The Nut: Richardson won’t be Obama’s Commerce Secretary because of a scandal that won’t quiet down quickly enough. It shouldn’t cripple him politically forever, but it has blocked his present ascension. The Albuquerque Mayor’s race has begun with Michael Cadigan, Richard Romero and Debbie O’Malley jumping into the fray. And finally, we’ll tell you what you’ll learn over the next year or two.
Why Richardson will not be Commerce Secretary
Whatever happened to being able to just take a nice trip to L.A., and seeing the Lakers and some old friends? Who invites the Feds along?
If you’re a Governor of a tiny state that solves international crises and saves hostages, you should at least be more suspicious than others. Campaign contributions from CDR Financial Products higher-ups and a contract CDR won from the New Mexico Finance Authority have a federal grand jury making sure everything was in order and no one got any special treatment due to a $100,000 donation to Richardson’s Hispanic and Native American voter registration campaign Moving America Forward. Let’s briefly go through the full situation and assess the likelihood of it moving forward, why he will not be Secretary of Commerce and what his future should hold for him.
The withdrawal of his nomination is the simplest part of the whole mess. The process of this grand jury will take at least a couple more months. With Blagojevich blowing up an enormous mess in Illinois and people already being up in arms about pay-to-play politics (pay-to-play: I’ll give you a big campaign contribution, if you give me a good job/state contract/political appointment/etc.), Richardson is a victim of circumstance at the very least.
As Commerce Secretary, he would have been at the forefront of the $1T bailout. Just imagine the outcry of Limbaugh and Hannity screaming “you’ve got this shady career politician that’s under investigation for pay-to-play politics and he’s the one that’s deciding where ONE-TRILLION-DOLLARS (cue spooky sound effect) of my hard earned tax money is going! We’re getting ripped off . . .”
Obama needs cabinet members ready to help his proposals pass without being mired in traditional political scandals. Obama has no time to sit and wait for an instrumental position for economic development to be confirmed. Maybe if Richardson would have been selected for the post he deserved – Secretary of State – he wouldn’t have anything to worry about . . . Pay-to-play politics are just everywhere! In New York, Hillary Clinton is getting checked for the very same thing as Richardson: nytimes.com/2009/01/04/washington/04clinton.html
But she’s just going to run foreign policy, so what does he pay-to-play deals from her time in the senate have to do with her negotiations with leaders around the world? We’ll get into the conflicts of interest raised by the real Clinton’s foundation donor list and the nations they lead some other time.
Ok . . . but he’s still guilty, right?
The Governor has a pretty well rounded case thus far and the grand jury isn’t even looking at him yet . . . they’re just talking about the most powerful names that have surrounded him over the last six years. So here’s the full history of Big Bill and CDR Financial Services.
David Rubin, President of CDR Financial Services, helped out a couple of Richardson’s efforts in 2003 and 2004. He and his company gave $100,000 to various Richardson campaigns and also footed the bill for Bill and his crew to attend the 2004 national convention. At the same time, CDR was bidding on a contract with the state of New Mexico and won a job worth $1.6 billion to the state and $1.5 million to CDR in business. CDR won the bidding process for re-negotiating interest rate swaps for the state (you have fun figuring out how the hell those things work on your own and email me the answer).
The other half of the contract dealing with investments went to a joint venture of Salomen Smith Barney and Ryan Labs. The joint grow earned the highest score overall with CDR earning the second best of the six firms that bid on the contracts. They tied on the section involving interest rate swaps for the best bid and were awarded the contract.
Now we face the tricky part of sorting through how CDR’s bid earned their high marks – were those results cooked by an influenced finance authority? Did Bill send Dave Contarino (chief of staff at the time and manager of the campaign for President) with orders to give to the NM Finance Authority? Was Mike Stratton (close associate of Richardson’s and heavy-hitting politico) hired by CDR because that he could secure the contract with the state? Is it all simply mere coincidence and due to the incestuous nature of New Mexican politics? This is what the grand jury is trying to figure out.
Romero, Cadigan, O’Malley and someone else
Meanwhile, in Albuquerque, the town’s biggest political names and making maneuvers in preparation for a bid at the Mayor’s office in 2009. Liberal north valley city councilor Debbie O’Malley has thrown her hat into the ring to block Mayor Marty’s vie at an unprecedented, previously-unconstitutional third consecutive term. Moderate west side councilor Michael Cadigan thinks he would be best fit to not only end Marty’s reign at the only office he can win but also replace he poor conservative governance with more backward proposals. And former state senate president and two time candidate for congress Richard Romero would like to resurrect his political career at the behest of Marty (now that’s a career in Albuquerque politics – take down south valley boss Manny Aragon AND mayor-for-life Chavez) Oh yea, and Marty wants four more years so he can qualify for the city’s retirement plan.
The good news for Albuquerque voters is that the race shouldn’t bother them nearly to the degree of last year’s campaigns because of the new city finance law. Candidates are much more restricted from accepting any money from contractors doing business with the state or much of any kind of business. There will probably be a few groups that form outside of the official campaigns that run third party ads, but not nearly to the degree of 2008. So relax and look forward to laughing at Marty as he defends his red light cameras.
What 2009 and the future will hold
It wouldn’t be the beginning of a new year without an attempt to see what lies ahead. Here are a few things you should be able to count on in the next year or two.
NM will be better sheltered from the recession because all 5 members of congress are Democrats working in the majority caucus in good connection. Their freshman status (excluding Bingaman) will surely drag their abilities down a bit, but they will treat us better than if the Albuquerque and southern congressional districts would have stayed Republican.
Richardson will have plenty of headlines during the legislature about his terrible relationship with the Senate. The budget will be a horrible point of contention due to the drastic shortfall in revenues and the battle for capital outlay money will bring the legislature and the Governor’s office to blows.
Political observers will do their best to create drama in the Governor’s race, but the closer election day comes, the more obvious it should be that Diane Denish will be New Mexico’s first female Governor. Sorry Heather, we just don’t like cry babies.
According to Ben Simon, Israel will stop beating up Gaza before Obama is initiated. Another week and a half of bombing? That sounds about right for Israel.
Sarah Palin and Joe the wannabe Plumber will never go away. Alaska’s senate primary could feature the beauty pageant queen against the republican incumbent, Lisa Murkowski. Since being exposed that Joe would qualify for one of Obama’s tax cuts, Joe has been doing everything a normal plumber does – maintain his blog and reporting on the Israeli-Gaza fight. Their love-child is sure to be on the way.
Showing posts with label Bill Richardson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Richardson. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Real Action, VP Rice and the Best of the Best
The Big Nut:
Presidential candidates and part time Senators Barack Obama and John McCain will also take the campaign through their real office and grill Gen. Petreaus on the war in Iraq. Previous candidates Sen. Clinton, Dodd and Biden will be asking the truly incisive questions the candidates couldn’t touch. The GOP is testing Condo Rice’s name as a potential VP candidate for McCain. The Alibi recognized how truly superb Barack Out With My Cock Out’s coverage is and I, Ron Domino, would like to thank the voters, the readers and the editors for their kind words.
Real action! Senators set to bash Petraeus.
When was the last time you tuned in to see what the candidates were talking about and you found them actually atop capitol hill, doing their job? Tuesday and Wednesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Armed Forces Committee will check up on the progress in Iraq as Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker stop by for a Q & A.
While little policy will be established, the contrasting rhetoric of Obama and Biden (D-Del) compared to McCain and Jim Demint (R-SC) should set the stage for a good debate on the direction of the war. Barack will need to be especially careful to demonstrate a strong command of the issue to reaffirm his readiness to hold the office of the Presidency. McCain could dig himself a deep hole if he takes too hawkish of an approach and puts himself on the record for a lot of quotes of him supporting nothing but a continuation of the war. Keep in mind: the General and Ambassador may be the honored guests, but that won’t stop the senators or congressmen from wasting most of the time listening to themselves preach their thoughts on the war.
Finally you have a reason to figure out what channel CSPAN2 is. For those of you burdened with the hassle of receiving your cable from Comcast, its number 26.
VP Rice?
After the Republican Party fielded 12 pale, white Christian men for candidates for President, they’re looking to get in on the Democrat’s progressive ways with their Vice Presidential choice. They have seen the problems one can encounter when choosing between a black man and a woman and decided to just go for it all. Enter, Condoleezza “Condo” Rice.
First, let us be clear that her nickname is not “Condi.” Where do you see an “i” in Condoleezza? If you would like to save the trouble of those last two syllables, don’t go cherry picking letters for the half of her name you decide to pronounce. Its “Condo” the gruff bulldog that has butchered our foreign policy under Bush’s watch, not “Condi” the smart, adorable (in comparison to other cabinet officials such as Ashcroft or Rumsfeld) woman that appears in interviews with Barbara Walters.
What do you think? Do you like the progress she has achieved in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis? How about her ability to assist the new Iraqi Parliament in forming a working government? Middle East isn’t your favorite place, ok, what do you think of her dealings with Hugo Chavez and her ability to keep the northern region of South America from going to war?
If you appreciate her work in these areas as well as her ability to smile longingly while looking President Bush in the eyes, then McCain-Condo is probably your dream ticket. For those that are tired of having OPEC raise the price of oil as they sight “escalating tensions in the Levant/Iraq/Columbia/Mars” you might want to encourage McCain to seek out someone with a little better experience in negotiating with people that hate you. . . maybe someone like the last major political figure to visit Columbia on a diplomatic mission. Too bad Richardson endorsed McCain’s opposition--Obama.
Journalistic Excellence
The Pulitzer prizes have been doled out, again. Barack Out With My Cock Out can settle for the local accolades for the first month of work.
Presidential candidates and part time Senators Barack Obama and John McCain will also take the campaign through their real office and grill Gen. Petreaus on the war in Iraq. Previous candidates Sen. Clinton, Dodd and Biden will be asking the truly incisive questions the candidates couldn’t touch. The GOP is testing Condo Rice’s name as a potential VP candidate for McCain. The Alibi recognized how truly superb Barack Out With My Cock Out’s coverage is and I, Ron Domino, would like to thank the voters, the readers and the editors for their kind words.
Real action! Senators set to bash Petraeus.
When was the last time you tuned in to see what the candidates were talking about and you found them actually atop capitol hill, doing their job? Tuesday and Wednesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Armed Forces Committee will check up on the progress in Iraq as Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker stop by for a Q & A.
While little policy will be established, the contrasting rhetoric of Obama and Biden (D-Del) compared to McCain and Jim Demint (R-SC) should set the stage for a good debate on the direction of the war. Barack will need to be especially careful to demonstrate a strong command of the issue to reaffirm his readiness to hold the office of the Presidency. McCain could dig himself a deep hole if he takes too hawkish of an approach and puts himself on the record for a lot of quotes of him supporting nothing but a continuation of the war. Keep in mind: the General and Ambassador may be the honored guests, but that won’t stop the senators or congressmen from wasting most of the time listening to themselves preach their thoughts on the war.
Finally you have a reason to figure out what channel CSPAN2 is. For those of you burdened with the hassle of receiving your cable from Comcast, its number 26.
VP Rice?
After the Republican Party fielded 12 pale, white Christian men for candidates for President, they’re looking to get in on the Democrat’s progressive ways with their Vice Presidential choice. They have seen the problems one can encounter when choosing between a black man and a woman and decided to just go for it all. Enter, Condoleezza “Condo” Rice.
First, let us be clear that her nickname is not “Condi.” Where do you see an “i” in Condoleezza? If you would like to save the trouble of those last two syllables, don’t go cherry picking letters for the half of her name you decide to pronounce. Its “Condo” the gruff bulldog that has butchered our foreign policy under Bush’s watch, not “Condi” the smart, adorable (in comparison to other cabinet officials such as Ashcroft or Rumsfeld) woman that appears in interviews with Barbara Walters.
What do you think? Do you like the progress she has achieved in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis? How about her ability to assist the new Iraqi Parliament in forming a working government? Middle East isn’t your favorite place, ok, what do you think of her dealings with Hugo Chavez and her ability to keep the northern region of South America from going to war?
If you appreciate her work in these areas as well as her ability to smile longingly while looking President Bush in the eyes, then McCain-Condo is probably your dream ticket. For those that are tired of having OPEC raise the price of oil as they sight “escalating tensions in the Levant/Iraq/Columbia/Mars” you might want to encourage McCain to seek out someone with a little better experience in negotiating with people that hate you. . . maybe someone like the last major political figure to visit Columbia on a diplomatic mission. Too bad Richardson endorsed McCain’s opposition--Obama.
Journalistic Excellence
The Pulitzer prizes have been doled out, again. Barack Out With My Cock Out can settle for the local accolades for the first month of work.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Backward Lobbying and Big Bill's Big Endorsement
The Nut:
Instead of politicians receiving plush treatment from lobbyists, both Republicans and Democrats have been accused of trying to buy votes at primary conventions. The newest development is accusations against Don Wiviott and Ben Ray Lujan – candidates for congress in northern New Mexico – that they purchased hotel rooms and food for their delegates. Not nearly as serious as the allegations by former governor, Dave Cargo, that Heather Wilson and Darren White paid delegates $35 per hour and covered their $30 registration fee. Bill Richardson tried to bury his endorsement of Barack Obama over Easter Weekend. He echoes the call for Clinton to end her campaign for the sake of party unity. Clinton supporter and politico James Carville remembered the holiday season as he attacked the move comparing Richardson’s support to Judas selling out. . . hooray for James’ clever attempt at smearing Big Bill. There’s no negative campaigning going on here.
Lobbying gone backwards
First, Heather Wilson and Darren White’s campaigns were accused of paying delegates to the Republican Bernalillo County Pre-Primary convention. Now, after the Democrats have held their statewide Pre-Primary Convention, congressional candidates are again being accused of being a little overly kind to its supporting delegates.
Don Wiviott and Ben Ray Lujan – the two leading candidates for Northern New Mexico’s congressional seat – are both taking hits for being too overly funded and for dispersing their campaigns’ funds in possibly illegal manners. Lujan was blasted for purchasing delegates food at the convention, as well as utilizing fancy headsets to communicate with staffers at the convention. Wiviott has admitted to paying for hotel rooms in Rio Rancho for delegates who came in from around the state.
This story has not attracted much attention yet because it very routine to provide food to convention delegates. This year’s convention was actually slightly unusual in that the Santa Ana Star Center did not allow campaigns to bring in the normal lavish spreads that they traditionally lay out. It is a normal tradition for campaigns to bring bottles of water and any other kind of food or comforting item for delegates to help them survive the afternoon of speeches.
Purchasing hotel rooms is not as traditional, nor as nominal. When campaigns shower delegates with food, they may give them up to $10 worth of grub. . . its doubtful they got such a good deal on the hotel rooms. Go have your own debate on how much money a delegate’s vote is worth. Consider this though. If a campaign is going to pay for a person to stay the night in a hotel so they can attend a convention the next day, do you think they would purchase a room for just anyone or would they only foot the bill for guaranteed supporters?
All of these allegations pale in comparison to the charges against Wilson and White that they paid delegates $35 per hour and covered the $30 registration fee for them to attend the Bernalillo Pre-Primary Convention. While the hotel rooms are of the same monetary value, the direct payment to a person for their vote is nothing similar to identifying a supporter and then providing them with a means to attend the convention. . . none of the Republicans at the Bernalillo convention incurred $70 in expenses as they attended.
If you’re upset about this story, you’d better get on the phone to Gary King. The Attorney General’s office has already said it would not investigate any of the allegations.
Big Bill’s big support of Obama
How do you make big news, quieter news? Religious holidays! In the first hours of Good Friday Bill Richardson sent his supporters his endorsement of Barack Obama. As a holiday weekend campaigns normally avoid working on approached, Richardson attempted to make the normal rounds that such a big endorsement brings in as quiet a manner as possible.
Barack Out With My Cock Out has discussed how Richardson was stuck between endorsing the family that made his career – the Clintons – or being accused of betraying them and endorsing the man that will have a job to offer him at the end of it all. Richardson recognized that the primary race is decided and that there is no longer any risk in publicly stating his support so he did just that. He still didn’t want to make it any bigger of a deal than necessary. So on Friday of a week that campaigns forbid their staffs from annoying voters, Richardson came out with his opinion.
He tried to bury the reports of his support because he knew he would become the punching bag for attacks against Obama. He also saw the charges of traitor coming. As soon as he weighed in, James Carville, another surrogate supporter of Hillary Clinton retorted by comparing Richardson’s support of Obama to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. Expect CNN and MSNBC to spend the next day fighting over which side wins this trade of blows. Also expect them to say that it goes Obama’s way.
Richardson’s support has been labeled as a way to curry support with Hispanics, but you should not expect too many people to come aboard simply because of the endorsement. However, if played properly, the back and forth during the announcement should win Obama a point or two. The shift in support isn’t from Richardson’s endorsement, its from voters seeing people like Carville making heartless attacks against Richardson. Bill is also helped to shift the focus from Rev. Wright and onto Richardson’s decision to leave behind the pattern of Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton in favor of that intangible sparkle of hope. With it being a weekend that normally takes people away from the news, it will significantly help Obama avoid losing support.
If there are people that will support Obama directly because of Richardson’s endorsement, expect anti-war advocates, moderates and very active Democrats that are still on the fence to follow Big Bill’s lead. Richardson caught voters’ attention by taking the most aggressive stance on ending the war. He also won his support from moderate Democrats and many Republicans, as well.
His presidential bid fizzled when voters showed that they wanted a new leader that did not come from the traditional circles of power. His supporters saw his unmatched foreign policy experience, record of cutting taxes and creating jobs and came to his side because of his ability to site accomplishments for any constituency. While they may be few and far between, there are plenty of well-read politickers that know of New Mexico’s Governor and his long career of public service.
More articles to read:
Obama has reclaimed lead in national preference poll:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/105529/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Edges-Ahead-Clinton.aspx
How to conduct a proper political scandal:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/03/23/foreman.scandal.etiquette.cnn
Obama fighting back:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/21/obama-camp-says-clinton-deeply-flawed/
NYTimes highlights McCain’s political infidelities:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/us/politics/24mccain.html?hp
Instead of politicians receiving plush treatment from lobbyists, both Republicans and Democrats have been accused of trying to buy votes at primary conventions. The newest development is accusations against Don Wiviott and Ben Ray Lujan – candidates for congress in northern New Mexico – that they purchased hotel rooms and food for their delegates. Not nearly as serious as the allegations by former governor, Dave Cargo, that Heather Wilson and Darren White paid delegates $35 per hour and covered their $30 registration fee. Bill Richardson tried to bury his endorsement of Barack Obama over Easter Weekend. He echoes the call for Clinton to end her campaign for the sake of party unity. Clinton supporter and politico James Carville remembered the holiday season as he attacked the move comparing Richardson’s support to Judas selling out. . . hooray for James’ clever attempt at smearing Big Bill. There’s no negative campaigning going on here.
Lobbying gone backwards
First, Heather Wilson and Darren White’s campaigns were accused of paying delegates to the Republican Bernalillo County Pre-Primary convention. Now, after the Democrats have held their statewide Pre-Primary Convention, congressional candidates are again being accused of being a little overly kind to its supporting delegates.
Don Wiviott and Ben Ray Lujan – the two leading candidates for Northern New Mexico’s congressional seat – are both taking hits for being too overly funded and for dispersing their campaigns’ funds in possibly illegal manners. Lujan was blasted for purchasing delegates food at the convention, as well as utilizing fancy headsets to communicate with staffers at the convention. Wiviott has admitted to paying for hotel rooms in Rio Rancho for delegates who came in from around the state.
This story has not attracted much attention yet because it very routine to provide food to convention delegates. This year’s convention was actually slightly unusual in that the Santa Ana Star Center did not allow campaigns to bring in the normal lavish spreads that they traditionally lay out. It is a normal tradition for campaigns to bring bottles of water and any other kind of food or comforting item for delegates to help them survive the afternoon of speeches.
Purchasing hotel rooms is not as traditional, nor as nominal. When campaigns shower delegates with food, they may give them up to $10 worth of grub. . . its doubtful they got such a good deal on the hotel rooms. Go have your own debate on how much money a delegate’s vote is worth. Consider this though. If a campaign is going to pay for a person to stay the night in a hotel so they can attend a convention the next day, do you think they would purchase a room for just anyone or would they only foot the bill for guaranteed supporters?
All of these allegations pale in comparison to the charges against Wilson and White that they paid delegates $35 per hour and covered the $30 registration fee for them to attend the Bernalillo Pre-Primary Convention. While the hotel rooms are of the same monetary value, the direct payment to a person for their vote is nothing similar to identifying a supporter and then providing them with a means to attend the convention. . . none of the Republicans at the Bernalillo convention incurred $70 in expenses as they attended.
If you’re upset about this story, you’d better get on the phone to Gary King. The Attorney General’s office has already said it would not investigate any of the allegations.
Big Bill’s big support of Obama
How do you make big news, quieter news? Religious holidays! In the first hours of Good Friday Bill Richardson sent his supporters his endorsement of Barack Obama. As a holiday weekend campaigns normally avoid working on approached, Richardson attempted to make the normal rounds that such a big endorsement brings in as quiet a manner as possible.
Barack Out With My Cock Out has discussed how Richardson was stuck between endorsing the family that made his career – the Clintons – or being accused of betraying them and endorsing the man that will have a job to offer him at the end of it all. Richardson recognized that the primary race is decided and that there is no longer any risk in publicly stating his support so he did just that. He still didn’t want to make it any bigger of a deal than necessary. So on Friday of a week that campaigns forbid their staffs from annoying voters, Richardson came out with his opinion.
He tried to bury the reports of his support because he knew he would become the punching bag for attacks against Obama. He also saw the charges of traitor coming. As soon as he weighed in, James Carville, another surrogate supporter of Hillary Clinton retorted by comparing Richardson’s support of Obama to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. Expect CNN and MSNBC to spend the next day fighting over which side wins this trade of blows. Also expect them to say that it goes Obama’s way.
Richardson’s support has been labeled as a way to curry support with Hispanics, but you should not expect too many people to come aboard simply because of the endorsement. However, if played properly, the back and forth during the announcement should win Obama a point or two. The shift in support isn’t from Richardson’s endorsement, its from voters seeing people like Carville making heartless attacks against Richardson. Bill is also helped to shift the focus from Rev. Wright and onto Richardson’s decision to leave behind the pattern of Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton in favor of that intangible sparkle of hope. With it being a weekend that normally takes people away from the news, it will significantly help Obama avoid losing support.
If there are people that will support Obama directly because of Richardson’s endorsement, expect anti-war advocates, moderates and very active Democrats that are still on the fence to follow Big Bill’s lead. Richardson caught voters’ attention by taking the most aggressive stance on ending the war. He also won his support from moderate Democrats and many Republicans, as well.
His presidential bid fizzled when voters showed that they wanted a new leader that did not come from the traditional circles of power. His supporters saw his unmatched foreign policy experience, record of cutting taxes and creating jobs and came to his side because of his ability to site accomplishments for any constituency. While they may be few and far between, there are plenty of well-read politickers that know of New Mexico’s Governor and his long career of public service.
More articles to read:
Obama has reclaimed lead in national preference poll:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/105529/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Edges-Ahead-Clinton.aspx
How to conduct a proper political scandal:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/03/23/foreman.scandal.etiquette.cnn
Obama fighting back:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/21/obama-camp-says-clinton-deeply-flawed/
NYTimes highlights McCain’s political infidelities:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/us/politics/24mccain.html?hp
Friday, March 7, 2008
Fools and 4th Degree Felonies
New Mexico Catch-Up Day
Too much has transpired in New Mexican politics this week. Let’s briefly go through the happenings of the state. The Governor made his final decision regarding the Red Light Cameras. Republicans have been caught stealing again. Congressional campaigns get ugly in all three districts and more and more and more.
Fool me once. . .
When you fool the Governor, you can’t fool him again. And if you try to, he’ll make you cry. After a year of promises of “don’t worry, we’ll take care of that,” Governor Richardson relieved Mayor Marty of his worries and took care of the excessively punitive Red Light Camera program.
“While I appreciate the Mayor’s concerns and the city’s last-minute effort to compromise, I believe the Legislature spoke loud and clear when it overwhelmingly passed this bill for the second straight year,” Big Bill explained as the state reclaimed lost revenue and lowered the fines for irresponsible motorists.
This can’t be the very end of Marty’s hit and miss political career. Will he re-re-kindle his dream of ruling the state from the fourth floor or has he tired of being everyone’s least favorite Democrat? We will be the first to bring you news of his next pet project designed to restore voters’ faith in him and reenergize his chances of being showered in enough votes to sit in another elected office.
4th degree felony allegations against Wilson and White
Usually parties try to keep their intra-party politics quiet and within the party. The Republican Party of New Mexico is working as hard as they can to keep the events of the Bernalillo County Pre-Primary Convention hushed. Unfortunately for Heather Wilson and Darren White, word is out about a scheme to pay delegates $35 per hour as well a cover the $30 registration fee.
First, a tip of the hat goes to the newly discovered political coverage of Dennis Domrzalski. Dennis has the connections and knowledge of Joe Monahan with a few expletives and honest critiques of the idiots we all assess each day. Check him out.
Also, before we discuss the felony charges, let’s highlight the desperation of RPNM. Democrats of New Mexico do not charge you to attend their convention to voice your opinion on candidates for office. Its sad to see a party be forced to charge people at the door in order to balance their books. Passing the hat is typical of ward and county level conventions, but still, no one drops $30 bills in.
Back to the business, Heather Wilson and Darren White stole a play from the Iowa Republican Presidential Straw poll last weekend. In Iowa, the state Republican Party runs a straw poll in the beginning of the primary season as a fundraiser for the party. Since there is no true significance of it, voters have to be bribed all the way around in order to win their vote. The entrance fee is paid (again, what's with the automatic charge?) and the campaigns spend copious amounts of money wining and dining their supportive voters.
So why can’t Heather Wilson and Darren White -- candidates for Senator and House, respectively -- do that too? Because it’s a fourth degree felony. . . and a pathetic sign of desperation. Heather is losing ground to southern NM congressman Steve Pearce in a race that was hers to lose. Why Darren White felt vulnerable enough to go along with the ploy is probably explained by his close ties to Wilson. Heather obtained her house seat thanks to Senator Domenici. In turn, as Heather departs to seek Domenici’s old seat, she is anointing White the heir to the Albuquerque House seat. And while White is in the clear in his primary campaign, he still owes support to Wilson and her illegal ideas.
Former Governor Dave Cargo leveled the accusations against the two campaigns. When he asked for their names and how they would like to get involved with the party, they told him directly that they would not be attending anything in the future, that they were paid to be at that meeting to cast a vote for Wilson and White and to go on their way. He saw 50+ people show up at a meeting that he usually expects less than a dozen and didn’t recognize any of them as normal activists.
Wilson’s campaign spokesperson Whitney Cheshire, author of the abandoned attack dog blog Wednesday Morning Quarterback, has denied the charges up and down and points the finger at an embittered Cargo that did not get elected as a delegate.
Self-Proclaimed “News Leader” 770 KKOB
Albuquerque lost a prominent political reporter through this scandal. Laura McCallum tried to adhere to 770’s moto as the “News Leader” of New Mexico as she broke the story. But Pat Frisch, Jim Villanuci, Pat Allen and all of the other RPNM apologists running the strongly conservative news station yanked the story claiming it had not be corroborated by enough blogs and other news agencies.
Add barackout to the list of sources crying foul and demanding a full inquiry into the allegations. Sloughing off the responsibility of hard-hitting reporting on to the backs of all of the other worthless television and print news outlets of the town is a pathetic excuse for a political bias. Take away their title of News Leader. Their ties to the Republican Party are as strong as the signal that reaches almost to Denver. Simply because they have the strongest signal in the state does not mean they have real reporting or information to provide to New Mexicans.
What about finding a balance? Clear Channel has been accused of not entertaining any idea of hosting a local drive time show on liberally inclined 1350 Air America. Why would they want to invest all of the money that goes into conducting comprehensive coverage any way?
Laura McCallum deserves multiple awards for her firm stance in defense of real, unbiased, uninhibited coverage of the news. None of the news stations or papers have covered this story in the least. Hopefully the gatekeepers will explore what transpired at the Bernalillo County Convention and not follow Pat Allen’s lead.
Best New Law
Before everyone pencils in SB 442 for “best new law” in the Best of Burque Survey, there are many, many more laws on the books. For those that believe politicians do nothing, time would be wisely invested reading through the lists of new legislation that will govern our state. You might even find a tax break in there for yourself! And as you're filing out your Best of Burque, don't forget to give a nod to barackout and its new angle on New Mexico politics.
It’s a gorgeous Friday. We’ll get to Wiviott’s big bucks and the tame commercials that they purchased on Monday. Get off the couch you bum!
Too much has transpired in New Mexican politics this week. Let’s briefly go through the happenings of the state. The Governor made his final decision regarding the Red Light Cameras. Republicans have been caught stealing again. Congressional campaigns get ugly in all three districts and more and more and more.
Fool me once. . .
When you fool the Governor, you can’t fool him again. And if you try to, he’ll make you cry. After a year of promises of “don’t worry, we’ll take care of that,” Governor Richardson relieved Mayor Marty of his worries and took care of the excessively punitive Red Light Camera program.
“While I appreciate the Mayor’s concerns and the city’s last-minute effort to compromise, I believe the Legislature spoke loud and clear when it overwhelmingly passed this bill for the second straight year,” Big Bill explained as the state reclaimed lost revenue and lowered the fines for irresponsible motorists.
This can’t be the very end of Marty’s hit and miss political career. Will he re-re-kindle his dream of ruling the state from the fourth floor or has he tired of being everyone’s least favorite Democrat? We will be the first to bring you news of his next pet project designed to restore voters’ faith in him and reenergize his chances of being showered in enough votes to sit in another elected office.
4th degree felony allegations against Wilson and White
Usually parties try to keep their intra-party politics quiet and within the party. The Republican Party of New Mexico is working as hard as they can to keep the events of the Bernalillo County Pre-Primary Convention hushed. Unfortunately for Heather Wilson and Darren White, word is out about a scheme to pay delegates $35 per hour as well a cover the $30 registration fee.
First, a tip of the hat goes to the newly discovered political coverage of Dennis Domrzalski. Dennis has the connections and knowledge of Joe Monahan with a few expletives and honest critiques of the idiots we all assess each day. Check him out.
Also, before we discuss the felony charges, let’s highlight the desperation of RPNM. Democrats of New Mexico do not charge you to attend their convention to voice your opinion on candidates for office. Its sad to see a party be forced to charge people at the door in order to balance their books. Passing the hat is typical of ward and county level conventions, but still, no one drops $30 bills in.
Back to the business, Heather Wilson and Darren White stole a play from the Iowa Republican Presidential Straw poll last weekend. In Iowa, the state Republican Party runs a straw poll in the beginning of the primary season as a fundraiser for the party. Since there is no true significance of it, voters have to be bribed all the way around in order to win their vote. The entrance fee is paid (again, what's with the automatic charge?) and the campaigns spend copious amounts of money wining and dining their supportive voters.
So why can’t Heather Wilson and Darren White -- candidates for Senator and House, respectively -- do that too? Because it’s a fourth degree felony. . . and a pathetic sign of desperation. Heather is losing ground to southern NM congressman Steve Pearce in a race that was hers to lose. Why Darren White felt vulnerable enough to go along with the ploy is probably explained by his close ties to Wilson. Heather obtained her house seat thanks to Senator Domenici. In turn, as Heather departs to seek Domenici’s old seat, she is anointing White the heir to the Albuquerque House seat. And while White is in the clear in his primary campaign, he still owes support to Wilson and her illegal ideas.
Former Governor Dave Cargo leveled the accusations against the two campaigns. When he asked for their names and how they would like to get involved with the party, they told him directly that they would not be attending anything in the future, that they were paid to be at that meeting to cast a vote for Wilson and White and to go on their way. He saw 50+ people show up at a meeting that he usually expects less than a dozen and didn’t recognize any of them as normal activists.
Wilson’s campaign spokesperson Whitney Cheshire, author of the abandoned attack dog blog Wednesday Morning Quarterback, has denied the charges up and down and points the finger at an embittered Cargo that did not get elected as a delegate.
Self-Proclaimed “News Leader” 770 KKOB
Albuquerque lost a prominent political reporter through this scandal. Laura McCallum tried to adhere to 770’s moto as the “News Leader” of New Mexico as she broke the story. But Pat Frisch, Jim Villanuci, Pat Allen and all of the other RPNM apologists running the strongly conservative news station yanked the story claiming it had not be corroborated by enough blogs and other news agencies.
Add barackout to the list of sources crying foul and demanding a full inquiry into the allegations. Sloughing off the responsibility of hard-hitting reporting on to the backs of all of the other worthless television and print news outlets of the town is a pathetic excuse for a political bias. Take away their title of News Leader. Their ties to the Republican Party are as strong as the signal that reaches almost to Denver. Simply because they have the strongest signal in the state does not mean they have real reporting or information to provide to New Mexicans.
What about finding a balance? Clear Channel has been accused of not entertaining any idea of hosting a local drive time show on liberally inclined 1350 Air America. Why would they want to invest all of the money that goes into conducting comprehensive coverage any way?
Laura McCallum deserves multiple awards for her firm stance in defense of real, unbiased, uninhibited coverage of the news. None of the news stations or papers have covered this story in the least. Hopefully the gatekeepers will explore what transpired at the Bernalillo County Convention and not follow Pat Allen’s lead.
Best New Law
Before everyone pencils in SB 442 for “best new law” in the Best of Burque Survey, there are many, many more laws on the books. For those that believe politicians do nothing, time would be wisely invested reading through the lists of new legislation that will govern our state. You might even find a tax break in there for yourself! And as you're filing out your Best of Burque, don't forget to give a nod to barackout and its new angle on New Mexico politics.
It’s a gorgeous Friday. We’ll get to Wiviott’s big bucks and the tame commercials that they purchased on Monday. Get off the couch you bum!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Hedging and Hugging
Enter the Hedge Maze
Hillary Clinton’s media and political departments deserve a day off. The research and polling shops should pay for it. Going in to Tuesday’s primaries, every Clinton spokesperson was spreading the word that it would still be a victory if she were to only lose by a close margin. All of the efforts to lower the bar for her to continue the campaign proved unnecessary as she claimed victory in Ohio, Rhode Island and the Texas primaries. Her campaign had been spreading the word that she would continue on if it were a close race. The added padding has allowed her to continue forward unquestioned. This suggests that it could be an ugly denouement to the foregone conclusion: Barack Obama will win the nomination.
Voters in Vermont’s primary agreed with this and gave him their nod as did Caucus-Goers in Texas’ Second Act. Yes, Texans get to vote twice. If Iowa used the most-least democratic system for awarding its delegates, Texas utilizes the most-least-most democratic system. Moderately interested politickers are able to mail in an absentee ballot or vote in traditional fashion for their preference. Those worried that their vote will not go far enough can return at 7pm and stand in a caucus to demonstrate their support.
Obama’s campaign has enjoyed the grassroots organization that the popular “new” campaign normally receives. He has new voters not just showing up to cast a ballot, but attending rallies and getting truly involved with the election. Thus, he had the sincere supporters to win the more involved election -- the caucuses. This is an important factor to consider for general election time when he looks across the nation to people to do the ground work of winning an election.
Are we there yet?
Not hardly. Tuesday’s elections have provided Clinton with enough momentum to continue her campaign. If she had barely met the expectations of a “close defeat,” she would have felt heavy pressure to bow out and yield to the media darling that has brought out new support across the nation. With wins in two major states, she will demand that the Pennsylvania voters voice their opinion before she makes any move. Dreams of the primary being finished have been crushed.
Many statisticians point to the numbers as her biggest burden. Superdelegates aside, the 100 delegate lead Obama currently has is going to be insurmountable with the Democratic Party’s practice of apportioning delegates. Just as Huckabee was eliminated as he looked forward to winning many upcoming elections, Clinton sits in the same position. She will still win states across the nation, but she cannot cut into Obama’s overall lead.
How this plays for the three remaining contenders will be interesting. Will McCain be forgotten as the media hounds over the confrontation between Obama and Hillary? Will Obama and Clinton tear each other down as they secure the nomination? Will it really go all the way to the convention floor before the nomination is secured? Ok, we can shoot that ridiculous idea down. One of the two will emerge victorious with at least one state still waiting to vote.
McCain Embracing Defeat
Upon being formally crowned the representative of the Grand Ol’ Party, John McCain did what every savvy politician does -- he went to DC and embraced our popular President. Before he could even step out of the limo, Bush was at the door pulling him out to steal the big warm embrace that so many other candidates for public office have dodged. Remember when Bush came to help Sen. Domenici raise money for his legal defense at the Mayor of Los Ranchos’ home? Finished career or not, Pete still kept a few arm lengths between himself and the grim reaper of political careers and kept the cameras at the property’s edge (and then Bush’s motorcade killed a cop). But what does McCain have to lose. "I'd rather lose an election than a war," was McCain's way of rephrasing Huckabee's parting words as he ended his campaign: "I'd rather lose an election than abandon my moral values." I'd rather sit quietly than rip off a day-old phrase.
McCain supported Bush’s unpopular immigration reform. He has been singularly the staunchest supporter of the Iraq War and has no problem seeing troops stay in the region for another century. Maybe he cozied up to Bush to establish his conservative credentials. Maybe at 71, his eyesight couldn’t differentiate the Bush from a bush. When a reporter asked, “who could you benefit most by campaigning for them in the upcoming election” the lame duck squawked “If he wants me there, I’ll be there.” . . . will his phone ever ring?
Who else is coming with me?
Now that he has officially eclipsed the number of delegates needed to earn the nomination, his campaign turns to find some help. Yes, they want your money and will eagerly accept any major or minor credit cards, cash and checks, but they need another person to bring in the money. Running for president is a two man job at the very least and he now gets to survey the party that has, at times, tried to ostracize him and select someone to run along with him.
Names have been floating for months of who will be nominated as the GOP Vice Presidential nominee and shore up worries that McCain is too old, too liberal, too hawkish or too bald. Former Presidential Candidate and Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee’s name has been a popular pick to engender the support of people that vote as their pastor instructs. However, ‘popular’ doesn’t translate to ‘likely.’ Don’t be surprised if you don’t recognize the name of the VP choice. Did you know who Dick Cheney was in 1999?
Other possible names include Condo Rice (there is no “i” in Condoleezza), Rudy Giuliani and Steve Forbes. Safe money is on a pick that hasn’t muddied his name in a yearlong presidential primary race so scratch Rudy and Huckabee from that list. Steven Colbert was at the front of the line of celebrities volunteering their service. Roger Clemens and Chuck Norris have also been offered as suitable good ol’ boys that could round up younger voters that don’t appreciate the 71 years of experience John McCain brings to the table. How about Joe Liberman? The fellow Senators have collaborated on many pieces of legislation and the war support has to give Joe at least a semi.
Fighting Elves
If it wasn’t devastating enough to dash the dreams of Presidential Hopeful Dennis Kucinich before his presidential campaign got off the ground, Ohio Democrats made it more difficult than ever for Kuci to reassume his post in the House. Like our own Governor, he was attacked by his competition for neglecting the home while he trotted the globe pursuing the White House. Most confusing is the campaign of wannabe Congresswoman Rosemary Palmer who ran on an anti-war platform. Wasn’t Kuci the peacenik of all peaceniks?
Hooray for his 50-35 victory and for one more reason to tune in to CSPAN!
Hillary Clinton’s media and political departments deserve a day off. The research and polling shops should pay for it. Going in to Tuesday’s primaries, every Clinton spokesperson was spreading the word that it would still be a victory if she were to only lose by a close margin. All of the efforts to lower the bar for her to continue the campaign proved unnecessary as she claimed victory in Ohio, Rhode Island and the Texas primaries. Her campaign had been spreading the word that she would continue on if it were a close race. The added padding has allowed her to continue forward unquestioned. This suggests that it could be an ugly denouement to the foregone conclusion: Barack Obama will win the nomination.
Voters in Vermont’s primary agreed with this and gave him their nod as did Caucus-Goers in Texas’ Second Act. Yes, Texans get to vote twice. If Iowa used the most-least democratic system for awarding its delegates, Texas utilizes the most-least-most democratic system. Moderately interested politickers are able to mail in an absentee ballot or vote in traditional fashion for their preference. Those worried that their vote will not go far enough can return at 7pm and stand in a caucus to demonstrate their support.
Obama’s campaign has enjoyed the grassroots organization that the popular “new” campaign normally receives. He has new voters not just showing up to cast a ballot, but attending rallies and getting truly involved with the election. Thus, he had the sincere supporters to win the more involved election -- the caucuses. This is an important factor to consider for general election time when he looks across the nation to people to do the ground work of winning an election.
Are we there yet?
Not hardly. Tuesday’s elections have provided Clinton with enough momentum to continue her campaign. If she had barely met the expectations of a “close defeat,” she would have felt heavy pressure to bow out and yield to the media darling that has brought out new support across the nation. With wins in two major states, she will demand that the Pennsylvania voters voice their opinion before she makes any move. Dreams of the primary being finished have been crushed.
Many statisticians point to the numbers as her biggest burden. Superdelegates aside, the 100 delegate lead Obama currently has is going to be insurmountable with the Democratic Party’s practice of apportioning delegates. Just as Huckabee was eliminated as he looked forward to winning many upcoming elections, Clinton sits in the same position. She will still win states across the nation, but she cannot cut into Obama’s overall lead.
How this plays for the three remaining contenders will be interesting. Will McCain be forgotten as the media hounds over the confrontation between Obama and Hillary? Will Obama and Clinton tear each other down as they secure the nomination? Will it really go all the way to the convention floor before the nomination is secured? Ok, we can shoot that ridiculous idea down. One of the two will emerge victorious with at least one state still waiting to vote.
McCain Embracing Defeat
Upon being formally crowned the representative of the Grand Ol’ Party, John McCain did what every savvy politician does -- he went to DC and embraced our popular President. Before he could even step out of the limo, Bush was at the door pulling him out to steal the big warm embrace that so many other candidates for public office have dodged. Remember when Bush came to help Sen. Domenici raise money for his legal defense at the Mayor of Los Ranchos’ home? Finished career or not, Pete still kept a few arm lengths between himself and the grim reaper of political careers and kept the cameras at the property’s edge (and then Bush’s motorcade killed a cop). But what does McCain have to lose. "I'd rather lose an election than a war," was McCain's way of rephrasing Huckabee's parting words as he ended his campaign: "I'd rather lose an election than abandon my moral values." I'd rather sit quietly than rip off a day-old phrase.
McCain supported Bush’s unpopular immigration reform. He has been singularly the staunchest supporter of the Iraq War and has no problem seeing troops stay in the region for another century. Maybe he cozied up to Bush to establish his conservative credentials. Maybe at 71, his eyesight couldn’t differentiate the Bush from a bush. When a reporter asked, “who could you benefit most by campaigning for them in the upcoming election” the lame duck squawked “If he wants me there, I’ll be there.” . . . will his phone ever ring?
Who else is coming with me?
Now that he has officially eclipsed the number of delegates needed to earn the nomination, his campaign turns to find some help. Yes, they want your money and will eagerly accept any major or minor credit cards, cash and checks, but they need another person to bring in the money. Running for president is a two man job at the very least and he now gets to survey the party that has, at times, tried to ostracize him and select someone to run along with him.
Names have been floating for months of who will be nominated as the GOP Vice Presidential nominee and shore up worries that McCain is too old, too liberal, too hawkish or too bald. Former Presidential Candidate and Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee’s name has been a popular pick to engender the support of people that vote as their pastor instructs. However, ‘popular’ doesn’t translate to ‘likely.’ Don’t be surprised if you don’t recognize the name of the VP choice. Did you know who Dick Cheney was in 1999?
Other possible names include Condo Rice (there is no “i” in Condoleezza), Rudy Giuliani and Steve Forbes. Safe money is on a pick that hasn’t muddied his name in a yearlong presidential primary race so scratch Rudy and Huckabee from that list. Steven Colbert was at the front of the line of celebrities volunteering their service. Roger Clemens and Chuck Norris have also been offered as suitable good ol’ boys that could round up younger voters that don’t appreciate the 71 years of experience John McCain brings to the table. How about Joe Liberman? The fellow Senators have collaborated on many pieces of legislation and the war support has to give Joe at least a semi.
Fighting Elves
If it wasn’t devastating enough to dash the dreams of Presidential Hopeful Dennis Kucinich before his presidential campaign got off the ground, Ohio Democrats made it more difficult than ever for Kuci to reassume his post in the House. Like our own Governor, he was attacked by his competition for neglecting the home while he trotted the globe pursuing the White House. Most confusing is the campaign of wannabe Congresswoman Rosemary Palmer who ran on an anti-war platform. Wasn’t Kuci the peacenik of all peaceniks?
Hooray for his 50-35 victory and for one more reason to tune in to CSPAN!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Is This the End?
The Real Super Tuesday
It could all be over before you know it. How has the last year of the primary campaign treated you? Tomorrow could be the decisive day that anoints presumed nominees as the actual representative of the party. The campaigns know that it is now or never time. No one in the Democratic Party wants to see this fight continue within the party. It is time to rally against McCain. While the Republicans will vote tomorrow, their totals are already fairly moot. John McCain can theoretically be beaten, but this is the real election, not a political science classroom. Mike Huckabee should be mathematically eliminated after the votes are totaled tomorrow night. All polls point to the exit.
Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont will state their preference tomorrow and many leaders are saying that this will be the last election to watch before it is time to settle on a nominee. Republicans will be focused on the general election – Democrats will want to keep pace and figure out their race just as fast.
Barack and a Hard Place
And on Sunday our Governor, Bill Richardson kept fighting to hold his silence on his preference in the race. On CBS’s Face the Nation, Richardson continued his balancing act and kept his preferences to himself. And for good reason. The handful of voters that will follow his endorsement in the four states tomorrow are not worth alienation from the side he snubs. As discussed in Tuesday’s coverage, his endorsement of the Clinton is more likely due to his loyalty, but it shows him little chance of eventually paying off. Endorsing Obama – the predicted nominee by all odds makers -- is a general hit against his political loyalty but shows better promise of leading to a cabinet level appointment.
Richardson has played a very careful game of wavering between the candidates. In Iowa, he was accused of sending his non-viable supporters to Obama’s corner. In debates, his rhetoric on the importance of experience was interpreted as support for Clinton (maybe he was talking about his own experience? He had a lot of good stuff, after all.). “I may wake up tomorrow and do it. Then I may not,” Big Bill said. He is wise enough to wait this long, but is now joining the choir of voices asking for the loser of tomorrow’s elections surrender their pursuit of the nomination. Call it a quiet endorsement of Obama if you’d like . . . he’ll spin it right back the other way.
Political Home Remodeling Part 2
Facing an unresponsive electorate, Right Wing Radio, Campaign Clinton and any other Obama-fearing politician has followed up the “Kitchen Sink attacks” with a new fridge, dishwasher and oven. They know the urgency of the historic Super Tuesday states and how they are the end of this primary campaign. They also know that Obama is only gaining momentum and voters are continue to fall to his side despite the best attempts of Clinton’s campaign.
The shallow record only brought more people to support him. Rumors of Islamic schooling and pictures in a traditional Somali dress were not enough to scare people out of voting for him. Bill Cunningham recognized this urgency and went for the insult all political staffers have seen for the last year, but have been too ethical, too moral, too decent, too respectful . . . too politically correct to use. The right wing Cincinnati talker known for his inflammatory rhetoric and low brow attacks referred to Senator Obama by his middle name – Hussein.
According to a news man working in the city, the listening area has seen this cheap shot for what it is: a last ditch effort to save a failing campaign. While Cunningham would as easily insult Senator Clinton, he sees Obama as the unbeatable candidate that GOP knows he is. He says Cincy voters are ashamed of the attention and will not be swayed by the attacks. Surely a few people are ignorant enough to make the links and support Clinton from it. But as many will be turned off from voting entirely or will support Obama in defiance. He adds that it has passed and won’t weigh heavily on voters minds tomorrow. The Hussein Bomb has been dropped and the dust has settled, but accusations of an inability to fight the war on terrorism will persist through November.
If you appreciate having another angle of political coverage, you should share it with friends. Do some grassroots organizing and send them a message or give them a call. Or you can get democratic about it and vote for us for Best Local Blogger in the Best of Burque. This isn’t the end. . . you haven’t even begun to be annoyed with political commercials yet.
It could all be over before you know it. How has the last year of the primary campaign treated you? Tomorrow could be the decisive day that anoints presumed nominees as the actual representative of the party. The campaigns know that it is now or never time. No one in the Democratic Party wants to see this fight continue within the party. It is time to rally against McCain. While the Republicans will vote tomorrow, their totals are already fairly moot. John McCain can theoretically be beaten, but this is the real election, not a political science classroom. Mike Huckabee should be mathematically eliminated after the votes are totaled tomorrow night. All polls point to the exit.
Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont will state their preference tomorrow and many leaders are saying that this will be the last election to watch before it is time to settle on a nominee. Republicans will be focused on the general election – Democrats will want to keep pace and figure out their race just as fast.
Barack and a Hard Place
And on Sunday our Governor, Bill Richardson kept fighting to hold his silence on his preference in the race. On CBS’s Face the Nation, Richardson continued his balancing act and kept his preferences to himself. And for good reason. The handful of voters that will follow his endorsement in the four states tomorrow are not worth alienation from the side he snubs. As discussed in Tuesday’s coverage, his endorsement of the Clinton is more likely due to his loyalty, but it shows him little chance of eventually paying off. Endorsing Obama – the predicted nominee by all odds makers -- is a general hit against his political loyalty but shows better promise of leading to a cabinet level appointment.
Richardson has played a very careful game of wavering between the candidates. In Iowa, he was accused of sending his non-viable supporters to Obama’s corner. In debates, his rhetoric on the importance of experience was interpreted as support for Clinton (maybe he was talking about his own experience? He had a lot of good stuff, after all.). “I may wake up tomorrow and do it. Then I may not,” Big Bill said. He is wise enough to wait this long, but is now joining the choir of voices asking for the loser of tomorrow’s elections surrender their pursuit of the nomination. Call it a quiet endorsement of Obama if you’d like . . . he’ll spin it right back the other way.
Political Home Remodeling Part 2
Facing an unresponsive electorate, Right Wing Radio, Campaign Clinton and any other Obama-fearing politician has followed up the “Kitchen Sink attacks” with a new fridge, dishwasher and oven. They know the urgency of the historic Super Tuesday states and how they are the end of this primary campaign. They also know that Obama is only gaining momentum and voters are continue to fall to his side despite the best attempts of Clinton’s campaign.
The shallow record only brought more people to support him. Rumors of Islamic schooling and pictures in a traditional Somali dress were not enough to scare people out of voting for him. Bill Cunningham recognized this urgency and went for the insult all political staffers have seen for the last year, but have been too ethical, too moral, too decent, too respectful . . . too politically correct to use. The right wing Cincinnati talker known for his inflammatory rhetoric and low brow attacks referred to Senator Obama by his middle name – Hussein.
According to a news man working in the city, the listening area has seen this cheap shot for what it is: a last ditch effort to save a failing campaign. While Cunningham would as easily insult Senator Clinton, he sees Obama as the unbeatable candidate that GOP knows he is. He says Cincy voters are ashamed of the attention and will not be swayed by the attacks. Surely a few people are ignorant enough to make the links and support Clinton from it. But as many will be turned off from voting entirely or will support Obama in defiance. He adds that it has passed and won’t weigh heavily on voters minds tomorrow. The Hussein Bomb has been dropped and the dust has settled, but accusations of an inability to fight the war on terrorism will persist through November.
If you appreciate having another angle of political coverage, you should share it with friends. Do some grassroots organizing and send them a message or give them a call. Or you can get democratic about it and vote for us for Best Local Blogger in the Best of Burque. This isn’t the end. . . you haven’t even begun to be annoyed with political commercials yet.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Rough riding through Dodd Country and the Southwest
Free Home Remodeling
Barack Obama’s campaign says they are receiving “the whole kitchen sink” attack from Clinton’s camp. The lull before the next round of primaries has turned into a free-for-all against the leading presidential candidates. Major “scandals and charges” are being levied against Obama and Sen. McCain as they try to wrap up their respective party’s nominations.
McCain is accused of accepting more than dinner and a round of golf from a female lobbyist. Obama is being slammed for his poor voting records in the Illinois and U.S. Senates. Emails are circulating with pictures of Obama sporting ethnic Somali attire. And amature voters everywhere are spinning in circles as they try to figure out what to think. Here’s what to think: the same thing you thought before these heartless attacks came out. Think less of the opposition making the accusations and enjoy brushing off most of what you hear in the next week. Tuesday night’s news might actually have something important to say, but lets not rush the vote counters, if they need an extra day to make sure they get it right, that’s fine.
Welcome to Dodd Country
Add another percentage point to Sen. Obama’s total. Barack Obama has conquered the presidential territory dubbed by Jon Stewart as Dodd Country. If all of Sen. Dodd’s green necktie lovers follow his endorsement and move in to the Obama Nation he can count on a solid 0-1% boost.
The nod from the former presidential candidate and long time senator is another punch for Obama’s campaign to throw, but they don’t expect to hurt Hillary with it. It is important for him to be able to point to “yet another high profile Democratic leader” that has endorsed him over the former first lady. It is doubtful that Texans or Ohioans are hinging their decision on this, but it could give a small nudge in the two smaller states that vote next Tuesday – Rhode Island and Vermont.
The Renaissance Governor
Obama tried to keep the ball rolling with former presidential candidates’ endorsements but Governor Richardson wasn’t having any of it. Big Bill has worked the national media circuit in the last week as he played hard to get. Semi-daily personal calls from Obama and watching the Super Bowl with Bill Clinton can’t sway him. He says if he’s going to pick a side during the primary it will happen within the next week and if you would like to host him on your Sunday morning news show to please contact Gilbert Gallegos.
He knows where he stands. Yes, he owes Clinton his endorsement. She won New Mexico’s Caucus and her husband made his career appointing him Ambassador and then Secretary of Energy. Simply endorsing Obama would be spun as a stab in the back to the family that enabled him to run for President in the first place. But he also sees where this election is headed. He knows there is no hurry and that Obama can still forgive him later. And if Clinton regains control of the race, he can still cozy back up to them. In the meantime the self-proclaimed Renaissance Man is going to focus on growing out the beard and signing legislation. Maybe we’ll see him atop his throne at the Lobo game tonight.
Barack Obama’s campaign says they are receiving “the whole kitchen sink” attack from Clinton’s camp. The lull before the next round of primaries has turned into a free-for-all against the leading presidential candidates. Major “scandals and charges” are being levied against Obama and Sen. McCain as they try to wrap up their respective party’s nominations.
McCain is accused of accepting more than dinner and a round of golf from a female lobbyist. Obama is being slammed for his poor voting records in the Illinois and U.S. Senates. Emails are circulating with pictures of Obama sporting ethnic Somali attire. And amature voters everywhere are spinning in circles as they try to figure out what to think. Here’s what to think: the same thing you thought before these heartless attacks came out. Think less of the opposition making the accusations and enjoy brushing off most of what you hear in the next week. Tuesday night’s news might actually have something important to say, but lets not rush the vote counters, if they need an extra day to make sure they get it right, that’s fine.
Welcome to Dodd Country
Add another percentage point to Sen. Obama’s total. Barack Obama has conquered the presidential territory dubbed by Jon Stewart as Dodd Country. If all of Sen. Dodd’s green necktie lovers follow his endorsement and move in to the Obama Nation he can count on a solid 0-1% boost.
The nod from the former presidential candidate and long time senator is another punch for Obama’s campaign to throw, but they don’t expect to hurt Hillary with it. It is important for him to be able to point to “yet another high profile Democratic leader” that has endorsed him over the former first lady. It is doubtful that Texans or Ohioans are hinging their decision on this, but it could give a small nudge in the two smaller states that vote next Tuesday – Rhode Island and Vermont.
The Renaissance Governor
Obama tried to keep the ball rolling with former presidential candidates’ endorsements but Governor Richardson wasn’t having any of it. Big Bill has worked the national media circuit in the last week as he played hard to get. Semi-daily personal calls from Obama and watching the Super Bowl with Bill Clinton can’t sway him. He says if he’s going to pick a side during the primary it will happen within the next week and if you would like to host him on your Sunday morning news show to please contact Gilbert Gallegos.
He knows where he stands. Yes, he owes Clinton his endorsement. She won New Mexico’s Caucus and her husband made his career appointing him Ambassador and then Secretary of Energy. Simply endorsing Obama would be spun as a stab in the back to the family that enabled him to run for President in the first place. But he also sees where this election is headed. He knows there is no hurry and that Obama can still forgive him later. And if Clinton regains control of the race, he can still cozy back up to them. In the meantime the self-proclaimed Renaissance Man is going to focus on growing out the beard and signing legislation. Maybe we’ll see him atop his throne at the Lobo game tonight.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Two More Primaries; Records; and a New DPNM E.D.
Winner of another chicken dinner!
While the pollsters hedged their bets on Wisconsin, they were still proven correct as yesterday’s primaries fell as predicted. Huckabee was sent two more requests that he amend the office he seeks to Vice President and Obama kept building his momentum. While the results were fairly inconsequential, Obama’s campaign will enjoy touting their 9th and 10th consecutive wins and McCain can continue to turn the screws on Huckabee to face the music and allow the GOP to train all of the cannons on the Dems. The decisions do not help Clinton or Huckabee, but both can spin these contests as unimportant in the grand scheme of the election. They have set the stage for the two weeks of ennui as we wait for the historic Super Tuesday on March 4th.
What have you done for me lately?
And during the wait, you can expect the attacks to become as shallow as ever. As Sen. Barack Obama has risen in the polls and eclipsed Sen. Hillary Clinton in the most important measurements of a campaign’s status, the guns have been turned against the new leader and are still firing ruthlessly. For the last year Hillary was the “candidate of inevitability,” unable to be beaten, sure to continue to ride the Clinton political machine to another eight years in the White House. The media figures that feared her nomination launched countless assaults attacking her leadership, her Senate record, her marital woes and anything else that they thought could make people pause and reconsider supporting her.
The pause has passed and now reconsiderations have been made. True or false, ethical or pathetic, the attack has succeeded in knocking her down. Now the archers have turned to the other remaining man that stands in the way of continuing down the road of reckless spending and pre-emptive wars – Barack Obama. As the new leader in national polls, delegates earned and total number of delegates, as well as a dramatic lead in fundraising, Obama is in the dreamed of, but un-enviable position of right between the cross-hairs.
Whether they be thoroughly opposed to electing a Democratic Nominee (Sean Hannity) or only consider themselves to be serving their duty as a journalist (Chris Matthews), Obama is now taking the pies in the face that buried Hillary. The biggest allegation waged against him is that he has done nothing and has no record to run on. Yes, Hannity still spells out Hussein every time he writes Barack and Obama. Yes, people still raise the worn-out questions of whether the nation is ready to elect a black man or a woman. But the record turnouts in every state thus far have proven that if anything, the Democratic Party is very tired of electing white men.
Would you like to keep the money or go for what’s behind door #2?
So what record does Obama run on? He runs on what the majority of voters in the first 34 states and DC have supported – beginning a new path forward in how we run our nation. Voters had plenty of choices with laundry lists of accomplishments and they chose to throw out the old clothing and go buy some new gear. Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson could show you five examples of how they legislated or executed policies to help any constituency. They all had amazing foreign policy experience and already have on-going dialogues with the nations that pose a threat to our’s. The voters stood in unison and told them “thanks for the good work, we’ll take it from here.” It was a choice of going back to the favorite restaurant that knows your order and always cooks up a great dish versus the new hip place in town that everyone must try out – people are looking to take a chance and expand their horizons.
The record Obama runs on is not the traditional list of footnotes directing you to the bills he carried to alleviate the tax burden on impoverished Americans or create incentives for companies to utilize clean energy. He does not have 30 years of votes that inevitably can be cherry-picked to cast him in a hypocritical, flip-flopping light. It is a record of being free of the traditional ties that bind a leader’s hands and inhibit him or her from addressing the issues that brought thunderous applause when they were mentioned on the campaign trail. Expect him to be attacked for his “inexperience” repeatedly in the next 10 months. Without the traditional record to run on, he will also be attacked with baseless accusations such as a lack of patriotism, an Islamic heritage or less.
Capitalizing
What is most important is if he carries the Political Capital needed to achieve the goals he has laid out. When Bush was re-elected in 2004, he carried Political Capital and all of the talk was about what program he would attempt to achieve. Since he carried such a great amount of Capital after the sweeping win, he tried to pass one of his most controversial and unsupported ideas – privatization of Social Security. Without the sweeping victory, he would not have been able to approach such legislation.
Look at the numbers of new votes that come out to vote in Obama in comparison to the total number of voters in the Republican Primaries. Obama has won more votes in single states than McCain and Huckabee won across the nation in aggregate. Does that suggest a possible sweeping win in November?
Look at the accusations that Obama’s campaign is filled with former Clinton Administration staffers. Do you think they don’t know how the system works? More importantly, he doesn’t have the slick, perfected political prowess that Biden or McCain or Richardson would have brought to the office and, to repeat, this is exactly what voters have asked to have in the White House. Don’t be foolish enough to think that this will slow anything down. If anything, I would expect his administration to be smart enough to keep the public involved and informed about the progress on ending the war, restoring our constitution, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and all of the other issues we demand to be addressed.
So if you are walking down the street this week and some gorgeous intern with a microphone (go to any successful radio station and find me one that doesn’t hire cute girls for their interns) asks you if you’d like to answer some questions from Sean Hannity, grab that mic and tell Sean where to stick it. Barack doesn’t have the laundry list of accomplishments and that is precisely why he must be our next President.
Bring Out Your Dead
To bring it back home to finish, a head has rolled in reaction to the “disastrous” New Mexico Caucus. More accurately, a leg has been chopped off and the head spared. Party Chairman Brian Colon offer up DPNM Executive Director Laura Sanchez in an attempt to save his own job. She was relieved of her duties by politico Josh Geise. Restoring the public’s faith in the dominant party of the state will be no easy task. Voters in the state have high expectations and do not accept excuses of “we tried our best.” But his experience with Richardson’s machine as well as other campaigns across the nation has provided him the leadership and ideas to carry the party forward and restore the state’s faith. As a Cubs fan, Josh knows how to persevere through adversity and fight to the very end and I would expect no less of him in such an historic political year.
See, I told you, you’d hear that term again! Did I screw up, not go far enough? Email or leave your comments.
While the pollsters hedged their bets on Wisconsin, they were still proven correct as yesterday’s primaries fell as predicted. Huckabee was sent two more requests that he amend the office he seeks to Vice President and Obama kept building his momentum. While the results were fairly inconsequential, Obama’s campaign will enjoy touting their 9th and 10th consecutive wins and McCain can continue to turn the screws on Huckabee to face the music and allow the GOP to train all of the cannons on the Dems. The decisions do not help Clinton or Huckabee, but both can spin these contests as unimportant in the grand scheme of the election. They have set the stage for the two weeks of ennui as we wait for the historic Super Tuesday on March 4th.
What have you done for me lately?
And during the wait, you can expect the attacks to become as shallow as ever. As Sen. Barack Obama has risen in the polls and eclipsed Sen. Hillary Clinton in the most important measurements of a campaign’s status, the guns have been turned against the new leader and are still firing ruthlessly. For the last year Hillary was the “candidate of inevitability,” unable to be beaten, sure to continue to ride the Clinton political machine to another eight years in the White House. The media figures that feared her nomination launched countless assaults attacking her leadership, her Senate record, her marital woes and anything else that they thought could make people pause and reconsider supporting her.
The pause has passed and now reconsiderations have been made. True or false, ethical or pathetic, the attack has succeeded in knocking her down. Now the archers have turned to the other remaining man that stands in the way of continuing down the road of reckless spending and pre-emptive wars – Barack Obama. As the new leader in national polls, delegates earned and total number of delegates, as well as a dramatic lead in fundraising, Obama is in the dreamed of, but un-enviable position of right between the cross-hairs.
Whether they be thoroughly opposed to electing a Democratic Nominee (Sean Hannity) or only consider themselves to be serving their duty as a journalist (Chris Matthews), Obama is now taking the pies in the face that buried Hillary. The biggest allegation waged against him is that he has done nothing and has no record to run on. Yes, Hannity still spells out Hussein every time he writes Barack and Obama. Yes, people still raise the worn-out questions of whether the nation is ready to elect a black man or a woman. But the record turnouts in every state thus far have proven that if anything, the Democratic Party is very tired of electing white men.
Would you like to keep the money or go for what’s behind door #2?
So what record does Obama run on? He runs on what the majority of voters in the first 34 states and DC have supported – beginning a new path forward in how we run our nation. Voters had plenty of choices with laundry lists of accomplishments and they chose to throw out the old clothing and go buy some new gear. Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson could show you five examples of how they legislated or executed policies to help any constituency. They all had amazing foreign policy experience and already have on-going dialogues with the nations that pose a threat to our’s. The voters stood in unison and told them “thanks for the good work, we’ll take it from here.” It was a choice of going back to the favorite restaurant that knows your order and always cooks up a great dish versus the new hip place in town that everyone must try out – people are looking to take a chance and expand their horizons.
The record Obama runs on is not the traditional list of footnotes directing you to the bills he carried to alleviate the tax burden on impoverished Americans or create incentives for companies to utilize clean energy. He does not have 30 years of votes that inevitably can be cherry-picked to cast him in a hypocritical, flip-flopping light. It is a record of being free of the traditional ties that bind a leader’s hands and inhibit him or her from addressing the issues that brought thunderous applause when they were mentioned on the campaign trail. Expect him to be attacked for his “inexperience” repeatedly in the next 10 months. Without the traditional record to run on, he will also be attacked with baseless accusations such as a lack of patriotism, an Islamic heritage or less.
Capitalizing
What is most important is if he carries the Political Capital needed to achieve the goals he has laid out. When Bush was re-elected in 2004, he carried Political Capital and all of the talk was about what program he would attempt to achieve. Since he carried such a great amount of Capital after the sweeping win, he tried to pass one of his most controversial and unsupported ideas – privatization of Social Security. Without the sweeping victory, he would not have been able to approach such legislation.
Look at the numbers of new votes that come out to vote in Obama in comparison to the total number of voters in the Republican Primaries. Obama has won more votes in single states than McCain and Huckabee won across the nation in aggregate. Does that suggest a possible sweeping win in November?
Look at the accusations that Obama’s campaign is filled with former Clinton Administration staffers. Do you think they don’t know how the system works? More importantly, he doesn’t have the slick, perfected political prowess that Biden or McCain or Richardson would have brought to the office and, to repeat, this is exactly what voters have asked to have in the White House. Don’t be foolish enough to think that this will slow anything down. If anything, I would expect his administration to be smart enough to keep the public involved and informed about the progress on ending the war, restoring our constitution, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and all of the other issues we demand to be addressed.
So if you are walking down the street this week and some gorgeous intern with a microphone (go to any successful radio station and find me one that doesn’t hire cute girls for their interns) asks you if you’d like to answer some questions from Sean Hannity, grab that mic and tell Sean where to stick it. Barack doesn’t have the laundry list of accomplishments and that is precisely why he must be our next President.
Bring Out Your Dead
To bring it back home to finish, a head has rolled in reaction to the “disastrous” New Mexico Caucus. More accurately, a leg has been chopped off and the head spared. Party Chairman Brian Colon offer up DPNM Executive Director Laura Sanchez in an attempt to save his own job. She was relieved of her duties by politico Josh Geise. Restoring the public’s faith in the dominant party of the state will be no easy task. Voters in the state have high expectations and do not accept excuses of “we tried our best.” But his experience with Richardson’s machine as well as other campaigns across the nation has provided him the leadership and ideas to carry the party forward and restore the state’s faith. As a Cubs fan, Josh knows how to persevere through adversity and fight to the very end and I would expect no less of him in such an historic political year.
See, I told you, you’d hear that term again! Did I screw up, not go far enough? Email or leave your comments.
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