By Carter Bundy
July 4, 1776 is the date on the Declaration of Independence. Great day, and we should all enjoy it with flags, fireworks, parades and more hot dogs than Kobayashi (by the way, an American now owns the hot-dog-eating title in the United States!)
But March 4, 1797 is the day we really became a democracy. That day, George Washington did something that virtually no human had done since the days of Athens: voluntarily relinquish power over a nation to his elected successor.
It’s been far from perfect – ask a 70-year-old African American from Alabama about his rights in the 1950s. Women didn’t get the vote much earlier. Still, on March 4, 1797, we set a precedent that much of the planet has come to follow over the last 210 years. It’s America’s greatest contribution to the world, and it’s a great reason to celebrate.
None of it works without voting, though. None of it. Sure, it’s easy to be cynical, to say we have to overcome the likes of ExxonMobil and Connex-Killeen, but that’s another column. No matter how much money corporations throw at the system, regular people ultimately have control when we’re educated and vote. No excuses. As our corporate friends at Nike would say, Just Do It. It’s easier than (making fun of) Paris Hilton.
This will make it even easier: Here’s contact info for Democratic campaigns for president, with a few New Mexico tidbits thrown in. Remember, New Mexico’s Democratic Presidential Caucus will be on February 5, 2008, so we’re part of the wave of states that will likely decide the Democratic nominee.
Paraphrasing Plato, the price for thinking you’re too smart for politics is to be ruled by dimwits. Need proof? We’re living through Exhibit A.
Gov. Bill Richardson: www.richardsonforpresident.com, (505) 828-2455
You can’t start a discussion about the presidential race in New Mexico without mentioning the big man. Even before jumping into the race, he was leading the Democratic pack with 28 percent in an American Research Group poll of likely Democratic caucus goers in January 2007.
Richardson has virtually every Democratic political endorsement (so far) in the state, including those of Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, two former governors (Toney Anaya and Jerry Apodaca), Senate President Pro-Tem Ben Altamirano, House Speaker Ben Lujan, most Dem state legislators and statewide electeds, and both the current mayor of Albuquerque (Martin Chavez) and his predecessor (Jim Baca). He’s certainly taken care of the home front.
Where is he nationally? Four key states matter most. Those states are Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina. In Iowa, the first presidential test, a recent poll of likeliest caucus-goers shows Richardson in third place with 18 percent, just ahead of Barack Obama’s 16 percent.
His fundraising is respectable: The $13 million or so he’s raised will enable him to be active in the key early states, but he’ll have very little other than good press to carry him through the Feb. 5 super primary day. So how can he get that press?
1. The best résumé in the last 50 years (along with George H. W. Bush) is a good place to start. Funny ads help get the résumé out, too.
2. We’ve all seen the guv charm and impress in person, which is exactly how most New Hampshire and Iowa voters will get to know him.
3. Being on top is tough. The Clinton-Obama-Edwards catfight could get nasty, leaving voters wishing for a qualified alternative. You rang?
4. Florida. Florida ignored DNC rules and moved its primary to January 29. Candidates will lose Florida delegates if they campaign there. But if you’re Richardson, and you camp out in South Florida and Orlando because you don’t have much to lose on January 29, and no one else is campaigning there because of DNC sanctions, and you break out that day, and you get a ton of good ink before February 5… I’m just saying Florida is a nice place to be in late January.
The governor’s national HQ at 111 Lomas NE in Albuquerque should be easy enough for New Mexicans who want to see a national campaign up close.
Sen. Hillary Clinton: www.hillaryclinton.com, (703) 469-2008
The good news is she’s smart, experienced, well-known, hard-working, relentless and leading in almost every national poll of Democrats. The bad news is that 52 percent of Americans say they’d never vote for her. That’s a big, ugly number.
Look for her to counter the electability argument with an Electoral College map showing how she holds onto the Gore/Kerry states and picks up either Florida or Ohio. Don’t forget, her husband is the best Democratic campaigner since, OK, ever, and they love him in Florida. Not in that way – in the political way. Still, the Clintons offer an electoral strategy with very little room for error.
Oodles of money will help – about $50 million so far, just behind Obama. The senator was in second in New Mexico in January, with the support of 22 percent of likely Dem caucus-goers.
Sen. Barack Obama: www.barackobama.com, (312) 819-2008
Clearly the hot campaign right now. There’s an energy and contagiousness that can only be explained by one thing: New Mexico political operatives. Cuauhtemoc “Temo” Figueroa, who ran the Democratic coordinated campaign in New Mexico in 2000, is now Barack’s national field director. He’s scooped up University of New Mexico graduates Ray Rivera (northeast field) and Raul Alvillar (western desk) to help out. By way of disclosure, Temo was also my boss at AFSCME in New Mexico for several years. Trust me, with those three, and thousands like them, there’s going to be no shortage of energy in that campaign.
Barack’s experience will be questioned, but hey, it’s not like Dick Cheney has turned a lifetime of service into good policy. Oh, and the $55 million Obama’s raised means he isn’t going away anytime soon. It ain’t just the money, it’s the 258,000 donors last quarter. Obama was third in the New Mexico January ARG poll with 17 percent.
Former Sen. John Edwards: www.johnedwards.com, (919) 636-4976
Every candidate in the top tier has a strategy to win, and Edwards is no exception. The same poll that has Richardson in third with Iowans has Edwards in first, and he seems to have a good rapport with Iowans.
Edwards was born in South Carolina, and can be expected to do well there. He has been extremely supportive of hotel and restaurant workers (and their unions) in Nevada. That’s solid support in three out of the first four states. He’s way behind Barack and Hillary in fundraising (Edwards has raised about $23 million so far), but early wins could shake all that up.
Edwards also has one of the top endorsements in New Mexico: former Attorney General Patsy Madrid. The general says that the key for Edwards will be a favorable early state calendar matched with Edwards’ electability against Republicans. Polls so far support her electability theory. At 12 percent, Edwards was in fourth in the ARG poll in New Mexico.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich: www.kucinich.us, (877) 41-DENNIS
The congressman has nice pockets of support in Santa Fe and Nob Hill, but otherwise probably won’t have the money or organization to battle the big boys (and girl) here. But remember the start of the column? If you like his trade policies (I do), his peace department and other progressive ideas, you and your compadres can change the world. Just don’t go Nader on me in the general.
Sen. Joe Biden: www.uniteourstates.com, (302) 574-2008
He’s the most knowledgeable guy about foreign affairs in either party, along with Richardson and McCain. Read his Iraq plan if nothing else.
Sen. Chris Dodd: www.chrisdodd.com, (202) 737-DODD
Bright, experienced, polling at 1 percent on good days. We could do a lot worse, and probably will.
Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel: www.gravel2008.us, 703-243-8303
Talk about letting it all hang out. He’s a good reminder that we can get out of quagmire wars (he was a leading anti-Vietnam advocate as a U.S. senator), and he damn sure wants people to remember that.
YOU
No, I’m not going to be cheesy like Time Magazine and put a mirror up. But you get to decide who wins the Iraq withdrawal lottery. You get to decide who inherits a $ 9 trillion deficit. You get to decide who cleans up our Social Security and Medicare mess. Choose wisely. And whatever you do, at least choose, or the dimwits win. Happy Independence Day!
Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME in New Mexico. The opinions in his column are personal and in no way reflect any official AFSCME position. You can learn more about him by clicking here. Contact him at carterbundy@yahoo.com.
By Carter Bundy