{"id":3666,"date":"2008-09-03T16:49:00","date_gmt":"2008-09-03T22:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/09\/new-mexico-politicians-talk-about-palin\/"},"modified":"2008-09-03T16:49:00","modified_gmt":"2008-09-03T22:49:00","slug":"new-mexico-politicians-talk-about-palin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/09\/new-mexico-politicians-talk-about-palin\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico politicians talk about Palin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> politicians carrying water for both major-party presidential candidates talked about the selection of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin<\/a> today during conference calls with reporters. <\/p>\n

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

Their comments come as Palin prepares to address delegates to the Republican National Convention<\/a> and a televised audience this evening. In the midst of an intense media vetting of her surprise candidacy, many are eagerly awaiting Palin\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

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

Sen. Pete Domenici<\/a>, R-N.M., said today on a conference call from Minnesota, where the GOP is holding its convention, that he\u2019s confident Palin will knock down most of the controversy during tonight\u2019s speech. He said he\u2019s impressed with the Alaska<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> governor.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cGiven one or two appearances in New Mexico by Gov. Palin, she may very well end up being stronger here than John McCain<\/a>,\u201d Domenici said. \u201cShe knows the issues that are New Mexican and she probably will be extremely conversant in the energy issues\u2026 and many of those things that are going to be part of our life and our livelihood.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>His sentiments were echoed by Rep. Heather Wilson<\/a>, R-N.M., who joined the state\u2019s retiring senator on the conference call. She said the Democrats\u2019 ticket of Barack Obama<\/a> and Joe Biden<\/a> is \u201cWashington-centric.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThere\u2019s a very strong East\/West division in this presidential race,\u201d Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201c\u2026 I think that Gov. Palin will understand Western issues better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a>, a Democrat, was critical of Palin during a separate conference call with reporters today. She cited Palin\u2019s record as a small-town mayor of accepting congressional earmark money in saying Palin has \u201ca record of supporting the Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cShe\u2019s under investigation,\u201d Denish said. \u201cShe\u2019s a small-town mayor. She doesn\u2019t have the experience to step into the job of president.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

In addition, Denish said, Palin falls short on women\u2019s issues. She said McCain\u2019s selection of Palin \u201creally goes more to his judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The GOP convention<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Domenici and Wilson also spoke about their party\u2019s convention. It\u2019s Domenici\u2019s 10th, and he said he\u2019s proud that this year New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s delegation is prominently seated in the front. The delegation got to see last night \u201cthe best remarks that any Democrat has ever delivered on behalf of a Republican candidate in my 10 conventions\u201d when Sen. Joe Lieberman spoke<\/a>, Domenici said. He added that he was \u201cvery proud\u201d of Lieberman.<\/p>\n

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

Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said Lieberman\u2019s speech and the evening \u201cwas really about putting country first.\u201d Tonight, she said, the focus will shift to reform when Palin and others speak.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to hearing her speech tonight. She\u2019s a great compliment to McCain in that she\u2019s a reformer, a governor, she\u2019s not a government insider,\u201d Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said.<\/p>\n

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

Domenici said Palin is \u201ca real person and she has handled some real problems.\u201d Specifically mentioning energy, Domenici said Palin is \u201ca candidate who knows so much about the problems that we have in the lower 48.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u2018Time to end the double standard\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Domenici and Wilson both said the question of whether Palin can be a mother and vice president at the same time is unfair.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWe don\u2019t do that for men,\u201d Domenici said.<\/p>\n

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

Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said Obama has spoken \u201cvery eloquently about the importance of fatherhood\u201d and no one has questioned whether he can be a father and president at the same time.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt\u2019s time to end the double standard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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

Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> was asked whether she was disappointed that McCain didn\u2019t select her as his running mate. In response, she said, \u201cI think that Sen. McCain has chosen a great vice president to complement him and someone who is from outside Washington<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>. \u2026 You want a running mate who complements your strengths, not somebody who is too close to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Domenici then asked Wilson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> whether she had answered the question, and she said she did. Wilson, who like McCain is an elected official in Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>, is also a military veteran and considered by many to be an expert on national-security issues.<\/p>\n

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

Obama focuses on women<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>During her conference call, Denish announced the unveiling of the New Mexico Obama for Women group. She said the movement will focus on registering women to vote and encouraging them to vote by mail and talk to other women about Obama.<\/p>\n

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

The lieutenant governor said there\u2019s a sharp contrast between Obama and McCain on women\u2019s issues. Obama co-sponsored equal-pay legislation, she said, while McCain opposed it. Obama voted to increase health education, while McCain voted against extending insurance coverage to pregnant women and infants.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cOn issue after issue, I think Barack Obama has shown and will continue to show that he\u2019s going to fight for women,\u201d Denish said.<\/p>\n

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

She added that she\u2019s excited to meet and stand with Obama\u2019s wife when she visits New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> on Thursday.<\/p>\n

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

Denish was joined on the call by Teresa Brito-Asenap, a teacher from New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> who spoke at least week\u2019s Democratic National Convention<\/a>. Brito-Asenap said the double standard for women in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> won\u2019t change under McCain\u2019s leadership, but Obama will change it.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThis campaign is about empowering our communities right here in New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> to be a part of the change we need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Mexico politicians carrying water for both major-party presidential candidates talked about the selection of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin today during conference calls with reporters. Their comments come as Palin prepares to address delegates to the Republican National Convention and a televised audience this evening. In the midst of an intense media vetting […]<\/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-3666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666","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=3666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}