Guv scales back health-care proposal

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Admitting the political reality of the situation, Gov. Bill Richardson has scaled back his health-care plan for the special session that begins Aug. 15 to focus on children. Meanwhile, the attorney general has given his stamp of approval to another effort by Richardson to expand health-care coverage in New Mexico. The Santa Fe New Mexican has the scoop on Richardson’s new proposal, which his administration developed after lawmakers balked at an expensive universal health care plan Richardson pushed earlier this year during the regular session and remained skeptical about through months of negotiations since. The new plan would require all parents to insure children 18 and younger. Continue Reading

Pearce continues hammering Udall on energy

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Republican Senate candidate Steve Pearce’s new radio ad continues his campaign’s hammering of Democratic opponent Tom Udall on energy issues. “It’s time our government stood up for working families, reduce our energy costs by building nuclear power plants and drilling for oil on land and offshore,” Pearce says in the ad, which you can listen to by clicking here. “The far left environmentalists are not going to like this and maybe it’s not politically correct, but nuclear energy is a sure way to America’s energy independence. Nuclear power can make America free from Middle Eastern oil cartels.” “Nuclear power will make energy affordable, America prosperous and keep American jobs here instead of being shipped overseas,” Pearce says in the ad. “But Tom Udall and the extreme environmentalists oppose nuclear energy and offshore drilling. Continue Reading

GOP House candidates to skip nominating convention

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What about the Democratic hopefuls? The chairman of the fund-raising committee for House Republicans recently told congressional hopefuls they should not shy away from criticizing fellow Republicans and would be wise to skip next month’s GOP presidential nominating convention in Minnesota. New Mexico’s Republican House candidates are skipping the GOP convention at the beginning of September, their campaigns said. And all three — 1st District candidate Darren White, 2nd District candidate Ed Tinsley and 3rd District candidate Dan East — released statements touting their independence. “We’re going to run our race the way we’ve been running it. Continue Reading

The truth about my votes

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By Leonard Lee Rawson I would like to thank Heath Haussamen for allowing me to respond to the latest posting by the representatives from New Mexico Youth Organized. I am a supporter of free speech and the right to disagree with elected officials, and am glad to learn that the two men in charge of the New Mexico Youth have long ties to this state. The main reason I could not support Senate Bill 800 is because it was unconstitutional. The failure to “cooperate” with the secretary of state violated an individual’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination (attorney general’s analysis). Unlike this independent-expenditure, third-party group, I have taken an oath to uphold both the N.M. and U.S. Constitutions. Continue Reading

Is Ben R. Luján ducking forums?

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Is 3rd Congressional District Democratic candidate Ben R. Luján ducking forums? That’s what two of his opponents are saying. And Luján isn’t responding. The 3rd District candidates had been scheduled to participate in a forum this evening in Clovis, but it was canceled on Tuesday after Luján backed out. His withdrawal came the day after he, Republican candidate Dan East and independent candidates Carol Miller and Ron Simmons participated in a forum in Santa Fe. Continue Reading

Southern N.M. Dems are critical to 2008 election

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By Heath Haussamen There’s a rare breed of Democrat in southern New Mexico that makes the region the place to watch in New Mexico in the 2008 election. Those conservative Democrats who have a history of voting for Republicans will decide who wins the 2nd Congressional District race between Democrat Harry Teague and Republican Ed Tinsley. Were the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Tom Udall and Republican Steve Pearce to get interesting — Udall is currently way ahead of Pearce – those Democrats would be a major factor. And those Democrats — who gave Hillary Clinton the win in New Mexico’s Feb. 5 caucus — will probably be the deciding factor in whether Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain wins New Mexico in the presidential race. Continue Reading

Dems continue to focus on Tinsley’s Santa Fe home

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Democrats will present Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley with a mock Santa Fe “Resident of the Month Award” later today, the latest political stunt in their effort to highlight the home he owns there. The award will be presented on the Santa Fe Plaza at 3:30 p.m. by Santa Fe Mayor David Coss. Tinsley owns a ranch in Capitan in the 2nd District and a home in Santa Fe in the 3rd District. While Tinsley votes, pays taxes and says he spends most of his time at the ranch, Democrats, including his opponent, Harry Teague, have repeatedly accused him of not living in the district he is running to represent. Today’s ceremony comes on the heels of the Tinsley campaign erroneously sending fund-raising letters to the Democratic Party’s state headquarters addressed to a number of high-profile Democrats late last week. Continue Reading

McCain continues attack on Obama’s celebrity

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Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s newest television ad continues attacking Democratic opponent Barack Obama’s celebrity. Here’s the 30-second spot, which is airing in New Mexico and other states: The ad opens with a scene similar to the previous ad that included images of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, but the two controversial stars are absent from the new ad. “Is the biggest celebrity in the world ready to help your family?” the narrator of the new ad asks. “The real Obama promises higher taxes, more government spending. So, fewer jobs.” “Renewable energy to transform our economy, create jobs and energy independence,” the narrator says. Continue Reading

Legislators’ lawsuit is baseless, defendants say

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Robinson says insiders who decided to ‘snitch’ helped reveal conspiracy that led to lawmakers’ defeat By Heath Haussamen A lawsuit alleging an illegal conspiracy to defeat three incumbent lawmakers in the June primary is baseless, several people and groups named as defendants say, but one of the lawmakers says insiders who decided to “snitch” will help prove the allegations. Sens. Shannon Robinson and James Taylor and Rep. Dan Silva claim in their lawsuit that several nonprofits and the three challengers who defeated the Albuquerque Democrats in the June primary conspired to illegally hide the spending of at least $180,000 on a secret campaign against them. The defeated lawmakers allege in the lawsuit that the money was funneled through the Center for Civic Policy and the League of Young Voters — which no longer exists in New Mexico — to at least six other nonprofits. The lawsuit alleges that the Center for Civic Policy received approximately $1.5 million from liberal activist George Soros and other groups and individuals for the purpose of electing the three challengers “and others.” “That is a completely false allegation. Continue Reading

This is the presidency, not American Idol

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By Dan Foley I write this knowing it will provoke a response from my fellow columnists. I’m happy to help get those creative juices flowing because God knows there’s nothing worse for a liberal than to have nothing to complain about. (Considering liberals, maybe I shouldn’t even use the term “God.”) As we’ve seen lately, if there’s nothing to complain about liberals will make something up, even if it ends up exposing their own hypocrisy on issues. I say this because I have to take a few minutes to talk about Barack Obama and the liberal response to the surge and the current success we are having in Iraq. As we move closer to the November election, I’m amazed by the nerve of Barack and his left-wing supporters and their already revisionist perspective on the war on terror, as well as their continued opposition to protecting Americans and our economy. Continue Reading

Obama’s new TV ad attacks McCain’s oil ties

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Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s new TV ad takes aim at Republican opponent John McCain and accuses him of being in the pocket of the oil industry. Here’s the 30 second spot, which is currently airing on national cable: “Every time you fill your tank, the oil companies fill their pockets,” the ad’s narrator states. “Now Big Oil’s filling John McCain’s campaign with $2 million in contributions, because, instead of taxing their windfall profits to help drivers, McCain wants to give them another $4 billion in tax breaks. After one president in the pocket of big oil, we can’t afford another.” McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded with this statement: “Barack Obama’s latest negative attack ad shows his celebrity is matched only by his hypocrisy,” he said. “After all, it was Senator Obama, not John McCain, who voted for the Bush-Cheney energy bill that was a sweetheart deal for oil companies. Continue Reading

Setting the record straight

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By Keegan King and Eli Il Yong Lee Over the past week, media outlets have reported Sen. Lee Rawson’s dissatisfaction over mail pieces we sent and radio commercials we ran about the senator’s record. The claims made by Sen. Rawson about the issues we support, the kind of organization we are and the intent of our work merit correction. We wish to set the record straight. Like the vast majority of New Mexicans, we are deeply troubled by the rash of public-corruption scandals popping up at every level of government. Common-sense reforms like contribution limits for political campaigns are long overdue. Continue Reading

Pearce’s first TV ad promotes nuclear energy

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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Pearce released his first general-election television ad today, a 30-second spot in which he says nuclear energy is the key to America’s energy independence. Here’s the ad: “It may not be politically correct, but nuclear energy is a sure way to America’s energy independence,” Pearce says in the ad. “Nuclear power can make America free from Middle East oil cartels. Nuclear can keep energy costs low, America prosperous and keep American jobs from going overseas.” “Tom Udall won’t stand up to the far left environmentalists. I will,” Pearce says of his Democratic opponent. Continue Reading

Journal examines Foley’s role in state contract

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A weekend article in the Albuquerque Journal examines a state-government insurance contract that has paid thousands of dollars to outgoing House Minority Whip Dan Foley. Chaves County Commissioner Harold Hobson — a Foley critic — has asked the attorney general to look into the situation in which Foley, an Allstate insurance agent, helped his company win a state contract last year that pays him a 10-percent commission on all policies sold, according to the Journal. Some 500 government employees in New Mexico have signed up for the supplemental cancer, accident and universal life-insurance policy. The AG’s office told the newspaper that Hobson’s request has been forwarded to the appropriate section. Foley, R-Roswell, told the newspaper he has done nothing wrong. Continue Reading

Defeated lawmakers allege conspiracy in lawsuit

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Three lawmakers who were defeated by progressive challengers in the June primary filed a lawsuit Friday alleging a “secret campaign” by nonprofit groups and their opponents that skirted campaign-finance laws and defrauded voters. Because of the alleged conspiracy, the lawmakers say, their losses should be voided. State Sens. Shannon Robinson and James Taylor and Rep. Dan Silva, all Albuquerque Democrats, say the alleged conspirators funneled at least $180,000 through the nonprofits, which aren’t subject to campaign disclosure laws, and used the money to distribute literature and make phone calls, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Without that effort, the lawmakers claim, they would have won the primary races. Continue Reading