FWD: Architect of Failed George W. Bush Policies Coming to New Mexico!

Supporter --

In just five days Karl Rove will be in New Mexico to help the next crop of Rovian politicians enact the same failed policies of the past.

We need your help in raising $2010.00 by this Saturday to ensure that the New Mexico GOP and Karl Rove don't get their way!

Can you donate $20 right now and take a stand against Karl Rove? We need your help!

Thank you so much for your support.

John

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Scott Forrester scott@nmdemocrats.org
Date: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 6:00 AM
Subject: Architect of Failed George W. Bush Policies Coming to New Mexico!
To: John john@nmdemocrats.org

Architect of Failed George W. Bush Policies Coming to New Mexico!

Dear John,

You may have heard the news.

In two weeks, Karl Rove – architect of George Bush's disasterous Presidency– is coming to New Mexico for a reunion with the Republican Party of New Mexico.

You can count on all the old Bush cronies, like Steve Pearce and Allen Weh, to be there along with the other Republican candidates for governor like Susana Martinez and Pete Domenici Jr. to stop by for the reunion.

Rove is here on May 1 to raise money for the Republican Party of New Mexico – so they can bring the same policies of the failed Bush presidency to New Mexico.
We simply cannot let that happen -- not here in New Mexico.

Click here to donate $25, $50, $100 to take a stand against the failed policies of the Bush administration and reject Rove's far-right schemes.

We could go through all the ways in which Karl Rove’s influence was destructive to our country, but you know the rap sheet. Scandals. Record budget deficits. An economy on the brink of complete collapse. Heck, we’re still cleaning up the mess that Rove helped create.

But that’s in the past – and our focus must be on the future. We must prevent Karl Rove’s favorite candidates for Governor and Congress from prevailing in November. We must fight to give New Mexican's policies that bring jobs, better education, and healthy communities.

Click here to give whatever you can to help stop the radical right from taking advantage of an upset electorate - an electorate that is upset because of the problems these same Republicans are responsible for!

It’s hard not to forget the last time Karl Rove made news in New Mexico. Rove and his “good friend” Allen Weh emailed back and forth about firing U.S. Attorney David Iglesias because Iglesias decided not to launch a politically-motivated investigation during an election. Rove and Weh chose to use their trusted positions to influence the outcome of criminal investigations. Think of what they'll do to New Mexicans if Republicans win this November!

Don't just let Karl Rove waltz back in to New Mexico, stand up and make a statement by donating today!

Send a message to Karl Rove and the right-wingers, and give whatever you can. Let's all send a message to Rove and all the other Bush Republicans: you are not taking back any power!

Sincerely,

Scott Forrester
Executive Director, DPNM

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 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.

Rally for Marriage Equality is October 17th

Jordon Johnson, the interim director of Equality New Mexico has asked the Democratic Party of New Mexico to publicize this event -- and since marriage equality is part of our State Party platform, we're happy to do so.

EQNM will be attempting to set the world's record for the largest engagement ring by circling the Roundhouse in support of gay marriage and creating the ring out of gold fabric.

The Legislature will be in special session on October 17th and it is the goal of EQNM to not only set the world's record for the largest engagement ring, but to also remind state law-makers that marriage equality is still a vital issue in our state.

Further details can be found on Facebook.

Supporting this event is an important step in showing our Party's support for marriage equality in our state.

This event is also important because the Santa Fe Tea Party has targeted October 17th as a day on which they will hold a rally at the Roundhouse.

Their stated purpose is to rally against fiscal issues, but if this rally is anything like the one which was held in Rio Rancho in September, there will be little control over what kind of people will show up, especially since the e-mail we received about the event compares (again) President Obama to 1930s Nazi Germany.

In case you forgot what that rally was like, see our photos.

It is important to keep issues like this on the forefront of politics in New Mexico -- all too often, the issue of same-sex marriage is ignored in the media, as Jon Stewart aptly points out:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Queer and Loathing in D.C.
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Don't let hate-filled protests stall the movement towards marriage equality -- if you can, make it to the rally and show your support for equal rights in New Mexico!

Fox, We Call Foul!

One of our more popular entries to this blog was posted right after the September 1st Rio Rancho Tea Party event -- and although we would have thought that event was faded and distant in our collective memories, a news piece just surfaced on Huffington Post which triggered our memory back to our own Tea Party experiences here in New Mexico.

In short, the video shows a Fox News producer rallying a crowd (of crazy people) to really amp up their cheers, etc. for the filming of a segment. The capacity in which the woman is acting is much like that of a cheerleader of sorts. This is not necessarily unheard of, but it does create a scenario where the raucous nature of the crowd is inflated.

So where's the problem? And why are we writing about Rio Rancho?

To be honest, probably no one would have cared what the producer at Fox was doing, had Fox News not purchased a full-page ad in the Washington Post claiming that other major news outlets were not covering the 9/12 Tea Party Event sufficiently -- claims which were resolutely rejected by the accused media outlets. (Yes, this is the same event where organizers used old photos to imply that participants numbered higher than in actuality.)

Here is the clip of what eventually aired on Fox -- We especially liked the part about how this movement was organic in nature -- with a little encouragement, of course.

Griff Jones, the anchor in the video, however, is not inexperienced as he was the same anchor who covered the Tea Party event in Rio Rancho.

We were there, and we also watched as Mr. Jones not only arranged protesters for a "good" news segment, but also hand-picked the types of signs being held by the protesters. (You can see more pics from the Tea Party here.) Note in the video we took how he lets the crowd know he is about to start filming:

By Fox's own standards, we think that Mr. Jones should also be disciplined.

We're not really counting on it though.

Tea Party Express -- Not Quite the Whole Story

While we were at the Tea Party rally held in Rio Rancho Tuesday, we listened (and recorded) one of the speakers at the event, a Mr. Kenneth Gladney, who claims in the video to have been assaulted by members of the SEIU, a labor union, outside of a Health Care Town Hall in St. Louis, Missouri.

While it is true that Mr. Gladney was in fact assaulted on that day -- August 6th, 2009 -- what is less than true is the way in which Mr. Gladney presents his story.

In the video, Mr. Gladney states that he was assaulted by 4 people, three men and a woman and that the man who punched him in the face was the Director of the SEIU. He didn't give his name, or any other descriptive facts about this particular assailant, but he stated that he was a "Reverend."

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, there were only two people arrested for alleged assault and while neither were identified, there was no indication that SEIU members were directly involved in the assault. Others who were arrested were done so for interference with police work.

Additionally, Mr. Gladney himself was not even sure that SEIU members were those to blame. In an interview with Fox News shortly after the assault, Mr. Gladney stated:

"To tell you the truth, I don’t know anything about them. All I know is they belong to some type of a union of- of some sort. I was just there to- you know, to do a job. I wasn’t there to- you know, join in or to have an opinion on anything that was going on, for that matter, and- you know, I didn’t say anything to these- to these people. They just started attacking me."

In the video, Mr. Gladney states the he was selling his flags, trying to make a living as he was unemployed. In the Fox news article, he stated that he was barred from entry to the event.

NewsBusters, a conservative website posted a video of the aftermath of Gladney's assault, but when you watch the video, all you see are SEIU members walking around the scene, not actually doing "the dirty work." If this is the evidence of union involvement, organization and execution, it is tangential at best.

While any violence against Gladney is certainly to be condemned, his claims that the SEIU was behind the attacks are less than solid.

We may note that while Mr. Gladney claims to be an independent, he certainly seemed to relish the opportunity to speak at the rally, and has set up a donation page under the title of "Project Liberty." Project Liberty is a program which seeks to spread the word regarding freedom of speech to youths. We're not skeptics, but he failed to mention this at the rally.

He was, however, selling his flags for $5 each.

Photos from Rio Rancho Tea Party

These are some of the signs, t-shirts and sentiments of the mob from yesterday's Rio Rancho Tea Party more photos can be viewed at our Flickr page. (Or you can click the links on the right.)

It was sad for us to see such mis-information, hate and anger here in New Mexico.

Tea Party Express comes to Rio Rancho

Not only is today the first day of September, but today is also the day that the Tea Party Express came to Albuquerque . . . well, Rio Rancho. (Sorry to our readers that this wasn't posted yesterday.)

These people are a part of the "Taxed Enough Already" "grassroots" movement which has become the most well-known method for criticizing everything from health care reform to immigration to others' patriotism. (We say "grassroots" as there were a handful of people from Colorado and Texas in attendance.)

Awash with red, white and blue, the organizers of this rally sought to put a dent in President Obama's administration and its policies, but as an interested observer, their points of criticism were somewhat lacking, resembling more like the generalizations and fear-mongering that we have seen in other parts of our country.

To this point, New Mexicans have been quite civil in regards to health care town halls, but today's display in Rio Rancho tarnished that track record. The DPNM saw signs labeling our President as a Marxist, a Muslim, a Nazi and more famously, the Joker from the recent Batman flick. While free speech is still cherished in this country, there is a sense of decency that should be observed. Likening our President to a Nazi (the basis of this relationship is still unclear to us) does not advance your cause, it only seeks to heighten and misinform those who lack complete information.

Likewise, those who spoke at this event pandered to the crown in a way which was lass than satisfying (not that we expected differently). Supporting our President does not make you un-American; supporting health care reform does not make you un-American; expanding social benefits to those who need it does not make you un-American.

The organizers would like you to think otherwise. Failing to correct crowd-members for shouting anti-Obama remarks (some of which were racially charged), the speakers at this event lost credibility in our eyes.

While there were 400-500 in attendance, the crowd seemed to be more interested in trappings, sing alongs and the cheap shots of a mob-like rally than actual debate on issues which they claimed to be interested -- no talk of how to reform health care, but admissions that even the speakers had yet to read the bill in its entirety. (Luckily, as she stated, the speaker of this part of the rally relied on the news media for her information -- we might also note that Fox News was in attendance.)

To be honest, we were disappointed, but we had expected to be.

We went in order to show others what is happening in our State -- and the people who are bringing it to us. Democrats should be emboldened at this event, redoubling our efforts and support for reform-minded legislators and begin tomorrow to dispel these baseless attacks on our President and leaders.