Democracy for New Mexico

NM-Sen: Join Tom Udall, Martin Heinrich and NM Professional Fire Fighters Association at Monday Rally

From Tom Udall for Senate: You are invited to join U.S. Senate Candidate Congressman Tom Udall, NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich and the New Mexico Professional Fire Fighters Association for an endorsement celebration:

The National Hispanic Cultural Center
1701 4th Street SW
Monday, September 15th, 2008
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Click for a Flyer (pdf)

Join us for a rally with New Mexico first responders. For more information or to RSVP please contact: Andrew Marshall; (505) 884-3055; amarshall@tomudall.com.

Quote of the Day: Obama Hits McCain on Harleys

Go get him, tiger.

"Just ask the Machinists in Pennsylvania who build Harley-Davidsons," Obama said of McCain's record. "Because John McCain didn’t just oppose the requirement that the government buy American-made motorcycles, he called Buy American provisions 'disgraceful.' Just ask the workers across this country who have seen their jobs outsourced. The very companies that shipped their jobs overseas have been rewarded with billions of dollars in tax breaks that John McCain supports and plans to continue.

"So when American workers hear John McCain talking about putting 'Country First,'" Obama said, "it’s fair to ask – which country?"

--Obama, speaking this morning to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

(Updated) Saturday: Help Celebrate Opening of Obama Campaign's South Valley Office

New Obama Ad: Real Change

Update: Belen Native U.S. Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has been added to the list of elected officials who'll be welcoming attendees at the Grand Opening
************
Come on down and check out this weekend's grand opening of the Obama Campaign's South Valley Office -- the 34th such office in New Mexico. The celebration will feature food, live music, and appearances by the following elected officials:

U.S. Rep. Joe Baca, Chair, Congressional Hispanic Caucus
State Auditor Hector Balderas
State Senator-Elect Eric Griego
State Senator Linda Lopez
Martin Heinrich, NM-01 Congressional candidate

Obama South Valley Office Grand Opening
Saturday, September 13, 5 to 7 PM
3211 Coors Blvd. SW, Suite A 3-4, ABQ, 87121 Map
RSVP for this event

Continue reading "(Updated) Saturday: Help Celebrate Opening of Obama Campaign's South Valley Office"

NM-01: New Heinrich Ad Uses Humor to Hit Bush-White on Energy

The new TV ad for our NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich goes after the George Bush-Darren White energy policies that are "a drag on America's economy" and "holding America back." Instead of the anonymous voice-over that's commonly used to convey this kind of message, Heinrich appears in a humorous vignette where he cuts a runner loose who's being held back by having to pull a wagon holding a cigar-chomping curmudgeon who looks suspiciously like a shady oil tycoon.

Continue reading "NM-01: New Heinrich Ad Uses Humor to Hit Bush-White on Energy"

You're Invited: Dems to Meet in Gene Lindsay's Backyard

From the DPBC: It's a long tradition that Bernalillo County Democrats gather in Gene Lindsay's backyard to meet candidates and discuss issues. Wards 24A and B are hosting the meeting on Saturday, September 13, from 10 AM to noon and all Dems are welcome. Invite your friends. Candidates or their representatives will be there to answer questions and tell us how we can help in their campaigns.

Martin Heinrich, our next Congressman from District 1, plans to attend at 10 AM, as will a representatives for the Obama-Biden campaign and Congressman Tom Udall. Jason Marks, running for re-election to the Public Regulation Commission will be there. Brian Colon, state party Chairperson, will update us on what is happening at the state level, as will Chairperson Ana Canales for the county party. Tim Eichenberg, running for the Senate District 15 seat, will be there and all other Democratic candidates are welcome to attend.

Location: 2910 Utah, NE, off Candelaria between Wyoming and Pennsylvania, just east of Sandia High School. The Utah St. cul-de-sac has limited parking, so please park in the baseball field parking area immediately next door to the west.

McCain-Palin: Liars and Hypocrites

Can you believe that any thinking humans actually believe these pushers of doubletalk and outright lies? I guess they hear what they want to hear. They want to hear that it's somebody's else's fault and that nothing will be required of them in order to get things fixed. They are hearing it alright. Let's see how many suckers are out there when all is said and done. To believe what McCain and Palin are saying these days takes a gargantuan amount of denial. Imagine what kind of fear and insecurity fuels that kind of purposeful cluelessness ....

Quote of the Day: Take a Deep Breath

Polls, schmolls. Look at the big picture and just keep working. Remember, after his Convention, Michael Dukakis was almost 20 points ahead of his R opponent. In other words, polling at this point, whether for the prez or down-ticket races -- is fluid and often meaningless. If voters are still lukewarm about their candidate or still undecided, it's the debates that will make the difference. Can't wait. Can you imagine any of the R candidate doing well in debates? Me either.

"If the Obama brain trust seems relatively serene compared with its seething base, it’s because they live in the Electoral College world, where the presidential race only takes place in a third of the country. They don’t care about national polls — a concept as quaint as measuring one’s wealth by caribou pelts. They worry about the undecided vote in Minnesota and Ohio and run their TV ads (about the economy) in places like Colorado and Michigan and Florida. If you live in California or New York or Texas, you don’t really have much of a feel for their level of effort because as far as they’re concerned, you’ve already voted." --Gail Collins, NY Times Op-Ed Columnist

Reminder: Reception Tonight to Support NM Senator-Elect Tim Keller

Join special guests DIANE D. DENISH, Lieutenant Governor; MICHAEL SANCHEZ, Senate Majority Leader; LINDA LOPEZ, State Senator; DEDE FELDMAN, State Senator; CISCO MCSORLEY, State Senator; JERRY ORTIZ Y PINO, State Senator; SHERYL WILLIAMS STAPLETON, House Majority Whip; AL PARK, State Representative; MIMI STEWART, State Representative; HECTOR BALDERAS, State Auditor; BRIAN COLON, Democratic Party Chairman; and many others at a reception tonight from 5:30 to 7:00 PM to support State Senator-Elect Tim Keller and help retire his campaign debt. The reception will be held at the home of Ellen Griffiths and Jose Simbana at 2010 Alhambra SW in Albuquerque (click for MAP). See the invitation for more info.

Tim Keller defeated incumbent Sen. Shannon Robinson in the June 3rd Democratic primary with 66% of the vote to 33% for Robinson. Because he has no GOP opponent in the November general election, Tim will be representing Senate District 17 in the New Mexico Legislature. Now that's a victory we can celebrate. If you can't make it to tonight's reception, you can donate online. It took a lot of work and a lot of money to defeat Robinson, so please give what you can to clear up Tim's campaign debt. You know how it upsets certain members of the power elite ....

NM-01, NM-03: Heinrich and Luján Tout Act Blue and Power of Small Donations

ActBlue, THE online donation place for Dem campaigns who get the power of the grassroots and netroots, has been featuring a different candidate each week who has effectively used ActBlue to garner substantial contributions -- most of them small donations from ordinary people. This week they're featuring NM-01 Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich, who talks about ActBlue in the video above. ActBlue says:

New Mexico's Martin Heinrich, challenging an incumbent Republican for the Congressional seat for New Mexico's First District, has raised more than $395,000 on ActBlue from more than 2,000 contributors like you, making it possible for Heinrich's insurgent campaign to top his opponent's by five points in the most recent Roll Call poll. That's your work, and something to be proud of.

Last week, ActBlue covered NM-03 Congressional candidate Ben Ray Luján, who gives his take on ActBlue and grassroot power above. ActBlue describes Luján:

Ben Ray Luján is the Democratic nominee for Congress is New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District. A Public Regulation Commissioner and three time former chairman of the Commission, Luján has built a reputation as a dedicated fighter for renewable energy, firefighting services, and improved health care. Before his election to the Public Relations Commission, Luján served in the New Mexico Cultural Affairs Department. Luján is running to fill the seat currently held by Tom Udall (D-NM), who is running for the Senate seat soon to be vacated by Pete Domenici (R-NM). Luján has raised more than $86,000 on ActBlue this cycle.

ActBlue has raised a phenomenal $63,276,420 online since 2004. You can help raise that total and easily make a donation -- even $10 helps -- to Martin, Ben Ray and other True Blue New Mexico candidates on the New Mexico netroots ActBlue page. Or click here to find candidates running for other offices in New Mexico. Every dollar counts.

Technorati Tags:

Guest Blog by Stephen Fox: September 11, Tom Udall, What Obama Needs to Do to Win

This is a guest blog by Stephen Fox of Santa Fe. This piece is cross-posted at Stephen's MyBarackObama blog, where you can read more of his writing.

U.S. Representative Tom Udall, D-NM, released the following statement today in solemn remembrance of the tragedies of September 11, 2001:

"September 11 is a day that invokes immense sadness in all of us. Today, we remember the pain that we felt seven years ago. But Americans learned something about ourselves on September 11, 2001, and what we learned should make us all proud. We learned that, in America, when we find ourselves face-to-face with tragedy, we know a simple truth: we are our brothers' keepers; we are our sisters' keepers.

We know that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. That if one American dies needlessly, we are all diminished by that loss. As we mark this somber day, let us take comfort in that lesson: whatever our enemies do to us, Americans will stick together. And we will not be defeated."

My own recollection/observation was after 9/11 when the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar al Saud, donated a check for many millions of dollars to the 9/11 victims fund, as I recall $10 million, and accompanying the check was a letter in which he made many points, and among them was the question of the United States' need to figure out what it might have done to cause this ghastly disaster and act of terrorism.

That was too much for Rudy Giuliani, who immediately returned the check to Bandar, objecting very vociferously to Bandar's his commentary.

Continue reading "Guest Blog by Stephen Fox: September 11, Tom Udall, What Obama Needs to Do to Win"