Democracy for New Mexico

Local Mainstream Media: Garbage In, Garbage Out

Awwwww. The "pundits" and "reporters" had to attend a press conference with NM Dem Party Chair Brian Colon and others when the final results of our caucus were announced last week. They're leaking complaints with the usual suspects that it was too long and held them up from their important duties, which often appear to entail a whole bunch of gossiping and groaning amongst themselves. Don't you feel sorry for them? They actually get paid to report on politics, while local and national bloggers struggle on as freebie public service outlets and writers for alternative outlets eek out a living.

I guess the insider word is that they've been devoting so much of their precious time to the caucus story that they're all tuckered out. They wanted the results immediately from a contest that was one of the closest in the nation to date. They wanted it yesterday despite a record turnout and more than 17,000 provisional ballots to qualify -- and a complex negotiation required to balance the demands of Party and the campaigns on qualification standards. With all the grunt work done by volunteers.

Not The Facts, Maam
Many local mainstream media outlets wrongly but continually compared New Mexico's Party-run caucus with contests in other states where the margins weren't even close. Sure, quick results are much easier when the time-consuming tasks of qualifying and counting provisional ballots aren't in the picture because they won't make much difference in the outcome.

Sadly, in many cases daily coverage of the story consisted almost entirely of complaints about delays and childish mockery of all those working to deal with a myriad of complexities. Guess what? The unofficial results of the regular paper ballots were pretty much ready the day after the election. Minor point, I know, when you're spinning for the opposite team or concentrating on creating "controversy." Much easier to mindlessly repeat words like "debacle" and "disaster" than to report the facts as they emerged. Or, better yet, to use the situation as an opportunity to educate the public on the finer points of voting, vote counting and the strengths and weaknesses of today's election processes.

Old fashioned, I know, yearning for the days when The Press was viewed as a powerful and important Fourth Estate, and journalists focused on providing clear, accurate and fair answers to Who? What? Where? How? Why?

Many of our local reporters obviously had no interest in pursuing rumors to their source, researching the source of problems with voter lists or compiling documented info on which caucus sites experienced problems -- and which ones didn't. Instead of following leads and pursuing facts, too many were all too content to make judgments based on heresay and tsk tsk about the "embarrassment" of it all. On any given day, the coverage in the Albuquerque Journal and on TV news shows seemed to have more in common with crime tabloids, Wonkette or COPS than anything to do with genuine journalism.

So many of the trad media writers have grown quite comfortable serving as stenographers for Republican and corporate interests. Those running TV "news" organizations seem more concerned with packing the screen with garish graphics and screeching sounds than thoughtful content. It pains them to have to listen to a Democratic point of view or anything more complex than red light camera laments. Their ears hurt. Their fingers cramp. They get all figgety and crabby.

Protectors of the Status Quo
Of course they've been assisted in this whine-fest by the usual online suspects who serve as loyal mouthpieces for "anonymous" sources like former State Party Chair John you-know-who and others who can't stand that it isn't them on the podium or in the SCC seats. Times like this are perfect for avengers to pile on, with the implicit message that they'd be doing so much better in handling everything. Well I guess that's true if you like sneeky opaqueness vs. transparency, sneering arrogance vs. openness and dissembling more than the facts. Accountability is a concept foreign to the status-quo bunch. The governor, the "tipsters," and the "Dem insiders" all spent most of their time since the caucus pointing fingers away from themselves -- a familiar M.O. regardless of the controversy.

The New Ambulance Chasers
What about accountability on the part of the local mainstream media? A major criticism about the Dem caucus has been that adequate information wasn't available to the public. Many people have reported that they didn't know where, how or when to vote, or didn't know they had to be registered Democrats to do so. Of course the Party could and should have done a better job of getting the word out, despite their pinched budget this time out. But do our newspapers and TV "news" outfits share any blame on this count?

Detailed, informative and nuanced coverage of local political and governmental news is almost nonexistent in our local mainstream media. Why bother when you can just point your cameras at the latest car crash or substitute photos of monster truck rallies for reporting? Do local media and news outlets have any civic or journalistic responsibilty to serve the public and provide educational and informative coverage about things like the political caucus?

I know for a fact that these outfits routinely receive news release after news release about such topics, but refuse to provide any decent coverage or to show up at press conferences unless there's a scandal involved. If it's something they can mock or distort into at least a pseudo-controversy, they're there. If it's something to edify the public, they're mostly missing in action. Certain types of lawyers are often labeled as no more than ambulance chasers, trying to make a profit off of misery and suffering. But I think today's most blatant ambulance chasers have to be some of our local reporters and news "editors."

Murder, mayhem and mockery rule their days -- all to pump up the bottom line and sell more ads. Even worse, they feel perfectly justified making fun of people who work on real problems in the real world.

Of course there are exceptions, but I have to say that the overall coverage of New Mexico's caucus was often inaccurate, lazy, repetitive and juvenile -- like the MSM reporting about many other aspects of politics and government. Our democracy suffers.

Given all the years we've had to endure the suffering inflicted by certain tabloid-addicted tribunes and their shallow, lead-balloon jokes, I think it's only fitting to give them a dose of their own medicine for a change, don't you?

SFR: Repub Senate Candidates Seek to Define Post-Domenici Religion

Former State Sen. Tom Benavidez discusses his so far unsuccessful quest to get on the primary ballot to take on Repub candidates he calls "carpetbaggers."


Current NM-03 Rep. Steve Pearce views SCHIP as a socialized medicine plot and doesn't allow filming while he eats

I'm a fan of the political coverage being produced by the folks at the Santa Fe Reporter (SFR), so I'm pleased to see they've launched their own video channel on YouTube. It should come in handy as we edge ever closer to election day 2008. The videos above complement "Elephant Warfare," their cover story this week on the Republican contenders in the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico. The vids feature interviews conducted by David Alire Garcia, with camera work by Dave Maass. As Alire Garcia's story explains:

From Feb. 14-23, GOP county conventions all across the state will pick delegates to send to the March 15 state pre-primary nominating convention, the first skirmish of what is expected to be a money-soaked, hard-fought Senate primary between heavyweights Wilson and Pearce.

... On one level, this election is a struggle for the soul of the New Mexico's Republican Party in a post-Domenici religion.

Rep. Heather Wilson, who refused an interview with SFR, is now defining herself as a "common sense conservative" in contrast to Steve Pearce's to-the-right-of-Atila-the-Hun conservatism. One example of Pearce's distaste for (and ignorance about) the push for 21st century-style civil liberties:

"The pressure for same-sex marriage, the pressure for multiple partners,
polymorphism, that's a pressure that is actually going on legally right now," he says. "And then you got pressure from people saying, "˜I got a legitimate right to my pedophilia.'"

Say again?

"There will be no legal impediment to stop anything based on emotion once you get started, even pedophilia,"Pearce theorizes.

Should be a winner on the right-wing talk show circuit, no? The early positioning and framing being used by Pearce and Wilson in this race were on display Tuesday in their first debate in Alamogordo.

The  SFR story also touches on the political problems Wilson may continue to face related to her pressuring phone call to former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, which came to light during the U.S. Attorney firing scandal in Congress last year:

Some of Wilson's baggage includes her now-infamous phone call to New Mexico's former US Attorney, David Iglesias.

Iglesias testified before the House Ethics Committee last August as part of a preliminary investigation of the call Wilson placed to him inquiring about a public corruption case that targeted prominent Democrats.

"She was snooping around, she wanted me to give her privileged and confidential information that she had no business knowing," Iglesias says of Wilson. "She's clearly intelligent, she's been in office a number of years, she knows what honor means. I think she made a terrible choice and I think there needs to be consequences."

Wilson has previously defended her call to Iglesias as "entirely appropriate."

Iglesias believes Wilson's role in Attorneygate will come back to haunt her on the campaign trail.

"Part of Steve Pearce's stump speech is his three reasons why Heather Wilson is unelectable," Iglesias says. "And one of the reasons is her phone call to me."

The most recent polling available in race for U.S. Senate shows that current NM-03 Rep. Tom Udall, who'll be the Dem candidate, would beat both Pearce by 14 and Wilson by 15 points. Clearly, the NM GOP will have their hands full trying to stem the Dem momentum that's been apparent in the presidential primaries as it morphs down ticket to Senate and House races and beyond.

To help make a Dem tsunami a reality in New Mexico, visit Udall's campaign website and sign up as a supporter.

To see our previous coverage on the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, visit our archive.

Saturday: Insight New Mexico Radio's Legislative Wrap-Up

From Insight New Mexico:
The lastest installment of airs on Albuquerque's Progressive Talk Radio 1350 AM from Noon to 1:00 PM on Saturday, February 9. Cohosted by Heather Brewer and Javier Benavidez and produced by Suzanne Prescott. You can call in live during the show with your questions and comments at 338-4090. This week's show:

Joe Monahan will be with us to wrap up our series of shows on the legislature, 2008 version. What have the alligators told Joe about our show continuing after the legislature?

Senator Ortiz y Pino talks with
DFNM's Mary Ellen Broderick  before a show last year

Senator Jerry Ortiz Y Pino is back with us again for the 2008 legislative wrap-up edition.  He'll tell us why he voted for the TIDDS legislation and what success and disappointments were made this legislative session.

State Rep. Moe Maestas joins us to give his take on actions taken in the House during the 2008 legislative session.

Tonight on New Mexico In Focus: Legislative Session Wrap-Up

From New Mexico IN FOCUS: FRIDAY, FEB. 15 at 7:00 PM and repeated SUNDAY, FEB. 17 at 6:30 AM  on  Channel 5, KNME-TV. Hosted by Gene Grant and David Alire Garcia.

This Week’s TOPICS: The 2008 Legislative Session Wraps Up With Issues, from Universal Health Care To Domestic Partnership And Ethics Reform; The Growing Tension Between Lawmakers and Gov. Richardson; The Congressional Candidates Make Their Campaigns Official; The Ballot Counting Continues In The Democratic Presidential Caucus; The Battle Over Oil And Gas Drilling In The Galisteo Basin Rages On.

This Week’s GUESTS: Walter Bradley, Former Lt. Governor; Senator Carlos Cisneros, (D) Questa;  Senator Linda Lopez, (D) Albuquerque; Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino, (D) Albuquerque; Representative Danice Picraux, (D) Albuquerque; Representative Lucky Varela, (D) Santa Fe

GUEST PANELISTS: Jennifer Duke, Communications Manager, CNM; Joe Powdrell, Former President, NAACP New Mexico

Noon Today On Insight New Mexico Progressive Talk Radio

The next installment of airs on Albuquerque's Progressive Talk Radio 1350 AM from Noon to 1:00 PM today, Saturday, February 9. Cohosted by Heather Brewer and Javier Benavidez and produced by Suzanne Prescott, the weekly show covers the latest happenings at the Legislative Session and other local political news. You can call in live during the show with your questions and comments at 338- 4090. This week's show features:

• Gene Grant fresh from the recent edition of In Focus on KNME discusses 'Gene's terrible Superbowl adventure' and Roundhouse Activity this week. Gene couldn't make it, but Matt of will provide insight on the NM Caucus and other local politics today.
• Debbie O'Malley brings us up to date on the housing crisis in ABQ and New Mexico and what we can do about it
• Coco from Cocoposts is back again with us to tell why TIDDS is actually important
• If were lucky we'll also have Elias Barelas to tell us how he has survived another week in the NM legislature and what's happening with the bills he's involved with.

Tonight on NM IN FOCUS: NM Caucus, Domestic Partnership Debate

Tune in to KNME-TV's NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS tonight at 7:00 PM on Channel 5 (repeats Sunday at 6:30 AM). The one-hour public affairs show is co-hosted by Santa Fe Reporter staff writer David Alire Garcia and Albuquerque Journal columnist Gene Grant.

This Week’s Topics: Ballot Problems Once Again Plagued NM; What The Election Results Might Mean For The National Campaigns; Will NM Pass A Domestic Partnership Bill? -- Political Debate & Religious Controversy

This Week’s Guests: Alexis Blizman, Executive Director, Equality New Mexico; Pastor Steve Smothermon, Legacy Church in Albuquerque; Reverend Brian Taylor, Rector, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church; Rep. Gloria Vaughn, Alamogordo Republican

This Week's Panelists: Guest panelists tonight are Steve Cabiedes, Political Consultant; and Pat Frisch, Citadel Communications, AM Radio Operations Manager; who will join regular panelists Margaret Montoya, UNM School of Law / UNM School of Medicine; and Jim Scarantino, Columnist, The Weekly Alibi.

Tonight On We The People: Martin Heinrich

WE THE PEOPLE
Guest: Martin Heinrich, Democratic Candidate
New Mexico First Congressional District
Watch - Think - Call-in! (505) 346-1633
New Day and Time: Wednesday, January 30th, 6 PM
Albuquerque Comcast Cable Channel 27

Not a cable subscriber? Watch simultaneously on your high-speed computer: https://www.quote-unquote.org. Click for Channel 27s Media Stream ---> down the page on the Right.

WE THE PEOPLE is an innovative call-in television show looking for TRUTH and TRANSPARENCY in local, state, and federal governments. THANKS FOR WATCHING! Mickey Bock, Host; Judith Binder, Producer.

Noon Saturday: Insight New Mexico Radio

Insight New Mexico's second show of the year will be aired on Albuquerque's Progressive Talk Radio 1350 AM from Noon to 1:00 PM on Saturday, January 25, 2008. Cohosted by Heather Brewer and Javier Benavidez and produced by Suzanne Prescott, the weekly show covers the latest happenings at the Legislative Session and other local political news. You can call in live during the show with your questions and comments at 338- 4090. This week (pending what's going on in Santa Fe during showtime):

• Steve Terrell returns with another of his Roundhouse Roundups
• Rep. Gail Chasey will discuss HB 244, pro-choice legislation
• Laura Sanchez, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico will discuss the February 5th Presidential Preference Caucus and provide some insight into what it means in terms of the presidential election
• Sandy Buffett of League of Conservation Voters will give an update of pending environmental legislation

Support Insight New Mexico
If you'd like to help defray the costs of by becoming a sponsor or supporter, contact Suzanne Prescott at 505-304-3960 or Heather Brewer at 505-310-5957. Let's help keep the show on the air!

Sunday Morning: "Eye on New Mexico" Ethics Debate

Tune in this Sunday, January 20, at 10 AM on KOB-TV 4 to the local current events show "Eye on New Mexico" to see Common Cause New Mexico's executive director Steven Robert Allen discuss the crucial ethics reforms being considered during this year's legislative session. In an occasionally heated debate with political blogger Mario Burgos and co-hosts Dennis Domrzalski and Nicole Brady, Allen argued strongly for the need to pass bills to create:

1. voluntary public campaign financing for statewide executive offices such as governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and treasurer;
2. campaign contribution limits (New Mexico is one of only a handful of states with no such limits); and
3. an independent ethics commission to investigate complaints against public officials.

These bills are the major recommendations of the 2007 Ethics Reform Task Force, a bipartisan group charged with designing new ethics policies in the wake of a series of governmental corruption scandals and allegations in New Mexico.

If you can't watch the program live, you can download or subscribe to podcasts of all "Eye on New Mexico" shows at their website. To stay current on the ethics and campaign reform issue, visit the website of Common Cause New Mexico. Our previous posts on the 2008 NM Legislative Session can be found in our archive.

Noon Saturday: Insight New Mexico Radio Returns

Weekly call-in radio show returns to the airwaves for its second year on Albuquerque's 1350 AM Progressive Talk Radio this Saturday from Noon to 1:00 PM thanks to the efforts of executive producer Suzanne Prescott. Co-hosts Heather Brewer (left) and Javier Benavidez (right) will focus on what's going on at the New Mexico Legislative Session in Santa Fe and other timely political topics. Brewer previous served as the communications director for Patricia Madrid's 2006 congressional bid and is now the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico. Benavidez is now on staff with Conservation Voters New Mexico and formerly worked as an aide to Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich.

The special guests on tomorrow's show will be: the always indefatigable Rep. Mimi Stewart (left), who'll discuss the proposed Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act, which she sponsored; New Mexico Human Services Department Secretary Pam Hyde at 12:30 to talk about the proposed health care legislation; next up Mary Feldblum, discussing the Health Securities Act; and last but not least Santa Fe New Mexican political reporter Steve Terrell (right), who'll be calling in to share his in-the-know views on the session (even if he won't share his pecans, chile or BBQ sauce).

Listeners are encouraged to call into the show LIVE with comments and questions at 505-338-4090.

Be sure to check in at the show's website and blog at for more info, including helpful links. If you can't listen live, you can stream or download a podcast (mp3) of the shows, which will be available a day or two after broadcast right here. In fact, you can still listen to last year's shows, co-hosted by Eric Griego and Suzanne Prescott, at the podcast site. There's even one show that includes yours truly. This year Eric's busy running for a state senate seat in District 14 and serving as executive director at New Mexico Voices for Children.

Support Insight New Mexico
If you'd like to help defray the costs of Insight New Mexico by becoming a sponsor or supporter, contact Suzanne Prescott at 505-304-3960 or Heather Brewer at 505-310-5957. Let's help keep the show on the air!