Obama needs to be reminded that words matter

By |

I didn’t originally think Barack Obama did much damage to his campaign when he said at an April fundraiser in San Francisco that many rural Pennsylvanians respond to their economic plight by becoming “bitter” and clinging to guns, religion, hostility toward people who are different from them and anti-immigrant and anti-trade sentiment. All politicians make careless statements once in awhile, especially when they don’t realize those words will become public. I figured it would blow over. I now think I was wrong. I believe Obama’s comment was the beginning of an avalanche that currently has the Democratic presidential nominee buried under the momentum Sarah Palin has brought to John McCain’s campaign. Continue Reading

Palin will help McCain, if she can withstand the heat

By |

Media focused on scandal and John McCain’s vetting (or lack thereof) of Sarah Palin fail to realize one key detail — many of the very voters who will decide this election like the Alaska governor in spite of or even because of some of the revelations the media has brought to light. Because of that, McCain’s selection might have been brilliant — if Palin can survive the media vetting. The issue is what one Washington Independent writer called a “backlash against elitism.” This election is going to be decided by rural and independent voters in a handful of states — New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada among them — who, like so many other Americans, are sick of highly educated, wealthy and ingrained politicos in Washington failing to address the nation’s most pressing issues. While independent voters are difficult to put in a box on issues, rural voters tend to be religious, pro-Second Amendment and favor more drilling for oil. Palin fits the mold on all of those issues. Continue Reading

Corporate-funded conventions epitomize hypocrisy

By |

Talking tough on issues like campaign-finance reform and trying to create an appearance of independence is the current trend in Washington. This week, however, Democrats are epitomizing hypocrisy on that subject at their presidential nominating convention. Next week, Republicans will do the same. The conventions are cesspools of corporate money. Corporations trying to buy influence in Washington can spend all they want at the conventions to woo politicians and candidates — something they’re not allowed to do the rest of the time. Continue Reading

Tinsley caught in the clutches of liberal blogosphere

By |

Liberals sure have figured out how to use the blogosphere to their advantage. A comment Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley made at a recent forum in Las Cruces exploded onto the national stage on Wednesday thanks to their efforts. It’s sure to come back to bite Tinsley in November. The assault began with two liberal New Mexico blogs, Democracy for New Mexico and NMFBIHOP, posting video of Tinsley uttering these words during a candidate forum held last week in Las Cruces: “How can I call my two nephews over there right now — one’s a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps in Anbar Province, another one in the Persian Gulf — and tell them I’m running against a guy that will cut your throat, that will cut the bottom out of your funding?” Tinsley asked. The liberal bloggers pounced. Continue Reading

Southern N.M. Dems are critical to 2008 election

By |

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

Washington needs to balance its budget

By |

By Heath Haussamen The media on Monday shouted out the news that President Bush will leave office with a record deficit of $482 billion this year. The previous high came during another Bush-presidency year, 2004. Liberal Web sites were quick to pounce. The Huffington Post headlined its coverage of the issue “forever in your debt” with a photo underneath of Bush waving. Daily Kos labeled the deficit “Bush’s little parting gift to our nation.” There is a lot of truth in their criticism. Continue Reading

We need a massive energy-independence effort now

By |

By Heath Haussamen It’s no secret that, for two or three decades, the powers-that-be in America have ignored the looming energy crisis. The almighty dollar and a political system that encourages only short-term thinking have pushed common sense aside. As a result, the emergency that could have been avoided has arrived. Our dependence on foreign oil is wreaking havoc on Americans’ pocketbooks. Because some of the money we’re spending goes to nations that sponsor terror, our oil addiction is helping sponsor terrorism. Continue Reading

N.M. GOP needs to prepare for 2010, redistricting

By |

Many Republicans are already beginning to think past 2008 — a year that could be dismal for them — to 2010 and a chance to regain power in Washington by winning greater influence in the next decade’s redistricting process. In New Mexico, there’s another reason Republicans should be thinking about 2010 and redistricting. If they don’t win the gubernatorial race or greater influence in the state House, Democrats will likely grab even greater control of state government through redistricting. According to the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein, focusing on 2010 and redistricting is the GOP’s contingency plan for what many expect will be a further loss of influence in Congress this year. Many believe the party’s best chance at retaking Congress may come by first winning back a majority of governorships in 2010, because redistricting takes place at the state level. Continue Reading

Bush must back up words on Iraq withdrawal

By |

President Bush said during a May 2007 news conference that American forces would pull out of Iraq if the Iraqi government so desired. Now the Iraqi government wants to set a timeline for U.S. forces to leave. It’s time for Bush to back his words up with action. Iraq’s national security adviser said on Tuesday, in reference to negotiations with America over a pending security deal, that Iraq will accept no deal that does not contain a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign forces, according to The Associated Press. Today an Iraqi government spokesman said, according to CNN, that the pullout of American forces could be complete as early as 2011 depending on “conditions and circumstances that the country would be undergoing” at the time. Continue Reading

N.M. GOP needs to let in the sunshine

By |

Shortly after the 2006 primary election, the Republican Party of New Mexico’s central committee entered a closed-door meeting with J.R. Damron as its gubernatorial candidate and emerged with John Dendahl as its candidate. Damron’s withdrawal from the race, which allowed the party to place Dendahl on the ballot, was a surprise move that didn’t help the party at all: Dendahl was steamrolled by the Bill Richardson re-election train later that year. But the switcheroo did earn the GOP some criticism. What happened in that private meeting? Was Damron pressured to drop out? Continue Reading

Obama and McCain: reformers or more of the same?

By |

Barack Obama and John McCain claim to be candidates of principle and reform. But the actions of both related to public financing in the presidential race raise doubts. Obama broke a previous pledge last week and announced that he would opt out of the public-financing system for presidential candidates. On a practical level, it wasn’t surprising: The Democrat has displayed a rare ability to raise huge amounts of money from average Americans, and that would have been hindered by accepting public financing. But reducing the influence of money in politics is central to Obama’s “Change We Can Believe In” slogan and the message of his presidential campaign. Continue Reading

Dropping approval rating is a sign of guv’s struggles

By |

There were signs when Gov. Bill Richardson returned to New Mexico after a failed presidential campaign that his power had diminished. A dropping approval rating appears to be another indicator of his lessening influence in the Land of Enchantment. His rating in a May poll was 56 percent — still healthy but down 18 points from a year earlier, when Richardson’s presidential campaign was at its height and he was climbing in the Democratic presidential primary polls largely because of clever television advertisements. Richardson’s campaign petered out after that. And his gubernatorial approval rating in the monthly SurveyUSA poll conducted for KOB-TV in Albuquerque started dropping. Continue Reading

Progressive victories create hope for ethics reform

By |

In 2007, the New Mexico Senate voted down a proposal to open legislative conference committees to the public. It was the third time in two years the proposal died. This time, it failed by one vote. The proposal had already passed the House and was supported by the governor. One more vote in the Senate and legislative conference committees would now be open to the public. Continue Reading

More officials prove need for an ethics commission

By |

Add two Republicans to the bipartisan list of public officials in New Mexico who, by their own actions, prove the need for an independent ethics commission to help foster a culture of integrity in government and punish those who abuse their positions. The Albuquerque Journal has run articles in the last few days detailing ethically challenged situations involving state Land Commissioner Pat Lyons and state Sen. Joe Carraro, a 1st Congressional District candidate from Albuquerque. Lyons, according to the Journal article, was charged with speeding and weaving across lanes in a state vehicle on Interstate 25 near Truth or Consequences more than a year ago. Instead of paying the fines, Lyons decided to fight, and he had Land Office general counsel Robert Stranahan represent him in the case. “We made the decision that I could go down (as Lyons’ legal representative) based on the fact he had been traveling to a spaceport meeting at the time and was driving a state vehicle,” Stranahan told the Journal. Continue Reading

Congress needs to tackle oil addiction, not gas prices

By |

Ninety-seven U.S. senators voted on Tuesday to stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for six months, a move they say they hope will help ease the gas-price burden on motorists through the summer months. The vast majority of House members later followed suit in approving the proposal. But the reality is that this was a do-nothing vote following weeks of partisan rhetoric designed to make it look, in this election year, like Congress is doing something to allay the concerns of angry Americans who are watching gas and food prices skyrocket. Meanwhile, substantive legislation that would actually help solve America’s energy and fuel crisis is nowhere to be found. The rhetoric began on April 29 when President Bush publicly blamed Congress for doing nothing about rising oil prices. Continue Reading