{"id":645,"date":"2006-09-29T13:31:00","date_gmt":"2006-09-29T19:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/09\/by-not-debating-richardson-disrespecting-voters\/"},"modified":"2006-09-29T13:31:00","modified_gmt":"2006-09-29T19:31:00","slug":"by-not-debating-richardson-disrespecting-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/09\/by-not-debating-richardson-disrespecting-voters\/","title":{"rendered":"By not debating, Richardson disrespecting voters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s refusal to agree to a live television debate with John Dendahl is a slap to the face of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> voters. <\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s excuse is that Dendahl will go on the attack and that wouldn\u2019t be good for the state. His people say Dendahl has no proposals, only criticisms, and that there could be no substantive debate.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Richardson<\/st1:city> must have a really low opinion of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s voters if he believes that, were Dendahl lacking ability to talk about issues, they wouldn\u2019t see that.<\/p>\n

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

Democracy is about debate and compromise. The compromise comes after the election. This is a time for debate.<\/p>\n

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

Voters need the opportunity to see both candidates in action so they can make intelligent choices on Nov. 7.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is spending lots of money to play a cowboy in his latest campaign commercial and give us his spin on issues. He\u2019s supposed to do that. So is Dendahl. They should both spend money telling us why they\u2019re the best candidate.<\/p>\n

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

Then, they should go head-to-head so voters have a chance to see each counter the other\u2019s spin. That\u2019s when we get to see through the B.S. and discover the real candidates.<\/p>\n

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

That\u2019s when candidates have the chance to prove they are genuine leaders.<\/p>\n

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

If Dendahl is telling lies, a debate would allow Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> the opportunity to cut through that and reveal his true self.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is not doing that. For some reason, he doesn\u2019t want New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> voters to see a live debate. Are we to assume he doesn\u2019t want us to see his true self?<\/p>\n

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

Right now, he\u2019s not giving us any reason to believe otherwise.<\/p>\n

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

To quote Michael J. Fox\u2019s character in The American President:<\/p>\n

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

\u201c\u2026 in the absence of genuine leadership, (Americans) will listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They\u2019re so thirsty for it they\u2019ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there\u2019s no water, they\u2019ll drink the sand.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

How about you take off the cowboy hat long enough to be a leader, governor?<\/p>\n

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

Until Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> steps up and does that, Dendahl is going to get some free space on this site. Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s campaign says Dendahl doesn\u2019t talk about any issues. Click here<\/a> to see Dendahl talk about education, here<\/a> to see him talk about immigration, here<\/a> to see him talk about the growth of state government, here<\/a> to see him talk about the responsibilities of government, here<\/a> to see him talk about economic opportunity, and here<\/a> to see him talk about why he\u2019s in the race.<\/p>\n

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

You can visit his Web site<\/a> to learn more about his stands on the issues, but here\u2019s a sample from the site detailing his stance on education:<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe recent re-broadcast by ABC-TV of John Stossel\u2019s Stupid in America<\/st1:country-region> was another call to arms toward improving America<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>\u2019s public schools. In his television advertising, Gov. Bill Richardson claims he has answered the call. No, he hasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe overall performance of New Mexico<\/st1:state>\u2019s public schools remains poor, and Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>\u2019s administration, though now fully in charge on account of a constitutional amendment he requested, has no sound policy answers. Just the decades-long \u2013 and failed \u2013 claim that more money will make it all well.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHowever, there are bright spots and they should be emulated. One is Artesia, where superintendent Mike Phipps is running a high-performance school district that doesn\u2019t use socio-economic excuses to accept anything less. He\u2019s a competitor who led the Bulldogs to seven state football championships in his ten years of coaching. He chose the similarly-sized Los Alamos<\/st1:place> district as the standard against which he would measure Artesia\u2019s performance, despite huge differences in wealth and parents\u2019 educational levels in families typical to the two communities.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMike knows nothing works like competition to improve people\u2019s performance in most things they do. It spurs innovation and greater effort. He led his principals and teachers to adopt one simple idea: no community of students and their families is incapable of meeting high expectations.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHe\u2019s right. Sue Beffort and I know some youngsters have easier lives than others; we also know the examples are out there proving that economic disadvantage doesn\u2019t prevent a child from having natural acuity and curiosity, the building blocks of learning. Youngsters need wise guidance, not pity.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSue and I also believe too much direction is coming from on high rather than from those in charge locally. Yes, a few reasonable achievement standards should be set for all, but we insist that those close to the kids and their families can do a better job with classrooms \u2013 discipline, curriculum, resource allocation and all the rest \u2013 than bureaucrats in Santa Fe<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. It\u2019s called local autonomy.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhich brings us to federal influence and No Child Left Behind. NCLB is a bold stroke to require performance evaluation that has been sorely missing, but some of its other reported effects are bizarre. Sue and I would help New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> educators reconcile NCLB requirements with sound educational policy: either make it work or refuse the money that gives the feds this leverage.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe state constitution implies for every New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> child a right to a sound education. Since many public schools are demonstrably not providing that, parents should be enabled to enroll their children in alternatives they choose. That simply isn\u2019t an affordable choice for many.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cChoice is offered elsewhere through a variety of approaches. We propose that New Mexico<\/st1:state> follow Arizona<\/st1:state>\u2019s example with tax credits for contributions to support scholarships awarded by organizations like Educate New Mexico<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>. New Mexicans will get a \u201ctwo-fer:\u201d more competition among our schools and more equal opportunities for all of our children.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThere is no good reason that well-educated New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> youngsters should be the exception rather than the norm. We just need to push the envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Expect more on this blog about Dendahl\u2019s stances until Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> agrees to a live, televised debate. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s refusal to agree to a live television debate with John Dendahl is a slap to the face of New Mexico voters. Richardson\u2019s excuse is that Dendahl will go on the attack and that wouldn\u2019t be good for the state. His people say Dendahl has no proposals, only criticisms, and that there could […]<\/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-645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645","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=645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}