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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

Give a red light to red-light cameras

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” – Ansel Adams My town will soon have red-light cameras. The automated “Robocop” red light and speeding cameras are either a blessing or a curse depending on who you talk to. Which will it be? The issue has three parts: First, do the cameras do what they set out to do, namely, stop T-bone accidents? Second, are mailed tickets a legitimate action of our government? 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

A celebration of women in politics

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(This posting is about events that took place on Tuesday, but technical issues prevented it from being sent for publication on this site until today.) By Diane Denish DENVER — It was standing room only at the EMILY’s List reception as I sat on the floor in my suit with other women state and national leaders. I was surrounded by nearly 2,000 attendees, a virtual list of who’s who in American women politics. EMILY’s List is one of our nation’s largest political networks and financial resources for Democratic women. We were all there to celebrate the power of women as candidates, contributors and voters to ignite positive change. I was wowed to see all of the female members of the Senate and Congress and felt a profound sense of pride as the first candidate helped by EMILY’s list, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, reminded us that we were celebrating the 88th anniversary of women’s suffrage. Continue Reading

Democrats divided on abortion

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By Jim Scarantino In my May 22 column, “Pro-Life Democrats Turning Red to Blue,” I wrote of the increasing numbers of pro-life Democrats in Congress and governor’s mansions. Only because of pro-life Democrats does that party hold majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Indeed, Harry Reid, the Senate’s majority leader, is a pro-life Mormon. Democrats’ hopes for increasing their margins in both houses of Congress in 2008 also depend upon the success of pro-life Democrats running for seats traditionally held by Republicans. But based upon its convention staging, in the words of the late Gov. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, the Democratic Party still looks like “a wholly owned subsidiary of NARAL,” the pro-abortion political action and pressure group. 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

Tom and the N.M. delegation take center stage

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By Jill Cooper DENVER — Today was all about the New Mexico delegation. They are staying at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Denver — a serious but reasonable walk to the Pepsi Center. Tom represented the delegation well with a series of speeches throughout the day. Then, later, New Mexico got to play its own little role in nominating Barack Obama to be president. The day started with the New Mexico delegation breakfast where Tom and T. Boone Pickens were the main speakers. 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