McCain, Palin plan ABQ rally following convention

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Republican presidential nominee John McCain, wife Cindy McCain and running mate Sarah Palin plan to hold a rally in Albuquerque on Saturday. The event is timed to “continue the momentum” following this week’s Republican National Convention in Minnesota, according to an e-mail the McCain campaign sent today announcing the visit. The e-mail was sent around the same time that McCain ordered a scaling-back of the convention because of Hurricane Gustav, which is expected to slam into the Gulf Coast on Monday. McCain plans to spend much of the week in the Gulf Coast region and has said it’s possible he will accept his party’s nomination via satellite instead of in person. The Saturday rally, which is scheduled to be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center, 401 2nd Street NW, begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Continue Reading

Most voters in poll say Biden doesn’t help in NM

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The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said Barack Obama’s selection of Joe Biden to be his running mate doesn’t increase his chances of winning New Mexico. Of 146 voters, 82, or 56 percent, said the pick doesn’t help Obama in this state, while 64, or 44 percent, said it does help him. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

State is cooperating with federal probe of GRIP bonds

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The New Mexico Finance Authority says it’s “cooperating fully” with federal investigators who are looking into the dealings between the state and a California firm that was paid almost $1 million under a state contract related to a $1.6 billion transportation program. Investigators are looking into at least two financial contributions the company involved, CDR Financial Products, made to political committees formed by Gov. Bill Richardson around the time it won the state contract related to Governor Richardson’s Investment Partnership (GRIP) in 2004. The situation was first reported on this morning by the Albuquerque Journal. The NMFA announced its cooperation with federal authorities in a statement sent late this afternoon. The news release confirmed that the investigation relates to “the 2004 issuance of bonds for the GRIP transportation program” and states that NMFA will make no further comments until the probe is complete. Continue Reading

Pride and progress

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By Diane Denish DENVER — Incredible! That is the only way to describe the 2008 Democratic National Convention. This makes the third convention I have attended, and while they all have their own unique flavor, at the end of a long heated battle between two outstanding and historical candidates this convention marked a true coming together. Wednesday started with a presentation to the New Mexico delegation by T. Boone Pickens on his plan for diversifying energy. Unusual? Continue Reading

New Mexicans react to McCain’s surprise VP pick

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Top New Mexico Republicans were quick today to praise John McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate. “I think she’s a great pick. She’s a governor of an energy producing state and has a reputation as a reformer,” U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M. said in an interview. Wilson also pointed out Palin’s experience in business and raising children. Allen Weh, chairman of the state Republican Party, said in a news release that Palin “has proven herself” by beating an incumbent governor in the 2006 primary. Continue Reading

Governor’s office comments on Noel hiring

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One of the questions the GOP has raised in requesting documents related to the secretary of state’s decision to hire the son-in-law of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall to be the state’s elections director is whether the governor was involved in the choice. Jim Noel is leaving a job in the administration of Gov. Bill Richardson as head of the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission, and Noel’s wife, Amanda Cooper, who is currently running her father’s Senate campaign, has also worked for and is close to the governor. Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos released this statement when asked for comment: “The secretary of state met with the governor’s chief of staff to discuss several issues, and during that conversation (Secretary of State) Mary Herrera asked James Jimenez his opinion of Jim Noel,” Gallegos said. “James worked with Jim in the past in his capacity as executive director of the Judicial Standards Commission.” I asked a follow-up question via e-mail: So there was no pressure from the governor’s office to hire Noel? Gallegos didn’t respond. Continue Reading

Guv gives a rousing speech at Democratic convention

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If he had performed this well in public when he was running for president, Gov. Bill Richardson might have been giving a different speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention. Not really. But Richardson the Western governor was much better tonight than Richardson the presidential candidate was during most debates and other major events. In a speech that included a couple of memorable one-liners delivered with enthusiasm and energy, Richardson roasted John McCain and praised Barack Obama, who spoke later in the evening.“John McCain may pay hundreds of dollars for his shoes, but we’re the ones who will pay for his flip-flops,” Richardson said after listing some of those position shifts, including voting against the Bush tax cuts before deciding to support making them permanent.The speech was full of partisan spin, but that’s the nature of such events. The state GOP took advantage of the opportunity to hit back. Continue Reading

GOP convention doesn’t feature any NM speakers

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We’ve all heard the repeated rhetoric from Democrats, Republicans, analysts and the media this year: New Mexico is a swing state, right? The Democrats’ convention in Denver was evidence of that this week when three prominent New Mexicans — former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall and Gov. Bill Richardson — were given the opportunity to speak. I expected next week’s GOP convention in Minnesota to also reflect the importance of New Mexico. But The Republican National Convention Committee released the list of scheduled speakers on Tuesday. There are no New Mexicans on the list of prominent politicos who will speak. Continue Reading

New NM poll finds Obama leading, Nader a factor

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A new poll suggests that Barack Obama is picking up support in New Mexico and that independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader may be a factor here. The TIME/CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, released Wednesday, had Obama leading John McCain by 13 points in New Mexico — 53 percent to 40 percent — when no other candidates were added into the mix. When Nader and other minor-party candidates were added in, 50 percent said they support Obama, 36 percent said they support McCain and 8 percent said they support Nader. The survey of 659 registered voters was conducted Sunday through Tuesday and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. The poll also looked at other Western states and found Obama with a 5-point lead in Nevada and McCain with a 1-point lead in Colorado when the other candidates weren’t considered. Continue Reading

Giuliani calls Darren White ‘a superb candidate’

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Former New York Mayor and GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani says his party’s contender in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District race, Darren White, is “a superb candidate” whose opponent is a liberal extremist. Giuliani said White has practical experience that will make him a great congressman. He was in Albuquerque on Wednesday to attend a fundraiser for White, the Bernalillo County sheriff. “I’m here for Darren because I believe he would make a superb member of Congress. This is an easy one, to support him,” Giuliani said in a phone interview. Continue Reading

Richardson won’t speak at convention tonight

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Gov. Bill Richardson was scheduled to speak tonight at the Democratic National Convention shortly before vice presidential candidate Joe Biden took the stage, but he was apparently bumped from the schedule. There is no immediate word on why Richardson’s speech was removed from tonight’s schedule. As reported by NMFBIHOP, who is at the convention, Richardson was on the schedule until the last minute. In fact, click here for Richardson’s remarks as prepared for delivery, which were released to the media. Update, 9:05 p.m. Conchita Cruz, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of New Mexico, said Richardson will speak Thursday. Continue Reading

Udall tries to link McCain and Pearce to Bush

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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall used his two minutes as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention tonight to try to link GOP presidential candidate John McCain and Udall’s Republican Senate opponent, Steve Pearce, to President Bush. Udall said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will win New Mexico because, “in the West, we know Washington is broken and Barack Obama is the change we need. It’s bad enough that John McCain and my opponent, Steve Pearce, have supported every one of George Bush’s special-interest economic policies.” Udall continued by saying that Bush has set a number of records during his presidency, including record prices for gas, food and college tuition. He said McCain and Pearce want to “try to set new records in middle-class misery.” Udall used his last few seconds to promote a Web site his campaign started — MiddleClassSqueeze.com — which includes a calculator the Udall campaign says tells people how much their food, gas, health-insurance and prescription-drug costs have increased during the Bush presidency. Udall was one of a handful of Democratic U.S. Senate candidates given the opportunity to briefly address the convention this evening. Continue Reading

Tinsley’s campaign manager calls it quits

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There’s been another change in leadership at the campaign of Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley. Chris Collins, who Tinsley hired as his campaign manager a little more than a month ago, resigned today, Tinsley confirmed in a statement released by his campaign. Tinsley gave no reason for Collins’ resignation, and Collins said he had no comment. Grant Hewitt, who served as Tinsley’s campaign manager during the primary and until Collins replaced him last month, will again fill the role of campaign manager. While Collins was running the campaign, Hewitt served as a deputy campaign manager. Continue Reading

McCain TV ad hits Obama over Iran comments

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Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s new TV ad is a hard-hitting attack on Democratic opponent Barack Obama’s foreign-policy views. Here’s the 30-second spot, which is airing in New Mexico and other key states: “Iran. Radical Islamic government. Known sponsors of terrorism. Developing nuclear capabilities to ‘generate power’ but threatening to eliminate Israel,” the ad’s narrator states. Continue Reading