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High court strikes down Millionaire’s Amendment

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The U.S. Supreme Court today struck down the so-called Millionaire’s Amendment that tripled contribution limits for candidates whose opponents dug deep into their own pockets to fund their campaigns. In a 5-4 decision, the high court ruled that the law violated the First Amendment because it gave a fundraising advantage to opponents of those who used personal funds to finance campaign speech, the Associated Press reported. In this year’s primaries in New Mexico, three federal candidates — 2nd Congressional District Republican candidate Aubrey Dunn, 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidate Harry Teague and 3rd Congressional District Democratic candidate Don Wiviott — triggered the amendment by contributing more than $350,000 to their own campaigns. That tripled contribution limits for their opponents to $6,900 for the primary. Teague won his race, but Wiviott and Dunn went on to lose to opponents who were able to boost their fundraising because of the increased contribution limits. Continue Reading

GOP warns against registering to vote with ACORN

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The state Republican Party is cautioning against registering to vote with workers employed by ACORN. “Voters who would like to register to vote would be better served by contacting their county or state Republican or Democratic parties or their county clerk,” Adam Feldman, the state GOP executive director, said in a news release. The GOP joins the Doña Ana County Bureau of Elections in expressing concern about the non-profit group, which has had two problems in the county in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the county warned that it had received complaints about misleading voter-registration activities by ACORN employees, a charge ACORN denied. And about a week ago, 90 completed voter-registration applications were stolen from ACORN’s Las Cruces office. Continue Reading

Udall votes against cutting nuclear-weapons funding

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U.S. Rep. Tom Udall voted on Wednesday against funding cuts for Los Alamos National Laboratory, a move that earned him criticism because he said last year, in voting for cuts at the lab, that LANL needs to shift its focus from nuclear weapons to alternative energy and other work. The Democratic congressman’s opponent in the U.S. Senate race, Republican Steve Pearce, criticized Udall in a news release, saying Udall’s “flip flop” is another example of his “election-year transformation.” “It is, of course, good to know that he has changed his position and now supports what I have been supporting for many years,” Pearce said. “But it is shocking to recognize that he voted for the same exact cuts just last year.” Udall refused an interview request from the Albuquerque Journal but put out a statement explaining his vote. In it, he said he remains committed to shifting the mission of the labs. “And although this legislation contains many good provisions, it does not provide a path to the future for our national laboratories, and I could not support it,” Udall said. Continue Reading

Obama and McCain: reformers or more of the same?

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Barack Obama and John McCain claim to be candidates of principle and reform. But the actions of both related to public financing in the presidential race raise doubts. Obama broke a previous pledge last week and announced that he would opt out of the public-financing system for presidential candidates. On a practical level, it wasn’t surprising: The Democrat has displayed a rare ability to raise huge amounts of money from average Americans, and that would have been hindered by accepting public financing. But reducing the influence of money in politics is central to Obama’s “Change We Can Believe In” slogan and the message of his presidential campaign. 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

A primer on planning and people

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By Dr. James “Jim” Kadlecek “My right to swing my arm ends where my neighbor’s nose begins.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Living in the Rio Grande valley along scenic Highway 28 allows me to view a veritable panorama of American life as it passes by on the road in front of my home. Each early morning, the tillers of the soil pass by on the way to the fields of chile, cotton or corn, driving their mammoth tractors and tugging expensive farm equipment. Following, and frustrated at the slow pace of the farmer, is a young woman on her way to her job in the city. Coming the other way from the city is a gaggle of bicyclists, all decked out in skin-tight athletic-bike attire, heads protected by colorfully striped helmets. They have their heads down and are peddling madly, obsessed with their heart-pumping endeavor. Continue Reading

Completed voter-registration forms stolen from group

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Ninety completed voter-registration applications that included Social Security numbers and dates of birth were stolen over the weekend from the Las Cruces office of an independent voter-registration group. As a result, ACORN plans to send letters to those whose applications were stolen to inform them of the situation. The letters will include blank applications that can be filled out and mailed directly to the county clerk’s office. The group has the ability to send such letters because it keeps track of the information of those it registers “in order to ensure they get placed successfully on the voter rolls,” according to a news release from the group. “We don’t want anything to stand in the way of new voters participating in the upcoming election,” ACORN Board Member Mark Gerring said in the news release, “so while we are outraged that someone would take new voters’ applications, we can at least be sure that all of these future voters can have another opportunity to complete an application and mail it directly to the county clerk.” The burglary was discovered about 8 p.m. Friday. Continue Reading

Guv says he might seek a third term in 2014

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Term limits prevent Gov. Bill Richardson from seeking a third term in 2010, but he may run again when he’s eligible four years later. At least that’s what Richardson wrote today in an e-mail to supporters of his failed presidential campaign. The e-mail solicited money to “keep New Mexico a blue state” and “get as many Democrats elected nationally as possible.” Though Richardson’s presidential campaign still has outstanding debt — more than $285,000 as of May 31 — he wrote in the e-mail that raising money to help elect Democrats “is much more important.” Then he wrote about his own future. “I still have a lot of work to do here in New Mexico before I leave office in 2010 due to term limits, including fighting to extend health care to every New Mexican. And I remain actively involved with national politics because we need to change America and every one of us has to contribute something,” Richardson wrote in the e-mail. Continue Reading

New Udall ad says he has fought for Cannon and LANL

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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall will begin airing a new television ad on Wednesday highlighting his work for Cannon Air Force Base and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Here’s the ad: The ad will be controversial because Udall has been attacked for supporting cuts last year at the lab. Udall has said the labs need to shift their focus from nuclear weapons to energy independence and global warming, and his vote was an attempt to push the lab in that direction. He said that will ensure the future sustainability of the lab. Udall says in the ad that he “voted for funding to expand the mission of Los Alamos to create new jobs in counter-terrorism and energy research.” “Tom Udall has fought to protect New Mexico’s economy, job base and families,” campaign manager Amanda Cooper said in a news release. Continue Reading

Wilson hits Obama over remark about Clinton backers

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U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson is going on the offensive on behalf of Republican presidential nominee John McCain by attacking Barack Obama for suggesting that supporters of Hillary Clinton should “get over” her loss and back the Democratic presidential nominee. ABC News reported on Friday that, at a meeting with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Obama was asked by a Clinton supporter to reach out to the millions of women who are disappointed that Clinton lost. Obama, according to ABC, said healing is needed and he hoped Clinton supporters who were present at the meeting would help him. “If women take a moment to realize that on every issue important to women, John McCain is not in their corner, that would help them get over it,” Obama said, according to ABC. At least one congresswoman at the meeting, Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., took issue with Obama’s comment, saying she found the words “get over it” to be dismissive, ABC reported. 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

Audit of State Land Office is justified

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By Steve Fischmann State Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons claims that partisan politics and anti-development sentiment are behind the state auditor’s decision to review real-estate deals at his office. However annoyed Mr. Lyons may be, speculation about the auditor’s motives is counterproductive. Instead, the commissioner should work closely with auditors to ensure the State Land Office does the best job it can on behalf of New Mexico’s citizens. The primary legal obligation of the Land Office is to maximize returns for the beneficiaries of state trust lands — usually the public schools. Mr. Lyons’ protestations that trust revenues are increasing are irrelevant if state land is being sold off too cheaply. Continue Reading

New GOP Web site targets Hispanics

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The state’s Republican Party has launched a new social-networking Web site, politicalvida.com, aimed at providing a forum for Hispanics throughout New Mexico and the United States “to gather and exchange ideas about politics,” according to a news release from the party. “As the Hispanic population continues to grow in states like California, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, Political Vida will serve as a unique vehicle for the exchange of ideas between younger Hispanic voters,” the state party’s Spanish communications director, Ivette Barajas, said in a news release. “I’m excited that the Republican Party is honoring its commitment to engage the Hispanic community in a dialogue about the future of our state and country by offering a place for that open discussion to take place.” Political Vida is a user-driven Web site that offers various features, including a collection of videos and a frequently updated list of postings from Hispanic bloggers from around the nation. There is also an open forum section where people can leave and view comments about issues relevant to the Hispanic community. “The road to the White House will go through our Hispanic Community,” Dan Garza, chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of New Mexico, said in the news release. Continue Reading

Universal health care wrangling continues

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Gov. Bill Richardson and the Senate may be on the way to compromising on some health-care reforms, but not the switch to universal health care the governor wants. In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, Senate Finance Chairman John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said there isn’t money to pay for the universal health-care plan Richardson pushed but lawmakers rejected earlier this year. Still, Smith said, Richardson and a key group of lawmakers have agreed to “find a way to help physicians adopt electronic medial record systems,” according to the Journal. They also agreed that the state retirees’ health-coverage pool needs reform, and that they all support insurance reform. The last is a broad topic, and how to reform the system has caused widespread disagreement in Santa Fe. 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