Democracy for New Mexico

ACI Hosts Series of Congressional Candidate Forums

The Association of Commerce and Industry, along with a number of other organizations, is hosting a series of Congressional candidate forums in August in Santa Fe, Clovis, Las Cruces and Albuquerque. The forums will address the candidates' positions on business issues such as immigration, health care and other hot topics. Details are listed below the break. Space is limited. To register, visit the ACI website.

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Santa Fe's Mayor Coss Discusses Urban Issues on MayorTV

Santa Fe Mayor David Coss is featured on MayorTV today, lamenting the feds' "ignorance" in neglecting cities, criticizing overly harsh immigration raids and wondering when we're going to get serious about solar energy. MayorTV is a project organized by the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy and The Nation, and it's been interviewing mayors from around the nation about what's going on in their cities and what kind of help they need from the federal government.

Harry Moroz, a research associate at the Drum Major Institute, described the project this way:

One of our goals is to get the presidential candidates to start talking more about urban policy and the issues that really matter to cities- things like health care, infrastructure, public transportation, and education. Taken as a whole, these interviews have spoken to the fact that cities matter and can be the test-centers for policies that could be implemented on a nationwide scale. Often mayors are at the heart of this change and the presidential candidates need to start paying attention.

A few weeks ago, MayorTV visited Miami and interviewed mayors at the Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors including Mayor Coss, who had introduced a resolution calling for comprehensive immigration reform that passed unanimously at the conference.

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Obama Slams McCain-Bush Economy

The economy may well be the issue that will bring us victories up and down ticket this year. Obama gives it to Bush-McSame but good (and by implication, Steve Pearce, Darren White, Ed Tinsely et al.) in the clip above. Here's the prepared text of Obama's complete remarks at the townhall meeting on the economy in Springfield, MO today.

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Thursday: Labor & Environment Groups to Parody McCain & Pearce’s Pro-Industry Energy Plans

Are you in the mood for some lampooning? Some satire? Some pointed parody? Feeling so upset about how things are going that you need to laugh or you'll cry? This is the event for you. I'm informed that New Mexicans affiliated with labor and pro-environment groups will gather on Thursday, July 31st, to highlight Big Oil’s latest round of billions in quarterly profits -- at a time when people are paying record prices at the pump.

Donning their tiaras and puffing their cigars, a troupe of ‘Big Oil Billionaires for McCain & Pearce’ will be on hand to toast John McCain’s plan for a $3.8 billion tax cut for the top five oil companies. They'll be sniveling over Barack Obama’s plan for an immediate $1,000 tax cut to provide American consumers with real relief, while putting us on the path to energy independence through a $150 billion investment in clean, renewable energy. The troupe will also raise a glass to Rep. Steve Pearce for voting time and again to extend and maintain billions in tax cuts for the oil and gas industry, while opposing any increase in fuel efficiency standards -– all for only about $650,000 in campaign contributions. Be there tomorrow to join in the revelry:

• WHERE: ConocoPhillips gas station, Lomas & San Pedro (6121 Lomas Blvd, NE), ABQ
• WHEN: Thursday, July 31, 2008 – 4:30 PM

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Backlash Erupts Against Victories in NM by Ethical Progressives and the Growing Power of Reform Groups

Oooh, oooh, that smell. Recent braying by the usual suspects about what is clearly constitutionally protected first amendment speech has erupted at both the conveniently anonymous Eye on Albuquerque (hi Whitney?) and the shifty alligator shack.

What are they whining about? What's clearly bugging them is that factual mailings and ads about issues by certain nonpartisan, nonprofit groups are helping to gain support for progressive issues, and thus the ethical, progressive candidates who support them in New Mexico. Bad news for the crooks and wall-leaning lobbyists for special interests. Good news for the people.

We can't have that. It threatens the monied, elite forces who like to be in charge and who use disinformation, unattributed innuendo and dishonest spin in an attempt to stay there. Facts (and voting records) are the enemies of this bunch. They win if people are uninformed or misinformed. They benefit from keeping voters in the dark about what's really happening and who's benefiting.

We've Seen This Play Before
The two (or more) bloggers are blowing smoke with their accusations of illegal actions on the part of the nonprofits they're going after. The stir they're trying to create is similar to the thoroughly discredited efforts by forces within the GOP to convince people there's massive voter fraud going on. You remember the David Iglesias case, don't you? And how the U.S Attorney's office couldn't come up with a single prosecutable case of voter fraud in New Mexico? Such realities never stop the forces of distortion, however. We've seen it time and time again.

If their view of what is and what is not allowable under the law for such groups were to hold sway, a multitude of issue-based non-profits and so-called 527s here and around the nation would be deemed to be breaking the law, and doing it for many years. The laws governing such groups are detailed and specific. Generally, they cannot directly advocate for a specific candidate by name or coordinate their actions with campaigns. But such groups are definitely free to distribute anything they want about issues or document the voting records, positions and actions of any candidate on the issues being discussed. Period.

We Don't Want No Stinkin' Reform
The bloggers and those stealthy and unnamed "insiders" behind the recent attacks know this. But they are choosing to ignore reality so they can strike back against forces that are having success in promoting progressive issues and positions. They know that progressives and reformers often win when voters are informed on the issues.

Witness the victories of ethical reformers like Eric Griego, Eleanor Chavez and Tim Keller, who recently won state legislative primary races against lazy, compromised, long-time incumbents who had abandoned the needs of their districts in favor of furthering the agendas of special interests in the New Mexico Legislature. Rest assured that those wins rankled and scared the business-as-usual status-quo pushers. They don't like it when the people come before the lobbyists.

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NM-02: Teague Launches Revamped Campaign Website

NM-02's Democratic Congressional candidate Harry Teague just launched a redesigned campaign website for the general election at https://harryforcongress.com. I like the rustic style and the photos from Harry's past -- like the one below with his sister, brothers and cousins. Harry is the baby on the far right. I couldn't resist:

I'm also impressed with Teague's position on ending the Iraq war, among others. Check it out, see what you think and be sure to sign up with the campaign to help elect a Democrat in New Mexico's Second District. If you missed it, also see our previous post about our recent visit with Teague in Hobbs.

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Deadline Nears for Dem Convention YouTube Contest

You have until August 1 to submit a short video (2 minutes or less) at YouTube on "Why I Am A Democrat in 2008," and enter the DNC contest described above by Chairman Howard Dean. Not only will the winner travel to Denver for the Convention, but the winning video will be shown to the Convention audience including elected officials and delegates. On top of that, the winner will also travel with Senator Obama’s campaign for a day, documenting life on the campaign trail.

A multitude of creative and powerful entries from across the country have already been uploaded. Click for examples here and here.

Even if you don't submit a video, you can view and rate the submissions here. Also check out videos by Gov. Bill Richardson and former mayor Federico Peña on why they're Democrats. They can't win the contest but you can -- if you upload your video by August 1st. Tick tock.

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Dems to Spend $20 Million to Mobilize Hispanic Voters

The Washington Post reports that the DNC and Obama are set to unveil a $20 million effort to register and mobilize Hispanic voters in a number of states, including New Mexico:

DNC Chairman Howard Dean said the sum is unprecedented for a presidential campaign and represents a show of Democratic confidence that Latino voters could prove pivotal in states including New Mexico and Michigan. [...]

Targets will include Florida; Western states such as Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico; and Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, industrial battlegrounds with sizable Hispanic populations. The money will be spent on niche advertising and other outreach, along with mobilization efforts aimed at identifying, registering and turning out new Democratic voters.

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NM-02: A Visit with Harry Teague in Hobbs

Teague tells us why he's running for Congress

This is a bit long, but bear with me. There's a reason I have a lot to say about Harry Teague.

A week ago Sunday we drove back in a meandering fashion from Netroots Nation in Austin. We stopped overnight in the Hobbs area so we could visit with NM-02's Dem candidate for Congress. Last Monday, Harry Teague and staffer Michael Huerta graciously welcomed us and offered up several hours of their time to talk life experience and politics.

There was lots of lively conversation, funny anecdotes, a tour of Harry's haunts in Hobbs -- old and new, personal and business -- lunch at Dan's Mexican restaurant and a visit to Teague's well organized campaign office in Hobbs. (There's another one in Las Cruces.) Oh, and we learned that the entire state of Pennsylvania could fit into New Mexico's huge Second District with room to spare. I wonder if the pundits and strategists back East understand that fact. It's a hard one to grasp.

Harry Teague at his Hobbs campaign office

I had never met Harry Teague before and I have to say it was a real pleasure. I'm like most progressives I know. I supported Bill McCamley in the Dem primary down South. But now that I've spent some time with Mr. Teague I can honestly say I can support him with enthusiasm in the general election. Perhaps even more important -- I genuinely believe he can win. Imagine New Mexico with Democrats representing all three Congressional Districts. It can happen, but only if we vigorously support all three of our Dem Congresional candidates. All three.

My take on the Dem Red to Blue candidate in the Second District?  He's smart, modest, well informed, down to earth, hard-working, friendly and nuanced in his positions. It's clear that he relishes coming together with others and solving problems, not preaching or being preached to. I came away with the impression that he's one tough cookie of a candidate -- a practical pragmatist with a big dose of common sense and a streak that's decidedly progressive. He came across to me as somebody who genuinely cares about human beings regardless of their stations in life, ethnicity or background. I don't think you can fake that and be believable.

Teague shows off campaign photos of friends, family, supporters

Harry's into the common good -- its shows in so much of what he says and so much of what he's done over many years in his community. And he's careful to point out just how much he's gotten from his community in return, even when he lived in very modest circumstances. Teague says he's had fun his whole life, when he was poor and now that he's the opposite, and I believe him. He's not a guy who's comfortable spinning. He looks you in the eye when he talks. He doesn't wobble.

Teague's campaign office in Hobbs. He also has one in Las Cruces.

Watch out Ed Tinsley -- Harry Teague is in it to win and he's determined to do it by reaching out to people from all walks of life in the District -- plainly saying what he believes in, and why. And he clearly believes in the kind of all-American family and community values that Dems have long supported, and to which too many Republicans have paid only cynical lip service while pretending they have the high ground.

What came up most often in our conversations? How we can get the country back on the right track and rebuild our middle class, our working class, the opportunities available to ordinary people. We certainly need more of that in Washington. Much more.

Lunch at Dan's restaurant, where the locals love the food (and so did we)

Harry drove us around the humble neighborhoods in Hobbs where he grew up, and which prompted many warm memories on his part. Born on a small farm in Oklahoma, Harry, his three siblings and his parents moved to Hobbs in 1959 and lived in tiny trailers, small buildings behind gas stations where he father worked and in very modest houses, moving often. He was raised in Anglo neighborhoods, Hispanic neighborhods, African-American neighborhoods -- and he has many friends from those places to this day. In fact, Teague still lives in a modest neighborhood, in a modest home. Pretentious he's not. Things don't seem to motivate him. People do.

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NM-01: White Releases Internal Poll Info Showing Decline in Support

The first internal polling released by Repub Darren White's NM-01 Congressional campaign back in October, conducted by GOP pollsters Public Opinion Strategies (POS), showed him with a lead of 18 points over Dem Martin Heinrich. Then, nothing from the White campaign -- until Heinrich released an internal poll on July 8th showing Martin surging in popularity and leading White by 3 points.

Now we suddenly get a bare-bones-only memo about a new internal White poll, again by Public Opinion Strategies, showing him bleeding support to Heinrich compared to their previously released internal survey. The telephone survey conducted on July 22-23, 2008 among 500 likely voters, and with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38%, shows White with a 47-41% lead. Support for White is now down by 12 points from the level he had in his campaign's initial internal survey -- not up.

Why release these numbers now? Perhaps because panic has begun to set in at the White camp and he needs to convince Repubs that he has a chance to win in a year when Dems are expected to swamp the GOP up and down the ticket in most states -- even according to GOP strategists.

Where Are the Questions and Other Data?
Note that the White campaign failed to release the text of the questions that were asked, any unfavorable numbers generated by ancillary questions or any detailed description of the methodology used. Is this because the questions were worded or asked in a manner designed to produce the answers the White campaign set out to obtain? We don't know. Were party labels attached to the candidate names? We don't know. All we know are the numbers publicized in the memo, period.

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