Because I Still Care

Last night, I spent over an hour watching a YouTube video. Now mind you, I'm part of the MTV generation, so spending more than three minutes watching a video is normally a challenge for me, but this time it wasn't, and if you can find the time (regardless of your political persuasion), I would strongly urge you to set aside an hour to watch Randy Pausch's Last Lecture - Achieving Your Childhood Dreams:



I've always chased my dreams (and have caught quite a few of them), so his lecture resonated with me. It spoke to how I've always tried and continue to try to live my life. But more importantly, a lot of what he had to say seemed relevant to the political challenges we are facing today - on a national, state and lately, on the county level. To that last point, consider this excerpt about his youth football experience from approximately ten minutes into the lecture:

When it was all over one of the other assistant coaches came over and said, "Yeah, Coach Graham rode you pretty hard didn't he?"

And I said, "Yeah."

He said, "That's a good thing. When you're screwing up and no one is saying anything to you anymore that means they gave up."

"That's a lesson that stuck with me the whole life. When you see yourself doing something badly and no one is telling you anymore, that's a very bad place to be. Your critics are your ones that tell you they still love you and care."

With this in mind, I have a message to the dozen plus Executive Committee members of the Bernalillo County Republican Party that met yesterday and voted unanimously to give Chairman Fernando C'deBaca a vote of full faith and confidence...

"You screwed up."

And, you did it because you're not looking at the bigger picture. Mr. C'deBaca said something racist and offensive to the majority of New Mexicans, and it reflects poorly on the Republican Party. There are plenty of reasons not to vote for Barack Obama for President, but the color of his skin in not one of those reasons. Mr. C'deBaca knows it and has apologized. Unfortunately, for us, actions speak louder than words. If he was truly apologetic, he would have stepped down instead of putting on this sideshow.

This nonsense that we have an election to win and that is the reason for remaining Chairman is just that - nonsense. You don't need a title to volunteer your time. The same people, all of those in the room yesterday, could work just as hard to win the election whether Mr. C'deBaca had the title of Chairman or not.

And, as long as I'm criticizing my own party, I may as well go all out here...

With this bailout we're proposing, we're screwing up nationally as well. Again, we're failing to look at the big picture. The 2008 election is important, but winning the election by selling out our values is just too high of a price to pay. There are at least 10 reasons we shouldn't be doing this bailout, not the least of which is:

Fundamentally alters the nation’s free-market system in that it broadly socializes firm’s money-losing mortgage assets and places the U.S. on a slippery slope whereby profits will also be nationalized. Even if one accepts the idea that such a proposal could work, valid questions about whether such a cost is an acceptable trade-off for the market turmoil we are hoping to avoid must be raised.

We're screwing up, and if I just went along to get along, I'd be making the same mistake the Bernalillo County executive committee made yesterday. But, you know what? I care too much to just remain silent.

He's Officially Lost It

It's official, Joe Monahan has lost it. Once upon a time, Mr. Monahan was the must read of New Mexico political blogs - of course, it didn't hurt that he was the only NM political blog. However, as the blogosphere has continued to grow at an unprecedented pace, so has the number of NM blogs covering politics.

There are blogs on the left, blogs on the right, blogs written by real reporters and blogs which really report. Blogs that editorialize and blogs that criticize.

However, there is only one blog that has failed time and time again in recent months to analyze politics in a meaningful and coherent manner - New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan. Now, don't get me wrong, Mr. Monahan is still a good source for insider political gossip. But, internet gossip, like all gossip, must be taken with a grain of salt. And, therein lies the problem.

You see, Mr. Monahan takes this gossip as gospel truth. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, he proceeds to dissect the gossip and arrive at political conclusions that he presents as in-depth analysis. Think about that. It's the equivalent of a NASA scientist reading the National Enquirer to determine the future of space travel.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Just take a look at this gem from yesterday morning:

What does the political future of southern NM GOP Congressman Steve Pearce have to do with Sunday's re-election of Bernalillo county GOP chairman Fernando C de Baca? Quite a bit say my Republican Alligators. They, and I, wondered why Senator Domenici and Congresswoman Wilson were so public in their opposition to the re-election of C de Baca when the county GOP central committee re-elected him.

Whoa, hold the presses. Did I miss something? Senator Domenici and Congresswoman Wilson "were so public in their opposition" to Chairman C'deBaca? Well, that's kind of a strange thing to say. I know Mr. C'deBaca's opponent from this last election pretty well. In fact, I know him so well, it's like we're the same person. Oh wait, we we are the same person.

So, without any alligators needed, I can tell you that neither the Senator or the Congresswoman came out in opposition to Fernando C'deBaca. It would have been great for me if they had opposed the Chairman, because let's face it, I'd now be Chairman. But, that's not the way it works, and more importantly, that's not the way it worked.

But get this, this is even more bizarre. Somehow, Mr. Monahan has turned this into a power struggle between Congresswoman Heather Wilson and Congressman Steve Pearce. Folks, there were only 210 votes cast (of the 219 present) in this past election for Bernalillo County Chairman. Only 210 votes cast even though there were 247 potential delegates to the Bernalillo County Central Committee (including ex-officio).

So, let me ask you, what do you think? Before you answer, I realize you may not feel qualified to provide in -depth political analysis. After all, you don't have Mr. Monahan's years of experience in the trenches of "La Politica" with the "alligators." But, I'm going to take a chance here and ask you anyway.

If this was a battle between our two Republican congressional representatives for control of Bernalillo County, don't you think every seat in the place would have been taken? Don't you think there would have been an overflow crowd with people fighting for every available open slot as opposed to most people who bothered showing up in a ward getting automatically elected to the county central committee? Isn't just a little strange that in this "epic battle" depicted by Mr. Monahan more than 10% of the seats remained empty.

C'mon folks look at the numbers. Pearce and Wilson have machines that between them turn out hundreds of thousands of votes every election cycle. If they were in some sort of competition, we would have seen the streets filled with volunteers vying for an opportunity to cast their vote in favor of their favorite candidate.

No, the truth is just not as entertaining as Mr. Monahan has portrayed. The truth is two candidates were involved in a campaign for county chairman. The candidate with a forty year history of political involvement in New Mexico, Chairman C'deBaca, was able to turn out more votes than the candidate with six and a half years of involvement, yours truly. So, Mr. C'deBaca won.

I know it's not titillating reading, but it's the truth, which brings us back full circle. Mr. Monahan has lost it. He's moved from the alligator swamp to the padded room. Either that, or he's got a reason to try and create a rift in the Republican Party where none exists. Go ahead, you decide.

Final Count: 92 to 118

Well, it looks like it's time for me to go back to making money. I lost my campaign to become the Chairman of the Bernalillo County Republican Party. The good news is that we got a lot of folks not usually involved in these things to show up for the convention. The bad news is that we didn't get enough. Although, if all of those in absentia self-nomination forms, proxies and dues we collected could have been used, the results may have been different. But, alas that was not the case.

I say "we" because I had a group of volunteers helping me out that really impressed me with their energy and commitment. These people are the Party's future - at 37, I was the old guy - and at some point we are going to have to change the rules of the game if we want them to continue playing. They'll turn out their vote, but they are not going to sit for three to four hours in a hot room just for the sake of going through the process. It's just not going to happen, but you can still get them to vote. I'm sure there is a lesson there... somewhere.

I do want to thank those volunteers and the 92 people who came out and supported me, as well as the other folks who gave up their Sunday to show their support to the candidates in general. I also want to publicly acknowledge the newly re-elected Chairman Fernando C'deBaca for being gracious in his win.

Tomorrow some folks will receive a mail piece that somehow didn't end up in mailboxes when it should have. There are three points made in the mail piece, and I stand by them:

1. Republican activists, especially those holding party positions, must not endorse Democrat candidates, even ones in "non-partisan" offices. I, like most New Mexicans, have Democratic friends, even a few who have run for elected office. However, I will not endorse them, nor support them financially. Because let's face it, those same officials will, at some point down the line, act in a partisan manner and go after our Republican officials in a very partisan way. It's just the nature of the beast.
   
   
2. Bernalillo County Republicans did not turn out the vote to win the First Congressional District for the first time in 2006. This must NEVER happen again. And, if we don't want a repeat in 2008, we need to start working on it... Yesterday.
   
   
3. We're not raising the money we need to run an effective organization. It's not enough to keep the lights on and a paid member on staff. We need to raise significantly more. There are very few places left in America that are not gerrymandered to benefit one party or the other. Bernalillo County is one of these truly competitive areas. So, Republicans no matter where they may be, can truly further the cause by supporting the Bernalillo County Republican Party. And that support should go to building a strong volunteer structure all the way down to the precinct level.

With that said, we've elected a Chairman, so let's get to work.

BCRP Convention Tomorrow

Don't forget, tomorrow is the Bernalillo County Republican Party Convention.

Albuquerque Fraternal Order of Police Lodge
Sunday March 18, 2007
2:00pm-5:00pm
5900 Jefferson St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109

I encourage all Bernalillo County Republicans to show up and cast your vote. Unfortunately, it is not widely known, but this process is open to EVERY registered Republican in Bernalillo County. You do not already have to have be on the County Central Committee to attend and vote. We'll be electing a new County Central Committee.

If you can't make it, there is still time to turn in your self-nomination form and proxy, so that your vote can be counted.

Call me at 401-2010 if you need more information.

Dear Bernalillo County Republicans,

In case you didn't get my letter....

With the encouragement of my family and friends and many long-standing grassroots activists, I've decided to run for Chairman of the Bernalillo County Republican Party, and I need your support.

In 2008, New Mexico will once again be a battleground state, and if we learned anything from this past election cycle, it is that we need to do more. Bernalillo County is the most important political county in the state and must do a better job of delivering the vote for our Republican candidates.

During this past last election cycle, Congresswoman Heather Wilson had her closest race ever. And, for the first time since taking office, she lost Bernalillo County. This must never happen again.

According to the final audited count, Congresswoman Wilson lost Bernalillo County by 1,250 votes. That means that with just four more votes per precinct, she would have easily won the county.

What concerns me, and has in fact motivated me to run, is that despite the passage of four months, not a single significant step has been taken to build our party structure. Already, 120 days have passed since the last election, and we are no more prepared today to deliver those additional votes in every precinct than we were four months ago.

This is unacceptable.

Granted, every organization has problems, but the good ones don’t have the same problems year after year. Right now, without a change, we’re on track to have the same problems come 2008. I’m not willing to stand idly by and let that happen, and I don’t think you are either.
Together, we can make sure that 2008 is remembered as the year when the Republicans took back Bernalillo County. How do we do it? With three simple steps:

1. Communicate our message
2. Raise money
3. Recruit volunteers

This is not speculation on my part. I’ve done it before successfully. From 2000 to 2004, I was the President of Junior Achievement of New Mexico, a privately funded not-for-profit that teaches students to understand business and economics and value the free enterprise system.

When I took over the organization, it had $25,000 in assets and annual revenues of $200,000. In four short years, I was able to increase the net assets by a $100,000 while doubling annual revenues to over $400,000 per year. More importantly, I was able to double the number of students participating in the program by significantly increasing the number of volunteers involved.

I did the same for an El Paso chapter of the organization with even more amazing results. During a one-hour lunch, I raised $80,000 in a room with just fourteen people. Admittedly, they were the right fourteen people, but that was no accident, I invited them.

Communicate a message. Raise money. Recruit volunteers. That's the plan.

I've had a similar success in the private sector. After leaving Junior Achievement, I launched an advertising and public relations firm. In just three years, I've grown this firm to the 14th largest agency in the state with a couple of million dollars in annual billings.

I know how to set goals and achieve them, and I've set a goal to make the Bernalillo County Republican Party the strongest county party in the state. With your help, I will do it. That’s my commitment. Elect me to be your Bernalillo County Party Chairman, and together, we’ll deliver for our Republican candidates in 2008.

Sincerely,


Mario Burgos

P.S. Below is a list of activities I've been involved in during my last six and a half years in New Mexico. This is by no means a complete list; however, I think it provides a good indication of the level of my commitment to our community, our state and our future. You can also learn a lot more about me by visiting www.MarioBurgos.com.

Political Involvement:
* Heather Wilson for Congress, Finance Committee 2005 - Present
* Member of the NM Delegation to 2004 Republican National Convention
* Bernalillo County Small Business Coalition Chairman, Bush/Cheney 2004
* Appointed by the U.S. Treasury Secretary and the IRS Commissioner to be New Mexico's representative on the National Taxpayer Advocacy Panel 2002 - 2005
* 2004 Candidate for State Representative, House District 22
* Political Blogger 2004 - present
* Frequent Republican commentator on KNME’s The Line and Channel 4’s Eye on New Mexico

Community Involvement:
* AYSO Soccer Coach 2004 - Present
* Albuquerque Del Norte Rotary Club 2001 - Present
* United Way Young Leaders Society
* National Federation of Independent Businesses
* Association of Commerce and Industry
* Middle Rio Grande Business Education Collaborative 2002-2004
* New Mexico Business Roundtable for Educational Excellence
* 2004 NM Business Weekly 40 Under 40
* March of Dimes, Walk-a-thon Fundraising Committee 2005
* Popejoy Hall's Primavera Ball, Marketing Committee 2006 - Present

Central Committee Meeting, and Biennial Organizational County Convention

Albuquerque Fraternal Order of Police Lodge
Sunday March 18, 2007
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
5900 Jefferson St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109

My Anonymous Friend

I've heard from quite a few of you who have found the comments of Anonymous, well, amusing to say the least. I've not responded to Anonymous because, among other reasons, I was curious to see where the comments would go without a response.

The first time this particular Anonymous commenter appeared (IP address: 70.58.227.231), it was with this comment:

We thought you had disappeared like the RPNM staffers! It's good to see that Allen Weh and Mickey Barnett are letting you out of your cage again!
01.23.07 - 9:25 am

Then true to form, Anonymous put up three more comments in the span of just a couple of hours - none of which were flattering. But hey, not everyone is going to love me, right?

Now, are you ready for the odd part? What did I do that spurned the wrath of this Anonymous poster on that cold day in January? Well, I wrote that Governor Bill Richardson's presidential announcement really didn't have much splash in the Northeast. Not the type of thing you would think would offend a Republican Party activist, but it sure did get Anonymous' britches all in a bunch.

I have to admit, at the time, I didn't give it much thought. What can I say? After receiving over 1,200 comments on this blog since it's inception, I've learned that you just don't put too much stock into the "anonymous" comments. After all, I've hurled "stones" of criticism with the best of them, but I've never done it hiding behind a veil of anonymity. I back my convictions with my own John Hancock and let the pieces fall where they may. It's the way I was brought up. You stand up for what you believe in, and take your punches, and then come back for more.

Anonymous did come back to give me more. With these two comments:

Mario- Glad to see you are addressing the pressing issues of the day. If only you could convince your drunken counterpart over at wednesdaymorningqb to do the same! I don't know if you read her blog very often, but I have seen you quote her here on occasion. That girl has gone bat sh*t ["i" removed] crazy!
02.08.07 - 10:20 am

Mario: You want Richardson to disclose his donors and various contractual obligations. In the spirit of fairness and openness, would you please disclose your list of clients? Thanks!
02.08.07 - 2:23 pm

What set Anonymous into personal attack mode once again? You got it. It was another post about Governor Bill Richardson. This time the post was about the Governor's questionable ethics in sending out a campaign fundraising letter during a prohibited time. Something that the Attorney General decided was not illegal; however, we all know, that what is legal and what is ethical are not always one in the same.

Ok, so now I have Anonymous pegged as a Richardson supporter. It makes sense that Anonymous is not going to be my biggest fan - most Richardson supporters aren't. I haven't exactly been active in the Governor's Booster Club. Instead, I spend most of my time with the Emperor Has No Clothes crowd.

But this is where it gets weird....

On February 16, 2007, I announce in a post that I'm running for Chairman of the Bernalillo County GOP and Anonymous goes completely bananas. We're talking mad as a hatter, nutty as a fruitcake, completely off the deep end bonkers. Personally, I can't think of a better endorsement of my candidacy than for someone, who has at least twice come to the defense of Bill Richardson, become completely unhinged at the thought of me leading the Bernalillo County GOP.

So, I've let Anonymous just continue jabbing. Every time Anonymous posts, another person shoots me an email, or calls me to let me know that I've got their vote. Anonymous has been so effective in rallying support for me that even Nelson Spear, who now lives in Texas, has called me up to offer words of encouragement and lend his support.

Anonymous, I can't thank you enough for all the help with my campaign. But, I can repay you by answering a few questions that just seem to be keeping you up at night. First, let me put to rest the question of whether or not I am, or have ever been, on "the payroll" of Mickey Barnett.

I'm not, and I've never been.

I have on this blog previously addressed my relationship with Mickey Barnett. The guy gave me $200 when I ran for office in 2004 - less than 1% of my total contributions. Very generous, and very much appreciated, but I don't see how anyone could consider that putting me on Mr. Barnett's payroll. I'm the sole financial provider for my family and $200 just doesn't make ends meet.

Nor does Mr. Barnett get the credit for the accomplishments or failures I've experienced in my life thus far. That responsibility lies squarely on my shoulders. I've heard a lot of speculation in my years of involvement with the Party of the power that Mr. Barnett yields, but let's face it, if he was a force to be reckoned with, he'd still be Republican National Committeeman.

As far as my client list is concerned, that is not something I will ever put on this blog. Why? Well, for a variety of reasons. But most importantly, my opinions do not necessarily reflect those of my clients, so they should not be brought into this aspect of my life. With that said, I've not had a problem answering a similar question on this blog before, albeit more politely asked, and you can read it here. I take pride in the fact that starting from nothing, I've worked with others to build one of the fastest growing advertising agencies in the state. I'm living the American Dream.

As to my ability to appeal to "life-long" New Mexicans, well, I'm married to one, so let me go ask....

Ok, I'm back. According to her, I'm still very appealing. Mind you, we're going on 12 years of being happily marriage, so this is no simple feat. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can do just fine in the "life-long" New Mexican category.

The question about prejudices between Latinos and Mexican-American groups does shed some light on Anonymous. Now besides knowing that Anonymous feels the need to rise to the defense of Bill Richardson, we also know that Anonymous is not Hispanic. In 2004, we did not not have Mexican-Americans for Bush and Latinos for Bush. We had Viva Bush. Americans with Hispanic heritages and Republican ideals. Only those with deep rooted prejudices have a hard time understanding how people with different backgrounds can unite for a common good.

As to why I would make a good County Chairman, I'm afraid you're going to have read the letter coming in the mail, or tune in to the blog next week.

It's Official - I'm Running

With the encouragement of my family and friends, colleagues and grassroot activists, I've decided to run for Chairman of the Bernalillo County GOP. Over and over again, I've heard from folks that a new generation of political activists must stand up and give their time and energy to continue moving our party forward and to build on the efforts of those who have already selflessly served.

Any volunteer driven organization that wants to grow needs a constant infusion of new people, fresh ideas and unbridled enthusiasm . It is my firm belief that it should never be in with the new and out with old. Instead, those who are already involved should be kept engaged, so that an organization and new leadership can take advantage of the invaluable knowledge that only experience can provide.

I'll write more over the weekend and the coming weeks about my motivation for running, my qualifications for leading, and my plans for moving the Bernalillo County GOP forward, but for now, here is the information to get on your calendar:

It was determined by the Bernalillo County Republican Party Executive Officers that the location, date, and time of the 2007 Bernalillo County Republican Party Ward/Precinct Caucuses, Central Committee Meeting, and Biennial Organizational County Convention will be:

Albuquerque Fraternal Order of Police Lodge
Sunday March 18, 2007
2:00pm-5:00pm
5900 Jefferson St NE Albuquerque, NM 87109

If you'd like to talk to me about helping out with my campaign, becoming active in your Ward or being added to the growing list of those endorsing me, please email me at ClearThinking@gmail.com or call me at 401-2010.