaker who went near some of these was Rep. Tom Udall. Besides demanding that we make sure that elections are never again allowed to be stolen, he urged Democrats to start fighting for our core issues and stop trying to be Republican-lite. Hurrah for Rep. Udall!

If you're having a Friday night fundraising reception with Governor Richardson, Rep. Tom Udall, Senator Jeff Bingaman and others, make sure the room can hold the people who signed up and paid from $25 to hundreds of dollars to attend. Don't hold it in a tiny room with only a handful of tables and serve only cheese and crackers, salsa and chips and few bedraggled veggies to tide people over until dinner.

If the State Party Chair is going to take it upon himself to appoint a bunch of at-large members to the State Central Committee to salve political grumblings, he shouldn't use the excuse that he's trying to gender balance the Committee. The Committee was already gender-balanced according to the Party's own records.

If you're going to put all the resolutions passed by the State Resolutions into one packet, don't separate out two resolutions on equal rights for gay and lesbian people and put them out separately on a sheet of paper labeled "Special Consideration." It's also good policy not to change wording that has been approved at the county level and by the State Resolutions Committee.

Since one of the most important actions we need to take as a Party is to train people on organizing and messaging, don't allow earlier events to run so long that they ruin the chances of people who'd like to attend the scheduled training sessions. I know that State Party staff worked hard on these sessions and most people were denied the chance to attend because the morning session ran past 2:30PM.

Although I'm very pleased with alot of the things progressive Dems were able to achieve at the SCC, I can't help thinking how much more effective, efficient and productive a meeting of Dems from all over the state could be if simple common sense was applied to running the event. How about you?

Barbara Wold

April 26, 2005 at 07:33 PM in Democratic Party, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (4)

Report from the Front

I just heard from Terry Riley that the Social Security rally this morning at Heather Wilson's office in Albuquerque was a success. About 25 people showed up to urge Rep. Wilson to come out of the closet and hold a REAL townhall meeting to reveal what her true position is on privatizing Social Security. Similar rallies are taking place all over the nation today as the Senate Finance Committee begins considering Bush's plan.

Police, including a guy from the SWAT team, were present and tried to get the people to clear the area, saying they were trespassing. Fortunately, Santiago Juarez, one of the leaders of the rally from NM PACE who appeared at our last DFA-DFNM Meetup, knew the law and calmly challenged the officers on camera. He led the way to a compromise whereby 7 people at a time could enter Wilson's office and speak with her office manager. There's a good chance that Albuquerque TV channel 13 will have coverage of all this later today. Keep an eye out.

The umbrella group NM United to Protect Social Security also released a comprehensive report to the media today on how damaging privatizing Social Security would be for New Mexico. Bush's plan would create a new $4.6 billion unfunded mandate on our state and would plunge at least 30,000 New Mexicans into poverty. Click to dowload this report produced by the Institute for America's Future.

April 26, 2005 at 01:19 PM in Events, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, April 25, 2005

Progress for Progressive Democrats

From Charlotte Roybal, Progressive Democratic Caucus:

A lot more happened at the Democratic Party of New Mexico State Central Committee meeting on April 23, 2005 than John Wertheim’s election. As each elected official spoke at the dais, they all acknowledged the new and different faces that were in the audience and got elected to State Central Committee.

Where did this come from? Well, for the past few months Democrats across the state who never before participated in party politics have decided to take action. They have joined forces with many long time faces in the Democratic Party in New Mexico because they have decided that they want to have a voice in the democratic party and have a vote on resolutions, platform and eventually the candidates that run for office.

To do this, people from across the state ran in their precincts, wards, and state central committee in order to have a vote and a voice. These people want their party back. They do not want our elected Democrats moving to the middle or right.

A resolution to “Bring the Troops Home” was written and submitted through precincts, wards and counties. San Juan, Sandoval, Bernalillo, Taos, Santa Fe and Los Alamos passed this resolution at each of their county meetings. As it passed through the State Resolutions Committee, progressives knew we were making a statement. On Saturday in Socorro, the resolution to Bring The Troops Home was passed in New Mexico. There is a resolution in Congress sponsored by Representative Lynn Woolsey which 43 congress man have already signed on with their support.

“We hope Tom Udall will consider signing on now that the DPNM has passed such a resolution. “ Our Congressman has always been known to listen to people in our communities,” said Paul Stokes of Sandoval County.

At the California State Convention of the Democratic Party last week, a similar action was taken.  It has also passed in Vermont. There is a movement across America to take action and become part of the Democratic Party infrastructure.

Bernalillo County had passed a resolution to support a living wage in communities in New Mexico. It was not brought before the state central committee so it was brought up from the floor on Saturday. There was reluctance to bring this forward at the State Resolutions Committee Meeting and at the Socorro Meeting but it was finally added to the packet of resolutions. Another additional resolution was brought forward from the floor by Giovanna Rossi Director of PRO- CHOICE  NM, regarding a woman’s right to choose.

Progressive democrats at the meeting joined with GLTB advocates to fight for the wording on a Resolution to oppose restrictions on civil marriage based on sexual orientation. This was included and passed.

Other resolutions that were passed dealt with full funding of Medicaid; Full funding of Veterans Health Care; Support of Land Grants; Separation of Church and State; Repeal the Patriot Act; CAFÉ Standards; A Cap on Pay Day Loans; and No Privatization of Social Security.

After the State Party meeting, progressives across the state gathered to begin to discuss the formation of a Progressive Caucus within the party structure. The group was chaired by Moe Maestas of Albuquerque. There was representation from Deming, Portales, Taos, Carlsbad, Farmington, Las Cruces, as well as Santa Fe and Albuquerque. This group decided to move forward to form a caucus and will work on purpose, mission, organizational structure in the next few months.

The state party rules do not specify any accommodations for caucuses and will need to be amended. There were also breakout groups for a Veterans Caucus, a Native American Caucus and a Hispanic Policy group. The Young Democrats and Democrat Women also met after the meeting.

April 25, 2005 at 03:53 PM in Democratic Party, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (4)

One Dem's View of the SCC Meeting in Socorro on Saturday

The Democratic Party State Central Committee meeting and related events took place this weekend in Socorro. I'll be printing a few views of what occurred. Here's one of them.

Report from Anne Kass:

John Wertheim had a rough day Saturday at the Democratic Party State Central Committee meeting in Socorro.  First the gay/lesbian group and its supporters discovered he had unilaterally removed their resolutions--which HAD been passed by the State Resolution Committee--from the packet of passed resolutions because, he explained, he thought all the others were non-controversial and could be passed quickly as a packet, where the gay/lesbian ones would spark controversy.  He didn't want to lose the whole packet.  So he put the gay civil rights resolutions on a separate unattached page that had the heading "Special Consideration." Logical, but stinky and not his call. 

So the gay/lesbian rights folks beat him up for an hour or so, before the meeting started.  Then I went after him about the living wage resolution, and by time I got to him he was frustrated and yelling about how he'd done more for the living wage than I ever had, and I was a conspiracy nut suggesting he and Richardson had got together to keep the living wage resolution buried, and how dare I question his commitment, and rant, rant, rant. 

I asked him why he tabled the resolution.  He said because Hess had objected to it.  I reminded him that Hess has merely wondered out loud whether a living wage was different than the minimum wage, and if he had listened and just answered the question, it would not have been a problem, and his action made it look like he and Hess were working together, and besides, why didn't he tell us that the tabled resolutions were history, and on and on.  Then some women started in on him because he had, unilaterally again, combined a couple of reproductive rights resolutions, which changed one of them, and so by time the meeting started, he had become rather contrite.

Early in the meeting he announced several appointments to the Central Committee and Sheryl Williams Stapleton took the microphone and challenged his authority to do that.  Then the Los Alamos County Chair, Steve Fetik made  a motion to change the agenda order so resolutions would come before the speakers (with Richardson, Denish, Bingaman, Udall, Patsy Madrid and state legislators all sitting there waiting to wax eloquent).  The motion was voted on by voice vote, and John declared that it had lost, but IF it did, it wasn't by much.

Then it came time to elect State officers, and the treasurer, secretary and vice chair went without a hitch, meaning the existing office-holders were voted back in unanimously.  Then the State Chair office came up and Ann Dunlap nominated Mel O'Reilly, who had agreed to have his name put forward, with Terry Riley seconding it.  We had speeches and a ballot vote.  Mel took 108 votes of the 294 cast, not bad given that all the speakers had gushed over John when they talked, and the challenge had come out of the blue.

When the resolution agenda item finally came to the floor, John announced that he had made a mistake by separating the gay/lesbian resolutions, and they were again part of the packet (even though in physical reality they were not, and so most people didn't even have a copy of them). Then there was a motion to adopt the whole packet of resolutions, a second, and then a woman got to the microphone about the reproductive rights thing, and John said, would the committee as a whole object if the separate reproductive rights resolution were added, and the crowd agreed it was o.k. and then Terry jumped up and said what about the living wage resolution, and John asked the crowd if it was o.k. to add that too, and the crowd agreed, and, as Molly Ivins says they say in Texas:  Viola!

Interestingly, every one of the speakers mentioned how half or more of the members of the Central Committee were new, and wasn't it wonderful that people had become involved, and welcome, and so on, but Richardson revealed how antsy all these new faces made him.  When he started his talk, he said, "There are a lot of new faces here.  In fact, who are you?"  and then he said, "I like new energy, and it's great that someone suggested that you want to talk about resolutions first and Richardson and Bingaman can just wait and listen to us."  I think the "leadership" are a little unsettled about the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party.

If any of the so-called "leaders" who attended the meeting to give their speeches were really top notch, (Tom Udall actually comes close) she or he would have said, in response to Steve Fetik's motion that resolutions be discussed before speeches were given that it was a fine plan, and that the "leaders"--who always claim they want to hear from their constituents [but only by way of them responding to questionnaires created and sent out by the "leaders" which are designed to prevent dialog or, heaven forbid, actual face-to-face exchanges]--that the  leaders would love to participate in the discussion of resolutions.  But NOOOO.  They want to go first, talk, and get the heck out of there.  Listening?  What's that?

I also think, the next time Richardson starts to pontificate about how Democrats need to reconnect with American values, that the best way to do that is to engage in lively discussions about ideas (resolutions) so we can get beyond the labels and jargon of family values, whatever the heck that might mean, and start to actually develop operative meanings for the words that get thrown about.  Resolutions are how we articulate and understand the core principles and values, but it often seems to me that "leaders" just want to talk in sound-bites, talking points, buzz-words or what ever label you prefer to give to the empty language they all seem so skilled at using.

So, that's what you missed if you weren't there. It was a good event. 

Anne Kass

April 25, 2005 at 10:56 AM in Democratic Party, Events, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (9)

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Angels on Central

The happening new local blog Duke City Fix has an article with photos about Saturday's counterprotest on Central by UNM against the dark forces of "Reverend" Fred Phelps' traveling band of hate-mongers. And there are links to more on the story at Truth, Rants, and Rambling and Fleck's Inkstain. Also check out a collection of Fleck's moving photos of the Angels, ala the Matthew Shepherd murder trial in Laramie.

Here's what the Albuquerque Journal had to say.

Good to see that responses to the Phelps groups' negativity have been restrained yet strong. I see that it's staying that way as they move on to Santa Fe trying to sow the seeds of violence. We won't let 'em, will we?

April 24, 2005 at 12:24 PM in Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (1)

Friday, April 22, 2005

Off to Socorro

Socorro2

I'll be joining a bunch of other progressives traveling down to the Democratic Party State Central Committee meetings and events in Socorro later today. In addition to voting members who were elected to seats on the SCC, others will be going down as interested parties to check out the fundraiser reception tonight, attend the SCC meeting and participate in the planning meeting for a progressive caucus and afternoon training sessions on Saturday .

I hope we get a huge turnout at all the events, but especially the progressive caucus meeting. It will be terrific to meet like-minded folks from around the state to discuss organization and strategy.

Bosco the peach-faced lovebird, he of Sunday Bird Blogging fame, will be traveling with us. It will be his first extended trip on the road and at a hotel, so I imagine he'll be quite excited and curious about all things Dem. We bought him a new traveling cage (yellow with palm trees) and hope we'll get alot of use out of it if we actually get some weekends free of politics and we can camp out in some of our favorite haunts this summer. The cage even came with mosquito netting!

It's been quite a week for political meetings. It started with a legislative townhall meeting put on by the State Party in Albuquerque on Tuesday that featured local legislative committee chairs. The speeches in some cases were excellent, some went on a bit long, and not enough time was left for questioning and provocation from the audience (!), but the after-meeting discussions were top-notch. It was great to see a meeting where the check-in process was easy, comment cards, free bottled water and hard candies were at the sign-in tables, and a roaming microphone and video-cam recorded the events and allowed comments and questions to actually be heard.

I found it particularly satisfying brainstorming with Rep. Mimi Stewart, State Party Director of Field Operations Joaquin Guerra, Deputy Executive Director Gideon Elliot and others after the meeting about how we can improve the Party, get our message out to more people in every area of the state, run candidates in as many races as possible, get people trained and win a few elections. It was also fun meeting Field Organizer Meredith Dixon's handsome Bernese Mountain Dog!

Last night we missed the Third Thursday meeting of the Bernalillo County Dems because we wanted to attend our neighborhood association meeting. We should have skipped that one instead. What a disheartening experience to find that so many present strongly support the proposed new, massive, 24-hour Wal-Mart near Wyoming and Menaul.

It was sickening to hear people praising Wal-Mart, insisting they don't believe the company discriminates against women employees despite a huge class-action suit and saying they pretty much don't care that traffic, air pollution and noise will increase dramatically in the Hoffmantown neighborhood. Talk about moral values: I wouldn't be surprised if this bunch would trade their liberty and voting rights for the alleged "bargains" available at Wal-Mart. Merchandise produced under slave-labor conditions in Third World countries? Small, locally owned businesses closing down in the neighborhood due to Wal-Mart tactics? Who cares!

Ah, well, If anyone reading this attended the DPBC meeting last night at the law school, I'd appreciate hearing about it in the commments to this post. We hated to miss it.

And so, off to pack for Socorro. It will be interesting to see how the resolutions passed at last Saturday's State Resolutions Committee fare at the SCC. And what will happen with the numerous resolutions that got put aside for later discussion and voting that never happened. Considering the overwhelming support for many of these at the ward and county levels, like the one calling for a living wage, it would be a travesty for the Party to let them fade into oblivion. We'll be working on it.

April 22, 2005 at 10:25 AM in Democratic Party, Events, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (2)

Volunteer Opportunities: League of Conservation Voters

From League of Conservation Voters:
As promised, we have a host of volunteer opportunities, trainings, and events coming up - and we need you! 

Spring is in the air, and so are outdoor events.  We have a number of important events coming up and we need your participation: 

APRIL
Friday, April 22
EARTH DAY
9 AM - 3 PM
Tabling at UNM Earth Day Fair
University of NM,  South of the Student Union Building
We need anyone willing to help us man the table at any point during the day 

11 AM
Governor Richardson's Otero Mesa Rally
University of NM, Cactus Garden (across from the Duck Pond)
Please come and help us show the Governor support for his important announcement against the Bush Administration's decision to open Otero Mesa to oil and gas drilling!  We need as many bodies as possible!

Saturday, April 23
2 PM - 7 PM
UNM Fiestas Tabling and Volunteer Recruitment
Please help us man the table as we inform the UNM population about volunteer opportunities and recruit new volunteers.

Saturday, April 30
10 AM - 1 PM
Campaign and Leadership Skills Training
LCV New Mexico Office: 400 Gold Ave. SW (4th & Gold), Suite 110 (ground floor - 4th St. entrance). This training is for volunteers who want to become more active and learn the skills they need to become campaign organizers, trainers, and supervisors 

1 PM - 3 PM
Messaging Session
We are asking any volunteers and supporters to join us as we begin the work of crafting our messages for this year and next. We will evaluate proposed ideas and welcome new ones from volunteers. Topics such as issues, messages, slogans, labels, etc. will all be open for discussion.  Help us build the campaign!

MAY
Saturday, May 28 & Sunday, May 29
10 AM - 2 PM
Canvass
LCV New Mexico Office: 400 Gold Ave. SW (4th & Gold), Suite 110 (ground floor - 4th St. entrance). Join us as we continue our battle against the Bush Administration's bad policies. We're taking it to the people that matter -- the voters!  Help us ask voters to take action against Bush's bad energy policies and let them know that Bush's pro-corporate cronies must be held accountable. 

Maggie Toulouse
SW Region Campaign Manager
League of Conservation Voters
400 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 110
Albuquerque, NM 87120
(505) 244-1077

April 22, 2005 at 09:43 AM in Events, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Rally for Social Security in ABQ

From True Majority and NM United to Protect Social Security:
The fight to save Social Security is tilting our way, but it’s far from over. So, here’s another opportunity to have your voice heard on the issue, at a key moment.

On Tuesday, April 26, 2005, our friends at New Mexico United to Protect Social Security is organizing a large rally in Albuquerque to coincide with the Senate Finance Committee's hearing discussing proposals to privatize Social Security in Washington, DC.  In addition to the rally in Albuquerque, rallies will be held in over 30 states and Washington, DC on that day.  By attending the rally we can make it clear to our members of Congress that Social Security privatization is wrong and unacceptable.

New Mexico United to Protect Social Security's Rally for Social Security in Albuquerque, New Mexico:

Date:  Tuesday, April 26th, 2005 Time: 9:30 AM

Location:  20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603, Albuquerque, NM 87102

SIGNS WILL BE PROVIDED

Contact Information:  If you have any questions or to RSVP, please contact: Santiago Juarez at 505-255-4268 or santiago316@la-tierra.com

For an impressive list of local organizations that are members of NM United to Protect Social Security, click through to the continuation page of this post.

(Editor's Note: Folks who attended Democracy for New Mexico's April Meetup will surely remember Santiago Juarez and his passionate speech about Social Security and core progressive values. If you can, please attend this rally and press conference, and let the Bush administration and Heather Wilson know where Albuquerqueans stand on Social Security privatization.)

ACORN
AFSCME New Mexico
AARP New Mexico
ARA NM (Alliance for Retired Americans)
Gray Panthers
LACLA
Mesquite Community Action Committee
National Education Association
New Mexico Educational Employees/AFT
New Mexico Federation of International Association of Machinists
NM PRIG
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
PACE (Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment)
Rock the Vote
Rio Arriba Family Care Network
Re-Visioning New Mexico
Southwest Organizing Project
New Mexico State Federation of Labor – AFL-CIO
SAGE Council
Tribal Environmental Watch Alliance

April 21, 2005 at 09:27 AM in Events, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Historic Call to Exit Iraq Includes NM

As you read the article below, I hope it will serve to underline the importance of supporting our own Democratic Party Iraq War exit resolution in New Mexico. Bring the troops home resolutions were passed at the Democratic Party County Central Committee meetings in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Taos, Los Alamos and San Juan counties, and a finalized version was approved at last Saturday's State Resolutions Committee meeting for submittal to the State Central Committee this coming Saturday.

See resolution number 12, "A Resolution to Bring the Troops Home," on the passed by Bernalillo County. This is the version that was passed at the State Resolutions Committee and will be voted on by the SCC.

If you are a voting member of the SCC, you are urged to vote for this resolution. If you're aren't a voting member, I hope you'll urge members to approve it.

As the article shows, there's a growing network of progressives around the country who are stepping up to run for Democratic Party offices at all levels, working hard for adoption of progressive planks in State Party platforms and forming progressive caucuses at the state level. By supporting our Iraq War resolution and attending the planning meeting for a progressive caucus in New Mexico on Saturday afternoon, we'll be working in tandem with Progressive Democrats of America and others around the nation participating in this passionate movement for change:

PDA Activists Spur Historic Call to Exit Iraq
By William Rivers Pitt:

This past weekend, at the California State Democratic Party Convention in Los Angeles, the largest gathering of state-party Democrats in the nation, activists with Progressive Democrats of America led by PDA Executive Director Tim Carpenter successfully lobbied 2,000 delegates to pass a resolution calling for the termination of the occupation of Iraq. The resolution included specific language demanding the withdrawal of American troops from that country. "The California Democratic Party," reads the resolution in part, "calls for the termination of the occupation…of American troops in Iraq."

This victory is a powerful statement not only to the national Democratic Party but to the Republican administration and the majority in Congress.

Carpenter and his tireless crew spent the weekend working all corners of the convention to create a coalition of delegates large enough and strong enough to support the proposed resolution. Elements of the convention attempted to water down the language of the resolution, but the PDA activists successfully beat back the challenge. Meeting and overcoming this challenge was significant in and of itself, because it resoundingly demonstrated the ability of grassroots activism to overcome the go-along-to-get-along inertia of machine politics.

The resolution passed in California this weekend is more than mere words on a piece of paper. The document itself, along with the activism that created it, is a starting point, a blueprint for future action that must be taken in every state in the nation. PDA, with your help, intends to take the work from this weekend and duplicate it in legislature after legislature, until our combined voices carry our soldiers out of Iraq and home to their families.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this weekend in California was the emergence of so many new faces in the ranks of the PDA-inspired activism. Of the dozens of people who contributed to the effort that led to this resolution, most had never before been involved in this kind of political action. Carpenter and his crew shepherded them through the process, showed them how to get it done, and gave them the chance to be a part of positive history.

After the gavel came down and the resolution passed, most of the convention went their separate ways. Not so with the PDA activists, new and old, who met in a large gathering to strategize how to carry this great work to all points on the compass. They had completed their task for the weekend, but were not at all interested in stopping. Following this meeting, these activists committed themselves to convincing their own Congressional members to sign on to Rep. Lynn Woolsey's call to end the occupation.

To read Rep. Woolsey's call to end the occupation, please go here.

This is a victory to build on. If the energy and passion demonstrated by Tim Carpenter is any indication, if the energy and passion demonstrated by the activists who stood with him is any indication, if the effectiveness of PDA in overcoming all obstacles to achieve this victory is any indication, the winds of this action promise to blow great and necessary changes across this nation and the world.

The Resolution on IRAQ:

WHEREAS:  The Bush Administration, using false intelligence estimates, misled the country into an illegal, unnecessary and unwise invasion and occupation of Iraq, against a country that had neither attacked nor posed an immediate threat to the United States, thus jeopardizing our national security; and

WHEREAS:  As a result of that action, more than 1,500 American troops have been killed and more than 10,000 other brave Americans have been maimed or injured, and tens of thousands of Iraqis, including many innocent civilians, have also lost their lives, been injured, and seen their property and country’s infrastructure destroyed; and

WHEREAS:  The invasion and occupation have created a severe burden on our economy, stretched the capacity of our armed forces including Reserve and National Guard troops who are serving unexpectedly long and difficult tours in Iraq, and continues to cause deep concern at home and abroad about the policies and intentions of the United States to the point where the United States is widely regarded with suspicion, hostility and distrust, and elections in Iraq confirmed that Iraqis wish the United States to withdraw

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:  That the California Democratic Party calls for termination of the occupation at the earliest possible time with the withdrawal of American troops, coupled with the creation of an international body that can assist the Iraqi people in freely and peacefully determining their own future, and that we participate in multi-lateral reconstruction.

Submitted by: 3rd AD Comm.; 5th AD Comm.; 13th AD Comm.; 16th AD Comm.; 18th AD Comm.; 21st AD Comm.; 27th AD Comm.; 28th AD Comm.; 33rd AD Comm.; 35th AD Comm.; 38th AD Comm.; 41st AD Comm.; 42nd AD Comm.; 45th AD Comm.; 68th AD Comm.; 69th AD Comm.; 4th AD Steering Comm.; City of Alameda Demo Club; Marin CCC; San Benito CCC; San Mateo CCC; Malibu Demo Club; West Orange Demo Club; Valley Dems United; Dem Club of Conejo Valley; Progressive Democrats of America & LA; DSCC members, Ruth Group; Progressive Demo;
Congresswoman Maxine Waters

* * *

Adopted by the California Democratic Party
At Its 2005 State Convention
Los Angeles Convention Center
April 17, 2005

April 20, 2005 at 11:53 AM in Democratic Party, Iraq War, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Governor Richardson to Make BIG Announcement on Otero Mesa This Friday

Hot_2 Be a part of New Mexico History when Governor Bill Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid make an Important Announcement on Otero Mesa on Earth Day!

Over the past four years a lot of hard work has been done and a lot progress has been made for protecting New Mexico’s Otero Mesa. Your support and efforts have made a difference! NOW—the State of New Mexico, using all of its power, will stand up for your voice and tell the Federal Government NO to drilling in Otero Mesa!

Show your support for Otero Mesa. Join us in making New Mexico History!

Who: Governor Richardson, Attorney General Madrid, and YOU!!!

What: Monumental Moment in New Mexico and Otero Mesa History!!!

When: Friday, April 22nd, 2005—11:00 am (Get There @ 10:30 if possible)

Where: UNM Campus—East of the Duck Pond

For more info. contact Nathan Newcomer at 505-843-8696 or nathan@nmwild.org

April 19, 2005 at 02:54 PM in Events, Local Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)