{"id":19418,"date":"2010-07-13T08:18:11","date_gmt":"2010-07-13T14:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=19418"},"modified":"2010-07-14T06:31:02","modified_gmt":"2010-07-14T12:31:02","slug":"how-denish-can-overcome-the-bill-richardson-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/07\/how-denish-can-overcome-the-bill-richardson-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"How Denish can overcome the Bill Richardson problem"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Heath Haussamen<\/p><\/div>\n

This is the first of two columns examining problems both gubernatorial candidates face. You can read the second column, about Republican Susana Martinez, <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Albuquerque Journal columnist Leslie Linthicum was right on in a column<\/a> published this weekend highlighting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish\u2019s<\/a> big problem: \u201cWhat do you do when your record is linked to someone who\u2019s turned toxic?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> is toxic for Denish. The Republicans know it, and they\u2019ve worked hard to tie Denish to Richardson by, among other things, repeatedly referring to his administration as the \u201cRichardson\/Denish administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a silly label \u2013 it\u2019s not as if Richardson ever let Denish decide anything, and lieutenant governors have little power anyway. But I\u2019ve heard a number of voters repeating the line being sold by the GOP: that Denish had to know about some of the shenanigans going on in the Richardson administration and, even if she didn\u2019t partake in them, she did nothing to stop them.<\/p>\n

Richardson has become the face of corruption in New Mexico \u2013 corruption that has plagued state government and the Democratic Party since two former state treasurers were indicted in 2005. The governor only narrowly avoided being indicted in his own pay-to-play scandal. His approval rating has nosedived into the ground. And there are other factors that have come together at the wrong time for Richardson\u2019s legacy, and Denish\u2019s candidacy.<\/p>\n

The economy has tanked. Jobs have been lost. The rainy-day fund former Gov. Gary Johnson saved up has been spent during the Richardson years. New Mexico\u2019s education system still stinks, despite the reforms of the Richardson years.<\/p>\n

Though I suspect history will remember Richardson more kindly than voters currently do \u2013 if the spaceport is successful, the film industry stays in New Mexico and the system he set in place to encourage renewable energy development works \u2013 Richardson is currently Denish\u2019s greatest weakness.<\/p>\n

In this throw-the-bums-out climate, Denish looks to many voters like one of the bums. That\u2019s why Republican Susana Martinez<\/a> has the advantage in the governor\u2019s race, at least at this point.<\/p>\n

What Denish must do<\/h3>\n

Denish can win the race. But I would suggest she needs to be blunt. She must tell voters she won\u2019t do business the way Richardson has.<\/p>\n

She has argued that she has stood up to the powers-that-be in Santa Fe, most notably with a TV ad<\/a> highlighting her work<\/a> to reform the scandal-plagued housing authority system. The ad states that Denish took on \u201cSanta Fe insiders\u201d and \u201cwouldn\u2019t back down.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not enough. Denish needs to be direct. The public needs to see her stand up to the ultimate insider and the way he\u2019s done business as governor. Even Richardson has acknowledged<\/a> that Denish has to separate herself from him.<\/p>\n

Denish could do it with another TV ad that highlights her work to reform the housing authority system. Picture an ad in which Denish says:<\/p>\n

\u201cPay to play. Gov. Bill Richardson has certainly had his share of problems, including scandals involving campaign contributors who got state contracts after giving money to his campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when corruption was revealed in the state\u2019s affordable housing system, I fought for reforms to ensure that housing was going to the people who need it most \u2013 even though some of the men involved in the scandal had given contributions to my campaign. When those men were indicted for fraud and money laundering, I donated their contributions to a group that works on neighborhood revitalization.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then a narrator says:<\/p>\n

\u201cDiane Denish. Doing the right thing, even when Santa Fe insiders don\u2019t want her to.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Such an ad would be bold. It might be risky because of who it would upset. But I\u2019m betting it would resonate with voters.<\/p>\n

People believe their government isn\u2019t working. They want more than policy ideas packaged in fancy TV ads. They want honesty.<\/p>\n

Haussamen bio<\/a> \u2502\u00a0Commentary archives<\/a> \u2502\u00a0Feed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this election, Bill Richardson is Diane Denish\u2019s greatest weakness. If she wants to win the governor\u2019s race, Denish needs to be blunt. She must tell voters she won\u2019t do business the way Richardson has.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,10],"tags":[108,112,107],"class_list":["post-19418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-haussamen-columns","tag-2010-election","tag-bill-richardson","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19418","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=19418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19418\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}