Democracy for New Mexico

NM Repub Senate Pre-Primary: Pearce 55%, Wilson 45%

This AP story has the details. Rep. Steve Pearce (NM-02) had predicted a "huge victory" over Rep. Heather Wilson (NM-01) in the Repub Pre-Primary for U.S. Senate, so his win by a little less than 10 points was a definite let down at the NM GOP's Pre-Primary Convention at the Albuquerque Marriott Hotel. Expect the battle between Peace and Wilson to escalate in the weeks between now and the June 3rd primary while Dem rival Rep. Tom Udall (NM-03), who has no competition in the Dem primary builds his campaign and bolsters his already strong support statewide. Kate Nash has the complete results

Saturday & Wednesday: ABQ Peace Events Mark 5th Anniversary of Iraq Invasion

Just a sample of recent carnage.

As of Thursday, March 13, 2008, at least 3,987 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,238 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. Almost 30,000 members of the U.S. military have been seriously wounded during combat, with untold thousands more severely disabled in "non-combat" actions in Iraq. And who knows how many tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have paid with their lives or limbs?

Today, hundreds of veterans and active-duty soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are gathering for the Winter Soldier hearings. The soldiers plan to give eyewitness accounts of the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War, the gathering is modeled after the 1971 Winter Solider hearings organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. You can watch live for the next three days and view clips at site, and Information Clearinghouse has live audio and video.

According to Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz , the war is now costing us $12.5 BILLION a month, up from $4.4 billion a month in 2003. He says a conservative estimate of the total cost of the debacle in Iraq is $3 TRILLION when related costs are added in. Clearly, the huge deficits and other financial costs caused by the invasion and occupation are major factors in the ongoing crash of our economy. And the so-called surge? Even Gen. Petraeus admits it isn't working in terms of the goals it was designed to further.

Take a Stand at These Events:

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Conservation Voters New Mexico Endorses Eric Griego for State Senate District 14

Speaking to Eric's pro-conservation record is Leanne Leith, CVNM's political director. That's Javier Benavidez, CVNM's outreach
coordinator (left), and Tim McGivern, former Weekly Alibi
editor (right) with Eric (far right).

Representatives of Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) announced the group's endorsement of Eric Griego for State Senate at last night's well-attended campaign fundraiser at Albuquerque's Artichoke Cafe. Shown are photos are from the event, and here's the statement released by CVNM on their support of Griego:

Conservation Voters New Mexico has endorsed Eric Griego in his campaign to challenge incumbent State Senator James Taylor, District 14, in Albuquerque.

“Eric Griego has a proven track record of effectively turning our state’s conservation values into successful public policies that protect the well-being and quality of life of all New Mexicans,” said Sandy Buffett, Executive Director of Conservation Voters New Mexico. “Eric has the leadership and commitment to stand up to the powerful special interests that threaten our communities,” added Buffett.

Eric speaks to crowd about the endorsement.

While serving as a City Councilor in Albuquerque, Griego sponsored many legislative initiatives important to the New Mexican values for which Conservation Voters New Mexico fights, including the Planned Growth Strategy (PGS) and efforts to protect the Sandia Mountains and the Valle Vidal. The PGS, along with its “pay-as-you-go” system of assessing new infrastructure impact fees to big developers, has helped to tackle Albuquerque’s problem with sprawl development and has helped guide public investment back into established areas of the City.

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Video: Gov. Richardson on Clinton, Obama Endorsement

In an interview with LA Times journalist Maggie Farley at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations' second annual conference on March 11, Gov. Bill Richardson discusses his personal experiences in the Democratic presidential primary race, the role of superdelegates and whether he will endorse Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama. Click to see another video of Richardson talking about his experiences negotiating with Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro and others during his speech that day.

Bilingual Production of 'The Vagina Monologues' to Benefit Enlace Comunitario

LAS MEGANENAS & FRIENDS PRESENT
A Bilingual Production of Eve Ensler's
The VAGINA MONOLOGUES
ONE NIGHT ONLY!
South Broadway Cultural Center
1025 Broadway SE, ABQ
Thursday, March 20, 2008 / 7:00 PM
Reception to follow

All Proceeds Benefit Enlace Comunitario / www.enlacenm.org
Tickets $15.00 thru Enlace Comunitario / 246-8972
Tickets purchased thru SBCC $1.00 surcharge / 848-1320
Co-Sponsored by UNM Women's Resource Center

Bingaman, Udall Rated Tops in NM Delegation on Middle Class Issues

Short clip of Tom Udall talking about the disastrous economic policies of the Republicans and how Democrats are dedicated to serving the middle class (3.1.08 Bernalillo County Dem Convention)

The nonpartisan Drum Major Institute for Public Policy just released its ratings of members of Congress based on their voting on legislation that impacts the middle class. The letter grade was given for voting in 2007 and the percentage number applies to votes so far this year:

Here's DMI's explanation of their analysis and grading system and why they utilize it. Even though Republicans like to pretend they're for the ordinary folks, almost across the board their votes say otherwise. With economic woes exploding this year, especially for middle class workers, the economy consistently appears at or near the top of the list of what's important to voters this election year. Democratic candidates should fare extremely well, including Rep. Tom Udall, the Congressman with the A plus rating who's running for U.S. Senate against whoever wins the Heather Wilson - Steve Pearce dustup on the Repub side.

(Video clip by M.E. Broderick.)

Gov. Richardson Skips Out on Dem Pre-Primary Convention

According to an AP article, Gov. Bill Richardson will be vacationing with his wife, Barbara, at an undisclosed location in the Caribbean this Saturday when the Democratic Party of New Mexico holds its day-long Pre-Primary Convention at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. I guess he doesn't need anything from NM's Dems at the moment -- so he doesn't feel compelled to attend the year's largest Party event or help energize the delegates for what will be one of our most important election seasons in decades.

Who are the delegates to the Convention? They're more than 1,900 Dems who've been elected at county conventions all over the state. They're State Central Committee members, county, ward and precinct chairs. They're elected officials, grassroots workers and donors. They're folks who canvass and make phone calls and do the grunt work of the Party, candidate campaigns and the election process. The delegates are a diverse cross section of active Dems who'll be pivotal this November when getting out the vote will be the top priority. Many of them toiled for untold hours before, during and after last month's presidential caucuses -- under often trying circumstances. They'll travel to the event from near and far at a time of incredibly high gas prices, pay for their own accommodations and meals and dedicate another weekend to the Democratic cause.

2008: Make or Break Year
This year, our three Congressional seats are up for grabs, there's a hotly contested, nationally spotlighted U.S. Senate race, elections in every State Senate and House district, judicial contests and more. Doesn't it seem odd that the titular head of our Party has apparently decided he has better things to do than mingle with the Party's rank and file to thank them for their time, efforts and donations and help inspire them for the battles to come?

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Friday: Reception Supporting Deanna Archuleta for Bernalillo County Commissioner

PLEASE JOIN
LT. GOVERNOR DIANE DENISH

STATE AUDITOR HECTOR BALDERAS
SENATOR DEDE FELDMAN
SENATOR CISCO MCSORLEY
SENATOR JERRY ORTIZ Y PINO
REPRESENTATIVE GAIL CHASEY
REPRESENTATIVE DANICE PICRAUX
AND
Jim Baca, Eric Griego, Norty Kalishman,
Richard Romero, Stuart Paisano

FOR A RECEPTION IN SUPPORT OF
DEANNA ARCHULETA
FOR
BERNALILLO COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 3

FRIDAY, MARCH 14TH
5:30-7:30 PM
SCALO RESTAURANT
3500 CENTRAL SE
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO  87106
Suggested donation $100

CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD BE MADE PAYABLE TO: Friends of Deanna. Can't attend?  Send your checks to Friends of Deanna at P.O. Box 291, Albuquerque, NM, 87103. Please RSVP to Ariel Bickel at (505) 321-6867 or atbickel@yahoo.com.

Olbermann Special Comment on Clinton-Ferraro Damaging Duet

League of Women Voters to Celebrate Sunshine Week

From the League of Women Voters: The LWV joins news media, students, libraries, government officials and non-government organizations to celebrate "SUNSHINE WEEK" from March 16-23, 2008. This year the honorary chairs will be Ben Bradlee of the Washington Post, Tom Brokaw, NBC News, and Judy Woodruff, PBS News Hour.

SUNSHINE WEEK is a national initiative that calls attention to the fact that we as citizens have the right to know what our government is doing and we should have access to information that had been previously unavailable. In other words, we want the access that President Lyndon B. Johnson intended when he signed the "Freedom of Information Act"  (FOIA) in 1966.

COME CELEBRATE SUNSHINE WEEK BY ATTENDING THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS SPONSORED BY THE LEAGUE ...

Thursday, March 13, 2008, 11:45 AM. Speaker: Steven Robert Allen, Executive Director, Common Cause Albuquerque Airport Hotel (fomerly the Wyndham). Reservations required for this Luncheon; $16.00.   

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