{"id":211,"date":"2006-04-30T23:25:00","date_gmt":"2006-05-01T05:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/04\/richardson%e2%80%99s-opposition-to-spanish-anthem-may-be-political-just-like-domenici%e2%80%99s-tax-rebate\/"},"modified":"2006-04-30T23:25:00","modified_gmt":"2006-05-01T05:25:00","slug":"richardson%e2%80%99s-opposition-to-spanish-anthem-may-be-political-just-like-domenici%e2%80%99s-tax-rebate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/04\/richardson%e2%80%99s-opposition-to-spanish-anthem-may-be-political-just-like-domenici%e2%80%99s-tax-rebate\/","title":{"rendered":"Richardson\u2019s opposition to Spanish anthem may be political, just like Domenici\u2019s tax rebate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gov. Bill Richardson shocked many Hispanics this weekend by agreeing with President George W. Bush that the national anthem should only be sung in English.<\/p>\n

Many Northern New Mexico Hispanics were already upset with the governor because they believe he is ignoring their needs. They protested his action and inaction several weeks ago at the state Democratic pre-primary convention.<\/p>\n

One source said the latest move is a bad one for Richardson.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis national anthem position showed Gov. Richardson\u2019s formerly well-tuned political ear has increasingly gone tone deaf,\u201d the source said. \u201cThe governor has failed to lead on immigration and border issues, where he should be a natural. Growing up in Mexico, likely the only Hispanic running for president, why join the Bush position?\u201d<\/p>\n

Richardson has pleased the left with some immigration stances and the right with others. Weeks ago he admitted the complexities of the issue to a group of grade-school students in Espa\u00f1ola.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t easy to figure out what to do about more than 11 million undocumented immigrants and the future influx of others. But my source had some interesting points.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe national anthem has been interpreted from Hendrix to Rosanne Barr. Why not in Spanish?\u201d the source asked. \u201cI just got back from my weekly Catholic mass, where Hispanics and Anglos alike are accustomed to hymns and prayers, including the Lord\u2019s Prayer, in both English and Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Point: If God hears prayers in all languages, why can\u2019t Lady Liberty? If someone is waving an American flag, does it matter that he\u2019s saying \u201cViva America\u201d instead of \u201cLong live America?\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s essentially what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday in breaking with Bush on the issue.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s statement might be motivated by his presidential ambitions. He\u2019s looking at the first primaries in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, where people probably won\u2019t appreciate a Spanish national anthem.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter those three states, the governor will be either the nominee or likely a footnote,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

But he is also up for re-election this year, and the Wednesday Morning Quarterback<\/a> reported last week that Richardson\u2019s opponent, Republican J.R. Damron, may be shaking up his staff. That would please many Richardson opponents who have been frustrated that Damron hasn\u2019t attacked the governor thus far.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpect this to inflame the governor\u2019s growing problems with state Hispanic leaders and voters,\u201d the source said. \u201cHe is making a mistake thinking he is going to do well based upon his mother\u2019s bloodline, rather than by his actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The source pointed out that the governor\u2019s top campaign staffers are Anglos, as is \u201cthe governor\u2019s hand-picked state party chair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans are gaining among young Hispanics while Democratic conventions, the source said, are attended largely by \u201cliberal retirees from Santa Fe and Los Alamos, the progressives moving here from out of state dominating the local party structure.\u201d
In Do\u00f1a Ana County, the past several party chairs have been Anglos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Democratic Party has lost its Hispanic base in New Mexico,\u201d the source, who is a longtime Democrat, said.<\/p>\n

What happens today, and Richardson\u2019s response to it, will have an effect on his future political opportunities. Many Hispanics plan to boycott American businesses and goods and skip work to show their impact on the economy. Is this traditionally politically quiet group finding its voice? The last few weeks of protests might point to that, but today will be a major indicator.<\/p>\n

And is Richardson, who should be the candidate of Hispanics, poised to ride their awakening into the White House?<\/p>\n

Only time will tell.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is leading the way on a proposal that would give millions of taxpayers a $100 rebate check designed to provide relief from high gas costs. But the rebate comes with a condition: The measure would also allow controversial drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.<\/p>\n

I spoke with Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., about that last week. He called tying the rebate to Alaska drilling \u201csomewhat perverse.\u201d When asked if it was an election year ploy, Bingaman said, \u201cYou can make your own conclusions on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll give you the same freedom, but consider this: If Democrats vote against the measure in order to protect the wildlife refuge in Alaska, they\u2019ll be accused of opposing giving Americans back their money.<\/p>\n

The real question is whether Americans are willing to sell a pristine, albeit seldom-used wildlife refuge to oil companies for a one-time gift that will be gone after 2-3 tanks of gas. How would we pay for the rebates, anyway? We have a huge deficit. It\u2019s not like there\u2019s money just floating around out there that can easily be returned to us.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Since I\u2019m blogging about topics that extend so far beyond New Mexico\u2019s borders today, I also wanted to tell you about more than 60 people who camped out behind the Court Youth Center in Las Cruces Saturday night to raise awareness about what\u2019s happening in Northern Uganda. Each night, some 40,000 children walk miles from their remote villages to towns and sleep in the streets, which are safer than their homes. For 20 years, a rebel group has been abducting children, killing some and forcing the rest to be soldiers and sex slaves.<\/p>\n

About 60,000 people in 130 cities around the world joined together Saturday night to walk, like the children, and sleep on the streets. I joined the group in Las Cruces. We wrote letters to our nation\u2019s leaders calling on them to help, created artwork that will be included in a magazine about the event, and slept in temperatures that dipped into the lower 40s. Some walked to the Court Youth Center from City Hall; others walked from the business complex at New Mexico State University.<\/p>\n

Another group in Albuquerque held a similar event.<\/p>\n

The Las Cruces event was led by high school and college students, who did a great job. You can learn more about the cause by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Who knows what today will bring? Will immigrants shut down major U.S. cities by staying home, as some hope? Stay tuned. Come back tomorrow for more on New Mexico politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Bill Richardson shocked many Hispanics this weekend by agreeing with President George W. Bush that the national anthem should only be sung in English. Many Northern New Mexico Hispanics were already upset with the governor because they believe he is ignoring their needs. They protested his action and inaction several weeks ago at the […]<\/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-211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211","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=211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}