Pearce’s opposition helps keep bailout on hold

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On Thursday afternoon, the president and many congressional leaders sounded confident that they had a deal in place on a proposed bailout to stabilize the economy. But by Thursday evening, it was clear that no deal was in place, largely because a group of conservative Republicans are rejecting the plan. U.S. Rep. and Senate candidate Steve Pearce, R-N.M., is among the proposal’s detractors. Their unwillingness to support the bailout is keeping Washington and Wall Street on edge. Pearce says the bailout proposal isn’t a real solution to the financial crisis. Continue Reading

Cheney cancels appearance at Tinsley fundraiser

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This article has been updated. Vice president Dick Cheney has cancelled a scheduled appearance at a fundraiser in Hobbs today for Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley so he can stay in Washington to help sell the bailout plan, the Associated Press is reporting. The plan is on the ropes after many congressional Republicans revolted against it late Thursday. A Tinsley spokesman said a statement would move across the AP wire soon. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s counter to the Cheney fundraiser is still on. Continue Reading

Who’s getting cash from companies in crisis?

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With all the news about financial meltdown and government bailouts of companies, I thought it might be interesting to know how much money members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation had taken from some of the companies at the center of the crisis. So I went to OpenSecrets.org to see what I could find. The bottom line: It appears that New Mexico’s members of Congress haven’t taken nearly as much over the years from these companies as some other Democrats and Republicans. Here’s a breakdown: The money-in-politics Web site lists contributions since 1989 from employees and political action committees tied to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to each member of Congress. According to the site, Sen. Pete Domenici has received $16,226, Rep. Steve Pearce has received $5,000, Sen. Jeff Bingaman has received $3,000, Rep. Heather Wilson has received $1,250 and Rep. Tom Udall has received nothing. Continue Reading

C. de Baca says he has resigned (updated)

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Fernando C. de Baca says he resigned this morning from the position of chairman of the Bernalillo County Republican Party. “The media sideshow which has developed, due to remarks taken totally out of context, has created a media spectacle of major proportions and, as a result, I decided to resign as of this morning in an effort to get the focus back on the 30 or more Republican campaigns in Bernalillo County,” C. de Baca said in an interview with 770 KKOB-AM’s Peter St. Cyr. “We have precious few days remaining before the general election and not a moment to spare.” C. de Baca was facing heavy pressure from Republicans and Democrats alike to step down because of racially charged comments he made in recent days related to relations between Hispanics and blacks in the context of the candidacy of Democrat Barack Obama. In the interview with St. Continue Reading

Calls for C. de Baca’s resignation grow louder

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Pressure continues to mount for Bernalillo County Republican Party Chairman Fernando C. de Baca to resign, with the state’s two U.S. Senate candidates among those calling for his ouster and the state GOP chairman saying he may have the authority to remove the embattled county chairman. C. de Baca continues to reject the calls to step down. Click here to listen to his latest interview with 770 KKOB-AM radio in Albuquerque. The Albuquerque Journal is reporting that state party Chairman Allen Weh says he has been advised that he has “the authority to remove a chairman under special circumstances.” Weh hasn’t said whether he’ll try to remove C. de Baca. All three of New Mexico’s U.S. representatives have joined the chorus of Republicans and Democrats calling for C. de Baca to step down. Continue Reading

Date of Las Cruces Obama fundraiser changes

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The Las Cruces fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama that is featuring three current governors has been moved from Tuesday to Monday. Lobbyist Domonic Silva, whose home is the location of the fundraiser, wrote in an e-mail that the date had been changed. He did not give a reason. Gov. Bill Richardson will be joined by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius at the Monday fundraiser. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. for those who contribute at least $2,500 and at 6:30 p.m. for those who contribute $500 or more. Continue Reading

Herrera finally hires an elections director

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A Santa Fe attorney who has held various government jobs is the state’s new elections director. Secretary of State Mary Herrera hired Gerald Gonzalez, 65, who is expected to begin the job next week, The Santa Fe New Mexican is reporting. Gonzalez takes a job that has been vacant for months. Earlier this month, Judicial Standards Commission Director Jim Noel declined the job after criticism mounted because he is the son-in-law of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall and his wife, in addition to being Udall’s daughter, is Udall’s campaign manager. Gonzalez has worked as an attorney for local governments in Santa Fe. Continue Reading

Is the guv doing enough to ensure a smooth election?

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Should Gov. Bill Richardson be doing more to ensure the November election runs smoothly in New Mexico? In an article published today, Trip Jennings of the New Mexico Independent explores that question. “New Mexico stands on the cusp of a possible election day meltdown that could turn the Land of Enchantment into the Florida or Ohio of 2008,” Jennings’ article, “Jet-setting guv courts Election Day disaster,” begins. “But Gov. Bill Richardson, the self-proclaimed go-to guy in New Mexico’s hour of need, has been traveling the world in service to Barack Obama and has done little to ensure that New Mexico will have a smooth election. He even has joked about voting in New Mexico.” The governor’s office, Jennings writes, is directing questions about elections preparedness to the secretary of state. Continue Reading

Federal candidates share views on economy, bailout

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(This article has been updated.) Most analysts agree that the United States is facing its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. With that in mind, I asked every federal candidate from New Mexico for statements on the financial crisis, the proposed $700 billion bailout plan and the steps that must be taken to ensure the financial stability of the United States. Here are their responses: U.S. Senate race Republican Steve Pearce said he opposes the bailout plan. “The proposed reform establishes a dangerous precedent. If the proposal is not effective — and there is no guarantee from its proponents that it will be — the financial sector will be back at the government trough for trillions more in bailouts,” Pearce said. Continue Reading

A host of new TV ads

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There are more political ads on television right now than anyone can keep up with, but I believe these are all of the new ads airing in New Mexico related to the federal races. Here’s Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s new Spanish-language ad: Here’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall’s new ad: Here’s Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley’s new ad: Here’s the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) new ad attacking Tinsley: Here’s an ad from Freedom’s Watch attacking 1st Congressional District Democratic candidate Martin Heinrich: And here’s the DCCC’s ad attacking Heinrich’s Republican opponent, Darren White: Continue Reading

C. de Baca won’t resign; executive board backs him

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Bernalillo County Republican Party Chairman Fernando C. de Baca won’t resign, and his county party’s executive board voted this morning to back him, setting up a standoff with state GOP leaders who have called for C. de Baca’s resignation. Several media outlets are reporting on the county party board’s decision to stand with C. de Baca, including 770 KKOB-AM radio reporter Peter St. Cyr, who has audio of an interview with county party executive board member Doug Antoon. Antoon accused BBC News of being “a rather very liberal international broadcasting company.” He said the organization was taking C. de Baca’s comment — that Hispanics won’t vote for a black president because, as conquerors, they consider themselves above blacks, who came to America as slaves — out of context because of its political agenda. And, in the interview with St. Continue Reading

2nd District candidates agree to another debate

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The 2nd Congressional District candidates have agreed to another debate. Following Republican candidate Ed Tinsley’s challenge last week that Democrat Harry Teague agree to an additional debate focused entirely on the economy, the two candidates agreed on Monday to an Oct. 23 debate that will be televised on KOB-TV, Tinsley said in a news release. “Our voters will now have an opportunity to judge for themselves who is best to look out for their interests on Capitol Hill, where negative, partisan attacks aren’t going to get the job done,” Tinsley said in the release.“We face the largest overhaul of government regulators since the Great Depression,” said the statement from Tinsley’s campaign. “… Continue Reading

C. de Baca also said older Hispanics resent blacks

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There’s no audio recording to prove that Bernalillo County Republican Party Chairman Fernando C. de Baca actually said last week that Hispanics won’t vote for a black president because, as conquerors, they consider themselves above blacks, who came to America as slaves. But there is an audio recording of a separate interview in which C. de Baca spoke about the same subject. The comments that have caused controversy and sparked calls from the top leaders of his party for C. de Baca’s resignation were reported by BBC News blogger Jon Kelly in a Friday blog posting. C. de Baca also gave an interview last week to Ros Atkins, an on-air reporter for BBC News, and those comments have not been publicly circulated in New Mexico, until today. Bill Dupuy, a radio reporter for KSFR-FM in Santa Fe, obtained audio of the interview and shared it with this site. Continue Reading

White is clearly the best choice in CD1 race

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By Dan Foley I have to tell you how surprised I have been to hear Martin Heinrich claim he was not a lobbyist. If you are paid to influence elected officials, I believe that qualifies you as a lobbyist. There is no exception because you lobbied on behalf of the environment. Give me a break. Whenever Heinrich got his paycheck each month, you can bet it wasn’t signed by “The Environment.” This just goes to highlight the problems of hypocrisy the Democrats are going to face as they continue to try to attack Republicans at every turn. Continue Reading

Top GOP leaders call for C. de Baca’s resignation

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Two top GOP officials — U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and state party Chairman Allen Weh – say Bernalillo County Republican Party Chairman Fernando C. de Baca should resign because of racially charged comments he was quoted as making last week. “Fernando C de Baca should resign,” Domenici told the Albuquerque Journal. “The Republican Party cannot let a high-ranking official remain in an active position having made this kind of statement. It’s a wrong statement to make. That’s not what Republicans believe.” Weh agreed. Continue Reading