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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

Wrong weasel questions cause wrong weasel answers

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.” – Thomas Pynchon Jr. A grave crisis in our nation is the proposed congressional bailout making headlines this week. It has the potential to be the proverbial 100-year-flood in our financial markets, taking much of the wealth of our nation and leaving our nation crippled for at least 20 years. Given the threat level, it would be nice if the partisans would lay down their swords for a few days while keeping our nation’s wealth from evaporating. Alas, that is asking too much. I have said many times that we must not use political solutions for non-political problems. That is, as Pynchon says, asking the wrong questions. Continue Reading

Quarantine

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This column was written before C. de Baca resigned earlier today. By Carter Bundy Fernando C. de Baca has been in New Mexico many decades longer than I’ve been alive, much less lived here. In early 2002, shortly after AFSCME successfully gutted Jeb Bush’s plan to turn Florida’s government into a patronage system, I chose to move to New Mexico instead of taking a job in Maine, or staying in Florida, or moving back to D.C., Virginia, New York or the West Coast. Some of the major factors in my move were the sunshine, unparalleled moderate, four-season climate, the gorgeous mountains and the chance to play a role in an exciting gubernatorial race. When I got here, all those things were as I’d hoped and more. 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

No bailout, no way

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By Jim Scarantino There’s one simple word to describe what the federal government should do about Wall Street’s bad bets on securitized mortgages and homeowners who recklessly or dishonestly took out mortgages they couldn’t afford. That one word: nothing. Wall Street is always condemned for its greed, though greed is what makes the wheels of capitalism spin. But greed also drove decisions of homebuyers who willingly played along with “liar’s loans” by inflating their income on mortgage applications. Many of them also engaged in kickback schemes with brokers and walked out of closings not only with mortgages too big for their finances, but also with cash in hand. 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

We’re crashing: Can we find a way to land safely?

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In a recent conversation, my dad summed up the current financial crisis better than I could have: We’re trying to figure out how to engineer a controlled crash landing instead of allowing an all-out nosedive into the ground. I believe he’s right. The situation is that serious. Democrats and Republicans alike, in their words and actions, have indicated that the collapse of America’s financial markets may be imminent if Washington doesn’t step in and do something drastic. Such a collapse could send us into the next Great Depression. Continue Reading

People vote for who they like

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By Bill McCamley It’s finally here… that time in an election where running mates have been chosen, money has been raised and policy has been debated. Now that we are close to the last month, most people have decided who they are going to vote for. There are only a few “swing” voters left to decide the election. David Prior, a former governor and senator from Arkansas and a mentor of mine, once had a conversation with me after the 2002 election. After I regaled him with how Democrats could do better as a group through messaging and logistics, he said to me, “Bill, I’ve been in politics for nearly 50 years now, and you know the one thing I learned? 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