Democracy for New Mexico

Domenici's Hand-Picked Successor Announces Senate Run; What Will Pearce Do?

Yesterday afternoon Rep. Heather Wilson (NM-01) stated that she'll be running for Pete Domenici's Senate seat during a hastily called news conference at the Nativo Lodge hotel in Albuquerque. Wilson attempted to head off perceptions that her jumping into the ring so quickly -- only a day after Domenici announced his retirement -- might be seen as insensitive. She claimed this wasn't an "official" announcement saying, "There will be an opportunity later for formal campaign kick-offs and celebrations. This just doesn’t seem the day for it." The political posters behind her and the presence of her husband and children on the stage seemed to indicate otherwise.

At any rate, everyone knows this is how it has long been planned. Domenici "discovered" Wilson and encouraged her to take up the political life in the Land of Enchantment. She's publicly acknowledged he's her "mentor" and Domenici has made no secret of grooming her to be his successor.

Starting in 1998, Wilson was a staff member on the National Security Council during the first Bush administration. She moved to New Mexico in 1991 and helped found Keystone International, where she did consulting with defense-related corps on business development. At Domenici's urging, she was appointed in 1995 by then-Governor Gary Johnson to the post of cabinet secretary of NM's Childen, Youth and Family Department. Early on Wilson ran into some trouble with the media about her removing a file on her husband from the agency's records, and then lying about it on camera. She ran for the NM-01 House seat in 1998, replacing fellow Republican Rep. Steve Schiff, who died of cancer. Wilson has been there ever since, waiting in the wings for Domenici to retire so she could follow in his footsteps as his designated heir.

The Iglesias Angle
Sure, it's a little awkward to have a retiring Senator who's entangled in the U.S. Attorney firing scandal trying to pass the torch to a Representative called on the carpet for the same thing -- but in the George II era anything goes. After all, Domenici and Wilson merely took advantage of an environment where even the U.S. Justice Department was being politicized by Karl Rove. Why not pressure U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to issue pending corruption indictments right before the 2006 election? Friends help friends. Wilson needed a boost in her faltering reelection race against Patricia Madrid and Domenici was all for making it happen by any means necessary. He's used to geting his way.

So both Domenici and Wilson ended up calling Iglesias to apply the pressure. But nothing happened. Iglesias refused to buckle. The cases weren't ready. So Domenici, with help from NM GOP operatives like Pat Rogers, used his clout to get Rove, Gonzales and Bush himself to agree to put Iglesias' name on the political firing list. The goal was to get rid of USA's who dared to refuse to play ball, those who put ethics before obedience. Soon Iglesias was sent packing and the rest is history. Ethics investigations are reportedly still ongoing in the Senate and House ethics committees regarding the roles played by Heather and Pete in firing of Iglesias. Heather and Pete don't care. They're following the original game plan and working on the finale, where Pete passes the baton to his protégé. At this point, only New Mexico's voters stand in the way of the handoff.

Rep. Steve Pearce: Will He or Won't He?
There may, however, be another potential obstacle in the form of Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico's Third Congressional District. Pearce, a conservative true believer with close ties to the Club for Growth and other extreme right-wing think tanks, is threatening to challenge Wilson for the Senate seat and force a Repulbican primary fight. The split in the state's Republican Party between hard right ideologues and those who at least pretend to be moderate on some issues has often been volatile and on public display.

Steven Moore, one of the founders of the Club for Growth, is president of the conservative publication National Review. It's interesting that a hit piece on Rep. Wilson written by Paul J. Gessing and entitled, "Heather Wilson, Tax-and-Spend Republican: Meet One of the Last People Who Should Replace Retiring Sen. Pete Domenici," was published on the National Review website yesterday. Paul J. Gessing is president of the Rio Grande Foundation, a New Mexico right-wing think tank. The infamous John Dendahl, who ran a disastrous campaign against Gov. Bill Richardson last time out, is the foundation's former president.

The question is whether Domenici still has enough clout within the local party to hold off a Pearce run and clear the field for Heather. I think we'll probably know over the next few days. Wilson's haste in making her "unofficial" announcement to run indicates she's staking her claim early to discourage Pearce from running. No doubt he'll decide quickly if he plans to get in the race so he can start denying the perceived inevitability of Wilson's nomination.

Oh, and there's also the possibility of current NM Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons entering the Republican primary race. He's been making some noises. More on that later.

To read previous posts about the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, visit our archive. For past posts on David Iglesias and the U.S. Attorney firing scandal, click here. Photo at top borrowed from Down With Tyranny.

ActBlue Fundraising Totals for NM Dem Congressional Candidates

As of September 30, 2007 via ActBlue online fundraising:

Don Wiviott for U.S. Senate: $60,698, including $644 from local blog effort Beat Back Bush New Mexico, most of it this past quarter.

Jim Hannan for U.S. Senate: $75

Martin Heinrich for Congress NM-01: $71,954 including $530 from local blog efforts Beat Back Bush New Mexico and $1000 from DFNM Netroots for Heinrich. About $40,000 of that was raised during this past quarter. Heinrich had raised about $181,000 from all sources through the second quarter.

Jon Adams for Congress NM-01: $4,801, all of it this past quarter.

Bill McCamley for Congress NM-02: $31,225, about $20,000 of that during the past quarter.

Al Kissling for Congress NM-02: $795

Rep. Tom Udall hasn't yet raised any money using ActBlue.

Official third quarter fundraising reports from all sources for these candidates are due by October 15, 2007 at the Federal Election Commission.

ABQ United Nations Association to Present Congressional Candidate Forum on UN Issues

The Albuquerque chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA and the UNM World Affairs Delegation will present a Congressional candidate forum to address USA-United Nations issues. The focus: How should the United States of America work with the United Nations to combat terrorism, reduce povery, reduce abuses of human rights and control epidemic infectious diseases?

The forum will be held on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 7:00 PM at the Albuquerque Mennonite Church, 1300 Girard NE (one block north of Constitution; about 8 blocks from the UNM Law School or 500 yards north of Lomas). The event is open to the public at no charge.

All candidates in the NM primary election races for the US House of Representatives and Senate have been invited to present their views of United States-United Nations issues. Since the United Nations has so many facets, each participant may select his or her own topic to discuss. However, we have suggested concentrating on controversial subjects such as:

• Enlargement of the Security Council.
• To block a Security Council action, more than one permanent member must cast a veto.
• Should the USA become a member state of the International Criminal Court?
• Should there be a permanent UN rapid reaction force?
• What role is there for the UN in Iraq?

The moderator will be Professor Mark Peceny, Chair of the Dept. of Political Science at UNM. Each candidate would speak for 10 minutes. After each has spoken, there would be questions from the audience, from the moderator and from one another. Please contact Maureen Wright for more info: 881-4536, mgwright@comcast.net.

Editor's Note: You're urged to encourage the Congressional primary candidates of both parties in your district to participate in this forum. You know what to do!

Join Live Blogging with Martin Heinrich on Kos Today at Noon

UPDATE: Here's the link to Martin's live blogging diary:
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/27/134338/983
(keep refreshing the diary when there)
*****************
Martin Heinrich, running to take on Repub Heather Wilson in the NM-01 Congressional race, will be live blogging at the national polical blog Daily Kos today starting at Noon Mountain Time. What this means is he'll launch a user diary at Kos and hang out to respond to your comments and questions entered in the thread. To participate, head over to https://www.DailyKos.com, look on the right-hand sidebar for Heinrich's diary and click on it. If you're registered at Daily Kos you can recommend the diary so it moves up in the rankings and stays on the front page. Any visitor can comment on the thread, and Martin will be there to interact with any and all participants. It's a great way to learn more about Heinrich's campaign and get your questions answered.

You should also check out Heinrich's totally revamped campaign website and blog, which was launched yesterday. Visit https://www.martinheinrich.com/ and check out all the new tools, info and resources that make it easy to hook up with the campaign and stay current on what's happening. Impressive.

You can also sign a petition at the website to end the Iraq occupation:

Heather Wilson has supported George Bush and his War in Iraq every step of the way. Martin Heinrich opposed this ill-conceived war from the beginning and, like a majority of New Mexicans, he believes that it's time for this war to come to an honorable end.

We, the undersigned, believe that Heather Wilson, George Bush and Dick Cheney have created a quagmire in Iraq. We call upon President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Congresswoman Wilson to show strong support for our troops by beginning to bring them home immediately. We appreciate deeply all the sacrifices our brave men and women make, and we call upon our elected officials to make sure that they are taken care of properly when they return home.

To read our previous posts on congressional race in NM's first district, visit our archive.

The third quarter campaign fundraising deadline is September 30th. To help Heinrich show he's got strong support in the district, donate a few bucks at the DFNM Netroots for Heinrich page at ActBlue or contribute via his new website.

Heinrich Critical of Congressional Votes Against MoveOn Ad

Unbelieveably, the U.S. House just joined the U.S. Senate in voting to condemn MoveOn's recent Petraeus Betray-Us ad. The margin was:

Democrats: 146 Yea, 79 Nay, 6 Not Voting
Republicans: 195 Yea, 0 Nay, 6 Not Voting      
TOTALS: 341 Yea, 79 Nay, 12 Not Voting

Yes, you read that right. I guess the House was tired of seeing the Senate getting all the fruitcake praise on this pseudo-issue, so Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) brought it up on the House side and got it passed. What's worse? Many Dems, including Rep. Tom Udall (NM-03) voted FOR the travesty. Here's the tally.

At least one New Mexico Dem -- Martin Heinrich -- has refused to stop making sense. As reported by Howie Klein at Down With Tyranny:

At the time the vote came down I was talking on the phone with Albuquerque City Councilmember Martin Heinrich, the progressive Democrat running against corrupt rubber stamp Heather Wilson (NM-01). He was very disappointed that the Democratic Leadership even allowed this idiotic voted to come to the floor. Martin's answer was what every Democrat should be saying. "There's a grand diversion for you... It's not something that I'd have been willing to support because it takes us away from the focus of actually making a difference on the ground in Iraq. What we ought to be voting on is a timetable to redeploy our troops."

What can we do to thank Martin Heinrich for speaking out and getting it right on this issue? September 30th is the end of this campaign fundraising quarter. The Heinrich campaign needs good numbers to show that he's the strongest Dem choice to run against Heather Wilson. I urge you to donate a few bucks NOW at the DFNM Netroots for Heinrich page at ActBlue.

Here's a released by MoveOn after the House joined the Senate in fiddling while our democracy, Iraq (and maybe now Iran) burns:

“With every passing day, more information comes to light casting more and more doubt on the validity of the facts and conclusions presented by General Petraeus in his testimony before Congress.

With every passing day, more American soldiers and Iraqi civilians lose their lives in this unwinnable civil war. It is unconscionable and outrageous  that instead of doing the people's work and ending this war, Congress chooses meaningless and distracting gestures.

With every passing day, America's frustration with politicians in Washington drops the approval ratings for this Congress to new lows.  Congress is fiddling with an ad while Iraq burns.

We will continue our ad campaign to accuse the Republicans who are blocking an end to the war of a 'Betrayal of Trust.'”

-- “Petraeus’s numbers differ substantially from the Pentagon’s own numbers – his show progress, and theirs don’t.  The Pentagon’s numbers are the official MNF-I numbers, which Petraeus himself called the most reliable possible.  Petraeus’ numbers differ, the military says, because he includes reports from Iraqi police – the same police the NIE said are corrupt, riddled with sectarianism, and ought to be disbanded.  The actual Iraqi government numbers are nowhere near as positive.” Washington Post, Tuesday, September 25, 2007

-- The NYT reported today that Sunni extremists are targeting Iraqi police and officials.  This is a new trend in violence – but according to the methodology MNF-I released last week, none of these murders would have been counted by Petraeus. New York Times, Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Moving On to the War at Hand: A Small Price to Pay

It's no wonder that so many in Congress want to move on to topics other than the ongoing horrors of the occupation in Iraq. Too often, when Repubs talk about Iraq they say things like Rep. John Boehner says in the new ad produced by Americans United for Change above. They seem to have to no real sense of what's going on there or why. They don't seem to get what's really hurting the troops.

Hint: It's not an ad by MoveOn. It's not people working to get our troops out of harm's way and out from under a civil war. What's hurting our troops is the refusal of Republicans to admit realities publicly and take the action they know is needed. It's their fear of getting sideways with Bush that's causing so many Repubs to offer verbal criticisms of the occupation, while at the same time refusing to vote to end the debacle or even take steps in that direction.

Rep. Heather Wilson is one of those doing just that. Despite abundant evidence of the failure of the occupation to achieve any sort of progress on the diplomatic front, Wilson continues to put party loyalty before reason. She said the reports by Gen. Petraeus represented "an important turning point in the war in Iraq." No doubt a similar desire to stay loyal to Bush caused Repub House leader Boehner to utter his infamous "small price to pay" comment about the buckets of blood being spilled in Iraq. Sure it's a small price to pay if you're not the one paying it. Sure it's OK to ignore the damning criticisms in almost every official report other than Petraeus' if you're not the one with your life on the line.

Other Republicans have made similar statements showing just how out of touch with reality they are in terms of what's going on in Iraq. Some examples:

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) compared Iraq to an Indiana Farmers Market: "There were thousands of people just walking the streets," he said. "It was very encouraging to me." [New York Times, 4/4/07] 

Mitt Romney said his sons weren't serving in the military because they were helping elect him: At a forum, Romney was asked if his children are in the military. He said no, but they are serving their country by working to get him elected. "It's remarkable how we can show our support for our nation," he said, "and one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping to get me elected, because they think I'd be a great president." [NYT, 8/13/07]

After a visit to Iraq, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) compared Iraq to the Mall of America: "It's absolutely huge. I turned to my colleagues and said there's a commonality with the Mall of America, in that it's on that proportion. There's marble everywhere. The other thing I remarked about was there is water everywhere. He had man-made lakes all around his personal palace - one for fishing, one for boating." [Star Tribune, 7/22/07]

Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) compared Iraq to a baseball game: "Imagine my beloved St. Louis Cardinals are playing the much-despised Chicago Cubs," began in a speech on the House floor. In his brief but impassioned oratory, Shimkus argued that the Democratic bill calling for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq was like the Cardinals abandoning the ballpark during a tied, extra-inning game. "Who wins? We know it's the team that stays on the field," he said. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/2/07]

Webb-Hagel Amendment
Perhaps the most dramatic recent example of Republicans being out of touch with the reality the troops are facing on the ground and in their repeated deployments is the defeat of the Webb-Hagel amendment in the Senate yesterday. Republican votes (including that of Sen. Pete Domenici) caused the defeat of the measure that would have provided members of our regular military, Guard and Reserve proper rest between extended Iraq tours. A reported it this way:

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a staunch critic of the war who co-sponsored the Webb amendment, said Wednesday's outcome means Republicans will continue to stick with Bush for at least the rest of the year.

"It's stay the course, Part 2," said Hagel, an Army infantryman in Vietnam who earned two Purple Hearts, warning that some of his Republican colleagues running for re-election next year will soon face a "confrontation" between "a very unpopular war and self-preservation."

... Throughout the day, Webb, Hagel and other senators pleaded for the well-being of the troops. They noted a sharp rise in the divorce rate in military families; they pointed to alarming suicide rates and they recounted missed birthdays, anniversaries and first steps of young children.

"This amendment would provide a safety net to our men and women in uniform by providing minimum and more predictable time for them to rest and retrain before again deploying," said Webb, a Marine who was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam. [Webb also has a son serving in Iraq.]

Bottom Line: Look at recent polling. A large majority of the American people understand what's really happening in Iraq. They know a vote to stop the provision of adequate rest between deployments is much more telling than the party-first spin being spun by Republicans these days. Now's the time for action, not rhetoric. The American people demand it.

Want change? Visit Beat Back Bush New Meixo and make a contribution.

Young Professionals Host 9/24 Fundraiser for Martin Heinrich for Congress

You are Invited to a Young Professionals Fundraiser for Martin Heinrich, Democratic Candidate for Congress:

Monday, September 24, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Savoy Bar & Grill
10601 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Albuquerque
(Corner of Montgomery and Juan Tabo)
Click for FLYER (pdf)

$100 Suggested Contribution (all contributions gratefully accepted). To contribute on-line go to: www.martinheinrich.com. Sponsors:

Steve Archibeque, Yolanda Archuleta, Javier Benavidez, Ozawa Benishi Albert, David Berkey, James Bristolli, Sandy Buffett, Manuel Casias, Robert Chavez, Jeff Cheney, Jason Cohen, Claire Dudley, Katy Duhigg, Troy Fernandez, Steve Gallegos, Joseph Garcia, Jennifer Garcia Kozlowski, Patrick Greibel, Danny Hernandez, Webb Johnson, Nicholas Koluncich, Leanne Leith, Danny Lopez, Peter Lopez, Michelle Mares, Sophie Martin, Ann Marie Padilla, Giovanna Rossi, Reggie Russell, Joseph Sapien, Tamara Stands and Looks Back, DeAnza Valencia, and Hakim Williams.

All Three NM Repubs Make CREW's Most Corrupt in Congress List

Today, the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its third annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress. The report, entitled Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch), catalogues the corruption in the 110th Congress and documents the unethical and possibly illegal activities of its most tainted members. CREW has compiled the members’ transgressions and analyzed them in light of federal laws and congressional rules.

The misdeeds of New Mexico's entire Republican Congressional delegation -- Sen. Pete Domenici, Rep. Heather Wilson (NM-01) and Rep. Steve Pearce (NM-02) -- placed them among the top 22 offenders out of 535 members of Congress.

CREW also has re-launched the report’s website, BeyondDelay.com. The site offers short summaries of each member’s transgressions as well as the full-length profiles and all accompanying exhibits. I'm providing a summary of the transgressions of New Mexico's Republicans, but be sure to click on their names to access the complete reports:

Summary: Former NM U.S. Attorney David Iglesias has claimed that Sen. Domenici contacted him before the November 2006 elections to pressure him about an ongoing corruption probe into state Democrats. Iglesias previously stated that in mid-October, he was pressured about the pace of the investigation by two NM lawmakers. Initially, when asked about Iglesias’s allegations, Domenici stated, “I have no idea what he’s talking about.” Apparently, Rep. Heather Wilson first called Iglesias and Domenici called a week later. Domenici later admitted that he called Iglesias, stating “I asked Mr. Iglesias if he could tell me what was going on in that investigation and give me an idea of what time frame we were looking at."

Summary: The former U.S. Attorney in Albuquerque, David Iglesias, stated that, in mid-October 2006, two members of Congress from New Mexico pressured him about an ongoing corruption probe of state Democrats. Apparently, Rep. Wilson first called Iglesias and Sen. Pete Domenici called a week later. After Domenici admitted that he called Iglesias, Wilson finally admitted that she too had called the U.S. Attorney. Wilson stated that she contacted Iglesias to complain about the pace of his public corruption investigation. She claimed, “I did not ask about the timing of any indictments and I did not tell Mr. Iglesias what course of action I thought he should take or pressure him in any way. The conversation was brief and professional.”

Summary: 1) Rep. Pearce was the president of Lea Fishing Tools, Inc. In the fall of 2003, Pearce sold the company’s assets to Texas-based Key Energy, in exchange for 542,477 shares of common stock, but failed to include the transaction on his 2003 financial disclosure report. In that report Pearce indicated that he was the president of Trinity Industries, Inc., “F/K/A Lea Fishing Tools, Inc.,” and that he held between $5 and $25 million of stock in the company. Given that all of Lea Fishing Tools’ assets were transferred to Key Energy, it appears that Trinity Industries may be a holding company for the Key Energy stock, but this is unclear.

After selling Lea Fishing Tools’ assets to Key Energy, Pearce was required to report the sale on his financial disclosure form as a transaction, but he failed to do so. By failing to list the sale, Pearce appears to have violated the Ethics in Government Act.

2) Rep. Pearce has been a consistent and strong advocate of drilling in Otero Mesa, NM despite environmentalists and the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) assertion that only a minuscule amount of oil and natural gas lie beneath the grasslands. Pearce, however, contends that drilling in the area would keep natural gas prices level and create jobs thereby stimulating the state’s economy. Initially, the BLM opposed opening the area arguing that drilling would both directly and indirectly destruct the habitat for wildlife. In 2000, however, BLM reversed its decision and proposed a plan that would open nearly 1.4 million acres to drilling. The BLM turnaround coincided with the largest lease holder in the Otero Mesa, Yates Petroleum, donating over $230,000 to the GOP over the last three election cycles.

Yates Petroleum also has been the single largest donor to Pearce’s campaign committees since 2002 with $32,490 in donations. Individually, members of the Yates family have contributed $78,379.99 to Pearce since he first ran for office in 2002. If Rep. Pearce advocated opening up Otero Mesa to drilling in exchange for campaign contributions, he may have violated the bribery statute or accepted illegal gratuities.

Bad Company
The complete list of the most corrupt members of Congress according to CREW:

Members of House:                     Members of the Senate:
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)               Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA)        Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)               Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)            Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)       Dishonorable Mention:
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)                Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
Rep. Gary G. Miller (R-CA)            Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)
Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA)
Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM)
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY)
Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL)
Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-NM)

“Every year CREW creates this compendium of corruption to expose and hold accountable those members of Congress who believe they are above the law,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said today. “With the third edition of Beyond DeLay it has become abundantly clear that many public officials believe that the rules don’t apply to them.”

Several members in the study are already under federal investigation including: Reps. Calvert, Doolittle, Feeney, Jefferson, Lewis, Miller, Mollohan, Murphy, Renzi and Young, as well as Senator Stevens.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit, nonpartisan legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, you can visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565 or nseligman@citizensforethics.org.

Heinrich Ranks 14th Among ActBlue Congressional Fundraisers

The chart below, provided by Swing State Project, ranks the top twenty Congressional candidate fundraisers on ActBlue through August in this election cycle. As you can see, NM-01 candidate Martin Heinrich ranks 14th, not bad for any candidate this early the race. In total, his campaign raised about $181,000 in the quarter that ended on June 30th from all sources, $31,000 more than the goal of $150,000 set by his campaign. Heinrich is running for a chance to take on incumbent Repub Rep. Heather Wilson.

State	CD	Candidate	ActBlue Total	Donors	Average Donation
MA	5	Niki Tsongas	$195,933	570	$343.74
CO	2	Jared Polis	$162,837	422	$385.87
WA	8	Darcy Burner	$111,018	3,107	$35.73
ME	1	Chellie Pingree	$107,820	273	$394.95
CA	26	Russ Warner	$96,214	348	$276.48
IL	10	Dan Seals	$78,703	250	$314.81
MO	6	Kay Barnes	$75,829	133	$570.14
NY	29	Eric Massa	$74,053	904	$81.92
AZ	3	Bob Lord	$73,715	190	$387.97
TX	10	Dan Grant	$62,080	165	$376.24
NY	26	Jon Powers	$56,062	347	$161.56
CA	4	Charlie Brown	$49,960	1,168	$42.77
FL	8	Mike Smith	$49,925	74	$674.66
NM	1	Martin Heinrich	$46,399	249	$186.34
MD	4	Donna Edwards	$46,001	828	$55.56
NC	8	Larry Kissell	$35,968	362	$99.36
CT	4	Jim Himes	$30,452	203	$150.01
MT	AL	Bill Kennedy	$21,016	80	$262.70
IL	14	John Laesch	$19,136	285	$67.14
IA	4	Selden Spencer	$19,000	126	$150.79

ActBlue.com makes online donations to Democratic candidates a snap. Used by supporters of netroots-grassroots candidates all over the nation, they've helped raise a total of $26,860,650 since 2004, mostly in small donations. Anyone can create a fundraising page, pubicize it and start raising donations, even very small ones, for a favorite candidate. The beauty of ActBlue is that it makes it easy for folks to donate to candidates anywhere in the nation who are attracting netroots support. In this way, we can have a real impact on races that feature strong, progressive candidates, whether they're running locally or in another district where we have a chance to pick up a seat.

For instance, a recent effort using ActBlue called Burn Bush, propelled by blogs such as DailyKos, Eschaton, OpenLeft, MyDD, Firedoglake, SwingStateProject and other local and national blogs, raised more than $100,000 nationwide for netroots favorite Darcy Burner, running for Congress in WA-08. The blog-coordinated fundraising campaign was organized to counteract Bush's visit to the district to raise funds for Burner's Repub opponent and included an online townhall meeting with Burner and other creative elements.

Working with local blogger , we tried a similar (but much smaller scale) ActBlue fundraiser here when Bush visited to raise bucks for Sen. Pete Domenici last month. Our Beat Back Bush New Mexico page raised almost $800 for Martin Heinrich and Dem Senate candidate Don Wiviott. In addition, our ongoing DFNM Netroots for Martin Heinrich effort at ActBlue has so far raised more than $900 for Heinrich's Congressional campaign. You can find the links near the top of our left-hand sidebar on our main page. Click and donate a few bucks to the cause -- it's that easy.

A couple of our previous posts on the Heinrich campaign's fundraising can be found here and here. You can check out all our previous posts related to the NM-01 Congressional race at our archive. For our 2008 Senate race archive, click here.

Rove Paid Homage to Domenici on Bush Visit to NM

Turns out Karl Rove was on a stealth mission with The Decider when Bush zoomed into Albuquerque on August 27th to attend a big dollar fundraiser for Sen. Pete Domenici at the home of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Mayor Larry Abraham. According to a report by Jeff Jones in today's Albuquerque Journal (which I can't find online), Abraham told him he rode back to Kirtland Air Foce Base in the presidential limo with both Bush and Rove after the luncheon fundraiser.

There had been no previous mention of Rove's presence in New Mexico with Bush, probably with good reason. Testimony and emails have linked Rove with the U.S. Attorney firing scandal in no uncertain terms. And Domenici and NM GOP operatives were clearly enmeshed with Rove in the unethical political maneuvering that unsuccessfully pressured New Mexico's former U.S. Attorney, David Iglesias, to file bogus "voter fraud" cases and rush indictments in the Albuquerque courthouse case before the November 2006 election. Domenici and other New Mexican Repubs, you may recall, reportedly urged Rove and others to see that Iglesias was fired when he didn't buckle under their pressure.

Iglesias was back in the news recently when Alberto Gonzales finally resigned in disgrace. He's quoted in an article in the Albuquerque Tribune:

"Alberto Gonzales is not solely responsible for my illicit firing. People like (Sen.) Pete Domenici also were responsible," Iglesias told The Tribune.

Iglesias said he believes Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff, "cooked up" the plan to fire the U.S. attorneys with the aid of people such as Domenici, the Albuquerque Republican who today hosted President Bush at a fund-raiser in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque

Since Rove's last day on the job was August 31st, one of his last acts while on the White House payroll was to jet here to see his old cronies in the New Mexico GOP. Rove apparently thought it important to touch base with Domenici, helping him raise cash while undoubtedly urging him to continue his support for Bush's miserably misbegotten Iraq occupation. I'm sure Karl also made a point of hugging Pat Rogers, Mickey Barnett and Repub Party Chair Allen Weh, who were so instrumental in attempting to execute Rove's long running battleground state "voter fraud" strategy to disenfranchise and discourage Dem voters. The three, along with Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, were also heavily involved in the process that led to former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias getting fired.

To refresh your memory, Domenici and Weh reportedly urged Rove to pass along the word to Bush and Alberto Gonzales that they wanted Iglesias fired for refusing to make the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico an arm of the GOP political operation. Soon afterwards, Iglesias was gone.

Check out the discussion about the involvement of Rogers and Barnett in our post from May of this year. Also be sure to revisit the excellent piece by James Scarantino from the May 24-30, 2007 edition of the alibi that details the shady dealings of Pat Rogers, Pete Domenici and Rove related to the "voter fraud" campaign and Iglesias' firing.

No wonder Rove accompanied the president to New Mexico last month. He wanted to link up once again with the New Mexico Repubs who were such important cogs in the machine Rove created to politicize the U.S. Department of Justice and make the federal government just another element of his grand plan for GOP dominance at the polls. Oh to have been a fly on the wall when Rove reunited with his New Mexico GOP hit team to reminisce and plot one last time before he left his post at the White House to pursue who knows what. I'm sure Rove wanted to remind his cronies to stick with the party line in any future proceedings in DC about the attorney firings. After all, neither Domenici nor Wilson have yet to be cleared of wrongdoing in their admitted calls to Iglesias before the 2006 election. Silence is golden, and loose lips sink ships -- even ships of state.

For a collection of our previous posts on the firing of David Iglesias and the U.S. Attorney scandal, visit our archive.