Will NM GOP Candidates Accept a Palin Endorsement?

Albuquerque, NM – As noted by New Mexico reporter Steve Terrell, Sarah Palin wil be in Roswell on December 1 to promote her new book, Going Rogue.

But will she pledge her support --solicited or otherwise-- for a Republican candidate for Governor while she’s in town?

According to Terrell's article, three of four NM GOP candidates for Governor have stated they would not be present at her book signing, simultaneously avoiding the all-important question: Would they accept a Palin endorsement?

“Some Republican candidates for governor have said they wouldn't actively seek a Palin endorsement, but they have also not ruled out accepting one,” said Josh Geise, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. "Now is the time for candidates to explicitely state whether they would accept a Palin endorsement or their reasons for not accepting it.

"New Mexicans deserve candidates who are willing to go on the record with their beliefs, but none of the Republicans seem willing to do so."

Palin to Visit New Mexico

In case you missed the big news, New Mexico is due to receive a visit from failed Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Lucky us.

As Steve Terrell noted on his blog and in a related news article, the former Governor of Alaska is cutting wide swaths across this great country promoting her "new" book -- although advance copies have been available for some time -- despite her polarizing opinions.

So who among us are the lucky recipients of a visit? The residents of Albuquerque? Las Cruces? Perhaps Rio Rancho?

Nope.

Instead, the residents of Roswell, NM will have the honor of hosting Gov. Palin at the local Hastings book store.

Palin's book tour has been noted as one which shuns the traditional stops on a book tour such as New York, San Francisco and Chicago, opting for smaller locals -- and perhaps those with a more conservative ideology.

Mr. Terrell also notes that at least two of the NM GOP candidates (Martinez and Turner) will not seek Palin's endorsement while she is in New Mexico. (Candidates Arnold-Jones and Weh did not comment.) We'll see however if any of the candidates eventually jump to the right and seek out an endorsement . . .

In addition to her book tour, Palin has been hitting the media circuit hard these days -- appearing on Oprah, Hannity and giving interviews with Newsmax and The Weekly Standard.

You can read her comments for yourself, but her appearance on Hannity was particularly disturbing:

In the interview, Palin advocates profiling "radical" Muslims -- an opinion which she reiterates to The Weekly Standard:

"I say profile away."

Perhaps she is making such statements in order to boost the lagging price of her book, but we're pretty sure she really buys into the crazy things she says.

We're just hoping Mr. Terrell's blog is right and Palin at least stays long enough for us get some good material for jokes.

"End of Life" Provision Reportedly Scrapped

As we blogged yesterday, Sen. Grassley of Iowa gave credence to the idea that "death panels" would cut short the lives of our collective grandmothers if the House health care reform bill were to be passed. Today, the Wall Street Journal is writing that the provision for end-of-life counseling is to be dropped from the current bill.

Although the measure is supported by the American Medical Association, the political cost of the measure seemingly is scaring away potential support from lawmakers attempting to craft a bipartisan bill in the Senate (Sen. Grassley among them . . .).

Talking Points Memo notes that until a few days ago -- just about the time that end-of-life counseling was branded as "death panels" (Thanks again, Sarah) this measure was completely uncontroversial. The measure would cost several billion dollars over the next few years, but advocates suggest that the initial cost of the measure would cut the costs of unwanted end-of-life care many times over.

De-bunking the Death Panel

Today's theme for health care seems to be the idea that "death panels" (Thanks, Sarah Palin) exist within the House bill for health care reform. This very blog decried this myth (read: lie) as one of many fear-based rumors which dubious organizations have been spreading in order to stall, destabilize and block reform of this nation's health care system.

But as members of Congress return home for the summer recess, the emerging trend has been to hold town hall-style meetings in order to stop the false spread of this (and other) rumor(s). But not all members of Congress seem to have received the memo. Today, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been captured on audio feed stating that there was cause to fear that the bill would "pull the plug on grandma." In truth, the measure in question would support the voluntary counseling of patients on how to create living wills and choosing a person to help make end-of-life decisions.

But most confusingly, the Republican leadership has seemingly adopted using the "death panel" as an approach to scare people into a blind mob. (Despite this, both iterations of the bill have co-sponsors who are Republicans.)

Luckily, President Obama has gone on the offensive by establishing a website which readers can view answers to questions such as "death panels" and get a straight-forward answer to some of the more outlandish statements coming from around the country. (We noted this site earlier, but here it is again.)

In addition to this new website, President Obama has issues 8 promises related to his health care reform initiative:

1: No discrimination for pre-existing conditions.

2: No exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays.

3: No cost-sharing for preventive care.

4: No dropping of coverage for seriously ill.

5: No gender discrimination.

6: No annual or lifetime caps on coverage.

7: Extended coverage for young adults.

8: Guaranteed insurance renewal.

More complete information regarding these 8 promises can be found here.

As always, the DPNM urges all New Mexicans to engage their elected representatives in a manner which is appropriate and further urges them to reach out and express their opinions!

White House/ Obama on the Healthcare Offensive

HSarah Palin's now infamous comments declaring President Obama's health care reform initiatives as a "death panel" and as "downright evil" are all over the internet as fans from all corners of the political (and non-political) spectrum stoke the flames of mis-information. Such political instigation has created scenarios and instances where elected Representatives are being threatened, shouted down or are otherwise submitted to unsafe conditions -- like this town hall meeting in Arizona where someone actually brought a gun to the meeting. While Palin's comments were routinely rejected by many members within the Republican party, comments like these and the subsequent actions of individuals represent the need for a more civil discourse about the future of our nation's healthcare.

It is no surprise that we here at the DPNM fully support the efforts of our Congressmen and President in providing the healthcare support that so many New Mexicans need. And to that end, we hope our readers will take advantage to engage with their Congressional delegation in a constructive manner as they return to New Mexico and host their respective events.

For his part, President Obama has sought to highlight the truths of the proposed healthcare reform with a media blitz on the major cable news channels and a new website which seeks to dispel the rampant misinformation which is being circulated. Among the topics which are covered by this website are: the "rationing" of healthcare; "veteran's benefits"; "euthanasia"; impact on small business; medicare and private insurance options available to those who want it.

The site also includes a frequently asked questions section and a site where visitors can report other "myths" which need attention by the White House.

We agree with Persident Obama that this issue has become overly partisan and deeply personal. Those New Mexican residents who would seek to disrupt the upcoming Town Hall meetings in our state should consider the ramifications of their actions. Shouting, bullying and threatening will not increase transparency nor will it encourage further discourse on true reform. By all means, as we have stated before, go to the meetings, engage your officials and seek answers to your questions. But remember, the mob may have many heads, but no brains.