Author: Alex Flores

Reinstate the Draft! Tom Udall for Senate!

Cross Posted at MyDD.Com and OpenLeft.Com

The word in New Mexico circles is that despite his announcement, Congressman Udall is still being urged to run for the Senate. If  “Udall for Senate” gives you the same kind butterflies in your stomach as it gives me, please help urge him to run! Send Tom Udall the message that we want him as our next Senator by sending a small, $5 contribution to his campaign.

It seems like whoever you talk to in Washington and most importantly, in New Mexico, people agree that Tom Udall is our hero candidate. Obviously he needs to step up and run.

A move to run after announcing otherwise is not without precedent and you don't hear anyone complaining about the last guy who did it. In August of 2005, now Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown announced that he would not run against former-Senator Mike DeWine in Ohio. For the next two months, the grassroots urged him to reconsider his decision for the people of Ohio and for people across the nation. He eventually reversed his decision and went on to win the seat for Democrats, helping to give us control of the US Senate.

We need to send Congressman Udall that same message (here's another chance to donate that $5!). The people of New Mexico want him to run and people in Washington and across the United States hope that he'll help us to increase our majority in the Senate by turning Senator Domenici's seat blue!

Tom Udall is the best choice for New Mexico AND for the country as we work towards building the Democratic majority in the Senate. I already wrote a bit about his background, including a bit about his family and his cash on hand that he could use for his Senate campaign committee. But there are other, better reasons for Tom Udall to be the next Senator from New Mexico.

For one, he's a good progressive. He's pro-choice, an environmentalist, a defender of civil liberties and civil rights, and one of the great supporters for veterans in the Democratic Party today. In fact, during his time as a minority member in the Congress, he took the junior seat on the Veteran's Committee in addition to his regular committee portfolio.

In the first polling out about the race in New Mexico, Tom Udall beats both Republicans by 18 points! Governor Richardson is the only other New Mexican who polls as high. Representative Udall could afford to leave his safe seat in the north with these kinds of numbers, run hard for the Senate, and win. He could leave his House seat knowing that another Democrat (and there are many) could easily keep it in Dem control.

In terms of numbers, this just makes sense. Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R) and Congressman Steve Pearce (R) are the two leading contenders to replace Senator Domenici on the Republican side (Pearce has formed an exploratory committee and will announce his intentions in the next two weeks, while Wilson declared less than 24 hours after Domenici's announcement and after weeks of traveling statewide). The numbers tell us that both beat current Dem candidates Chavez and Wiviott by small-to-wide margins. The following summary of the numbers comes from the Democracy For New Mexico blog.

 

Starting with Republican candidate Steven Pearce, Congressman from New Mexico's 2nd District:
*    Pearce loses to Congressman Tom Udall by 18 points
*    loses to Governor Bill Richardson by 24 points
*    defeats Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez by 21 points
*    defeats former Attorney General Patricia Madrid by 16 points
*    and defeats businessman Don Wiviott by 35 points.
Now to Republican candidate Heather Wilson, Congresswoman from New Mexico's 1st Congressional District:
*    Wilson loses to Udall by 18 points (same as Pearce),
*    loses to Richardson by 27 points (Wilson runs 3 points weaker than Pearce),
*    defeats Chavez by 4 points (Wilson runs 17 points weaker than Pearce),
*    effectively ties Patricia Madrid (Wilson runs 15 points weaker than Pearce)
*    and defeats Wiviott by 17 points (Wilson runs 18 points weaker than Pearce).

 

Someone needs to put these numbers on the Congressman's desk and tell him that it's time to run.

We know that Udall's numbers aren't fluff, either. He's run statewide before and won as Attorney General, twice! Since then, Udall has remained a proud defender of the Constitution and our rights. He was one of the original 66 Members of Congress to stand up with courage against the PATRIOT Act that was first railroaded through the House, forcing most Representatives to vote on a bill they had never read.

This is the kind of leadership and courage we should demand from our leaders and a primary reason why New Mexicans are asking Tom Udall to run for Senate.

Congressman Udall's voting record is solidly progressive. Help in the movement to Draft Tom Udall for Senate today by sending him $5 and the message that he's our best hope!

Tom Udall for New Mexico

Cross Posted at MyDD.Com

I’m a young person from New Mexico and I go to school in Washington DC. I’m surrounded by elected officials seemingly everywhere I go, even at school. With all of those interactions, I can say that Congressman Udall is one of the most impressive public servants I’ve ever met.

It’s been years that I’ve been prodding him to run for Senate, even before he had his seat on Appropriations and before Senator Pete Domenici announced his retirement. With the Democrats taking the House back, Congressman Udall’s new committee assignments and power to affect real positive change forced me to let go of the dream.

But now we’re back at it – trying to Draft Tom Udall For Senate. In some ways, it seems like he’s destined for this opportunity; he’s from a long lineage of incredible public servants and has money in the bank at exactly the right time. Tom Udall is mostly progressive and is especially strong on the environment and the Iraq War; he most recently voted against supplemental lacking a timetable for withdrawal.

The most important part of this debate hasn’t been talked about to much length: why we cannot let Heather Wilson win this seat.

Adam Conner and Jonathan
Singer have made the case for Representative Udall’s qualifications and ability to wage and win a statewide campaign. I’ll say a bit more.

The importance of this seat cannot be overstated. More hangs in the balance than how many seats Democrats will hold after election day, November 2008. Instead, I pose to you that the next Senator from New Mexico will likely hold office for decades, much like Domenici who was first elected 35 years ago in 1972.

That’s why it’s so important that we keep this seat out of the hands of Heather Wilson. Democrats need a heavy weight like Tom Udall to run for this office, not a compromise candidate (See: “A Denish Deal?“) or a political rookie.

Heather Wilson, the presumptive Republican nominee, beat seasoned politico Patricia Madrid for the 1st District seat last season by about 900 votes. In the past 5 elections, she’s beaten 4 different opponents, making her a serious contender and a veteran campaigner.

But the reality about Wilson is striking. Besides her conservative voting record, she’s been involved in a number of questionable events.

First, Wilson sat on the committee charged with overseeing congressional pages in the House of Representatives in 2001 and knew that Pages were being warned about Mark Foley’s sexual advances. Still, she did nothing. Perhaps worse was her position on the issue when it became public: “Toleration of inappropriate behavior is almost as bad as the behavior itself.” That was said by the same Heather Wilson who knew about, and tolerated Mark Foley’s conduct.

More recently, Wilson was named as one of two legislators who pressured US Attorney David Iglesias to indict New Mexico Democrats before the 2006 election that she barely won. The other legislator? Retiring Senator Pete Dominici whose seat she now seeks. Due partly to her misconduct in this situation, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named her one of the 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress.

Already, Republicans are running scared. Let’s Draft Tom Udall to take this Senate seat back for Democrats!

Congressman Tom Udall is the logical choice to run for the open Senate Seat. Popular Governor Bill Richardson continues to do well in Iowa and New Hampshire and has affirmed that he will continue his Presidential campaign. Mayor Martin Chavez may also run, but was defeated at the polls this past Tuesday in Albuquerque City elections and is unpopular with Progressives.

Former Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Heather Wilson’s immediate past challenger, lost the race in New Mexico’s 1st District in a tidalwave year for Democrats. Her famous gaffe at a small debate in the closing days of the campaign was fully exploited by Republicans. What’s more, in a year when Senator Bingaman (D) won reelection 71%-29%, Governor Bill Richardson won the state with 69%, the largest margin of victory for any Governor in state history, and Democrats won four out of fice of the other statewide offices, Patricia Madrid still managed to lose in the 1st District.

Join the movement to Draft Tom Udall for Senate! Contribute $5 and let’s send the Congressman a message that he’s our choice for Senate! See his biography below.

Participate in the movement and check out the following links:

Contribute at our Act Blue Page

See DraftUdall.Com


Join the Facebook Group

See Congressman Tom Udall’s Biography after the jump….

Tom Udall:

Winning an astonishing 75% of the vote in the 2006 general election, Tom was elected to a fifth term in the United States House of Representatives and continues to have the honor of serving the people of New Mexico’s Third Congressional District.  The overwhelming support of his constituents is well-deserved.

During his tenure in Congress, Tom Udall has earned a reputation as a courageous and principled  legislator who is not afraid to stand up for what is right.  At the same time, he is known for reaching across party lines to find common ground, for being an effective and thoughtful advocate for his constituents and  for exercising the kind of bold leadership we need in these  troubled times.

Nothing more clearly demonstrates Tom’s dedication to his  district than the dozens of town hall meetings he has hosted around the state to hear from his constituents and to learn how he can better serve them.  New Mexico’s Third is a district of great range – geographically larger than the state of Pennsylvania – and diversity  – a true tri-cultural mosaic. His town hall visits, he says, remind him of where he came from,  why he is in Washington and who sent him  there.  Tom Udall is deeply committed to representing the interests of his constituents and to putting New Mexico values on the national agenda.

Tom Udall comes from a family distinguished for its devotion to public service. His father, Stewart Udall, was elected four times to Congress before being appointed Secretary of the Interior by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Tom’s Uncle Morris (“Mo”) Udall not only served in Congress for 30 years but also was a major presidential contender in 1976. Representative Mark Udall (D-CO) and Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) are Tom’s cousins, and current Members of Congress.

Tom Udall graduated from Prescott College in 1970. In 1975 he graduated from Cambridge University in England with a Bachelor of Laws degree. That fall, he enrolled in the University of New Mexico Law School and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1977. After graduating, Tom was Law Clerk to Chief Justice Oliver Seth of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Following his clerkship, Tom’s legal career included appointment as Assistant US Attorney in the criminal division; appointment as Chief Counsel to the Department of Health and Environment; and partnership in the Miller Law Firm, which has offices in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces and Farmington. Tom is married to Jill Z. Cooper and they have a daughter, Amanda. Tom and Jill live in Santa Fe. Amanda and her husband, James Noel, live in Corrales.

All together, the work and achievements of Tom Udall have changed the face of New Mexico for the better. Throughout his career, Tom has been a leader in the most critical issues facing our state and country. He will continue to use his common-sense style to forge bipartisan solutions to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.