Richardson goes on the attack when he should be taking the high road

Most expected John Dendahl, when he jumped into the gubernatorial race last month as the Republican nominee, to ruthlessly attack Gov. Bill Richardson. It’s what he’s always done in the past, and he is an extreme underdog, so it made sense that he would do it again.

Instead, it was Richardson who, days later, unveiled a radio ad accusing Dendahl of political tactics that are more common in third-world nations than the United States, and essentially called the Republican nominee a liar and cheater.

The Republican Party responded with a news release questioning why Richardson prefers “mudslinging to debating the issues.” Dendahl had invited Richardson to debate eminent domain just before the governor’s radio ad began.

On Thursday, Dendahl failed to turn in a campaign finance report, though the reports were due. He said he was advised by the secretary of state’s office that he did not need to file a report for June because of his late entry into the race. The attorney general’s office disagreed.

The state’s Democratic Party hit hard. In a news release, it accused Dendahl of “knowingly, willingly” violating campaign finance law, stating that he is “breaking new ground as well as standing election rules with his arrogance and defiance.”

“Dendahl, who was chosen in a closed-door meeting by a handful of Republican loyalists after the primary voters had elected a different nominee, apparently believes that he can ignore the election law, as he did the democratic process,” the release states.

“While Democrats vigilantly address public corruption, John Dendahl is demonstrating the same callous disregard for the public trust that has allowed the culture of corruption to flourish in the Republican-controlled Congress,” John Wertheim, chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, said in the release.

Now let’s cut through the spin.

First, I was also not impressed when the Republicans held a closed-door meeting to accept J.R. Damron’s resignation and place Dendahl on the ballot. The meeting, I believe, should have been open to the public, though it wasn’t legally required.

But that’s my only criticism. The Republicans used the process allowed by state law to replace candidates when they drop out of races. It’s the same process used by the Democrats last month to place newly appointed District Judge Michael Murphy on the November ballot.

Second, Wertheim wants us to believe Democrats are “vigilantly” addressing public corruption while Dendahl is acting like a Washington Republican. I would argue that the Demcorats in New Mexico are experiencing the same scandalous problems as the Republicans are on a national level.

Are the Democrats addressing the corruption? Well, the governor did convene an ethics task force. But it’s the Republican U.S. attorney who initiated prosecution of the state treasurer scandal, though the state’s Democratic attorney general has since jumped on board.

I’d say the verdict is still out on whether the Democrats are dealing with the corruption. I’ll believe it when the governor actually signs into law meaningful ethics reform.

On a political level, I don’t understand the attacks. Richardson is by far the favorite in the race, but he has stooped to what he says is Dendahl’s standard. He’s giving credibility to Dendahl by using the very tactics of which he says Dendahl is a master.

Especially since the governor is vulnerable on many ethical issues, he would do better to not even acknowledge Dendahl. I won’t detail his past problems here, as I’ve written extensively about them in recent months, but they include allegedly illegal hirings, embarrassing political appointments and the acceptance of gifts from lobbyists at a time when he’s calling for others to stop that.

Because of the Republican scandals in Washington and the Democratic scandals in Santa Fe, New Mexico voters are exhausted by political attacks and spin. Richardson’s campaign is trying to put together an unprecedented get-out-the-vote campaign, but his attacks are only going to encourage more and more voters to give up on the process and stay home on Election Day.

That’s the last thing we need.