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Obama praises guv during campaign event in ABQ

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With the biggest political question of the week being who Barack Obama will choose to be his running mate, the Democratic presidential candidate had strong praise for Gov. Bill Richardson during an appearance earlier today in Albuquerque. Obama called Richardson “one of the finest public servants of our generation, somebody who has done so much.” “You know, he can’t fit everything on one résumé,” Obama told a crowd of about 2,000 people at Rio Grande High School in Albuquerque’s South Valley. The Obama campaign and Richardson’s staff aren’t commenting on the VP process, but speculation has increased in recent days that Richardson has found his way onto Obama’s short list. Obama also had high praise for U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Rep. Tom Udall, who, like Richardson, were with him at the town-hall meeting. In praising Bingaman, his Senate colleague, Obama said, “If you look up in the dictionary the word gentleman, you would see this man’s face.” He asked the crowd to give Udall, the Democrats’ U.S. Senate candidate, “a big round of applause and your vote.” That was the second of two events Obama held in Albuquerque today. Continue Reading

No more tickets available for Domenici conference

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Registration for the inaugural Domenici Public Policy Conference is now closed. All available tickets for the New Mexico State University conference honoring retiring Sen. Pete Domenici have been snatched up, the university announced today in a news release. “We are elated about the conference and the excitement it has generated,” said Christina Chavez Kelley, NMSU senior assistant to the president and Domenici Legacy project manager. “We only wish we had more space to accommodate everyone who wants to participate.” A prominent list of speakers including U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, former Secretary of State James Baker, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, former U.S. Rep. Manuel Lujan Jr. and Gov. Bill Richardson will speak at the at the conference, which will be held Aug. 20-22 at NMSU. Continue Reading

Dodd joins speakers who will honor Domenici at NMSU

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U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, a former presidential candidate, will join a prominent and bipartisan group of politicians who will travel to Las Cruces in August to speak at a New Mexico State University conference honoring retiring Sen. Pete Domenici. Dodd will join former Secretary of State James Baker, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, former U.S. Rep. Manuel Lujan Jr. and Gov. Bill Richardson at the inaugural Domenici Public Policy Conference to be held Aug. 20-22 at NMSU, according to a Friday news release from the university. The other speakers had been previously announced. Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Domenici, a Republican, have worked together on mental health issues in the Senate. Continue Reading

Oil and gas backs Pearce; lawyers give to Udall

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In the U.S. Senate race, the top contributing industry to Republican Steve Pearce’s campaign is oil and gas, while lawyers are the top givers to Democrat Tom Udall’s campaign. That’s no surprise, said New Mexico pollster and analyst Brian Sanderoff. Lawyers tend to give more to Democrats than Republicans, and the oil and gas industry tends to give more to Republicans. “That’s complemented by the fact that Tom Udall is an attorney and Steve Pearce comes from the oil and gas industry,” Sanderoff said. Udall had raised a little more than $3.2 million for his Senate campaign as of May 14, the date of the most recent financial information available on the money-in-politics Web site OpenSecrets.org. Continue Reading

Setting the record straight: wilderness truths

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By Nathan P. Small Jim Scarantino’s recent column — “Pearce’s conservation bill: What’s not to like?” — is the latest in a series of one-sided portrayals of the historic effort to protect the nationally recognized, treasured public lands in Doña Ana County. Given Mr. Scarantino’s prolific previous writings from Albuquerque mocking the wolf recovery program, undermining the efforts to protect the Otero Mesa and continuing assertions that local wilderness advocates are eco-terrorists by proxy, his latest article attempting to hurt local conservation efforts is not surprising, but it does deserve a swift repudiation and the truth. Scarantino is quick to give himself a pat on the back for being the genesis of the anti-public lands legislation, H.R. 6300, while in the same breath bragging about his former support of wilderness. In this bizarre swing, he is once again attempting to gloss over the truth and confuse the facts regarding wilderness designation in Doña Ana County. We believe it is our obligation to set the record straight. Continue Reading

Udall says he can win in Pearce’s 2nd District

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Despite the 2nd Congressional District’s slant toward Republican candidates, Democratic Senate hopeful Tom Udall plans to win the southern region that his GOP opponent, Steve Pearce, has represented in the House since 2003. Udall has a chance at winning here, but the 2nd District is one Pearce could also win, said New Mexico State University government professor Jose Z. Garcia. Polls have repeatedly shown Udall with a double-digit lead over Pearce statewide, but Garcia said the 2nd District will be hotly contested because of its conservative nature and familiarity with Pearce. The key to victory in the 2nd District will likely be Doña Ana County, Garcia said. Though the east side has historically been more important, a population shift has changed the dynamics in the district. Continue Reading

Many N.M. politicos praise overturning of D.C. gun ban

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Many New Mexico politicians lined up today to praise the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to affirm the right of Americans to have guns in their homes for self-defense. Failing to comment on the first time in history that the high court has declared an individual right to possess a gun, however, was New Mexico’s gun-toting Gov. Bill Richardson. The high court made the ruling by striking down a Washington, D.C. ban on handguns in homes and requirements that other firearms be equipped with trigger locks or disassembled. You can read more from the Associated Press. New Mexico’s two U.S. Senate candidates praised the decision. Continue Reading

‘Market’ scams, taxpayer backlash

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By Carter Bundy There seems to be much confusion of late about what constitutes private property and freedom. Today’s conservative political, business, energy and developer leadership, and the think tanks they fund, flatly state that things belonging to all of us — all Americans — should in fact be owned by a handful of energy companies or developers. It’s happening at the local, state and federal levels. To a large degree, it’s the central philosophical battle between the major parties, although there are some Democrats who have fallen prey to the nearly unlimited financial and political clout of those who wish to raid general funds and public lands for corporate gain. Contrary to the big-business spin, this isn’t about whether energy companies or developers should be allowed to conduct their business or whether they add something to our society and economy. Continue Reading

Pearce wants no wilderness areas in Doña Ana County

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U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce introduced a bill last week that would eliminate all wilderness study areas in Doña Ana County and require the sale of tens of thousands of acres of federal land, igniting new controversy in the longstanding battle over the area’s land and development. At issue is what to do with hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land around Las Cruces, the state’s second-largest city. In introducing House Resolution 6300, Pearce is taking the side of People for Preserving Our Western Heritage, a coalition of ranchers and other business owners who want a less-restrictive designation for most or all of the land in question. The group formed two years ago in opposition to the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance’s proposal to give a permanent wilderness designation — the highest level of protection — to more than 300,000 acres of land in the county. The Wilderness Alliance plan has widespread support from local governments and newspapers. Continue Reading

Teague gets help from top Democratic group

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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made electing 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidate Harry Teague a top priority last week. In adding Teague to its “Red to Blue” program, the fundraising arm of House Democrats ensured that an already hot race between Teague and Republican Ed Tinsley will become even hotter. In 2004, the program raised nearly $7.5 million for 27 campaigns across the nation — an average of more than $250,000 per campaign. In 2006, the program raised nearly $22.6 million for 56 campaigns. “The Red to Blue Program will give Harry’s campaign for change the financial and structural edge to be even more competitive,” U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman said in a release from the Teague campaign. Continue Reading

GOP blocks proposal to tax oil companies’ profits

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Senate Republicans blocked today a proposal to tax the profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies, with Pete Domenici of New Mexico among the leaders of the GOP effort to stop legislation he said would not provide any help for consumers. “The American people are clamoring for relief at the pump,” Domenici said during today’s debate, according to the Associated Press, but if taxes are increased on the oil companies “they will get exactly what they don’t want. The bill will raise taxes, increase imports.” Today’s debate was the latest in the battle over energy policy made complicated by election-year politics and the American public’s frustration with rising gas prices. Domenici, as the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Democrat Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, the committee’s chairman, are key players in the debate. Last month, the Senate rejected a Domenici-led proposal to dramatically increase domestic oil production. Continue Reading

Congress needs to tackle oil addiction, not gas prices

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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

Still life with Democrats

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By Jim Scarantino With the prospect of winning the presidency, the Democrats’ energy plan heads to the big stage. Excitement fills the air. Critics are atwitter. Commuters and truckers crane their necks for a glimpse of Beltway stars. Cold homeowners and worried businesspeople crowd the sidewalk. Continue Reading

Clinton wins Pennsylvania Democratic primary

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Hillary Clinton has been declared the winner of today’s Pennsylvania Democratic primary, a big win for a candidate who needed it. Barack Obama, meanwhile, appears to have made this a close contest: With 7 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton leads him 53 percent to 47 percent. Pundits will debate for days the meaning of Clinton’s victory, but the likelihood is one that has remained constant for weeks (or longer): This race is probably going to come down to the decisions of superdelegates at the Democratic Party’s convention in August. In New Mexico, several superdelegates, including U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, U.S. Rep. Tom Udall and state Democratic Party Chair Brian Colón, remain uncommitted to either candidate. As this race drags on, the courting of them by both candidates is only going to increase. Continue Reading

Gwaltney wants to continue serving in DNC role

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Mary Gail Gwaltney says she has spent decades working hard for the Democratic Party, and she wants to continue doing that in her role as the national committeewoman from New Mexico. “I want to continue in my role so that we can elect a president, so that we can elect a senator and three congressmen, so that we can elect our local and state Democratic candidates,” Gwaltney said. “That’s all I do.” Gwaltney, who has been the state’s national committeewoman to the Democratic National Committee for 13 years, is being challenged this month for that position by state Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, D-Las Cruces. Garcia says Gwaltney hasn’t done a good job of communicating with local and state Democrats about what’s happening on the national level or of taking the state’s issues to the DNC. The vote will be held at the Democrats’ statewide presidential delegate convention on April 26. Continue Reading