Tribute to Senator Pete Domenici

Peter St. Cyr, a radio reporter for 770 KKOB, has launched a blog. Peter attended the tribute to Senator Pete Domenici this past Friday, and he posted an audio of the entire speech made by Senator Alfonse Demato (retired) from New York. Set aside some time to listen, it's worth it.

I know Peter does some interesting interviews for KKOB, but the station only runs small segments of those interviews. I think if Peter were to put up the full interview on his blog, he could have a pretty unique niche for himself. He could easily become New Mexico's top podcaster [Just some unsolicited free advice - worth about what you paid for it].

How Not to Make a Decision

So, you'd think that Congressman Tom Udall, who would like to join Senator Bingaman in the United States Senate, might take heed when he is told by the junior, soon to be senior, Senator that something is not a good idea (subscription), but that does not seem to be the case:

On Monday, Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said they opposed Pelosi's decision to package the tax repeals and the utility mandate with the broader energy bill because it could doom the entire bill in the Senate.

Ok, a bi-partisan recommendation from two guys who definitely know a little bit about how to get energy bills passed in the Senate. And, what does Congressman Udall do:

Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said Wednesday he supports a massive energy bill that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to bring to a vote today, in part because he crafted a key provision in the legislation.

You're kidding me, right? Congressman Udall is ignoring Senator Bingaman's advice "because [Udall] crafted a key provision in the legislation."

This self-serving approach to decision making helps explains why Congress has an 11% approval rating.

Conversation with a Senior Wilson Advisor

Before I sat down to blog, I decided to go through my snail mail. In that pile of bills and solicitations was a letter from the People for Pete campaign asking me to help organize and collect petition signatures for our Senator. That letter was dated October 1, 2007 - only three days before the Senator announced his plans to retire for medical reasons. A political frenzy has since ensued with prospective candidates on both sides of the aisle trying to determine if they've got a shot at representing New Mexicans in Congress as a Senator or Representative.

The usual gang of blogosphere pundits are producing posts at a feverish pitch. There are those emerging from desert swamps with alligator predictions supported by the most unscientific of polls. Others are going straight to the source and getting prospective candidates to think out loud about their plans and rationale.

Personally, I think sometimes it pays to wait a beat or two for the dust to begin to settle a bit before jumping into the fray with predictions and insights. After all, it is impossible to make any sort of reasonable guess as to who is going to win a race until you at least know for sure who is running in it. I guess you could call me old fashioned that way.

Still, we do know that one candidate, Congresswoman Heather Wilson, has stepped in, and stepped in boldly. She did not wait to see what the presidential candidate and occasional state visitor, Governor Bill Richardson, is planning to do. She didn't call around to her Republican peers to try and figure out what they were going to do before taking the next step.

Nope, she just made a decision and announced her decision to run for the Senate seat - 24 hours after we all learned officially that it would be open. That's what I believe could be called a healthy dose of moxie.

Well, today I had a phone conversation with a Senior Wilson Advisor to discover the source of that gumption. The Advisor, who shall remain nameless (I learned that from my reporter friends), made some strong arguments as to why the Congresswoman should become New Mexico's next Junior Senator.

The Advisor pointed out to me, Wilson has won one hard battle after another against odds that most Las Vegas bookmakers wouldn't take. First, she beat a millionaire (or is it billionaire) native son. She followed that campaign win by not once, but twice defeating a well-funded and highly regarded Senator Pro-tem. Then in this last election cycle, she prevailed over a sitting Attorney General despite the anti-Republican tide that swept the nation and sent many of her colleagues packing. All of this in a district that went to Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.

"Yeah," I said. "But, this is a statewide race." The Advisor quickly threw out a little known fact... The statewide registration of Average Republican Voting Strength (ARVS) is actually four points higher than that of Heather's Congressional District.

Since I have no problem at all with basic math, I didn't even have to start counting on my fingers to figure out that this means Heather Wilson would start this race with a four point head start over all of the previous races. The races she won.

But, the Advisor didn't stop there. I was asked to consider the amount of money spent on media in the last couple of elections. Since it just so happens I know a thing or two about media buying in our state (part of my day job), I got the message loud and clear. You see, New Mexico's television networks reach every corner of the state except around Las Cruces, which is part of the El Paso market. This means that the vast majority of New Mexicans know Heather Wilson.

The Advisor didn't have to state the obvious, but I will. Based on the amount of money she has spent on television in the last couple of elections, the Congresswoman's name id has got to be close to, if not greater, than 90%, in the vast majority of New Mexico.

And, based on a press release I saw from the campaign today, Wilson is already well on her way to raising the money she needs to get that name id to 100%:

The Heather Wilson for Congress campaign announced today that it will file a third quarter Federal Election Commission (FEC) report showing at least $754,000 cash on hand as of September 30, 2007.

Wilson’s campaign raised $238,000 during the third quarter of 2007 that ended on September 30^th and $908,000 for the year to date. The $754,000 her campaign has in cash on hand is nearly $25,000 more than two years ago.

As of September 30, 2007, the Heather Wilson for Congress campaign has received contributions from 2339 New Mexicans - 94.2% of her individual contributions.

“I’m honored to enjoy such strong support from New Mexicans,” Wilson said.

Well, all this is well and good, but I didn't shy away from asking the question on everyone's mind. What happens if our occasional Governor, the presidential candidate Bill Richardson, decides to jump into the race, despite his statement to the contrary? The Advisor's response was simple. The people of New Mexico would expect to see debates in every corner of the Land of Enchantment, and this time the Governor would be hard pressed to find an excuse not to participate.

"Ouch," I thought. That whole debating thing hasn't really proven to be one of the Governor's strengths of late.

Alright, it was time to wrap it up (after all, a guy has to make a living to feed his family). Still, I couldn't help just throwing out one last question before getting back to work. You see, when push comes to shove, I'm a limited government kind of guy at my core. So, I off-handedly asked the Advisor about the press release put out last week by the Club for Growth that chastised Wilson for being on the left when it comes to fiscal policy.

"You mean the release that came out about the same time that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee published their release attacking Heather Wilson for being too far to the right?" the Advisor asked.

"Yeah, I responded, "that's the one I'm talking about."

"Well," the Advisor responded, "if two East Coast organizations, one on the left and one on the right, accuse the Congresswoman of being too conservative and too liberal in the same day, then I'd say we're right about where we should be - firmly, in the center."

And, with that, the conversation came to an end.

Before anyone asks, I would be happy to talk to Senior Advisors for other candidates as they get around to announcing. Just shoot me an email, and I'll send you back an email with the best number to reach me.


The Disclaimer: I was an active member of Blogs for Heather Wilson this last election cycle, and have enjoyed the privilege of serving as a member of her finance committee.

Domenici Retirement - It's a Whole New World

It seems like every time I leave town for a couple of days, the political world in the Land of Manana gets thrown for a twist. Just a day after we put the Albuquerque City Elections behind us, the news breaks that Senator Pete Domenici is going to retire:

Sen. Pete Domenici is retiring after a generation as a dominant Republican voice on budget matters in Congress, deferring to health concerns after six terms in office.

A draft statement prepared for Domenici's formal announcement Thursday disclosed that the 75-year-old New Mexico Republican has a progressive disease that can cause dysfunction in the parts of the brain important for organization, decision-making and control of mood and behavior.

The sound you heard all over Albuquerque following the news was the hasty construction of political war rooms being hastily built on both sides of the aisle. Mayor Chavez, whose team just got dealt a stunning defeat in the City Election races, is definitely going to consider a run. And, the race just got a lot more expensive for Don Wiviott, who is now going to have a full primary slate to contend with - unless, of course, Governor Richardson abandons his national tour run for the Presidency to make a go at becoming New Mexico's next Junior Senator.

In about 120 days, Richardson is going to drop out of the Presidential race and in all likelihood make a run for the Senate seat. So, expect to see a compressed election cycle on this one. There will be a lot of potential candidates putting feelers out, but until February 5th, no one is going to know what Richardson will do, so it will be very difficult to raise money for the seat on either side of the aisle.

First You Actually Have to Be a Republican

I've watched with much amusement as Governor Richardson's favorite blogger has opened mouth and inserted foot a couple of times this week. Yes, I'm talking about New Mexico's premier politicial gossip columnist, Joe Monahan.

Staying true to form, our dear friend, Mr. Monahan, is trying to paint a picture of turmoil and dissension within the Republican Party of New Mexico. This time the tale he's spinning starts something like this:

Suffice it to say, Dog Days of Summer or not, the blogging Gods pulled the plug on the getaway, providing a reason we couldn't dream up even if we had dosed that iced tea with Drambuie. That reason is one Spiro G. Vassilopoulos, a Republican considering running against NM GOP US Senator Pete Domenici in the 2008 primary. Got your attention?

Now good ol' Joe may have got your attention, and mine, but in classic style, he either forgot to do his homework or just chose not to do it for the sake of sensationalism.

You see, if Senor Monahan had done his homework, he would have realized that even if Spiro G. Vassilopoulos is registered as a Republican, Mr. Vassilopoulos' money has a long history of being committed to the Democrats.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Go check out Political Money Line and see for yourself. Now, you are going to have to go back a ways, because it's been a good 13 years since Mr. Vassilopoulos has written a check for more than $200 to a candidate for federal office.

1. In 1994, he and his wife contributed $500 to Senator Domenici's campaign, but he reserved the big money, a $1,000 for Democrat Bob Krueger of Texas.
   
   
2. In 1990, he gave Senator Domenici another $500, but in the same campaign cycle he gave the Democrats, James Warren Lane of Texas $2,000 and Senator Jeff Bingaman, $333.
   
   
3. In 1988, he gave his $500 to Senator Jeff Bingaman.

In case math is not your strong suit, that leaves us with Mr. Vassilopoulos donating a total of $3,833 to Democrats and $1,000 to a Republican. Sorry, but in my book, anyone who gives their money almost 4:1, Democrat to Republican, does not get to call themselves a Republican.

And, anyone following politics in New Mexico for any length of time knows that a "republican" candidate with close allegiances to the Democratic Party doesn't have even the slightest chance of being taken seriously by the GOP faithful in a primary situation.

Tsk, tsk, Mr. Monahan.

Maybe We Should Define Perjury

Well, here's a question....

If a sharp legal mind, the kind of mind that was portrayed on the silver screen in A Few Good Men, answers a question one way under oath in front of Congress, and answers a question another way when asked by a reporter, does that constitute perjury?

I'm just kind of wondering. You see, I'm not a lawyer, but from a layman's perspective, it sure seems that David Iglesias' well-rehearsed and dramatically delivered testimony before Congress might now come back to bite him. In case you missed, it the first time, here is the re-run of the relevant part:



Go ahead, play it again. It's pretty clear isn't it? Mr. Iglesias said he felt pressured after receiving a call from Senator Domenici. So, maybe Mr. Iglesias can explain this response in a recent interview with his old work buddy and fellow attorney, Jim Scarantino, for the Alibi. First, we have this admission from David Iglesias:

Could [Senator Domenici's] phone call to me [concerning the timing of charges in the court house corruption investigation] constitute a criminal offense? I’m not sure. I suspect ethics charges are more likely than criminal charges as I doubt he called me to interfere with the courthouse cases. Having me removed for not prosecuting voter fraud cases or [not] prosecuting cases fast enough probably does not constitute obstruction of justice.

That's followed up by this whopper of a confession:

Domenici and [U.S. Rep. Heather] Wilson never directly pressured me to take action—it was the New Mexico GOP.

Whoa, hold the presses! Domenici and Wilson never directly pressured him? Well, then how does he explain his sworn testimony before Senator Schumer? David Iglesias clearly stated, "I felt pressured to get these matters moving." He said it regarding Senator Pete Domenici, and Iglesias said it again when asked about a call from Congresswoman Heather Wilson:




Hmm, I wonder if this might negatively impact that book deal?

Medal of Honor Recipient Deserves Respect

It's not often that I blog during work hours. After all, a guy has to make a living. But I just came across something that is probably one of the most offensive partisan acts I've seen come out of Congress in a long time.

Take a moment and watch the video that shows the floor discussion between the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’Affairs, Bob Filner (D-California) and the ranking Republican, Steve Buyer (R-Indiana):



Naming the VA Medical Center in Albuquerque after New Mexico war hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Raymond G. 'Jerry' Murphy, was a bipartisan recommendation that enjoys the support of the entire New Mexico Congressional delegation. In fact, you can view the original press release in its entirety on Senator Jeff Bingaman's website. But, in a nutshell, this is the type of man we are talking about:

"Jerry Murphy was a true American hero who in war and peace dedicated himself to others. I am proud to have known Jerry and to have been able to call him my friend. It is a privilege to play a part in bestowing this deserving honor on a great man and a great American," Domenici said. "I will work with our House counterparts to get this bill passed and enacted as soon as possible."

"Jerry Murphy bravely served our country. While he was recognized during his life with a much-deserved Medal of Honor, we are now a step closer to ensuring that the memory of his service to our country—and his fellow veterans—will live on," Bingaman said.

So, why isn't this bill, which incidentally has the support of the VA Department as well as the New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services, Albuquerque Armed Forces Advisory Association, American Legion, American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Vietnam Veterans of America, being heard.

A very simple and offensive answer: "Companion legislation (HR.474) was introduced in the House by Representative Heather Wilson."

That's right, the Democrat leadership in Congress is willing to insult this Medal of Honor recipient's memory rather than let the legislation be carried forth by a Republican they so badly want to see defeated.

This is wrong. There are no two ways about it. This is wrong.

2004 Election Fraud Concerned Democrats

It turns out that the election fraud perpetrated in New Mexico in 2004 was a concern to Democrats as well as as Republicans (Hat tip: American Spectator). In fact, it was a big enough deal that recently released documents by the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary show that Senator Jeff Bingaman's (D-NM) office called not once, but twice before the election in 2004 to determine the status. See the released supporting documentation below:



So, what does this all mean? Well, the folks over at the American Spectator have this take:

Is there anything wrong with this? Probably not. But it shows that it can be an entirely innocent and normal thing for senators to inquire, during election season, about the status of investigations with political ramifications. It takes at least some of the sting out of the breathless allegations against Domenici.

Granted, there are two differences in the cases. First, Domenici called Iglesias directly, whereas it was Bingaman's chief of staff who called and it was to the legislative affairs office at Justice, not to Iglesias, that he made his call. Second, there is no evidence that Bingaman did anything further that could be interpreted as putting political pressure on Iglesias or on DoJ, whereas it appeared that Domenici forwarded his complaints to the White House.

But the fact remains that it is just flat-out inaccurate to assert that senators are necessarily out of line to express concern about politically tinged investigations. The Democrats' pretense to the contrary is not just hypocritical, but a rank descent into character assassination of a sort that can, by tying up resources, distract attention from the actual job of law enforcement.

For those of you out there who are trying to pretend voter fraud did not occur in 2004, please take special note that it was Democrat County Clerk Mary Herrera "who asked to meet about 3,000 suspicious registrations." And, the lack of prosecutorial action by David Iglesias in after a year's passage is what led to Senator Domenici's well documented first complaint in September of 2005 to the Department of Justice.

Schumer Releases Official Transcript of Domenici Call to Iglesias

I don't usually write on Sunday's, but this is just too important to wait until tomorrow. In an apparent attempt to keep the partisan bashing of New Mexico's Republican Congressional Representatives alive, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) earlier today released the official transcripts of the now infamous call between former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM).

Under a little known section of the Patriot Act, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has been recording all conversations between its members and other branches of U.S. Government. When the Senate was under Republican control, this information was only used to keep the caucus voting as a block. However, now that the tide has turned, and the Democrats control the Senate, the Democratic Senatorial Congressional Committee (DSCC) is on record as saying they will shamelessly use the information as often as necessary to win additional seats in the Senate for Democrats.

In what will most likely go down in the history books as the beginning of a new dawn in American politics, Senator Schumer, at the urging of former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid, has released the transcript below from that fateful day in October:

5:04 p.m. October 27, 2006

U.S. Senator Pete Domenici: Hello, this is Pete. I want to -

U.S. Attorney David Iglesias: Just a second, Pete. Honey, can you turn up the volume.

Heard in the background: "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"

U.S. Attorney David Iglesias: Ah, I love that scene. Pete, did I ever tell you the movie a Few Good Men was based on my life?

U.S. Senator Pete Domenici: Yes, David. Now listen, I have something important to ask you?

U.S. Attorney David Iglesias: Pete, hold on a second. Sweetheart, where's the suntan lotion? Oh, thanks. Pete, have you ever been to Bali Bali?

U.S. Senator Pete Domenici: No, David, I haven't. The reason I'm calling -

U.S. Attorney David Iglesias: Me neither. I can't thank you enough for getting me this job. The foreign travel perks have been FANTASTIC. I've seen more of the world in this job than in my whole time in the service. In fact, if it wasn't for the all this legal stuff they keep asking me to do, I'd say this was the best darn job in the whole world.

U.S. Senator Pete Domenici: David, that's why I'm calling. You see, people are calling me, and complaining about -

U.S. Attorney David Iglesias: Oh, Pete, don't worry about that. You're so old school. People call me all the time. I just have them put straight into voicemail. After all, a guy can only listen to so much whining about voter fraud. This is New Mexico, of course we have voter fraud. Pete, you got to learn to just ignore folks.

U.S. Senator Pete Domenici: David, are you going to file indictments before your next trip abroad in November?

U.S. Attorney David Iglesias: No.

U.S. Senator Pete Domenici: I'm sorry to hear that.

Sound of line going dead.

U.S. Attorney David Iglesias: Pete, Pete, are you still there? Huh? Honey, where is that travel itinerary? Oh, and bring me my antacids. You know how I always feel sick to my stomach before traveling.

5:07 p.m. October 27, 2006

New Mexico Democratic Party Chairman, John Wertheim, held a press conference today in front of the Bernalillo County Courthouse, in which he stated:

I'm glad the good Senator from New York, Senator Schumer, released this transcript today. People were beginning to lose focus. Too much emphasis was being placed on the indictments against my good friend and a New Mexico treasure, former State Senator and fired Highlands University President, Manny Aragon. So, what if former Senator Aragon took a little bit of money for himself. He worked tirelessly handing out New Mexico taxpayers' money to his friends for years. Is it really a crime that he should finally keep a bit for himself? Do you realize that our state legislators don't get paid?

No, what's really important is the total disregard Senator Pete Domenici showed when he violated U.S. Attorney David Iglesias in his own home and emasculated him in the presence of his wife.

The transcripts clearly show that the Senator doesn't understand that the work day ends at 5:00 p.m. Maybe back in the old days people put in long hours, but this is the 21st century, and we have rights. The U.S. Attorney is not a greeter at Walmart. He doesn't even get overtime. No, my friends, Senator Pete Domenici stepped over the line, and showed little regard for David Iglesias.

The transcripts clearly showed that the Senator did not even once ask David how long he would be gone? He didn't even think to ask if he should send someone to check on David's house while he was traveling. He didn't even have the courtesy to say goodbye before ending the conversation.

Let us not lose sight of what it truly important. Another New Mexico kickback scandal is nothing compared to a Senator who answers the phone when his constituents call and then proceeds to take action. Senator Domenici set a very dangerous precedent here for all New Mexico politicians.

In fact, I have it on good authority, that in 35 years of service, Senator Pete has never even taken a kickback. No, this cannot go on. We must unite and take back this U.S. Senate seat. In the name of Manny Aragon, Michael Montoya and Robert Vigil, our future, the future of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, depends on it.

Stay tuned for more on this developing story.

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.