DPNM Remembers Cesar Chavez

31 March 2010
For Immediate Release

Albuquerque, NM – Today the Democratic Party of New Mexico, along with citizens across the state, celebrate the life, legacy, and accomplishments of César E. Chávez.

César Chávez represents the timeless vision of non-violent social change; he fought perilously for equal justice, civil rights, and consumer and environmental awareness. Chávez is undoubtedly one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century.

Throughout his life, Chávez led several successful strikes and boycotts, eventually leading to the 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, protecting farm workers in California and meaningfully impacting the lives of America's workers across the country. For his tireless work of behalf of America's working classes, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1994 from President Clinton, the highest civilian honor an American can receive.

In 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama commemorated the birth of César Chávez by calling for a national holiday, stating that “it is time to recognize the contributions of this American icon to the ongoing efforts to perfect our Union.” Although to date no such holiday exists, Americans remain committed to bring about the vision that César Chávez fought tirelessly for and to recognize the achievements he accomplished.

Born on March 31, 1927 on a farm near Yuma, Arizona, Chávez had first-hand knowledge of the struggle for equality and justice for all Americans. In honor of César Chávez, we must continue to fight and defend these two fundamental freedoms.

The Democratic Party of New Mexico will continue its’ fight to protect the principles and ideals César E. Chávez left behind.

Sincerely,

Javier M. Gonzales
Chairman, Democratic Party of New Mexico

Guest Blog: Open Letter to Rational Conservatives

This is a guest blog by Dawn Provencher of La Luz, New Mexico, who chairs the Democratic Party of Otero County. (It is originally from DFNM.)

This is a letter to rational conservatives. I know you're out there.

What is the far right so afraid of? (I can only assume fear is the driving force in the recent actions of many. Something stronger than stupidity causes someone to shout 'nigger' or 'faggot' – hurl a brick through a window – leave death threats to a public servant and their family.) I sometimes trust the internet. So I Googled that question ... and got over 27 million hits!

I know lots of Republicans. I have friends who are Republican. I like a lot of Republicans. But my second question, why do you stand silent while others include you as being like-minded? Surely you don't all think Rush Limbaugh is right? But you let him, and others like him, spew venom and lie and distort statistics. David Frum, conservative journalist and former Reagan speech writer, said recently “(Republicans) followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat.”

The two/multi party system is great. It works and makes us all think – until we start blindly accepting what our parties tell us to think. Frum also wrote about Fox and rabid talk radio whipping the conservative voting base into a frenzy – a rabid, angry mob. A mob led to believe the health care supporters wanted to murder their grandmothers. Just because something is reported ad naseum doesn't make it true. Remember the story from your childhood, “The Emperor's New Clothes”?

I teach the history of social policy at the college level. My students can tell you that policy (law) is based on values. And if one truly examines his or her values, they are fairly simple to identify. Do you value education? Then you support schools, libraries, and a culture of learning. Do you value the earth? Then you support legislation which represents good stewardship of nature. Do you value equality? Then you support legislation which provides for you ... and your neighbor. But values are across the board – a 'selective value' would hold true for some, but not others – in some situations, but not all. A 'selective value' is not a value. I think that's what we call a prejudice, hypocrisy, and double-speak.

We have people among us who aren't content with their Constitutional right to bear arms. They want to carry their weapons everywhere. Just what we need - angry, frenzied gun-toters at the fair, at the courthouse, at the movie theatre. Where has responsible, rational thought gone?

If you continue to give credence to the loudest and most irate, the possibility of compromise and mutual forbearance will be gone. Conservatives, is this really the group of people you want to define what you stand for? I don't think so – or at least I hope not, for the sake of all of us.

The Best YouTube Video You'll Watch at Work!

Here is a video from Senator Tom Udall and Representative Ben Ray Lujan in support of Farmington's bid to get Google High-speed Broadband:

Heinrich Introduces Bill To Help Military Families Extend Health Care Coverage To Their Children

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Representative Martin Heinrich (NM-1) has introduced H.R. 4923, the TRICARE Dependent Coverage Extension Act, a bill that would increase the maximum age to 26 at which our troops and military retirees are allowed to provide health coverage to their dependent children.

“Our brave men and women in uniform sacrifice so much for our country, and it is our duty to make sure that they have access to quality, affordable health care,” said Rep. Heinrich. “Because of the new health reform bill passed by Congress, Americans who receive health insurance through a group plan will soon be able to provide coverage to dependent children up to age 26—our military health coverage must meet that same standard and be nothing less.”

Rep. Heinrich introduced this legislation following the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the sweeping health care overhaul that will allow all American citizens the opportunity to gain access to quality, affordable health care. Under the new system, individuals with private health insurance will now be able to provide coverage to their dependent children up to age 26.

TRICARE, the health insurance for military service members, retirees, and the families of both, is under the control of the U.S. Department of Defense and governed by a different section of the United States code, so it will not be affected in any way by the new health reform legislation. To provide our troops and military retirees with the same new benefits given to civilians, H.R. 4923 would amend Title 10 to change the maximum age of coverage for children from 23 to 26.

“Our military families stand behind our troops and lift them up, often making significant sacrifices like our service members themselves,” said Rep. Heinrich. “Allowing parents to provide health coverage to their dependent adult children is just one of the many small things we can do to show our military families how much we appreciate them and honor their service to our country.”

Denish Applauds Veto of Food Tax

Albuquerque, N.M. – Lt. Gov. Diane Denish today applauded the veto of the food tax, which would target middle-class New Mexico families, and continued to call for cost-saving reforms to make government more efficient.

From Day One, Denish has called on the Legislature to implement all possible cost-saving reforms before even considering regressive taxes on working families. Yesterday, Denish proposed a series of additional reforms to save taxpayers an estimated $450 million over five years through efficiencies, cuts, consolidations and smarter government.

On today’s food tax veto, Denish issued the following statement:

“With so many New Mexicans struggling to put food on the table, a new tax on food is absolutely the last thing our families need. As I’ve said from Day One, the Legislature should have done everything possible to cut costs and make government more efficient before even considering regressive taxes that target working families. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. As Governor, I’ll do things differently. I’ve put forward a plan to save taxpayers $450 million over the next five years. By consolidating agencies, eliminating cabinet positions, cutting political appointees and spending more wisely, we can save the taxpayers millions. New Mexico families are tightening their belts; it’s time state government did the same thing.”

To read more about Diane's reform plan to save taxpayer’s $450 million, visit: http://www.dianedenish.com/issues?id=0010

In addition, Denish was the first candidate for Governor to speak out against the food tax, issuing the following op-ed in December.

Food Tax Would Hurt New Mexico Families

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish
December 2009

For many New Mexico families, budgets are tighter this holiday season than last – which means fewer gifts under the tree. But for other families, simply getting by is a struggle. During these difficult times, a broad-based tax on food to fix the budget shortfall is a bad idea and I will not support it, plain and simple.

Our state is facing serious budget challenges, no doubt about it. But we must not balance the budget on the backs of regular, hard-working New Mexico families. And when nearly one in four New Mexico children go to bed hungry, making it more difficult for their parents to buy basic food is simply unconscionable.

So when the Legislature convenes next month, where should lawmakers look to close the budget gap?

First and foremost, before anyone starts debating tax increases, legislators must do everything possible to make sure government is leaner and more efficient. They must not ask for more tax dollars until they can show that the tax dollars already coming in are being spent as efficiently as possible. I’ve proposed several areas where reform is needed, including overhauling the capital outlay system and ending the practice of double-dipping. Others have proposed additional reform ideas that require thoughtful consideration.

Once all possible reforms are debated and implemented, legislators should look to see who is gaming the system at the expense of the taxpayers. Right now, a loophole exists in New Mexico law that allows big, out-of-state corporations to get special breaks at the expense of New Mexico families and businesses. Haven’t we seen enough of these kinds of special breaks on Wall Street? We certainly want to create incentives for employers to create jobs, but New Mexicans are sick of these loopholes for the big guys – that’s a big part of what got our nation into this economic mess in the first place.

These are just a few ideas for reducing the state’s budget shortfall and I’m open to other good ideas as well.

But before legislators convene in January, they should send a clear message to New Mexicans that the food tax is off the table. We simply can not, in good conscience, support higher taxes on basic necessities at a time when so many families are struggling to get by.

I urge New Mexicans to contact their legislators and encourage them to oppose this costly, harmful tax increase.

Photos from the Pre-primary Convention

We've loaded our photos from the DPNM Pre-primary Nominating Convention to our Flickr Account!

To view the photos, follow this link!

The photo set includes great shots of our Democratic Candidates for office in New Mexico.

The Desperate Actions of a Failing Movement

More news on the desperate actions of the Tea Party Movement as they find that their "message" resonates with less and less of the American public:

From Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/20/tea-party-protests-nier-f_n_507116.html?ref=fb&src=sp

And from Roll Call:

Black Members: Tea Partiers Used N-Word
March 20, 2010, 4:53 p.m.
By Tory Newmyer and Daniel Newhauser
Roll Call Staff

Updated: 5:31 p.m.
Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) said tea party protesters opposed to the health care reform legislation yelled racial epithets at Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Lewis’ chief of staff earlier today.
Carson said the taunts against Lewis came as the three men — all African-American — walked out of the Cannon House Office Building for votes this afternoon.
“They were shouting the N-word,” Carson said. “It was like a page out of a time machine.” Carson said Capitol Police surrounded the group and escorted them across the street to the Capitol.
And staffers and Members reported seeing Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) slurred for being a homosexual and a protester spitting on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), another African-American lawmaker.
Carson said he didn’t feel physically threatened, though he was concerned for Lewis. But he added Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights movement, remained calm, telling him, “I’m being reminded of an old time.”
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (S.C.) echoed that sentiment, saying the shouting protesters harks back to his days marching for civil rights in his home state.
“It was absolutely shocking to me,” he said. “I heard people saying things today I had not heard since March 15, 1960, when I was marching to try to get off the back of the bus.”
Thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol grounds today to register their opposition to the health care overhaul.

Tea Partiers Mock Apparent Victim of Parkinson's

In what appears to be a video out of Ohio, "Tea Party" protesters mock a man who claims to be suffering from Parkinson's Disease.

DPNM Rules that Campos will appear on Primary Ballot

Albuquerque, NM- The Democratic Party of New Mexico today announced that after thorough review of the rules of the party and the State of New Mexico Election Handbook, Representative Campos received 20% of the votes cast in the Lt. Governor convention vote. The ruling of the Chair was further supported by a unanimous vote of the DPNM Judicial Committee, 10-0, in favor of recommending the ruling of the Chairman. Representatives from the Rael, Colon and Ortiz y Pino campaigns all stated after the decision that they respected the ruling and would seek no further challenge.

Please see the Major Fractions Rule:

1-1-20. Major fractions

In any place in the Election Code [1-1-1 NMSA 1978] requiring counting or computation of numbers, any fraction or decimal greater than one-half of a whole number shall be counted as a whole number. [p. 10, Election Handbook of the State of New Mexico]

Joe Campos received 19.69%, which in accordance to the rule is rounded to 20%.

"This is exactly why the Democratic Party of New Mexico waits three days before certifying, so everyone can thoroughly review the rules and make the right call," said former Chairman and DPNM pro-bono legal counsel John Wertheim. “In this case, the law is clear, and we’re pleased that the other candidates voiced their support and respect for Chairman Gonzales’ ruling.”

"I am very pleased with success and record participation at the pre-primary convention. We are the party of inclusion and look forward to supporting all of our Democratic candidates," said Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales.

DPNM action on the convention is complete. The vote will be certified and the three names submitted to the Secretary of State for inclusion on the primary ballot are as follows: Brian Colon, Lawrence Rael and Jose Campos.

The below, final vote tally will be certified today.

Lt. Governor

Ortiz y Pino: 323 votes 18.87%

Jose Campos: 337 votes 19.69%

Brian Colon: 591 votes 34.54%

Linda Lopez: 81 votes 4.73%

Lawrence Rael: 379 votes 22.15%

ICYMI: Dems suggest Martinez is "hiding records"

http://newmexicoindependent.com/49504/dems-accuse-martinez-of-‘hiding’-public-records