Democracy for New Mexico

TONIGHT 10/4: DFA-DFNM Meetup With Special Guests Marty Chavez, Jon Hendry

This month's DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup is set for TONIGHT, Tuesday, October 4, at 7:00 PM at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. Please RSVP. All are wecome to attend!

We'll be hearing from former ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez, who's a candidate in the Democratic primary race for Congress in New Mexico's First District. He'll be discussing his campaign and positions on the issues, and answering your questions.

Labor leader JON HENDRY, who serves as President of the New Mexico Federation of Labor and the business agent for IATSE local 480, will also be speaking to the group. He'll discuss workers' rights and the role of unions in today's anti-working class, anti-middle class political environment dominated by corporate and right-wing greed.

Attend DFA-DFNM Meetup Tonight With Eric Griego, Hector Balderas

Eric Griego

Hector Balderas

This month's DFA-DFNM Meetup will take place on Tuesday, September 6, and will feature special guests Hector Balderas, a Democratic primary candidate for U.S. Senate, and Eric Griego, a Democratic primary candidate for Congress in NM-01. Hector and Eric will be discussing their campaigns and taking questions. The Meetup takes place at 7:00 PM at the Social Hall at the First Unitarian Church located on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque.

This will be an excellent opportunity for folks to interact with the candidates in a small, informal setting, so come on down. All are welcome to attend. Click here to RSVP and/or to join the Meetup group.

Note: Tonight's Meetup will be starting at 7:00 PM sharp so that both guests can have adequate time to engage the group. Please arrive before 7:00 PM so the Meetup can start on time!

Photo Credits: Eric Griego by M.E. Broderick; Hector Balderas by Stephen Jones.

REMINDER: Tonight's DFNM Meetup to Feature US Senate Candidate Martin Heinrich

Come on down at 7:00 PM tonight to the Democracy for New Mexico Meetup at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. Take advantage of an opportunity to hear from Dem U.S. Senate candidate Martin Heinrich and get his answers to your questions in a small setting. All are welcome to attend. As you know by now, the Senate race in New Mexico is shaping up to be an exciting contest, so don't pass up your chance to interact at an informal event with Rep. Heinrich. (Never fear, we plan to host Dem challenger Hector Balderas at a Meetup soon.)

As usual, we'll also be discussing other topics like Van Jones' new Rebuild the Dream group and the NM-01 House race. You're encouraged to join the discussion. To learn more and/or join the Meetup group, click here.

7/5: DFA-DFNM Meetup with Martin Heinrich, More

Rep. Heinrich at Meetup last year

The next DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup is set for Tuesday, July 5, at 7:00 PM at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. Please RSVP now to let us know whether you'll be attending. (You can also join the group at that link.)

We're very pleased to have Rep. MARTIN HEINRICH as our special guest this month. He'll give a short talk about his campaign for U.S. Senate, and then take your questions and hang out a bit to chat. Don't miss this chance to interact with Martin and hear the latest on the hot Senate race in NM. We hope to have a large turnout to welcome Martin and let him know we appreciate his taking time during his busy schedule to meet with us.

We'll also be discussing Van Jones' new grassroots group, Rebuild the Dream, as well as the race for the House seat in NM-01. Come on down!

Note: FYI we plan to hear from the other Dem candidate for U.S. Senate, Hector Balderas, at a Meetup soon. Stay tuned.

Tonight: DFA-DFNM Meetup to Feature Analysis of 2010 Census, Role of USDA Rural Development

This month's DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup is set for tonight, April 5, at 7:00 PM at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche. Click here to RSVP and/or become a member. All are welcome.

The group will be hearing from two knowledgeable folks about two important topics. Meetup member Sterling Ray Fluharty, who has made a careful study of the demographic changes captured in the 2010 census, will discuss their meaning for politics in New Mexico. , the State Director for USDA Rural Development in New Mexico, will fill us in on what his important agency does to support communities in NM, and how its focus fits in with the demographic changes highlighted in the recent census.

We'll also be discussing what's going on in the pro-worker movement here and nationwide, and what we can do to keep the momentum going.

3/1 Meetup: One Good Reading of Lakoff and Hartmann Deserves Another

This month's DFA-DFNM Meetup is set for tomorrow, Tuesday, March 1, at 7:00 PM at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church located on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. The group will get to participate in a special workshop presented by Janet Resnick and Lisa Franzen on strengthening the liberal, progressive movement using effective messaging based on the linguistic framing principles of George Lakoff. To join the Meetup group and/or RSVP, click here.

If there's one thing that right wingers are beating us on, it's messaging -- they have become masters at simplifying and framing complex issues so that they strongly impact people's emotional cores and speak to their innermost values. Janet and Lisa have been working within a group that has been exploring framing and its applications in political rhetoric. Tomorrow, they will share what they've learned and how to apply these principles to everyday interactions in order to be persuasive and effective in advocating for liberal positions.

Workshop participants will learn how to communicate in a way that successfully conveys and gains support for progressive values and positions. Lakoff argues that one of the reasons liberals have had difficulty since the 1980s is that they have not been as aware of their own guiding metaphors, and have too often accepted conservative terminology framed in a way to promote authoritarian values.

Lakoff insists that liberals must cease using terms like partial birth abortion and tax relief because they are manufactured specifically to allow the possibilities of only certain types of opinions. Tax relief, for example, implies explicitly that taxes are an affliction, something someone would want "relief" from. To use the terms of another metaphoric worldview, Lakoff insists, is to unconsciously support it. Liberals must support linguistic think tanks in the same way that conservatives do if they are going to succeed in appealing to those in the country who share their metaphors.

As Janet Resnick explains:

"It would be a comfort to us all if the events in Wisconsin continued to inspire the liberal movement through the next election cycle and ushered in a new political bottom line where universal health care is seen as a requirement for economic stability, Fox News fires Glen Beck and hires Keith Olbermann, Sara Palin decides to go back for a degree in International Studies -- at Berkley, and the Tea Party tells the Koch brothers they can keep their money because campaign finance reform is the next bill they will support in Congress.

"Ok, then I woke up.

"Indeed, there is some invigoration of the liberal side -- yay -- but how successful it will be, how much impact it will have and for how long, remains to be seen. Let us not be deluded: there is a massive, barroom brawl ahead. It’s not about a singular issue. It is about the fundamental difference between liberal and neo-conservative values. In this country, arguable in most of the industrial world, the polling results lean left or right at any given moment. The fluctuations in public opinion make outcomes of any poll an imprecise science. Often, the deck is stacked. Wordsmith for the right, Frank Luntz, convinced reporters at Fox News to use the phrase “government option” in place of “public option” because the frames that were evoked with the use of the word “government” provided the negative spin they were after.

"The way we talk about our values, and how our values determine the policies we support, help others to build an understanding and appreciation for liberalism. The neo-conservatives have been perfecting their arguments for decades. Needless to say, the liberal side of the debate has a lot of catching up to do.

"The presentation on Tuesday, March 1st, will share how our group of five people are learning about, and using framing, to create more effective communication."

Note: Lakoff just wrote an excellent piece on the real issues that are at play in the Wisconsin battle over unions and collective bargaining. You can read it here.

2/8: DFA-DFNM Meetup with Sam Bregman, Candidate for DPNM Chair

The DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup is set for today, Tuesday, February 8, at 7:00 PM at the Social Hall at the First Unitarian Church on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche. You can join the group and/or RSVP here.

Our special guest will be Sam Bregman, a candidate for Chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. Whether you already support a candidate in this race, haven't yet made up your mind or just want to discussion the future of the Party, we hope you will help us welcome Sam, give a listen to what he has to say and participate with your questions or comments at tomorrow night's Meetup. We think it's important to give everyone a fair shake, and it will be a great opportunity to discuss the direction the Party should take as we continue to battle against the right-wing agenda in NM and nationally. 

With the help of Dory Shonagon, we'll also be discussing what's happening at the New Mexico Legislature during this 60-day session, and a new grassroots initiative called Keep the Promise of New Mexico's Future that demands an end to education cuts and ways to increase revenues to improve education. You can read more here.

All are welcome. Hope to see you there!

Tonight's DFA-DFNM Meetup: DPNM Chairman Javier Gonzales, Citizen Lobbying, More

Tonight's DFA-DFNM Meetup is set for 7:00 PM at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. Click to join the group and/or RSVP.

As part of his state-wide listening tour, our special guest will be Javier Gonzales, Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. He wants to hear your comments and questions about where the Dem Party is and where we should be headed. Dory Shonagon will fill us in on effective citizen lobbying at the NM legislative session that starts at Noon on January 18, and we'll also be discussing grassroots actions we can take to support a progressive agenda there and beyond. All are urged to attend and start the New Year off right -- active and engaged!

Tonight: DFA-DFNM Meetup in Albuquerque to Focus on Assessment, Plans

The monthly DFA-DFNM Meetup will be held tonight -- Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 7:00 PM at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church located on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. If you plan to attend, please RSVP here, where you can also join the group and get on its email list.

The group will be:

• discussing lessons learned from the 2010 election -- what went wrong and what went right, and what we can do to improve our efforts;
• brainstorming how to move forward in support of a progressive agenda within the Democratic Party and outside the party structure, both locally and nationally;
• discussing what our group's focus and actions should be in the coming new year.

Bring your thoughts, ideas, opinions and suggestions. This is designed to be a civil and constructive assessment of where we are now, how we got here and where we want to go in the future, both within the Democratic Party and outside of it in terms of grassroots movement activism. Hope you can participate.

10/5: Join DFA-DFNM Meetup Group in Phone Bank for Rep. Martin Heinrich

Instead of holding its regular monthly DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup, group members will be volunteering TONIGHT to phone canvass for Rep. Martin Heinrich at his main campaign office in Albuquerque. Everyone is welcome to participate, whether you're a member of Meetup or not.

Come on down to Rep. Heinrich's campaign headquarters at 7:00 PM tonight, Tuesday, October 5. The office is located at 2610 San Mateo Blvd NE (see map). Folks will be making calls from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM or so, but any amount of time you can volunteer tonight will be much appreciated.

The DFA-DFNM Meetup group will be organizing several more phone banks for other candidates, including Diane Denish, in the weeks before the November 2nd election. Keep an eye our for more information. You can become a Meetup member or RSVP for tonight's phone bank here.

Whether you can participate tonight or not, we hope you will donate as much time as possible to knocking doors, making phone calls and/or doing other needed work for any and all Democratic campaigns between now and the election. Turnout is the key to victory!

10/5: New Four Corners DFA Group to Hold First Meeting in Gallup

A new DFA group, Democracy for McKinley County, is starting up today in Gallup and holding its first meeting. If you live in the Four Corners area, check it out. I'll let Bill Monroe, who's organizing the meeting, explain what's up.

I am Bill Monroe. My wife and I moved to Gallup from Columbia, Missouri in June of this year. I was a founding member of Democracy for Missouri, a very active DFA group in Central Missouri which has hosted two DFA trainings, a State Convention and helped recruit and support numerous successful (and unsuccessful) candidates to elective office. One of our members was elected as a John Kerry Delegate in 2004 and I was an elected Obama Delegate in 2008.

This will be a bid to reestablish DFA progressive activism in the Four Corners region centered in Gallup. We will meet to join forces and promote a progressive agenda taking on big Uranium, native water rights, and protection of this beautiful land, while recruiting and helping to elect progressive Democrats to represent our values of community, mutual support and caring for all.

Our first meeting will be Tuesday October 5th, at 6:00 PM in Camille's Restaurant (just next to the dance circle in front of the courthouse). You can join the group and RSVP here.

I am really at a loss as to the political scene here and I am hoping to meet like minded progressives and plug into the local Democratic structure. The initial focus of this group , assuming that we get a turnout of 3 or 4 people, will be to engage in GOTV efforts this November. Lets give the lie to the meme that the "Left' is dispirited with a big Democratic turnout in McKinley County. It was so nice to register to vote here as I was able to declare party affiliation. This must make the party ID effort a cinch. I envision door knocking and phone calls to get out the vote in the weeks leading up to the election. Lets roll...!

Tea party? Coffee party? Yea sure ...whatever you want to order! It is time to rally the true majority of Americans ... progressive, civic minded and loving people who care about each other and the Country we love. We will meet in such a way as to tap into the resources of the one million strong Democracy for America organization. Lets keep McKinley County green (and very Blue!)

Pueblo of Pojoaque Endorses NM Court of Appeals Judge Robert E. Robles

Note: Judge Robert E. Robles will join Rep. Martin Heinrich as a guest speaker at tonight's DFA-DFNM Meetup. All are welcome to attend.

On August 25, 2010, the Pueblo of Pojoaque issued a release endorsing Judge Robles saying, “The Pueblo of Pojoaque is proud to support Judge Robert E. Robles for the New Mexico Court of Appeals.”

Governor George Rivera issued the following statement regarding the endorsement: “Judge Robles’ superior reputation as a New Mexico trial judge speaks volumes about him. It is evident that he has a clear understanding of Native American issues and we support his candidacy for the New Mexico Court of Appeals.”

"I am honored to be endorsed by the Pueblo of Pojoaque,” Judge Robles said in a statement released by his campaign. “As a judge, it is my sworn duty to support the Constitution and laws of the State of New Mexico, with due respect for the rights of sovereign nations.”

More on Judge Robles
In 1999, Judge Robles ruled in a 3rd District Court case that under the New Mexico Constitution, New Mexico residents who are United States citizens have a right to serve as jurors regardless of whether or not they are fluent in English. His ruling also stated that they are entitled to an interpreter in order to fully participate. The 3rd Judicial District Attorney representing the state in this matter took Judge Robles’ ruling to the New Mexico Supreme Court for review where it was affirmed. As a result, all state courts are required to adhere to this process to ensure everyone is afforded the opportunity to be judged by a jury of their peers.

A native of Albuquerque, Robles graduated with a juris doctorate from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1975. He began his legal career as a New Mexico Assistant Attorney General. In 1978, Robles moved to Las Cruces where he practiced law for 13 years prior to being appointed by Governor Bruce King as a Third Judicial District Court judge in 1991. Robles served on the district court bench for more than 17 years, and was selected by his fellow judges to three, three-year terms as chief judge.

Judge Robles has also earned endorsements from the New Mexico Federation of Labor, NM AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFSCME, which represents over 12,000 city, county, state and university employees along with home-based childcare providers, and the Office and Professional Employees International Union, OPEIU.