Democracy for New Mexico

Local Mainstream Media: Garbage In, Garbage Out

Awwwww. The "pundits" and "reporters" had to attend a press conference with NM Dem Party Chair Brian Colon and others when the final results of our caucus were announced last week. They're leaking complaints with the usual suspects that it was too long and held them up from their important duties, which often appear to entail a whole bunch of gossiping and groaning amongst themselves. Don't you feel sorry for them? They actually get paid to report on politics, while local and national bloggers struggle on as freebie public service outlets and writers for alternative outlets eek out a living.

I guess the insider word is that they've been devoting so much of their precious time to the caucus story that they're all tuckered out. They wanted the results immediately from a contest that was one of the closest in the nation to date. They wanted it yesterday despite a record turnout and more than 17,000 provisional ballots to qualify -- and a complex negotiation required to balance the demands of Party and the campaigns on qualification standards. With all the grunt work done by volunteers.

Not The Facts, Maam
Many local mainstream media outlets wrongly but continually compared New Mexico's Party-run caucus with contests in other states where the margins weren't even close. Sure, quick results are much easier when the time-consuming tasks of qualifying and counting provisional ballots aren't in the picture because they won't make much difference in the outcome.

Sadly, in many cases daily coverage of the story consisted almost entirely of complaints about delays and childish mockery of all those working to deal with a myriad of complexities. Guess what? The unofficial results of the regular paper ballots were pretty much ready the day after the election. Minor point, I know, when you're spinning for the opposite team or concentrating on creating "controversy." Much easier to mindlessly repeat words like "debacle" and "disaster" than to report the facts as they emerged. Or, better yet, to use the situation as an opportunity to educate the public on the finer points of voting, vote counting and the strengths and weaknesses of today's election processes.

Old fashioned, I know, yearning for the days when The Press was viewed as a powerful and important Fourth Estate, and journalists focused on providing clear, accurate and fair answers to Who? What? Where? How? Why?

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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 ...

SFR: Repub Senate Candidates Seek to Define Post-Domenici Religion

Former State Sen. Tom Benavidez discusses his so far unsuccessful quest to get on the primary ballot to take on Repub candidates he calls "carpetbaggers."


Current NM-03 Rep. Steve Pearce views SCHIP as a socialized medicine plot and doesn't allow filming while he eats

I'm a fan of the political coverage being produced by the folks at the Santa Fe Reporter (SFR), so I'm pleased to see they've launched their own video channel on YouTube. It should come in handy as we edge ever closer to election day 2008. The videos above complement "Elephant Warfare," their cover story this week on the Republican contenders in the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico. The vids feature interviews conducted by David Alire Garcia, with camera work by Dave Maass. As Alire Garcia's story explains:

From Feb. 14-23, GOP county conventions all across the state will pick delegates to send to the March 15 state pre-primary nominating convention, the first skirmish of what is expected to be a money-soaked, hard-fought Senate primary between heavyweights Wilson and Pearce.

... On one level, this election is a struggle for the soul of the New Mexico's Republican Party in a post-Domenici religion.

Rep. Heather Wilson, who refused an interview with SFR, is now defining herself as a "common sense conservative" in contrast to Steve Pearce's to-the-right-of-Atila-the-Hun conservatism. One example of Pearce's distaste for (and ignorance about) the push for 21st century-style civil liberties:

"The pressure for same-sex marriage, the pressure for multiple partners,
polymorphism, that's a pressure that is actually going on legally right now," he says. "And then you got pressure from people saying, "˜I got a legitimate right to my pedophilia.'"

Say again?

"There will be no legal impediment to stop anything based on emotion once you get started, even pedophilia,"Pearce theorizes.

Continue reading "SFR: Repub Senate Candidates Seek to Define Post-Domenici Religion"

Saturday: Special Dem SCC Meeting on Platform and Resolutions

The Democratic Party of New Mexico will hold a special meeting of its State Central Committee (SCC) on Saturday, February 23, 2008 at Smith-Brasher Hall at Central New Mexico Community College to consider resolutions recommended by its Platform & Resolutions Committee. Registration begins at 9:30 AM and the meeting will be called to order promptly at 11:00 AM.

SCC members will vote on Resolutions adopted at the County-level and recommended by the State Platform & Resolutions Committee. Any Democrat interested in discussing proposed Resolutions that will inform the 2008 Democratic Platform should be in attendance. The 2008 Party Platform will be up for consideration at the March 15th Pre-Primary Convention, and discussion on resolutions is an important preliminary step in forming the Platform.

Click for more information. Click to download a copy of the resolutions to be acted upon Saturday.

NM-01: Heinrich to Reveal an Endorsement a Day

Martin Heinrich's campaign announced yesterday it will roll out a new endorsement each day from unions and organizations that have recently announced their support for his NM-01 Congressional campaign. A total of xix endorsements will be announced on Heinrich's blog -- one per workday -- through next Tuesday.

To kick off endorsements week, the campaign announced that Carpenters Local 1319 has officially endorsed Martin Heinrich for Congress. According to Carpenters Local 1319 Special Representative David Barber, "Martin Heinrich understands the needs of working families. He's an honest leader that we can trust to stand up to the special interests and put New Mexico's working families first."

Throughout endorsements week, supporters of Heinrich's campaign are being asked to stand with the organizations and unions by making a contribution. As the campaign explains, "Small investments from thousands of hard working people are crucial to the success of our campaign for change and they will help to keep our momentum moving forward!" Click to make a donation and keep Martin's momentum going.

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(Updated) Dem Prez Race: Wisconsin Primary, Hawaii Caucus

UPDATE 2/20/08: Wipeout. Not even close. Obama overwhelmed Clinton in Wisconsin 58.1% to 40.7% and in Hawaii 75.7% to 23.6%. Obama has now won in 10 straight states. According to analysts, Clinton would have to win the remaining states by something like a 60% to 40% margin to catch Obama in the pledged delegate count. In recent polling, Obama has pulled even with Clinton in Texas, and he's gaining ground in Ohio with Clinton's lead being cut in half over the past week there. The next contests will occur on March 4th in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island.

In Wisconsin, Obama's victory spanned the state and many demographic categories. Even in categories where Clinton has been winning, Obama made major inroads. Clinton did win 60-39% among those aged 65 and older but among white women, Clinton hung on by only a 51-49% margin. Among voters with only a high school education, Clinton won 52-44%. Clinton won among Catholics, but only by 51-49%. After Obama's projected victory was announced last night, Clinton gave a speech in Youngstown, Ohio and did not say a word about the Wisconsin primary or congratulate Obama on his win.

As in previous primaries and caucuses, the Democratic turnout more than doubled that of Republicans. The total Democratic vote in Wisconsin was 1,110,702 versus 409,078 for Republicans.
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It's arctic, windy and icy in many areas of Wisconsin today, but the weather is clear and the primary goes on. These folks are used to biting cold. Recent polling shows Obama and Clinton in a statistical tie. The polls close at 7:00 PM MST, and 74 pledged delegates are at stake. CNN results.

Not surprisingly, it's balmy and beautiful for today's Hawaii caucuses. No polling is available, but Obama is favored because he does so well in caucuses and his half-sister, Honolulu school teacher Maya Soetoro-Ng, is campaigning for him. Obama was born in Hawaii and spent most of his years through age 18 there. There are 20 pledged delegates up for grabs. CNN results aren't expected until around Midnight New Mexico time.

Colón Names Geise Interim Executive Director for DPNM

The Dem prez caucus aftermath continues. I just received this release from the Democratic Party of New Mexico:

Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colón announced today that Laura E. Sanchez has resigned as Executive Director. Chairman Colón named Josh Geise as the Interim Executive Director.

“Laura did a tremendous job during my first year as Chairman as we embarked on an unprecedented listening tour around our State to reach out to Democrats in all corners of New Mexico,” Colón said.  “Laura’s work ethic and dedication to the Democratic Party have never wavered and I wish her the best of luck in the future.”

“As we move forward to November our singular focus is carrying New Mexico for our Democratic Presidential Nominee, electing Tom Udall to the US Senate and winning all three open congressional seats,” Colón said. “This is a historic year in New Mexico and I’m excited to have Josh leading our staff at the Party as we move forward to November.”

“I am excited to be returning to the Party in what is shaping up to be the most intense campaign cycle in New Mexico history,” Geise said. “We have a lot of long days and nights ahead of us and with the leadership of Chairman Colón, I am confident November 4th is going to be a very good night for New Mexico Democrats.

Geise most recently worked on Governor Richardson’s Presidential campaign as his Early States Political Director. Prior to that he served as the Coordinated Campaign Director for the Democratic Party of New Mexico in 2006.

NM-02: McCamley vs. Teague

Democrat Bill McCamley, running for Congress in New Mexico's Second District, today announced more endorsements from key elected officials in NM-02. Here's a PDF of the McCamley campaign's statement on the new endorsements from former State Rep. J. Paul Taylor (Doña Ana County), former Capitan Mayor Benny Coker, Socorro County Commission Chairman Jay Santillanes and Sierra County Commissioner Walter Armijo.

Personally, I'm a big fan of McCamley, who's been running a textbook grassroots campaign down South against Dem rivals Harry Teague, Al Kissling and Frank McKinnon. A candidate willing to work hard for every volunteer, every small campaign donation and every primary vote, McCamley has raised more than $280,000 the hard way, opened a live and kickin' campaign office in Las Cruces and continues to talk passionately about new ways to approach and solve the serious problems we face.

His campaign isn't funded by large donations from oil business tycoons, good ol' boys and personal wealth like McTeague's. It isn't based on more of the same old same old, but focuses on taking a fresh and creative look at how we can make the changes we need to get back on the right track, moving towards a positive future. It's evident that the voters in this election cycle want change, fresh ideas and challenges to business as usual. I think McCamley is a good example of the kind of candidate who can flourish is this atmosphere and tap into the voters' hunger for a new way of doing things that's responsive to the people, not the lobbyists and vested special interests.

Harry Teague and Oil Interests
McCamley's main rival, Lea County Commissioner Harry Teague, made millions in businesses related to oil and didn't enter the race until November. He stepped up to the plate with $200,000 of his own money and the backing of wealthy friends in Lea County, many of them former supporters of Steve Pearce and the Republican Party. Teague is running as a Democrat, but shares many of the conservative views of politicos on the other side of the aisle. It shows in who's donating funds to his campaign.

Recently, Harry Teague announced his year-end fundraising numbers. Between November 8th, when Harry announced his candidacy, and December 31st of last year Harry's campaign raised a total of $408,610.00 and reported $362,735.51 cash-on hand. Harry has loaned $200,000 of his own money to the campaign, so that means he raised about 208,000 from outside sources during the quarter.

Let's take a closer look at Teague's donations. A colleague who's much better with numbers than I am examined Teague's year-end FEC report and shed some light on the kinds of donations he's getting:

Continue reading "NM-02: McCamley vs. Teague"

ACTION ALERT: Urge Gov. Richardson to Veto Damaging Uranium Cleanup Bill

Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM), alongside the Southwest Research Information Center (SRIC) and many other environmental justice organizations, fought hard against uranium mining industry-friendly legislation throughout the 2008 New Mexico State Legislative Session, only to see SB487 (Ulibarri) become the final bill to be voted upon during the closing minutes of the session.

If signed in to law, SB487 would create an industry-biased source for cleanup of abandoned uranium mines because it ties cleanup of mining sites to production from new uranium mining and mills -- which many residents of impacted communities oppose. The bill would also absolve companies that created abandoned uranium mines from responsibility, and pre-empt efforts to inventory abandoned uranium mines and their past operators, and develop recommendations for a state Superfund for abandoned uranium mines.

The organizations are now encouraging New Mexicans to contact Governor Bill Richardson (505-476-2200) to veto the legislation in lieu of a critical analysis to understand clean-up needs and the industry's impact on New Mexican communities' health. For more information, please contact Leona Morgan, of ENDAUM at leona.morgan@yahoo.com.

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Anne Kass Guest Blog: The NM Caucus & Privatized Elections

This is a guest blog by political activist and retired Second Judicial District Judge Anne Kass of Albuquerque:

Enough with the headlines and lead sentences about how embarrassing the Democratic "Caucus" was on February 5th. That so many voters were made to wait in long lines was shameful, but that was the result of not enough money and volunteers to provide an adequate number of voting sites. Not having enough money is a problem, but it's not an embarrassment. In truth, we did the best we could with the limited resources we had.

As for the headlines that continued during the week proclaiming that the outcome of the "Caucus" remained unknown, get a grip -- and lose the word "winner"! The election was not about winners or losers. The election was about how to apportion New Mexico's delegates to the Democratic National Convention. New Mexico is not a winner-take-all state.

We knew the outcome of the election before we went to bed Tuesday night. The outcome was, and is, that New Mexico Democrats are roughly evenly divided between Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama, and each one of them will receive delegates from New Mexico. 

What's With the Lists?
The really important story from this event has to do with the 17,000 provisional ballots. As someone who worked with provisional ballots at one of the polling places, it appeared to me that easily half of those made to vote provisionally were regular voters, at their correct polling place. Still their names did not appear on our list. Albuquerque Journal columnist Jim Belshaw reported that Judge William F. Lang was made to vote provisionally because his name did not appear on the list at his regular polling plase. A friend who worked at another site said their list had no names beginning with the letter "A." The big, and important, question -- and news story -- is: What's with the lists?

I only recently learned that Secretary of State, Mary Herrera has privatized or outsourced voter list maintenance to ES&S. As reported on Alternet:

"James Flores, spokesman for Secretary of State Mary Herrera, a Democrat. 'There is a (voter) list and it is compiled by ES&S (Election Systems and Software).'"

I, and every Democrat I know, made it clear to Ms. Herrera, when she was asking for our votes, that privatization of our election process had to stop, which she promised she would do. Needless to say, I'm very disappointed to learn that she broke her promise and has contracted with a corporation the name of which my mind instantly associates with the words "election fraud."

See this document prepared by VotersUnite.org if you're comfortable with ES&S having its mitts in our election process.

Continue reading "Anne Kass Guest Blog: The NM Caucus & Privatized Elections"