Tag: Bill McCamley

An effort of the New Mexico Netroots including Democracy for New Mexico and New Mexico FBIHOP.

For more, see Democracy for New Mexico’s post and words from one of the candidates himself, Martin Heinrich with guest blogs at both of the blogs.

We are in a unique situation in New Mexico.  There is an open Senate seat as well as three open House seats.  The other Senate seat is already held by a Democrat (Jeff Bingaman).  This means four out of five federal seats are up for grabs. In other words, we have an opportunity to make a True Blue New Mexico.  

Today, on January 23, the George W Bush administration, current and former employees alike, will do their best to get Republicans elected.  Dick Cheney will hold a fundraiser in DC for Senate candidate Steve Pearce.  He has already held  a similar DC fundraiser for Heather Wilson.  And none other than Karl Rove himself will headline a fundraiser today. Rove will be in Artesia, NM to raise money for the New Mexico Republican Party.

You can do your part by donating to great progressive Democratic candidates at our ActBlue page.  So why are we doing this drive now?

All this is money — which  will come from wealthy Republicans — will be used to blunt the possibility of a True Blue New Mexico.  So what can we do?  Show them their $5000/PAC, $2000/person dinners with Vice President Dick Cheney are no match for our people powered politics.

So who are the candidates we’re supporting with the True Blue New Mexico donation drive?  

For Senate, the choice is obvious.  Tom Udall is currently a true progressive voice in the House. Udall will be a true progressive voice in the Senate when he is New Mexico’s next Senator.  Not only will this be a great change from Sen. Pete Domenici, but much better than the two main Republican choices.  The ultra-conservative Steve Pearce and fake-moderate Heather Wilson would be disasters for New Mexico.

In the First Congressional District, Martin Heinrich is another great progressive voice.  As an Albuquerque city councilor, Heinrich spoke out against the War in Iraq when it was not a popular thing to do.  He has won environmental awards and has called for an Apollo-type program for energy independence.  And Heinrich spearheaded a successful effort to raise the minimum wage in Albuquerque.  He is a true progressive.

The same cannot be said of his likely general election opponent, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White.  White was the Bernalillo County Chair of the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2004.  In other words, he is partially responsible for helping deliver the county to Bush in 2004.  He does not even have the illusion of moderation that Heather Wilson has; as one person told me, “He isn’t even Heather Wilson — he’s Steve Pearce.”  Not what the First Congressional District needs — now or ever.

In the Second Congressional District, we are lucky enough to have another great candidate in Bill McCamley.  McCamley has experience in Southern New Mexico; he is a Doña Ana County Commissioner and a New Mexico State Alum.  Lobo fans (like myself) will have to give him a pass on that last one, but only because he has great stances on the issues and would make a fine Representative.

McCamley’s Republican opponents will surely be ensnarled in a costly and bitter primary.  The Republicans see this as a safe Republican seat; but last election, it took an incumbent Republican (Pearce) a ten-to-one money advantage to reach 60 percent against an underfunded and unknown Democratic opponent.  This seat isn’t outside the realm of possibility, and if anyone can deliver it, it would be McCamley.

The Third Congressional District is a bit more muddled.  It’s a problem that most districts in the country would love to have: too many great progressive candidates any one of which can win the general.  So instead of asking people to donate to one progressive candidate in the primary, we ask that money be donated to the NM-03 Democratic Nominee Fund.  The money raised for this will go to the eventual Democratic nominee after the June 3 primary elections.

So once again, please donate to some great Democratic candidates and show  Dick Cheney and Karl Rove that they can’t decide who wins elections by top dollar fundraisers.

The announcements for people running for New Mexico’s Second Congressional District open seat are starting to come in at a fast and furious pace.  The current Representative, Steve Pearce (R), is leaving the seat to take a crack at the now-open Senate seat.

Today, State Rep. Jose Campos and restaurant chain owner Ed Tinsley announced their intentions to run.  Jose Campos has political experience as a State Rep for four years and mayor of Santa Rosa for nearly a decade.  Tinsley’s political experience comes in the form of running against Pearce in 2002, when he lost to Pearce while running for the open seat.

More under the fold.  Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP.

Campos joins fellow Democrats Bill McCamley and Al Kissling in the race.  Another Democrat in the race is Frank McKinnon, a former schoolteacher.

They are expected to be joined soon by State Rep Joseph Cervantes and (officially) by Harry Teague.  Teague already told Democratic officials of his intention to run, but will make it public within the coming week.  And Cervantes, who has been rumored in every cycle in the recent past to run for the seat, is widely expected to also throw his hat in the ring.

On the Republican side of things, Tinsley is the first announced candidate, but will not be the last to opt for a shot at the open seat. 

Sid Goddard, chairman for the Republican Party of Doña Ana County, said he’s aware of about eight to 12 Republicans who are considering joining the race, but, other than Tinsley, none has stepped forward definitively yet. Potential candidates are likely gauging support, their competition and their odds, he said.

What makes this so interesting is not every candidate will get their names on the ballot.  In fact, at most, four candidates from each party will get their names on the ballot, thanks to a new law enacted by the state legislature this past session.  To get his/her name on a ballot, each candidate must garner the support of 20 percent of convention goers.  Previously, candidates who did not reach the 20 percent threshold were able to gather signatures on a petition to get their name on the ballot. 

No longer. And with three Democratic candidates already in the race, two more ready to jump in and possibly double-digit numbers of Republicans… things could get interesting before the March pre-Primary convention.

Actually, things seem to be getting interesting already when it comes to the Second Congressional District.

[Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP and MyDD.

Heath Haussamen has the goods on a letter Rep. Steve Pearce sent to supporters asking for cash.  Cash to stave off Bill McCamley, Al Kissling and the DCCC.

It is no surprise the ultimate far-right GOP representative would resort to scare tactics even in fundraising for his own campaign.  But the tone of his fear of the DCCC is palpable.  He almost dismissed McCamley and Kissling out of hand, but read what he had to say of the DCCC below the fold.

Another liberal — or two, or three — could jump into the race. Or worse, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) could get involved in our race.

That’s the last thing we need. They have the funds and power to make a real impact in any race they choose and we need to keep them out of the Second District.  They are guaranteed to target us unless we make the hurdle too tall to climb.

Of course, a DCCC entrance into the race would only result if there was a strong candidate.  I believe McCamley could be the strong candidate; the “spin” (as Haussamen calls it) against McCamley shows Pearce is wary of McCamley as well. 

Pearce attacks McCamley in the letter without using his name, as if McCamley is Beetlejuice.  Pearce writes:

We have one opponent who has a left-wing record including a history of voting for tax increases and fighting against prayer at county commission meetings…

Of course, this is an outright exaggeration.  Not exactly a lie, but it is pretty darn close.  Haussamen, unlike Pearce’s people, actually looked into McCamley’s votes.

McCamley did vote for one tax increase, to raise salaries for sheriff?s deputies and create paid firefighter positions, but so did all commissioners, including two Republicans, and the action had widespread bipartisan support in the community, including the endorsement of Republican District Attorney and Pearce supporter Susana Martinez. McCamley also voted to allow voters to decide whether to raise taxes to help fund Spaceport America, but that?s not the same as voting for a tax increase.

Pearce also tries to play to his base with the prayer shot.  Haussamen looks into the truth on that as well, saying McCamley proposed “a policy modeled after that in the U.S. House of Representatives, which requires non-sectarian prayer.” McCamley challenged Pearce to put his money where his mouth is and take up the issue with the House chaplain.

Kissling was given similar treatment. 

And another opponent who favors the death tax and has said he’s “more scared of our own American National Guard than Islamic terrorists!” Unreal!

What is unreal is Pearce taking quotes out of context and using GOP frames on every issue.  Every issue.

First, the “death tax” knock.  The estate tax, as it is known, only applies to estates of $2,000,000 or more.  It jumps up to $3.5 million in 2009.  And only the money over $2 million is taxed.  In other words, unless you are in a top-tax bracket, this will never affect you.

Some even call it the Paris Hilton tax cut.

As for the quote,

Kissling was speaking specifically about his belief that National Guard soldiers should not have been policing American airports after 9/11.

Republicans like Pearce thrived in the climate of fear after 9/11.  They continue to fall back on those times to try to pump up the base.

So what can you do to help out the non-crazy candidates running for Congress in the second district?  Contribute!  Go to my ActBlue page and donate your money to the New Mexico Democrats willing to take on Pearce.