Beware the ballot splitters!

As we head to the Senate primary next June and the race in November I've been thinking for a long time that folks need to look at this map. In my mind the main question to be answered was who can win 2 of the 3 districts on it. I was inclined to say District 3 goes Democratic, District 2 goes Republican and it was all down to what happens in CD1. But this race will be different and frankly I'm not sure if that type of calculation will hold true this time. I fear that there are many Dems and Independents that will vote Republican for "balance". I think they like the fact that we have 1 Dem and 1 Repub Senator and if given a chance will keep it that way. After counting absentee ballots in 2006 I'm convinced that NM is filled with ballot splitters and all those Dem strategist planning the battle to come need to factor that into their calculations.

Chavez packs 'em in for his State HQ opening

Today Marty's State Campaign Headquarters on Menaul opened for business here in Albuquerque and the place was packed. Lots of food, lots of music, and lots of confidence. Based of the comments form this crowd - if Tom U. thinks its all over he has a nasty surprise coming. One seasoned insider said "its gonna be a close and hard race but we will win".

3rd Thursday - Michelle Lujan Grisham shines

I attended the 3rd Thursday meeting last week expecting to see the crew running for the Dem CD1 nomination except Martin H. decided not to show. Not to worry Michelle Lujan Grisham took full advantage of the occasion to impress more than a few of us. I must admit after reading the hit piece on the Dem. for NM website I was wondering if she was a serious candidate. After seeing her in gear I was happily surprised. What she lacks in height she more than makes up for in intensity. I look forward to her debate with Martin H. - it has the potential to really shake things up. My guess is that she could mop the floor with Darren White.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein should go!

Finally, finally, it seems that at least a few folks in California have had enough of Dianne Feinstein. From Huffington Post we hear that:

"East Bay For Democracy, a chartered Democratic Club outside San Francisco, will introduce the censure motion on Saturday at the state party's executive board meeting in Anaheim. The Governing Board of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party and the Progressive Democrats of America are also backing the measure.

In addition to her move to back Mukasey, critics have lashed out at her decision last month to vote to confirm Judge Leslie Southwick to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Southwick's opponents charged that his record on the bench in Mississippi demonstrated that he was both racist and homophobic. The Congressional Black Caucus, Human Rights Campaign and People for the American Way opposed his nomination."

East Bay For Democracy's website

Thanks for doing this!!!!

Lehrman won't leave Senate race

Prompted by questions from reporters asking if he will leave the Senate race if Udall gets in Leland Lehrman has released a statement titled "Why Tom Udall is Wrong for New Mexico and the United States Senate" via email late last night. It says.....

Members of the Press, Friends of the Campaign -

Kate Nash and Heath Haussamen, two of New Mexico's best political reporters, recently contacted me about my Senate campaign plans in response to Tom Udall's decision to enter the race. I am in to stay and will be filing FEC documents next week, now that I have secured a treasurer for the campaign. I have also been invited to be on KNME TV next week to discuss the issues. Here's why I'm staying in:

Tom Udall's recent vote to table Dennis Kucinich's resolution (HR 333) to impeach Richard Cheney is a prime example of exactly why Rep. Udall would not make a good Senator for New Mexico or the US. Although his votes on the environment and civil liberties make us all proud, his Washingtonian willingness to avoid tough issues means that he cannot be trusted with the leadership role a US Senator must take. A US Senator has the power of the filibuster, a Representative does not. One US Senator can bring the nation to a halt in times of crisis, and I would like to show New Mexico and the United States how that is done, when necessary.

In these dangerous days, with a criminal administration in charge of the most awesome military on Earth, Senators are going to have to realize that their unwillingness to use the power of the filibuster to check an out of control Executive Branch amounts to collaboration. The Nuremburg Principles clearly point to a heightened responsibility for all decision makers within a war-making apparatus. There can be no excuse for not using the filibuster every time immoral war spending or other warfare-enabling bills hit the floor of the Senate.

As George Bush has recently invoked the spectre of World War III, we must keep in mind the moral and historical gravity of our present situation.

Rep. Udall has heard from his constituents often on this topic. In March of 2006, the Democratic Party of New Mexico resolved overwhelmingly in favor of impeaching the President. It is the official policy of the New Mexico Democratic Party to support impeachment. Observers on the scene at the 2006 party caucus say that not only was the thunderous response to the impeachment resolution the highlight of the entire meeting, but that up to 98% of the room stood in favor (based on an estimated 20 votes against out of an estimated thousand voters present).

State Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino's SJR 5, impeach the President and Vice President passed successfully through three packed committees in the New Mexico State Senate. Since no one wants to end up with the Vice President after impeaching Bush, Kucinich is starting with Cheney.

I personally asked Udall to support Congressman Kucinich at the recent Democratic Party Central Committee Meeting in Albuquerque. His warm greeting and kind words can not make up for the distant noncommittal attitude he displayed when I asked him to support impeachment. There were 86 Democrats who voted for the impeachment resolution, Tom wasn't one of them. New Mexicans need to ask themselves if they want someone who does well in the glitzy but shallow world of polls and cash, or if they want someone who will have the courage to honor their oath of office, represent the will of the people and protect the planet, even if it could be difficult in Washington.

Where's Tom's attention to the will of the citizens in his party on such a critical issue? Where's the courage to act on an oath of office that requires him to defend the Constitution against domestic enemies such as Bush and Cheney?

Congressman Udall's vote against impeachment is unforgivable, and I will make that clear to the people of New Mexico throughout the 2008 race for US Senator and beyond.
###

One other fact might be worth mentioning here - I remember that people involved in Jerry Ortiz y Pino's SJR 5, a bill calling for the impeachment of Bush et al., said it was killed after Tom Udall made a quite visit to the Round House and meet with several key folks there. Pino's bill was interesting because if passed by the NM House & Senate it would have required the US House to debate Impeachment. Since the Dem leadership in the US House are cowards they wanted that bill dead and looks like Tom helped out. So, Tom's fingerprints were on the death of that bill as well.

Wow - Tom has critics to the left of him, critics to the right of him - whatever will he do?

Bankruptcy Law Backfires

Great article on Bloomberg titled Bankruptcy Law Backfires as Foreclosures Offset Gains (Update1) shows how "Unintended Consequences" are showing up from the Bankruptcy Bill. For those Dems heavy into Bingaman worship lets not forget that he voted for this mess.

HH says Udall will run!

More evidence that the feeding frenzy is in full gear - Heath Haussamen says that:

Udall has decided to run for Senate

I'm still thinking he won't run, we will see -

Kossack's running amuck

As an occasional reader of the Daily Kos I'm never surprised when the Kossack's fall off the deep end.

Well they have done it again - this time its over Tom Udall. With titles like:
Dear Mayor Marty
NM-Sen: Udall trying to give Chavez face-saving way out
its clear we have moved to the silly season.

First they don't understand New Mexico needs more than a vote - it also needs a voice. This is the central problem with Udall worship. Tom is a vote - not a voice. He does not advocate for New Mexico. Evidence for this is easy to find - just look at how he's protected LANL.

If I were Marty, part 1

Looks like Tom Udall is gonna jump into the Senate race. Sorry to all my Liberal/Progressive friends but I'm just not impressed. Re: Udall, I've always said there is less there than meets the eye -

I've decided to support Marty on this one - heaven know's I've had my issues with him but this time he's the best candidate for the job.

So, as it stands today this is a Marty - Tom race. Even if the rest hang in they are dead meat. What should Marty do?

He needs to go after Tom IMMEDIATELY! He needs to let him know he has a war on his hands today, now, at this very moment in time and space. My guess is Tom thinks its all over as soon as he announces. Marty should rid him of those thoughts as soon as possible.

Marty needs to:
...- Ask this question publicly and LOUDLY! What has Tom Udall done for New Mexico? For the progressives he votes right but were's the bacon? This race is about jobs & economic development and Marty needs to let all know that Tom doesn't care and Marty does. That Marty sees this as an essential part of his job and Tom doesn't.
...- Resolve not to hand the labs, their workers, families and suppliers to the Republicans. Tom stood by and let LANL take a hit. Marty shouldn't waste a second letting all know that he cares and Tom doesn't and that he will pick up where Saint Pete leaves off.
...- Understand his problem is the Primary not the General election. He has real support in the Independents and old time Republicans. He needs to get them to register as Dems and vote in the primary.
...- Point out that Tom is too Liberal for the general election. The Publicans will nail him to a cross in Southern NM & to a lesser extent Albuquerque. Santa Fe politics ain't NM politics.

For Marty this is a win - win set of issues. It will help him in the Primary and General elections.

I know there is more - I'll post them as they hit me.

2007 jack-o-lanterns

Thank you John Edwards!

Finally somebody said the truth about Hillary - that she's the Corporate Candidate representing the status quo and Wall Street.

Thanks to John Edwards for being that somebody!

Oh Happy Day! Pearce to Run!

The conga line at the State Dem Headquarters is forming as we speak!

Steve Pearce has announced!

We get to watch a Steve versus Heather race!

Steve, the right winged wako, against leather Heather!

Since I know of no RePub that likes Heather this is gonna be fun! Getting to watch the knuckle dragging Pearce RePubs from southern NM go into a feeding frenzy is gonna be even more entertaining!

Let's see:
Heather verses Marty = a hard slog!
Steve versus Marty = Senator Marty!

The big question - does Leather Heater move to the right? An early hint could come tomorrow with the vote to override GW's veto of the SCHIP bill. Don't be surprised if she backs down and votes to support the veto as she does wheelies moving to the right. Be prepared for Heather to flush her carefully maintained image of being a "centrist".

Darren want's victory in Iraq!

Check out the video of his announcement on KOB TV. Its very, very White! Or, should that be white!

Two great lines you can't miss:
  Re: Iraq - "Our troops must return in Victory!"
  He's "gonna hang up his guns" but not his passion for our families!

Well folks we now know there's always gonna be one bozo on the Darren White's campaign bus!

Well Darren White is really, really white

As a photographer I know that a picture is worth a thousand words - well this one from Joe Monahan's blog is a winner! Not a single black, Hispanic, or native American in sight! No doubt he will draw some support from those communities but it ain't apparent in this photo!

Why Udall Won't Run & Can't Win

Before folks launch into this please think!

For those living in New York City and elsewhere around the world - all politics are local and who replaces Saint Pete will be decided locally. What follows is a quick and dirty summary of the situation as it sits today in the wonderful land of enchantment.

The Republican bench in New Mexico is weak - their candidate for Senate will either be Heather Wilson or Steve Pearce. The Republican establishment fears nominating Steve Pearce because he is such a right wing wacko. This is another reason why Saint Pete's announcement is such a surprise - he knows that the Republicans in NM like Steve better than Heather but Steve is poison and Pete knows it. I always thought Pete would not run and in the end find another way to handle handing the nomination to Heather - maybe Pearce has agreed not to run, who knows - but its clear that something is bad wrong with Pete for him to make the announcement this early.

The Republican power structure (Pete leads it!) will do all it can to nominate Heather and my guess is that in the end they will succeed.

So unless we are really lucky the race is against Heather Wilson - she's smart and evil.

Please understand that NM is divided into 3 Congressional Districts - for simplicity call them Northern NM (NNM), Southern NM (SNM), and Albuquerque (Abq). NNM is the most liberal/progressive part of the State. SNM makes Texas look moderate to liberal. Udall does well in NNM but he won't win in Albuquerque (Heather's base) and he will loose horribly in SNM.

The only way he can win is if he runs against Steve Pearce. If the race is against Heather Wilson she will loose in NNM, win slightly in Abq and win big in SNM - ergo Heather wins.

The question that needs to be asked is - can Udall win big enough in NNM to make up for the huge loss he will face in SNM and a slight loss in Abq? Tom knows that and so does everybody else so he won't run.

Bad day for Marty

Debbie spanked Katherine, Rey got 2X as many votes as Joan, and the ever reprehensible Don Harris easily survived Marty's attack. Marty's life could have gotten more complicated.

Have Marty and the Martistas lost it? Only time will tell. Certainly, it was a bad day for Marty and a good day for Diane D.

The New Mexico Caucus is comming!

Well on February 5th of 2008 the caucus will occur. It will cost the Democratic Party about $400,000 and be absolutely meaningless. It was created by the Big Bill 4 years ago to aid in his Presidential run this year. Big Bill likes to plan especially when other folks pick up the tab.

Anyway, since it is probably the only thing he will win I guess what has to be has to be. But who's to pay for it? Looks like finding the $'s is Lt. Gov. Diane Denish's job plus a few other poor souls. With Bill draining the state dry this ain't gonna be an easy task.

The Journal knows a good Republican when they see one!

Well, the sun sets and rises and sets again and the Albuquerque Journal has done what is to be expected - its endorsed yet another Republican. This time its Joanie Griffin for the District 6 City Council seat. Now technically Joanie became a Democrat just before she decided to run for City Council so I guess they endorsed a Democrat. But since the exceptions always prove the rule the Journal's track record is intact. Anyway, as a card carrying member of Mayor Marty's loyal guard beliefs and convictions won't ever get in the way of grabbing power.

Silly season in Albuquerque

Folks all over the place have been saying lots about the City Council election next Tuesday. Here's my attempt to throw a bit more fat into the fire.

The one thing that is clear to me, and I'm horrified to say it, is that most of what's happening right now and has happened in the Democratic Party since the Ward elections last Spring and will happen till the primary election in 2010 is part of the larger battle for Governor. As an active member of the Democratic Party its obvious that Marty and his people, better know as the Martistas, are buzzing about trying to set things up for the primary against Diane. If Marty can take control of the City Council by getting his people elected he can do lots of favors for developers and they will repay him with a huge warchest to fight Diane. The dirty little problem Marty has is that the Martistas are a dual edged sword that help and hurt him. Having seen them swarm first hand its clear that the Martistas really are not interested in what happens to the Party - their concern is their position in the crowd that surrounds Marty. They seem to delight in making Marty enemies. Because of their activities and Marty's track record the Democratic activist base have come to hate him.

Ultimately this does not bode well for the Democratic Party - as a political junkie its fascinating but I know right now that its going to hurt the party. The problem that Marty and the Martistas haven't considered is that he will be running in a Democratic Primary in 2010 and Republicans and Independents don't count. All his activities in the City Council election will be remembered when he runs for Governor. People have long memories in New Mexico and what goes around, comes around - expect things to get very, very nasty.

Rey Garduno for District 6

This is an easy one and should of been said long ago - folks in Abq's District 6 should go out and elect Rey Garduno as their next City Councilor.

Enough said.