Democracy for New Mexico

NM-01: Darren White and the Hackneyed Fear Game

It's easy to tell when Dem candidates and positions are gaining strength -- it brings out the fearmongering on the right-wing side. The fruitcake wing of the Repubs has nurtured a tradition of fearmongering for decades, stretching from the commie-pinko obsessions of the McCarthy days to the Bush II era rants of "you're either with us on everything or you're an unpatriotic terrorist." The vast majority of Repub candidates have used fear tactics to try and get votes and smear their opponents during the last 7+ years, but recent evidence is compelling that the jig is up.

Fear-eliciting, lie-based sloganeering repeated endlessly for years eventually loses its power, especially when it runs up against reality. Like when the massive scope of law breaking, domestic surveillence by the NSA is brought to light by news media like the Wall Street Journal, certainly no bastion of liberalism.

Dems on the Move
Democratic turnout in this year's presidential primaries and caucuses has been about double that of Repubs, sometimes more. Independents and moderate Repubs have been crossing to the Dem side in droves. Just the other day, Dem Bill Foster defeated Repub Jim Oberweis by a margin of 53%-47% to capture former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's seat in Illinois -- with support from across the political spectrum in a district that's been solidly Repub for many years. How did Foster do it? By speaking out boldly against retroactive immunity for telecoms that illegally spied on US citizens, and by defending the Constitution and the rule of law.

Oberweis relied on the familiar Repub fear strategy to try and attack the patriotism and security credentials of Foster and Dems in the U.S. House. He used all the usual hit language on Foster -- you know the entire tired script by now. It didn't work. Foster won in the Illinois special election on a platform of protecting our individual liberties against those who would compromise them and endanger our democracy. In a strongly Republican district.

What Does This Have to Do with New Mexico?
Turns out Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, the probable Repub Congressional candidate in NM-01, is already unsheathing the same kind of fearmongering against Dem Martin Heinrich that didn't work for Oberweis in Illinois. White's latest fundraising letter breathlessly offers this truth-challenged proclamation:

My likely Democrat opponent...is opposed to the Terrorist Surveillance Program and has used the issue to drum up support for his candidacy among extreme left-wing groups. He believes that we should not immediately intercept calls from known terrorists and has even gone so far as to attack middle-of-the-road Democrats who support this bipartisan bill. I believe his position on the Terrorist Surveillance Program clearly demonstrates that his views are out-of-step with common-sense New Mexico values.

As usual, local blogger Joe Monahan employs his "some unnamed people say" approach to push the notion on behalf of his cronies that Democrats "in the game for awhile" and "political pros" are worried about Heinrich's candidacy:

Heinrich's supporters (those who have been in the game awhile) fear he will be unable to grow out of his liberal base and White will take the prize in the moderate district. White's first strike is on territory--foreign intelligence--that is friendly to the Bernalillo County Sheriff ... Also, the political pros are writing the early line on possible character vulnerabilities that could be used against the two contenders ... R's see Heinrich and his acolytes as thin-skinned and ready to lose their cool. That ought to wake up the operatives :).

Funny, I haven't noticed anyone at recent Party and candidate functions spinning these kinds of concerns about Heinrich. On the contrary, rank and file Dems have been incredibly upbeat about the chances of turning New Mexico's Congressional delegation completely Blue this year. Not only will we have strong candidates like Heinrich and Udall up and down the ticket, but NM Repubs seem more intent on muddying each other than in articulating any clear and reasonable messages.

As you may recall, the last few weeks have been rife with accusations being made by NM Repubs about vote-buying and threats of smear campaigns being orchestrated by the camps of fellow Repubs Darren White and Heather Wilson. Common sense my eye. Chaos and crises are what I see on the Repub side. There seems to be real panic setting in, and for good reason.

Hungering for Change
Clearly, voters are tired of the cynical politics of fear, smear and distortion that Repubs are clinging to with growing desperation. You can see it in the success of Barack Obama and Jim Foster. You can see it in the massive turnouts for Dem primaries and caucuses. You can see it in the willingness of Dem candidates like Heinrich to speak the truth about what's going on -- with no holds barred.

The politicos of both parties who use vehicles like Monahan's blog to spread their anonymous, negative hackery represent yesterday's news, yesterday's power blocs, yesterday's tactics. Their underhanded "warnings" -- aimed at undermining the galloping momentum for change so evident among voters of many political leanings -- are increasingly falling on deaf ears. The voters have learned a lot during the past eight years of Bush-Rove-Cheney-White style politics. For one thing, they've picked up on the folly of voting against their own interests as they watch our health care system, schools, infrastructure, environment, economy and civil liberties go to hell in a handbasket. The fearmongers are losing their edge.

Heinrich and True Patriotism
Genuine patriotism comes from deeply held beliefs, not focus group tested sloganeering. As Martin Heinrich says,

"... I stand with the American people who say fear mongering is not acceptable. Not acceptable from George Bush, not acceptable from Karl Rove and not acceptable from Darren White. I agree with Bill Richardson that we can keep our country safe without resorting to unconstitutional, warrantless wiretaps. I support a strong FISA that authorizes our intelligence community to intercept the communications of foreign terrorists, not American citizens minding their own business."

Heinrich puts the Constitution first

To see our previous coverage of the 2008 NM-01 Congressional race, visit our archive.

(Updated) More on Allegations About Vote Buying at NM GOP Delegate Elections

UPDATE: At 3:00 PM today, KKOB radio's Pat Frisch will discuss the alleged NM GOP vote buying at the Party's ward conventions last month, along with the resulting controversies. Frisch is filling in for Jim Villanucci, who's on vacation. You can listen to the show online or on AM radio at 770.
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Local and national blog posts are proliferating about the story broken by Dennis Domrzalski regarding allegations of vote buying at the recent NM GOP delegate ward elections and KKOB's decision to pull Laura MacCallum's news coverage of the allegations. MacCallum quit her news anchor job at the radio station in response. I previously posted on the story a few days ago.

I don't have time to write more about this right now because I have some business to take care of this morning, but I'll get back to it later today. In the meantime, I thought I'd publish a recent Democratic Party of New Mexico press release on the story:

HEATHER WILSON DOESN’T REFUTE ROLL IN VOTE-BUYING SCHEME

DPNM Calls on Senate Candidate to Answer Charges Directly

Albuquerque – The Democratic Party of New Mexico today called on U.S. Senate candidate Heather Wilson to directly answer charges that she bought votes at a recent Bernalillo County Republican Party delegate nominating convention.

“Once again, Heather Wilson is caught in an ethically compromising situation in which she faces allegations of manipulating the system to come out ahead in an election,” DPNM Chairman Brian Colon said today. “This time, she refuses to directly answer the charge that she bought delegate votes and her silence on such a serious charge is incriminating.”

On Monday, allegations of intra-Republican vote buying continued to surface on 27-year veteran news reporter Dennis Domrzalski’s blog. Domrzalski’s post included accounts from former New Mexico Governor Dave Cargo, State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones and former KKOB radio reporter Laura McCallum indicating that people who showed up had been paid by Heather Wilson and Darren White’s campaigns.

“Cargo said that over the course of the meeting many of the participants said that they were from Wilson’s senate campaign and from Bernalillo Country Sheriff Darren White’s congressional campaign,” Domrzalski reported. “Several people told him that they were being paid $35-an-hour (for two hours) by their campaigns and that the campaigns had also paid their $30 registration fees.”

Wilson’s senate campaign has not refuted the charges.

“Allegations of vote-buying should not be taken so lightly,” said Colon. They cut to the heart of our nation’s democracy and electoral process. In fact, this is not the first time Heather Wilson has been caught engaging in ethically ambiguous behavior. Heather Wilson has established a clear pattern of ethically compromising actions that simply do not reflect the values of New Mexico voters.”

In 2006 Heather Wilson proved ethically challenged when she personally called former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to pressure him to reveal details and expedite a pending investigation during her 2006 reelection campaign.

Said Iglesias, “I received a call from Heather Wilson. She said ‘what can you tell me about sealed indictments.’ The second she said any questions about sealed indictments, red flags went up in my head, because as you know, we cannot talk about indictments until they’re made public. In general, we specifically cannot talk about a sealed indictment.”

When asked if he felt “pressured during that call” by Sen. Chuck Schumer during a March, 2007 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Iglesias responded, “Yes, sir. I did.”

Although she has claimed a constituent asked her to place the call to Iglesias, Heather Wilson has refused to publicly identify the mysterious individual.

Following Wilson's call, Iglesias was subsequently fired by the Bush Administration in a purge that resulted in the questionable firing of at least nine U.S. Attorneys nationally.

In a piece published by the New York Times on March 21, 2007, entitled “Why I Was Fired,” Iglesias cited the phone call from Congresswoman Heather Wilson.

He also told The Associated Press, “I know it’s not performance-related, I know it’s not misconduct. What does that leave? Politics.”

(Updated) BradBlog, Crooks & Liars Pick Up on NM GOP Vote Buying Story

BradBlog has now picked up the story about alleged vote buying at the New Mexico Republican Party ward conventions by the Heather Wilson and Darren White campaigns. On Monday, I posted about the scandal broken by Dennis Domrzalski, as did other local blogs including NM FBIHOP (who also posted about it on Daily Kos), m-pyre and ClearlyNewMexico.

I wonder if the campaigns will ever be pressured by the authorities to provide the truth about what happened. I wonder, too, if KKOB will ever be pushed to explain why they pulled the reports on this by news anchor Laura MacCallum, who has since resigned in protest. Will these scurrilous goings-on really be allowed to fade into oblivion without anyone having to face any consequences?

It's too bad that New Mexico's newspapers and TV news outfits are apparently uninterested in pursuing a story like this. For example, the Albuquerque Journal's main political reporter, Jeff Jones, hasn't mentioned it at all, preferring to write derivative stories like this one that consists primarily of a laundry list of Gov. Bill Richardson's statements on whether he will endorse a presidential candidate. Journalism? What's that?

UPDATE 1: Another national blog, Crooks and Liars, posted on this story late yesterday. Who's next?

UPDATE 2: Now Mark Crispin Miller's Notes From Underground has picked it up.

Must Read: Vote Buying by Wilson & White Campaigns at NM GOP Delegate Nominating Meetings?

On the heels of his story about threats reportedly being made by powerful NM Repubs to those thinking of mounting a primary challenge to NM-01 Congressional candidate Darren White, Dennis Domrzalski has a new post on what is being termed vote buying -- allegedly carried out by the campaigns of Darren White and Heather Wilson at certain GOP ward conventions in Albuquerque on February 24. The allegations against White's NM-01 Congressional campaign and Wilson's U.S. Senate campaign are being made by former-NM Governor Dave Cargo (right), and corroborated by State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones. Quote:

Cargo says he noticed something different when 59 people showed up at the Albuquerque Marriott to elect delegates from the 31^st ward in Albuquerque.

“This is probably the biggest ward in the city, by far. Normally we have between 9 and 15 people show up,” Cargo said. “And so along comes the convention on Sunday and 59 people show up.”

Cargo began passing around a signup sheet. “I said ‘I’m going to pass around notebook and would like to have you write down your names and address and phone number so I can call you and put you to work for the party,’” Cargo said. “Then one gal got up and said, ‘We aren’t working for any party; we’re here only this one time and we won’t be back.’”

Cargo said that over the course of the meeting many of the participants said they were from Wilson’s senate campaign and from Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White’s congressional campaign. Several people told him they were being paid $35-an-hour (for two hours) by their campaigns and that the campaigns had also paid their $30 registration fees. [emphasis mine]

“I told them that this was known as vote buying, that it was illegal and that it was fourth-degree felony,” Cargo said.

... State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, said she saw the same thing in the 24^th Ward’s convention. Many of the participants said they had been paid to attend and vote for certain delegates, she said.

“They were free about telling us why they were there and what they were trying to do,” Arnold-Jones added. “Some people said they had been paid to participate in the convention. It was clear that some of them had no stake in the process and that they were not coming back for the convention.”

The allegations about possible vote buying were first reported last week by KKOB Radio News Anchor Laura MacCallum, who quit her job in protest when News Director Pat Allen pulled the stories after being contacted by Wilson campaign spokesperson Whitney Cheshire (right).

MacCallum was outraged by the situation.

“I had an ethical problem with the stories being pulled because Heather Wilson’s campaign put pressure on newsroom management,” MacCallum said. “They allowed political pressure to dictate the news. As journalists we can’t do that. The news has to stand alone. That a political candidate can inject herself into news department management is just mind blowing. Should we just be doing the Heather Wilson news? And as soon as we make her angry she’s going to call and start giving everybody trouble?

You really must read the entire post at Domrzalski's blog. Also check out the post on this at NM FBIHOP, who jumped on Domrzalski's story first this afternoon.

NM-01: Repub Insiders Threaten Their Own

Must read: Dennis Domrzalski's post today about the threats received by Joe Carraro, Mark Boitano and Janice Arnold-Jones from Republican insiders warning them not to enter the NM-01 Republican primary -- or else. Powerful Repubs made it clear in no uncertain terms that current Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White (right) was the annointed nominee chosen by insiders and that anyone challenging that decision would be the target of a smear campaign or worse. Now the New Mexico Attorney General's office is reportedly looking into whether they should launch a full-scale investigation into the threats against Carraro:

The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office is checking out allegations that state Sen. Joe Carraro, an Albuquerque Republican, was threatened with a vicious smear campaign—including threats bring up and 20-year-divorce case an embarrass his children—if he went through with his decision to seek his party’s nomination for the First Congressional District seat.

The AG’s office is analyzing information to see if it warrants a full-blown investigation, said office spokesman Phil Sisneros.

“He (Carraro) has talked to the Attorney General about his concerns and his concerns have gone into the hopper,” Sisneros said. “The usual process is that we determine if there is something actionable, if there is something we can do. It is an analysis of the information. It was just last week that we spoke to the senator.”

Carraro has also reportedly contacted the FBI about the threats, which he deems to be "extortion":

He says the feds should be involved because some of the threats involved a former state Republican Party official who now works in Texas. “These people should be in jail the way they’re threatening people,” Carraro said.

As for the other two Repubs who considered entering the primary in CD-1,

State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, and state Sen. Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, said they received similar threats when they were considering runs for Wilson’s seat. Arnold-Jones said operatives threatened to go after her 20-year-old daughter, a student at the University of New Mexico.

Boitano, a legislator for 12 years, said he was informed through his campaign manager that he would be attacked for being a member of the Unification Church if he chose to run for Wilson’s seat.

I wonder what New Mexico GOP golden boy and lawman Darren White thinks about the use of smear tactics, threats and what amounts to extortion by his political party against his potential primary challengers. You'd think he'd be up at arms considering his dedication to using stern "law and order" rhetoric and posturing, as have many other Repub candidates over the years. Is he up to the job of taking on the bottom feeders in his own Party who are using repugnant and perhaps even illegal tactics on his behalf? Maybe the AG's office and FBI will try to find out.

To get the full flavor of the warnings and threats made by NM GOP bigwigs, including State Chair Allen Weh (right), to the trio, you really must read Domrzalski's entire post. I guess Rove-style tactics have spread throughout the Bush-wing of the GOP and are used even within the Party against politicos who might dare to contradict the edicts issued from on high.

Dennis Domrzalski was a reporter for 24 years and is the co-host of the Eye on New Mexico Sunday morning TV talk show on KOB-TV, Channel 4.

SFR: Repub Senate Candidates Seek to Define Post-Domenici Religion

Former State Sen. Tom Benavidez discusses his so far unsuccessful quest to get on the primary ballot to take on Repub candidates he calls "carpetbaggers."


Current NM-03 Rep. Steve Pearce views SCHIP as a socialized medicine plot and doesn't allow filming while he eats

I'm a fan of the political coverage being produced by the folks at the Santa Fe Reporter (SFR), so I'm pleased to see they've launched their own video channel on YouTube. It should come in handy as we edge ever closer to election day 2008. The videos above complement "Elephant Warfare," their cover story this week on the Republican contenders in the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico. The vids feature interviews conducted by David Alire Garcia, with camera work by Dave Maass. As Alire Garcia's story explains:

From Feb. 14-23, GOP county conventions all across the state will pick delegates to send to the March 15 state pre-primary nominating convention, the first skirmish of what is expected to be a money-soaked, hard-fought Senate primary between heavyweights Wilson and Pearce.

... On one level, this election is a struggle for the soul of the New Mexico's Republican Party in a post-Domenici religion.

Rep. Heather Wilson, who refused an interview with SFR, is now defining herself as a "common sense conservative" in contrast to Steve Pearce's to-the-right-of-Atila-the-Hun conservatism. One example of Pearce's distaste for (and ignorance about) the push for 21st century-style civil liberties:

"The pressure for same-sex marriage, the pressure for multiple partners,
polymorphism, that's a pressure that is actually going on legally right now," he says. "And then you got pressure from people saying, "˜I got a legitimate right to my pedophilia.'"

Say again?

"There will be no legal impediment to stop anything based on emotion once you get started, even pedophilia,"Pearce theorizes.

Should be a winner on the right-wing talk show circuit, no? The early positioning and framing being used by Pearce and Wilson in this race were on display Tuesday in their first debate in Alamogordo.

The  SFR story also touches on the political problems Wilson may continue to face related to her pressuring phone call to former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, which came to light during the U.S. Attorney firing scandal in Congress last year:

Some of Wilson's baggage includes her now-infamous phone call to New Mexico's former US Attorney, David Iglesias.

Iglesias testified before the House Ethics Committee last August as part of a preliminary investigation of the call Wilson placed to him inquiring about a public corruption case that targeted prominent Democrats.

"She was snooping around, she wanted me to give her privileged and confidential information that she had no business knowing," Iglesias says of Wilson. "She's clearly intelligent, she's been in office a number of years, she knows what honor means. I think she made a terrible choice and I think there needs to be consequences."

Wilson has previously defended her call to Iglesias as "entirely appropriate."

Iglesias believes Wilson's role in Attorneygate will come back to haunt her on the campaign trail.

"Part of Steve Pearce's stump speech is his three reasons why Heather Wilson is unelectable," Iglesias says. "And one of the reasons is her phone call to me."

The most recent polling available in race for U.S. Senate shows that current NM-03 Rep. Tom Udall, who'll be the Dem candidate, would beat both Pearce by 14 and Wilson by 15 points. Clearly, the NM GOP will have their hands full trying to stem the Dem momentum that's been apparent in the presidential primaries as it morphs down ticket to Senate and House races and beyond.

To help make a Dem tsunami a reality in New Mexico, visit Udall's campaign website and sign up as a supporter.

To see our previous coverage on the 2008 U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, visit our archive.

New Record: Conservative Senate Obstructionists Block Legislation 62 Times This Session

A new report details the strategy being used repeatedly by conservative Repubs to block the will of the majority in the U.S. Senate. My suggestion? Make the obstructionists carry out their filibusters on the Senate Floor instead of allowing them merely to say they are filibustering when they're really just threatening to do so, and relying on a 60-vote cloture rule to keep legislation from being voted upon and passed. The Carpetbagger Report has a discussion on the murky pros and cons of such a tactic. I think it's worth a try.

From the Campaign for America's Future:
This week the Republican Senate minority filibustered an omnibus budget bill, setting a modern-day record for blocking the most legislation during a congressional session. A new report released by the Campaign for America's Future details the 62 times conservatives have used the filibuster to block legislation (or force modification of bills) in the first session of the 110th Congress. In just the first year of this two-year Congress, their use of the filibuster in the Senate topped the previous record, reached during the entire 107th Congress.

The new report outlines every bill filibustered, vetoed or threatened to be vetoed by President Bush. Conservatives filibustered bills to end the occupation of Iraq, provide soldiers in Iraq rest time equal to their deployments, support renewable energy and grant residents of the District of Columbia representation in Congress. This week's record-breaker involved a $516 billion budget package passed by the House to fund the federal government in 2008. The conservative minority demanded $20 billion additional funding for the war and opposed House language to bring troops home, and threatened a filibuster to prevent the bill from getting an up or down vote.

"In just one session, a minority in Congress has prevented a mind-blowing 62 pieces of legislation from going to the floor for an up or down vote," said Campaign for America's Future co-director Roger Hickey. "Our report shows how over and over again, the uncompromising minority has thwarted the will of majorities in Congress and of the American people, holding the Senate floor hostage to a radical right-wing agenda."

Sixty votes are needed to invoke cloture and end a filibuster. The 62nd cloture vote of the session is more than any single session of Congress since at least 1973, the earliest year cloture votes are available online from the Senate. Republicans are on pace to force 134 cloture votes to cut off a filibuster, according to the Campaign for America's Future analysis, more than double the historical average of the last 35 years.

Even pieces of legislation that have made it past the Senate filibuster blockade have been obstructed by President Bush. Last week the President vetoed for the second time a popular bill that would expand health coverage for 10 million American children.  According to the Campaign for America's Future report, Bush has threatened to veto 84 bills and has vetoed six as of December 17. In contrast, during the period when the Republicans were in the congressional majority, Bush went the longest time without vetoing a bill since President Arthur Garfield.

Eric Lotke, Campaign for America's Future research director and lead author of the new report, calls the obstruction a "deliberate strategy." He observes that the congressional Republicans block legislation, then blame the Democrats for getting nothing done. "It's like mugging the postman and then complaining that the mail isn't delivered on time."

The story of this historic level of obstruction has recently been covered by The New York Times, but has yet to be fully told in the media. The new Campaign for America's Future report shows how major media outlets describe the 60-vote threshold as an ordinary procedure, neglecting that this tactic is an unprecedented assertion of minority control.

Click for a copy of the Campaign for America's Future report Block and Blame: The Conservative Strategy of Obstruction in the 110th Congress (pdf).

NM-01: Repub Darren White Believes in America and New Mexico

The first things you see when visiting Repub Darren White's spartan new campaign website for his Congressional candidacy in New Mexico's first district are his assertions that:

I'm an optimistic person.
I believe in America and I believe in New Mexico.

THESE are what pass for reasons to vote for a Republican candidate at a time when the nation and many parts of the world are reelilng from the horrors of Bush and the neocons? Oh wait, there's more:

I will fight to bring real change to Washington,
and you will always be able to count on my
integrity and independence along the way.

I wonder what kinds of changes Darren will fight for given that he headed up the Bush-Cheney campaign in Bernalillo County in 2004 and has toed the Bushie line ever since? Independent? From whom? Everyone knows that's not allowed on the right side of the aisle, especially among those on the Bush Team. Integrity? How does that work when you back one of the most corrupt and dishonest administrations in history? Well, as Darren said, he's "optimistic."

Kerik's mug shot, 2006 arrest

I guess White, who serves as Bernalillo County Sheriff, sees himself as full of "integrity" despite the fact that he was also running Rudy Giuliani's campaign in New Mexico until he declared his Congressional candidacy. When you think of Rudy, you have to think of Bernard Kerik, the former Rudy-appointed New York City top cop, who was indicted the other day by a federal grand jury for 16 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and lying to the IRS.

Funny that a law enforcement guy like Sheriff White would be running the NM presidential campaign of a politician mixed up so intimately with the likes of Kerik -- who Giuliani pushed for Secretary of Homeland Security back in December of 2004. That fell through after numerous allegations surfaced about Kerik's mob ties, among other things. In 2006, Kerik pled guilty to two unrelated ethics violations after an investigation by the Bronx District Attorney's Office, and was ordered to pay $221,000.

Kerik declared bankruptcy in October 1987 but today he is a multimillionaire, the result of a lucrative partnership with Giuliani and a profitable relationship with a stun-gun manufacturer. You really must read this description of Giuliani's management and security consulting business, including a subsidiary that was called Giuliani-Kerik Security and Safety before 2005.

Kerik's career and personal life are full of controversies and sleaze. You can read about it here. Critics believe his chief qualification for New York Police Commissioner was that he had served as Giuliani’s driver and bodyguard and had been a very close associate of Rudy's for many years. Giuliani personally promoted the career of Kerik on several occasions, despite advice to the contrary.

I wonder why Sheriff White would be so enamored of Rudy Giuliani -- obviously a politician without any qualms about making money and political hay out of 9-11 and partnering with the ethically challenged -- to say the least -- Kerik. Or why White found it in his "independent" heart to want run the county's Bush-Cheney campaign in 04. Must be all that integrity, independence and belief in America that White mentions on his campaign website ....

For our previous coverage of the 2008 Congressional race in NM-01, see our archive.