{"id":1064,"date":"2007-01-05T14:36:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-05T20:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/a-hypothetical-sudan-trip-could-give-richardson-momentum-for-a-prez-announcement-on-mlk-day\/"},"modified":"2007-01-05T14:36:00","modified_gmt":"2007-01-05T20:36:00","slug":"a-hypothetical-sudan-trip-could-give-richardson-momentum-for-a-prez-announcement-on-mlk-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/a-hypothetical-sudan-trip-could-give-richardson-momentum-for-a-prez-announcement-on-mlk-day\/","title":{"rendered":"A hypothetical: Sudan trip could give Richardson momentum for a prez announcement on MLK Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This weekend\u2019s trip to Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> is a chance for Gov. Bill Richardson to remind the nation of his skills as a diplomat and win some wealthy, influential friends just days before an expected announcement that he\u2019s running for president. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There is a good chance Richardson<\/st1:city> will return from Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> able to claim success in helping stop the genocide being carried out by a government-backed militia. His mission, sanctioned by the U.S. State Department, is to convince the government to allow U.N. peacekeeping troops into the war-torn Darfur<\/st1:place> region.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The United Nations gave Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> a Jan. 1 deadline to begin the process of allowing 20,000 peacekeepers into the region. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir sent a letter three days before the deadline saying the nation would comply.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> was supposed to allow 60 U.N. troops and civilians in to the region by Jan. 1. As of Thursday, 20 civilians and no peacekeepers had been allowed in, according to the Sudan Tribune<\/a>, and the United States<\/st1:country-region> was expressing skepticism about Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>\u2019s willingness to comply. For months before the deadline, Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> refused the troops.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Enter Richardson, a brilliant negotiator and, quite possibly, the American who has the best relationship with the Sudanese government.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson has a penchant not only for finding his way into such situations, but also for laying the ground work in advance so that his missions are successful.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He was in Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> in September and talked that nation\u2019s president into releasing an American journalist and his two companions. He was asked in early December by the Save Darfur Coalition<\/a> to travel to Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> and push for the acceptance of U.N. troops. Since then, Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> has been working with the Bush Administration to make this a bipartisan effort. You can bet he\u2019s also been in contact with friends in Sudan<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Winning wealthy friends<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Expect the mission to be a success, at least on some level. The Sudanese government has no way out of this but to allow peacekeeping troops. The bad-cop White House supports tough sanctions if Sudan<\/st1:country-region> doesn\u2019t comply, and Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has now jumped into the game to play good cop.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a role he loves.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s one that will gain him national press this weekend, which brings us back to an expected announcement that Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is running for president.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Save Darfur, which is paying for Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>\u2019s trip, is a well-funded, diverse and powerful organization. Successful negotiations would win the governor many friends. Should he opt to run for president, a victorious mission would allow Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> to remind the world that he played an instrumental role in helping stop a conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Leaders of Save Darfur include a diverse group of Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious organizations and a number of political and humanitarian organizations. Lest you think it\u2019s a liberal coalition, one of the executive members is the National Association of Evangelicals.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Save Darfur<\/st1:place> has millions of supporters. Some of the most visible backers include Actor George Clooney, Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Oprah.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Creating momentum<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A successful trip would give Richardson<\/st1:city> momentum heading into next weekend \u2013 the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend \u2013 which many are beginning to suspect is when Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> will announce his run for president.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In case anyone still doubts that Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> is running, he\u2019s scheduled<\/a> to be in Douglas County, Nevada, for a party dinner on Jan. 27. Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> has said he\u2019ll make an announcement on whether he is running before the Legislature convenes on Jan. 16. If he will have made a decision beforehand, why would Richardson<\/st1:city> travel to Nevada<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>, now that the 2006 election has passed, unless he\u2019s running for president?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

If he sticks to his pledge to make an announcement before the session starts, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has 10 days to do it. This weekend, he will obviously be busy in Africa<\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He won\u2019t want his announcement to be overshadowed, and next week is a busy one for Congress. As Avelino Maestas wisely observed on his blog Live From Silver City<\/a>, House Democrats will be pushing their \u201cFirst 100 Hours agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

On Tuesday, they plan to vote on implementing the 9\/11 Commission recommendations. Wednesday they plan to vote on a minimum wage increase. Thursday they plan to vote on extending stem-cell research. Friday they plan to talk about lowering prescription drug costs.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In addition, on or about Wednesday, President Bush will announce his new strategy for Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

So next week is out, leaving only the holiday weekend. Richardson<\/st1:city> is in South Carolina<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> on Saturday for a dinner honoring former Democratic governors in that state. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Drawing from Dr. King\u2019s teaching<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not making any predictions or telling you I know something concrete, because I don\u2019t, but many politicos I\u2019ve spoken with are beginning to think Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> will make his announcement on Monday, Jan. 15, which is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the day before the Legislature convenes.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a gamble to make such an announcement during a holiday weekend, but Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has always been a gambler, and he has usually won. Fewer people are paying attention to the news, but it\u2019s also a slow news day, and an announcement from Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> would likely gain more media attention than it would on a week day.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Picture Richardson quoting these words from King \u2013 \u201cI have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: \u2018We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.\u2019\u201d \u2013 in the context of announcing that he wants to be the first president who is a member of an ethnic minority.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> told FOX News in December, during his quasi announcement and slip of the tongue, that he is Hispanic, \u201cwhich I believe is an asset. But I\u2019m not running as an Hispanic. I am running as an American who is proud to be Hispanic.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> identifies himself as American first and Hispanic second.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In a speech on King\u2019s holiday, he could talk about how, when the nation\u2019s top job can be held by a member of an ethnic minority group, minorities will be one step closer to equality, to being Americans who are proud to be Hispanic, rather than Hispanics who are also Americans.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He could speak about how he believes that time is now, and he\u2019s the man for the job.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

And imagine the standing ovation he would receive from Democrats when the state Legislature convenes the next day, and the momentum that would create for his legislative proposals \u2013 an agenda likely designed to boost his White House bid.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I can picture it. But, like I said, it\u2019s just a hypothetical. Richardson<\/st1:city> still has to return from Sudan<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> with something to show for his efforts. Then we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This weekend\u2019s trip to Sudan is a chance for Gov. Bill Richardson to remind the nation of his skills as a diplomat and win some wealthy, influential friends just days before an expected announcement that he\u2019s running for president. There is a good chance Richardson will return from Sudan able to claim success in helping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1064\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}