Udall says he won’t respond to negative attacks

U.S. Rep. Tom Udall said today he won’t respond to negative attacks that are coming at him from all sides as he formally begins his campaign for Senate.

Udall made the comment during a phone interview today with New Mexico bloggers. He’s been under attack from the other Democrats in the race – Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez says he’s too liberal and has betrayed New Mexicans in supporting cuts at the state’s national laboratories, and alternative media publisher and editor Leland Lehrman says he lacks the courage and willingness to represent the state’s Democrats because he won’t support impeachment of the president and vice president.

The Republicans in the race – U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson – have also been highly critical of the proposed lab cuts.

“There are going to be people in this race who pander and play to politics,” Udall said when I asked about the attacks. “… I don’t think New Mexicans like those kinds of campaigns and those candidates are going to lose, so I’m going to stay positive.”

Udall began his campaign today with a formal announcement at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Chávez’s hometown, and many of his stops in the next three days are in Hispanic Democratic strongholds, including Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Los Lunas and Mora. Still, Udall said his announcement tour wasn’t designed to reach areas where Chávez is strongest.

“We’re trying to cover as much of New Mexico as possible in those three days,” he said. “… There was an attempt here to put together a good, solid schedule that hit east, west, north and south.”

Lab cuts, Iraq, immigration

Udall fielded questions from other bloggers about topics including the proposed lab cuts, Iraq and immigration.

He defended the lab cuts, which would hit the lab in Los Alamos much harder than Sandia in Albuquerque, by saying the labs need to “reorient” to focus less on nuclear weapons and more on helping “solve challenges in energy and global warming.” He said Sandia has, to some degree, done that, so the proposed cuts won’t hit it as hard.

Los Alamos, he said, has not done that, though he and others have been pushing for years.

“It hasn’t been happening, and so we’re on to tough times now,” he said. “My vote was a (vote) for the future of Los Alamos… to do everything I can to push the viability and the vibrancy of the lab.”

On Iraq, Udall said the current troop surge may be reducing the number of American solider deaths, but he understands that it’s not reducing violence among Iraqis. He supports, and recently voted for, a bill that tied war funding to a withdrawal that would begin 30 days after the bill was approved and have a goal of being complete by Dec. 15, 2008.

The reason, he said, is that the situation is a civil war, and Iraqis, not Americans, need to police the streets and end the war. A withdrawal over a year allows time to turn the situation over to the Iraqi government in such a manner that it has a chance to succeed.

On immigration, Udall said he supports comprehensive reform that begins with securing the borders through hiring more agents and focusing on technology to create a “virtual wall.” The second step, he said, is cracking down on employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants, and creating a “tamper-proof” work permit card so employers can know with certainty whether someone they want to hire is in the United States legally.

Reform must also include deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed other crimes, but giving “a process of legalization” to those who “are part of our economic fabric.”

Frustration with the Senate

Udall said one reason for his decision to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici was his frustration with watching legislation the House passed die in the Senate. He said the Senate is not in line with the will of the American people.

“Me being in the Senate makes one more vote,” he said. “… I think you’re going to see me, when I get elected, speaking on these issues and many other issues people want.”

Also today, Jim Hannan, who had been running for Senate even before Domenici announced his coming retirement, officially dropped out of the race and endorsed Udall. He had already said he would do so.

“Tom Udall has proven to be a strong fighter for the issues that matter most to working people,” Hannan said. “He will join U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman in providing New Mexico the type of representation that we need.”

Update, 2:30 p.m.

You can watch a video report of Udall’s Albuquerque announcement by clicking here.

Meanwhile, Chávez released a statement welcoming Udall to the race, and the state’s GOP released one attacking him.

“I welcome Tom to this historic race for the U.S. Senate,” Chávez said. “But to fix the problems in Washington, New Mexicans need to make a change in who’s representing us (in) Washington. We can’t change Washington with those same Washington politicians who have resisted change. … It takes strong leadership to produce results. Our next U.S. senator needs to stand up for what’s right. That’s what I’ve done as mayor and that is what I will do in representing us in Washington.”

The GOP said Udall is “too liberal.”

“To put it bluntly, Tom Udall has been an ineffective member of the U.S. House, and we should expect the same from him if he is elected to the Senate,” the GOP statement read. “Just this year, Udall put partisan politics ahead of the interests of New Mexico by voting for intense funding cuts at Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories. Because of his lack of leadership, thousands of New Mexicans could lose their jobs and the economy of northern and central New Mexico could take a significant hit. New Mexicans will certainly realize the danger in voting for someone who so easily bent to the misplaced priorities of Washington Democrats at the expense of New Mexico and our nation’s security.”