Democracy for New Mexico

2008 NM Dem Pre-Primary Winners: Martin Heinrich, Bill McCamley, Ben Ray Lujan (with Photos)

Campaign signs line the way to Santa Ana Star Center

UPDATE: Also see my later post for a link to more photos from the event.
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Click for Official Results (pdf) of the pre-primary delegate voting for Congressional races, U.S. Senate and NM Supreme Court Justice.

Amanda Cooper, Jill Cooper-Udall, our next Senator: Rep. Tom Udall, former Ambassador Joe Wilson

I'm beat from spending most of the day at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho at the Dem Pre-Primary Convention but I wanted to post the Congressional results and some photos.

Rep. Tom Udall and wife Jill Cooper-Udall, who gave his nomination speech

Dems were out in force, campaign supporters were enthusiastic and vocal, the speeches were rousing (well, mostly) and competition for delegates was fierce.

2000+ Dems at Santa Ana Star Center

We had everything from a mariachi band strumming up support for Michelle Lujan Grisham to a Native American invocation, to former Ambassador Joe Wilson, now a Santa Fe resident, giving the nominating speech for Don Wiviott. I admit it -- I love waving campaign signs, being plastered with candidate stickers and schmoozing in an arena packed with Democrats. I can't help myself.

NM-02 candidate Bill McCamley with his mom


NM-01 candidate Martin Heinrich at podium with Albuquerque City Councilor Debbie O'Malley to his left, who gave his nomination speech
Martin Heinrich booth

Check in tomorrow for more on the Convention, additional photos and some videos too.

NM-03 candidate Don Wiviott


NM-03 candidate Ben Ray Lujan

P.S. Kate Nash of the Santa Fe New Mexican live blogged the entire Convention. Now THAT's dedication!

Click on photos for larger images. All photos by M.E. Broderick.

Also see my later posts on the Convention here and here.

NM-01: Darren White and the Hackneyed Fear Game

It's easy to tell when Dem candidates and positions are gaining strength -- it brings out the fearmongering on the right-wing side. The fruitcake wing of the Repubs has nurtured a tradition of fearmongering for decades, stretching from the commie-pinko obsessions of the McCarthy days to the Bush II era rants of "you're either with us on everything or you're an unpatriotic terrorist." The vast majority of Repub candidates have used fear tactics to try and get votes and smear their opponents during the last 7+ years, but recent evidence is compelling that the jig is up.

Fear-eliciting, lie-based sloganeering repeated endlessly for years eventually loses its power, especially when it runs up against reality. Like when the massive scope of law breaking, domestic surveillence by the NSA is brought to light by news media like the Wall Street Journal, certainly no bastion of liberalism.

Dems on the Move
Democratic turnout in this year's presidential primaries and caucuses has been about double that of Repubs, sometimes more. Independents and moderate Repubs have been crossing to the Dem side in droves. Just the other day, Dem Bill Foster defeated Repub Jim Oberweis by a margin of 53%-47% to capture former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's seat in Illinois -- with support from across the political spectrum in a district that's been solidly Repub for many years. How did Foster do it? By speaking out boldly against retroactive immunity for telecoms that illegally spied on US citizens, and by defending the Constitution and the rule of law.

Oberweis relied on the familiar Repub fear strategy to try and attack the patriotism and security credentials of Foster and Dems in the U.S. House. He used all the usual hit language on Foster -- you know the entire tired script by now. It didn't work. Foster won in the Illinois special election on a platform of protecting our individual liberties against those who would compromise them and endanger our democracy. In a strongly Republican district.

What Does This Have to Do with New Mexico?
Turns out Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, the probable Repub Congressional candidate in NM-01, is already unsheathing the same kind of fearmongering against Dem Martin Heinrich that didn't work for Oberweis in Illinois. White's latest fundraising letter breathlessly offers this truth-challenged proclamation:

My likely Democrat opponent...is opposed to the Terrorist Surveillance Program and has used the issue to drum up support for his candidacy among extreme left-wing groups. He believes that we should not immediately intercept calls from known terrorists and has even gone so far as to attack middle-of-the-road Democrats who support this bipartisan bill. I believe his position on the Terrorist Surveillance Program clearly demonstrates that his views are out-of-step with common-sense New Mexico values.

As usual, local blogger Joe Monahan employs his "some unnamed people say" approach to push the notion on behalf of his cronies that Democrats "in the game for awhile" and "political pros" are worried about Heinrich's candidacy:

Heinrich's supporters (those who have been in the game awhile) fear he will be unable to grow out of his liberal base and White will take the prize in the moderate district. White's first strike is on territory--foreign intelligence--that is friendly to the Bernalillo County Sheriff ... Also, the political pros are writing the early line on possible character vulnerabilities that could be used against the two contenders ... R's see Heinrich and his acolytes as thin-skinned and ready to lose their cool. That ought to wake up the operatives :).

Funny, I haven't noticed anyone at recent Party and candidate functions spinning these kinds of concerns about Heinrich. On the contrary, rank and file Dems have been incredibly upbeat about the chances of turning New Mexico's Congressional delegation completely Blue this year. Not only will we have strong candidates like Heinrich and Udall up and down the ticket, but NM Repubs seem more intent on muddying each other than in articulating any clear and reasonable messages.

As you may recall, the last few weeks have been rife with accusations being made by NM Repubs about vote-buying and threats of smear campaigns being orchestrated by the camps of fellow Repubs Darren White and Heather Wilson. Common sense my eye. Chaos and crises are what I see on the Repub side. There seems to be real panic setting in, and for good reason.

Hungering for Change
Clearly, voters are tired of the cynical politics of fear, smear and distortion that Repubs are clinging to with growing desperation. You can see it in the success of Barack Obama and Jim Foster. You can see it in the massive turnouts for Dem primaries and caucuses. You can see it in the willingness of Dem candidates like Heinrich to speak the truth about what's going on -- with no holds barred.

The politicos of both parties who use vehicles like Monahan's blog to spread their anonymous, negative hackery represent yesterday's news, yesterday's power blocs, yesterday's tactics. Their underhanded "warnings" -- aimed at undermining the galloping momentum for change so evident among voters of many political leanings -- are increasingly falling on deaf ears. The voters have learned a lot during the past eight years of Bush-Rove-Cheney-White style politics. For one thing, they've picked up on the folly of voting against their own interests as they watch our health care system, schools, infrastructure, environment, economy and civil liberties go to hell in a handbasket. The fearmongers are losing their edge.

Heinrich and True Patriotism
Genuine patriotism comes from deeply held beliefs, not focus group tested sloganeering. As Martin Heinrich says,

"... I stand with the American people who say fear mongering is not acceptable. Not acceptable from George Bush, not acceptable from Karl Rove and not acceptable from Darren White. I agree with Bill Richardson that we can keep our country safe without resorting to unconstitutional, warrantless wiretaps. I support a strong FISA that authorizes our intelligence community to intercept the communications of foreign terrorists, not American citizens minding their own business."

Heinrich puts the Constitution first

To see our previous coverage of the 2008 NM-01 Congressional race, visit our archive.

NM-01: Photos & Video, Dem Congressional Candidate Debate

AG Gary King, Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Robert Pidcock, Rebecca Vigil-Giron


Part of the crowd at UNM Law School lecture hall

Saturday's NM-01 Dem Congressional candidate forum hosted by the Democratic Women of Bernalillo County and moderated by AG Gary King was well-attended and smoothly run. Candidates who participated were Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Robert Pidcock. Each got to respond to questions submitted by Democratic Women on issues like health care, Iraq and Afghanistan, civil liberties, water issues, the economy, education, the environment and renewable energy and give a short closing statement. Attendees I spoke with said all of the candidates did well, but most added that they thought Martin Heinrich's answers were generally head and shoulders above those offered by his rivals in terms of his grasp of the issues.

Closing statement by Martin Heinrich


Heinrich campaign displays some of its many endorsements

The event provided an opportunity for the four main candidates to answer questions and delineate positions before next Saturday's DPNM Pre-Primary Convention to be held at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. Delegates to the State Convention will vote on Congressional candidates in their District. To get an automatic place on the ballot, a candidate must receive at least 20% of the delegate vote in their District. If they don't, they must obtain additional petition signatures. The vote will also determine the order in which candidate names will appear on the June 3rd primary ballot, in addition to providing a gauge of the candidates' strength within the Party.

Closing statement by Michelle Lujan Grisham


Entry to UNM Law School with campaign signs


Volunteers at the Tom Udall for Senate table

You should also check out Bread for the World's blog. The local blogger had a chance to ask the candidates about increasing poverty-focused development assistance, the and the U.N. Millennium Development Goals after the forum. Nice photos too. Also, A Female New Mexican's Point of View covered the candidate forum, as well as the recent NM GOP vote-buying scandal.

Click on photos for larger images. All photos by M.E. Broderick.

To read previous coverage of the 2008 NM-01 Congressional race, visit our archive.

(Updated) Cargo, MacCallum, Alleged NM GOP Vote-Buying Story on Collins Radio Show Tonight

UPDATE: Click to listen to an podcast (mp3) of about an hour of the show that focuses on the NM story. Both former Gov. Dave Cargo and KKOB's former news anchor, Laura MacCallum, are interviewed.
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As posted on BradBlog by Brad Friedman:
New Mexico Republican Vote-Buying Scandal to be Covered Tonight on Peter B. Collins Show Guests to Include Myself, Along with Former US Attorney from NM, Former NM Republican Governor, Former KKOB Anchor Who Broke Story...

During my regular weekly Friday guest appearance on the syndicated Peter B. Collins Show at 5pm PT tonight (that's 6pm in Albuquerque), we'll be joined by guests:

• Laura MacCallum (now-resigned KKOB reporter who broke the Heather Wilson Vote-Buying stories before they were spiked by her own station after complaints from Wilson.)
• Gov. David Cargo (former Republican NM Governor. One of several officials who made the initial allegations)
• David Iglesias Did not make it (former US Attorney from NM who was fired in the U.S. Attorney Purge after receiving inappropriate phone-calls from Heather Wilson and Pete Domenici.)

You can listen live right here. If there's time for calls, you can get in via 888-5-PeterB (888-573-8372).

NM-01 Dem Congressional Candidate Forum This Saturday

The Democratic Women of Bernalilllo County are hosting a forum for the Democratic candidates for U.S. House in CD1 on Saturday, March 8, at 3:00 PM at Room 2401 at the UNM Law School at 1117 Stanford NE in Albuquerque. Click for a map. The forum will be moderated by NM Attorney General Gary King. All are welcome to attend and learn more about Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Robert Pidcock.

(Updated) BradBlog, Crooks & Liars Pick Up on NM GOP Vote Buying Story

BradBlog has now picked up the story about alleged vote buying at the New Mexico Republican Party ward conventions by the Heather Wilson and Darren White campaigns. On Monday, I posted about the scandal broken by Dennis Domrzalski, as did other local blogs including (who also posted about it on Daily Kos), m-pyre and ClearlyNewMexico.

I wonder if the campaigns will ever be pressured by the authorities to provide the truth about what happened. I wonder, too, if KKOB will ever be pushed to explain why they pulled the reports on this by news anchor Laura MacCallum, who has since resigned in protest. Will these scurrilous goings-on really be allowed to fade into oblivion without anyone having to face any consequences?

It's too bad that New Mexico's newspapers and TV news outfits are apparently uninterested in pursuing a story like this. For example, the Albuquerque Journal's main political reporter, Jeff Jones, hasn't mentioned it at all, preferring to write derivative stories like this one that consists primarily of a laundry list of Gov. Bill Richardson's statements on whether he will endorse a presidential candidate. Journalism? What's that?

UPDATE 1: Another national blog, Crooks and Liars, posted on this story late yesterday. Who's next?

UPDATE 2: Now Mark Crispin Miller's Notes From Underground has picked it up.

Must Read: Vote Buying by Wilson & White Campaigns at NM GOP Delegate Nominating Meetings?

On the heels of his story about threats reportedly being made by powerful NM Repubs to those thinking of mounting a primary challenge to NM-01 Congressional candidate Darren White, Dennis Domrzalski has a new post on what is being termed vote buying -- allegedly carried out by the campaigns of Darren White and Heather Wilson at certain GOP ward conventions in Albuquerque on February 24. The allegations against White's NM-01 Congressional campaign and Wilson's U.S. Senate campaign are being made by former-NM Governor Dave Cargo (right), and corroborated by State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones. Quote:

Cargo says he noticed something different when 59 people showed up at the Albuquerque Marriott to elect delegates from the 31^st ward in Albuquerque.

“This is probably the biggest ward in the city, by far. Normally we have between 9 and 15 people show up,” Cargo said. “And so along comes the convention on Sunday and 59 people show up.”

Cargo began passing around a signup sheet. “I said ‘I’m going to pass around notebook and would like to have you write down your names and address and phone number so I can call you and put you to work for the party,’” Cargo said. “Then one gal got up and said, ‘We aren’t working for any party; we’re here only this one time and we won’t be back.’”

Cargo said that over the course of the meeting many of the participants said they were from Wilson’s senate campaign and from Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White’s congressional campaign. Several people told him they were being paid $35-an-hour (for two hours) by their campaigns and that the campaigns had also paid their $30 registration fees. [emphasis mine]

“I told them that this was known as vote buying, that it was illegal and that it was fourth-degree felony,” Cargo said.

... State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, said she saw the same thing in the 24^th Ward’s convention. Many of the participants said they had been paid to attend and vote for certain delegates, she said.

“They were free about telling us why they were there and what they were trying to do,” Arnold-Jones added. “Some people said they had been paid to participate in the convention. It was clear that some of them had no stake in the process and that they were not coming back for the convention.”

The allegations about possible vote buying were first reported last week by KKOB Radio News Anchor Laura MacCallum, who quit her job in protest when News Director Pat Allen pulled the stories after being contacted by Wilson campaign spokesperson Whitney Cheshire (right).

MacCallum was outraged by the situation.

“I had an ethical problem with the stories being pulled because Heather Wilson’s campaign put pressure on newsroom management,” MacCallum said. “They allowed political pressure to dictate the news. As journalists we can’t do that. The news has to stand alone. That a political candidate can inject herself into news department management is just mind blowing. Should we just be doing the Heather Wilson news? And as soon as we make her angry she’s going to call and start giving everybody trouble?

You really must read the entire post at Domrzalski's blog. Also check out the post on this at , who jumped on Domrzalski's story first this afternoon.

NM-01: Repub Insiders Threaten Their Own

Must read: Dennis Domrzalski's post today about the threats received by Joe Carraro, Mark Boitano and Janice Arnold-Jones from Republican insiders warning them not to enter the NM-01 Republican primary -- or else. Powerful Repubs made it clear in no uncertain terms that current Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White (right) was the annointed nominee chosen by insiders and that anyone challenging that decision would be the target of a smear campaign or worse. Now the New Mexico Attorney General's office is reportedly looking into whether they should launch a full-scale investigation into the threats against Carraro:

The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office is checking out allegations that state Sen. Joe Carraro, an Albuquerque Republican, was threatened with a vicious smear campaign—including threats bring up and 20-year-divorce case an embarrass his children—if he went through with his decision to seek his party’s nomination for the First Congressional District seat.

The AG’s office is analyzing information to see if it warrants a full-blown investigation, said office spokesman Phil Sisneros.

“He (Carraro) has talked to the Attorney General about his concerns and his concerns have gone into the hopper,” Sisneros said. “The usual process is that we determine if there is something actionable, if there is something we can do. It is an analysis of the information. It was just last week that we spoke to the senator.”

Carraro has also reportedly contacted the FBI about the threats, which he deems to be "extortion":

He says the feds should be involved because some of the threats involved a former state Republican Party official who now works in Texas. “These people should be in jail the way they’re threatening people,” Carraro said.

As for the other two Repubs who considered entering the primary in CD-1,

State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, and state Sen. Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, said they received similar threats when they were considering runs for Wilson’s seat. Arnold-Jones said operatives threatened to go after her 20-year-old daughter, a student at the University of New Mexico.

Boitano, a legislator for 12 years, said he was informed through his campaign manager that he would be attacked for being a member of the Unification Church if he chose to run for Wilson’s seat.

I wonder what New Mexico GOP golden boy and lawman Darren White thinks about the use of smear tactics, threats and what amounts to extortion by his political party against his potential primary challengers. You'd think he'd be up at arms considering his dedication to using stern "law and order" rhetoric and posturing, as have many other Repub candidates over the years. Is he up to the job of taking on the bottom feeders in his own Party who are using repugnant and perhaps even illegal tactics on his behalf? Maybe the AG's office and FBI will try to find out.

To get the full flavor of the warnings and threats made by NM GOP bigwigs, including State Chair Allen Weh (right), to the trio, you really must read Domrzalski's entire post. I guess Rove-style tactics have spread throughout the Bush-wing of the GOP and are used even within the Party against politicos who might dare to contradict the edicts issued from on high.

Dennis Domrzalski was a reporter for 24 years and is the co-host of the Eye on New Mexico Sunday morning TV talk show on KOB-TV, Channel 4.

NM-01: Martin Heinrich Endorsements Week, Day 3

The third in a series of six endorsement announcements to be made over six workdays by the Heinrich campaign: Today, the United Transportation Union (UTU) local, state and federal divisions officially endorsed Martin Heinrich's campaign for Congress. The UTU represents transportation workers in New Mexico such as railroad workers. Read more about the UTU endorsement, as well as the announcements made on days one and two of six about endorsements, at the Martin Heinrich blog. Three down, three to go ...

NM-01: Martin Heinrich Endorsements Week, Day 2

The second in a series of six endorsement announcements to be released over six workdays by the Heinrich campaign: Today, the Iron Workers Local 495 officially endorsed Martin Heinrich's campaign for Congress in NM-01. Iron Workers are active in the First Congressional District and have contributed to scores of major construction projects in New Mexico. They are hard working, dedicated and skilled craftsman who build bridges, stadiums and structures all across America. See the announcement for day one of six on the endorsement of the Carpenters Local 1319. Two down, four to go ...