Democracy for New Mexico

Alright, I've Had It: I'm Voting Republican

I'm Voting Republican

NM-Sen: Wilson-Pearce Debate Follies; Domenici Flip-Flops to Endorse Wilson

Last night's final debate between the "Common Sense Conservative" and the "Club for Growth Hero" consisted mostly of a rehash of already plumbed issues like who voted against what in terms of pork for New Mexico, who would drill the most for oil and do it quicker, who supports the highest fence at the border, which one is more "electable," and who wants to throw widows and children off Social Security.

Naturally, both candidates stood tall and recited the familiar mantra, with maximum gradiosity and moral certitude, that "marriage is between one man and one woman." I wish one of the soft-ball questioners would have asked them if they supported starving the widows (or widowers) and children of gay partners because federal Social Security benefits available to married couples are not available to gay couples. I really would have liked to hear their answers. But it was not to be.

I fail to see much value in any of the "debates" I've seen this season. The norm is that simplistic, banal questions are asked that permit each candidate to recite their memorized talking points, and then the topic is changed. Never any follow-up to throw the candidates off their rote recitations designed to convey as little as possible of any depth. Never any challenging of a distortion or muddied logic in an answer. Question - recitation - next question.

Take the gay marriage question. Does anyone paying attention believe that either Pearce or Wilson would say anything other than what they always say? Why ask a question when everyone already knows the answers that will be given? All it does is provide the candidates with another chance to repeat a wedge issue slogan. That's what passes for political discourse these days?

If you watched last night you'd have no idea that global warming, civil liberties, our right to privacy, FISA legislation, health care reform, "free" trade, the shredding of the U.S. Constitution or education improvements were issues being discussed in the real world. I thought even the Iraq occupation and "homeland security" got short shrift. I guess dealing with these kinds of issues would just take away from the main concerns of Republicans -- avoiding paying their fair share of taxes while grabbing the most defense and energy pork for their home state, and keeping the gay folks unmarried.

The Fumbled Endorsement
The giddiest response by the media and analysts was produced by an awkwardly introduced and rather confusing revelation by Heather that Pete Domenici had suddenly decided to endorse her. Or something. Heather became a bit teary eyed when announcing the development, as she has a tendency to do when Domenici's name is mentioned or a Superbowl half-time show features a mammary faux pas. But it was unclear during the debate whether Domenici had really endorsed Wilson or merely wished her well in the debate. She did claim she had verified the endorsement with Domenici's office, but there was much muttering afterwards about what had really happened, and when.

Turns out the 76-year-old Domenici, who's suffering from a degenerative brain disease, blurted out during a Socorro appearance yesterday that he wished Heather would win the debate. This was apparently interpreted by Steve Bell, Domenici's powerful right-hand man, to mean that the Senator was "probably" endorsing Wilson. Bell later confirmed it was a genuine endorsement. Eventually, a written statement was released by Domenici's office formally providing the endorsement. Here's the .

In the statement, Domenici explains he broke his pledge to stay neutral in the GOP Senate primary due to the failure of Pearce to stop the TV ads bashing Heather that were being run by the New York City-based, right-wing Club for Growth. Domenici had previously called for Pearce to convince the out-of-state group to stop running the ads. He also described Wilson as "the brightest member of Congress I know." Heaven help us if that's true. I will say one thing -- Wilson exhibits some of the strangest facial expressions of any "debater" I've seen. I wonder what that tells us about her being ....

An article in today's Albuquerque Journal offers a few more reasons for Domenici's change of mind:

[Steve] Bell said Domenici became agitated in recent days with Pearce's criticism of so-called "earmarks," or pet spending projects lawmakers insert into appropriations bills. Pearce criticized congressional earmarks in a debate Tuesday night sponsored by the Journal and KOAT-TV.

"That sent him over the edge," Bell said. "This (Domenici) is a guy who brings 4 or 5 billion dollars to the state every year, and a lot of that is earmarks. He tried to keep a stance of public neutrality as long as he could," Bell said.

... Bell also said Domenici was put off by Pearce's opposition to mental health parity legislation and expanding health care for poor children. "How do you think he would react to that?" Bell said.

According to Repubs like Domenici, earmarks and government spending are great as long as they are meant for their home state, that of another Republican's or for a pet cause. It's only if they are for a Democrat's state or the common good that they represent bad, out-of-control spending. And it's a given that no taxes should be levied to pay for the pork. Deficit spending on Republican pork is always AOK in Repub circles.

If you missed the televised debate and, for some reason, would like to watch it, visit KNME's blog for video.

Technorati Tags:

New Mexico Voter Registration Statistics: Independents Post Largest Percentage Gain

According to an AP story, voters eligible to vote in Tuesday's primary election in New Mexico total about 898,000 -- 543,615 Democrats and 354,272 Republicans. Since the 2004 primary here, Republicans have managed a 14% increase in registration and Democrats made a 9% gain in voter registrations in the state. In addition:

Currently, Democrats account for half of the state's registered voters. That's down slightly from June 2004, when Democrats represented 52 percent of all registered voters.

Republicans represented a third of the state's voters when registration rolls closed earlier this month for the primary election. They were 32 percent in 2004.

The biggest gain in registration in the past four years occurred with people unaffiliated with a political party.

So-called independents—"declined to state" a party affiliation, as it is called in New Mexico—total 161,116, an increase of 32 percent since 2004. That continues a trend in which independents are growing as a share of New Mexico's electorate. Unaffiliated voters account for 15 percent of registration this year, up from 13 percent in the 2004 primary.

Other stats:

• Total voter registration: 1.08 million, up 13% over 2004 primary
• 13% registration increase in the Albuquerque-area NM-01 since 2004
• 11% gain in NM-02 in southern New Mexico
• 13% increase in NM-03 in northern New Mexico
• Largest increase in voter registration: Sandoval County, including Rio Rancho, up 35%
• Dona Ana County had a 24% increase
• McKinley County, 19%
• Bernalillo County, 17%
• In 2004 primary, 187,821 Democrats, Republicans and Greens cast ballots, 23% of those registered and eligible to vote
• In 2000 primary, 223,490 Democrats, Republicans and Greens voted -- 28% of those registered that year

What does all this mean in terms of Tuesday's results? We can only wait and see. One thing I know for sure is that the Dem Party at all levels, as well as the Dem campaigns, need to put a lot more energy and time into increasing registrations for the Fall election. I'm pumped because Barack Obama is making that one of his top priorties, all over the nation.

Video: DPNM Protests Bush Fundraiser for GOP & White

The Tom Udall campaign liveblogged the Dem Party of New Mexico's demonstration in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque today protesting George Bush's fundraiser for NM-01 candidate Darren White and the state GOP. Click to see the recorded video of the event. Participants included reps from the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Tom Udall's campaign and UNM College Dems, as well as State Dem Party chair Brian Colon, NM-01 Dem Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich and Janice Saxton, Dem candidate in NM House District 22. KRQE News 13 has this video of Bush's arrival in Albuquerque and the protest in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.

A major complaint raised by demonstrators centered on Bush's promise to veto the new GI Bill that would expand veterans' benefits and support every vet who's served since 9-11 with expanded financial support for a college education. John McCain, the presumed GOP nominee for prez, is also against the new GI Bill. I guess he supports vets, but only when George Bush tells him it's ok. A couple of quotes from participants about the close relationship between White and Bush:

DPNM Chair Brian Colon: "You know, Darren has been critical of the administration but he got a lot less critical when he had the opportunity to get some money from Bush's supporters. "That's not acceptable."

NM-01 candidate Martin Heinrich: "It's disappointing to see Darren White continue to embrace the president at a time when the administration's failed policies are hurting New Mexico families."

By the way, the Udall campaign is seeking between now and when the polls close for the primary election on June 3rd to offset the effects of the big bucks being raised today in New Mexico for Republican candidates. You know what to do.

Technorati Tags:

NM-01: Heinrich Responds to Bush Fundraiser for White

Do your part to counter Bush Repub partying ... After a fundraiser for Darren White here today, Bush heads to AZ to raise money for his pal John McCain

Martin Heinrich, running for the Dem Congressional nomination in NM-01, is hitting back at George Bush's fundraising with GOP elites at a residence in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque today by reaching out to the national and local netroots/grassroots for support. Bush is sneaking into town today to attend a private, no-press-allowed, $1000-per-person event to raise campaign funds for long-time buddy Darren White, the presumptive Repub Congressional candidate in NM-01, and the State Repub Party's so-called Victory Fund.

It's expected that the event will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for White and the GOP. As we all know by now, Darren White is a Bush-clone supreme, having served as Bush's campaign chair in Bernalillo County in 2004 and having been selected to accompany Bush to the podium for his nomination at the RNC Convention that year. His positions support the continuation of the Bush agenda even when Bush will be gone from the White House. We can't have that, can we? What we can do:

First, listen in today at Noon Mountain time, Heinrich will be interviewed for 45 minutes by Adam Lambert and David Atkinson on a Blog Talk Radio Heading Left show hosted by ePluribus Radio. Click here to listen online.

Next, head over to the nationally prominent blog, Crooks and Liars, at 3:00 PM today Mountain time, to lend some local flavor to Heinrich's live blog there.

Last, but certainly not least, donate a few bucks to Martin Heinrich's campaign. Let's show them what people-powered politics can do, one small donatiion at a time, to give Martin what he need to win. Add a donation you can afford to the page and support the efforts to turn New Mexico as blue as our azure skies this election cycle.

P.S. Double your impact by adding $.01 to every donation that you make this week. DownWithTyranny, this week's guest blogger at Air America, is donating his Air America check to the candidate that picks up the most online contributions with $.01 added. So, add a penny to your contribution and help Heinrich earn an additional donation!

Technorati Tags:

Action Alert: Dem Party Protest of Bush's Tuesday Visit to NM

From the DPNM: The Democratic Party of New Mexico will be demonstrating against George W. Bush's visit to Albuquerque to fundraise for Darren White:

• What: Demonstration against George W. Bush's war and his plan to veto the GI Bill! We don't support his war and we don't support anyone who uses him to raise money!
• When: Tuesday May 27th, 2008 from 11AM-12 Noon
• Where: Hartnett Park, Los Ranchos De Albuquerque: 6718 Rio Grande Blvd NE (MAP)

Come down and show Darren White and George Bush what Americans really think of the War! Don't forget to bring your SIGNS! More info.

Technorati Tags:

Awkward Befuddlement Rules Saturday's Wilson-Pearce Debate

It bores me no end to watch Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce debate (video) as they did this past Saturday in Roswell. Judge for yourself but, to me, the event's most telling moments came with the general befuddlement produced by Wilson arguing that the moderators weren't following the rules set for the debate. Heavy. Lots of back and forth over nothing, like most of the GOP rhetoric we hear today.

The biggest tussles, according to the AP, were over Pearce's vote for the humongous farm subsidy bill and Heather's vote against it, as well as Wilson's vote of "present" on the Iraq occupation funding amendment, which Pearce voted for despite Bush's orders from on high to oppose it because of a requirement in the measure that troops start being withdrawn from Iraq in 30 days.

Heather and Steve seem to be scraping to come up with small differences between their twin-like conservative agendas, mostly making suspect and strained accusations that the other voted against something within a huge bill going through complex maneuvers in the U.S. House. Bottom line: both of them are proponents of continuing the Bush-Cheney agenda. They're against almost everything a majority of Americans are for today and for almost everything most Americans are against. That's according to extensive and detailed polling over months and months that consistently shows that most Americans agree with Democratic positions -- if they actually get a chance to hear them in the mainstream media in between the shouting heads or buried in the generally shallow print coverage.

Granted, Pearce is a smidgeon farther to the right than Wilson. Heather does cave at times on issues like health care for children or stem cell research meaning to show some compassion. And granted, Pearce's public personna is much more nasty and domineering. But both of them are all for continuing the Iraq occupation into infinity, he-man saber-rattling against Iran, virtually unlimited blobs of money for anything that can be tagged as "national defense" or "homeland security," walling off our Southern border, giving the government free rein to surveill its citizens without meaningful oversight and shielding the elite economic class from paying its fair share of taxes.

They both want to make our health care system more profitable for the profit makers and to hell with any citizens' rights to affordable, accessible, quality health care. They both are for inserting the government into the process of women making personal health care decisions with their doctors. They both believe that GLBT citizens should be denied equal rights under the law. And they both claim to detest government spending except when it happens in New Mexico.

For the most part, Heather and Steve content themselves with trying to out-butch one another's claims to be willing and able to get more defense and lab funds than their opponent, regardless of what they are used for. Yes, if we can only cement the labs' hold on the past and deflect the juggernaut that's pushing for a change in mission to renewable energy and other green technology research, all will be well in New Mexico. I guess that's why they call themsleve "conservatives," as in trying to keep the power and money where it currently resides rather than opening things up to a future that requires innovation and thinking out of the box. They are both in the box and are dedicated to keeping the narrative inside that well-defined, virtual prison of stale and greed-based thinking. I can't wait until one them has to face Tom Udall.

Technorati Tags:

Quote of the Day: Huckabee Jokes About Gun Aimed at Obama

I wish I were kidding, but I'm not. Not that this is something to kid about anyway, given the toxic nature of too many right-wing extremists stirred up by the likes of smiley Huckabee and his ilk. I guess nothing's off limits in the prez campaign now that Bush himself has compared Obama and the Dems to Nazi appeasers while speaking to the Knesset in Israel.

From the CNN Political Ticker:

During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain — joked that an unexpected offstage noise was Democrat Barack Obama looking to avoid a gunman.

“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak,” said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. “Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.”

Technorati Tags: , , ,

NM-01: Heinrich to Live Blog at Firedoglake This Saturday

Coming Soon: Bush in Albuquerque

Dem NM-01 candidate Martin Heinrich will be live blogging at the prominent national blog Firedoglake this Saturday, May 17, at Noon MDT. He'll be highlighting the fact that George Bush himself will be visiting the District on May 27th to raise big chunks of money for Martin's likely Repub opponent, Darren White, and the New Mexico GOP.

White clearly wants to take advantage of Bush's still formidable fundraising abilities within elite circles of the GOP by sneaking in a visit from Mr. Campaign Toxicity early on, so people will forget he was ever here when Fall rolls around. White's already been making noises about how "independent" he is from the disastrous Bush agenda, but this fundraising visit says otherwise. The man who chaired Bush's 2004 campaign in Bernalillo County is still close to Bush no matter what he tries to say to the contrary.

So what can we do to help offset the corrosive effects of GOP big donor money being sucked into the wrong side of the NM-01 race by a visit from the most consistently unpopular president in modern times? Visit Firedoglake this Saturday and join in the brainstorming, for starters.

If there's one thing I know about this election cycle it's that progressives nationwide will be working together to elect Dems with integrity up and down the ticket everywhere we can. Get in on the ground floor of the networking this Saturday at FDL.

The Blue America '08 page on ActBlue, supported by Firedoglake, Crooks & Liars, Digby and Down With Tyranny, has so far raised more than $327,000 for Dem candidates, including over $2,800 for Heinrich's campaign.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , ,

NM-Sen: New Ethical Questions Raised About Steve Pearce

The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund just released the following statement, responding to a story in Roll Call (subscription only) that raises serious questions about the ethics of Rep. Steve Pearce. Pearce (NM-02) is running against Rep. Heather Wilson (NM-01) for the Repub nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici.

Albuquerque, N.M – New details of a business transaction between Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) and Key Energy Services have today been exposed by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, shining a light on some questionable ethical behavior on the Congressman’s part and raising some serious questions Pearce needs to answer as he campaigns for Senate.

The article reveals that in 2003 Pearce was entrusted to chair a House natural gas task force, which on August 18, heard the testimony of a Key Energy Services executive. Just six weeks later, Key Energy Services bought Pearce’s oil company, Lea Fishing Tools Inc., for more than twice the amount Pearce had valued it on his financial disclosure forms.

“Pearce has been caught in a glaring and inexcusable conflict of interest”, said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. “There is no way a member of Congress should have been chairing a congressional task force and taking testimony from officials of a corporation that was in the process of buying his company.”

Rep. Pearce sits on the House Natural Resources Committee which has huge regulatory authority over the oil and gas industry.  Key Energy Services had begun the purchase of Pearce’s company in January 2003 and, therefore, knew they were buying a company from a member of Congress who sat on that committee. Pearce ultimately sold his company for $12 million but only $5.2 million was ever disclosed.

“The entire point of financial disclosure forms is to shine a light on exactly these kinds of potential conflicts of interest,” continued Schlickeisen. “Whatever loopholes in House ethics rules Pearce may have exploited, it is clearly in the public interest that he disclose the full details of this transaction and we call on him to do so.”

“These are significant ethical questions that the people of New Mexico deserve answers to if Pearce is to ask for their vote,” added Schlickeisen.  “We’ve seen too much corruption on Capitol Hill in recent years; the people of New Mexico want and deserve something different.”

Questions about Pearce's ethics in relation to the purchase of Lea Fishing Tools by Key Energy were raised last September by the nonpartisan group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). See my previous post. CREW ranked Pearce as one of the top 22 most corrupt members of Congress.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , ,