As always, click on all pictures for the larger version.  And you can see the rest at my Flickr page

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP

Saturday, I followed Tom Udall around the city, starting up in the Northeast Heights at Page One, the largest independent bookstore in the state.

Page One Town Hall

The event at Page One was a town hall meeting, where about 100 people showed up to hear Udall give a short speech and ask the Congressman questions.

Udall began the speech by telling about his accomplishments both as the Attorney General and as a Congressman.  He mentioned he voted against the war in Iraq and said, "We should have stayed in Afghanistan; we should have captured Osama bin Laden."

Click on pictures to make larger.  And yes, these pictures all came out bad.  The lighting was between horrible and incredibly horrible.

As always, for more pictures, go to my Flickr page

I made the drive down I-25 that is both familiar and incredibly boring.  The drive from Albuquerque past Isleta, past Los Lunas even past Belen... to Socorro, New Mexico.  Somewhere along the trip (near Belen usually) I always ask myself why I'm doing this -- especially when I plan on turning around and driving back in just a few hours.

But I had a chance to see Tom Udall in action at a Town Hall-style meeting called the "Energy Security Roundtable."  And while Udall will never be confused with John F or Robert Kennedy for his oratorical skills (though few are), he still did pretty well in front of the crowd of about 40 in Workman 101 on the New Mexico Tech campus.

Stare into the center of the mandala, Steve

As I commented on Matt's post at New Mexico FBIHOP about the Steve Pearce hippie attack ad on Tom Udall, Grace Slick used to sing "One pill makes you larger. And one pill makes you small." GOP Senate candidate Steve Pearce must have gotten the one that makes you small -- and that causes flashbacks for 40 years. Steve isn't looking for somebody to love -- he's trying to get people to dredge up old grudges from decades past. He must still carry that baggage from all those years ago. Stuck in the past like an angrily buzzing fly in a time-warp web.

GOP Senate candidate Steve Pearce of New Mexico seems to have discovered the ability for time travel, as he has apparently gone back in time to the 60s - or in his case, perhaps never left - and found some compelling reasons to vote for him over his Dem opponent, Tom Udall.

Plus he seems to have the same understanding of the Inter-Tubes as John McCain.

So with about three months to go, with Ted Stevens' indictment dominating the Senate news, it's time for another look at all the 2008 Senate races.  There are 35 seats up for election because of a scenario in Wyoming and Mississippi where both seats are up, due to the passing of Craig Thomas and the resignation of Trent Lott, respectively.  Now obviously, quite a few of the races are considered "safe" for the incumbent.  So what are the competitive races?

I'll rank these in terms of tiers.  The top tier will be the races where the party holding the seat has a real shot of switching (but I ain't guaranteeing anything).  The second tier are races that could become top tier races, but are not at this point.  Tier III are ones where a major event would need to happen for the seat to come into play.  And the safe seats?  Well, Mike Gravel has a better shot at winning the presidency than those incumbents have of losing their races.

This is meant to be a primer for both newcomers and political junkies alike, so some of the information may seem repetitive for you junkies out there.  Also see my previous May diary to see what things have changed since my last update.

(cross-posted over at NMFBIhop.com. NMFBIhop and Democracy for New Mexico are raising money for all the NM Candidates, so you can show some love here.)

So, I am sure you've already heard (either from LP or at our place), but Steve Pearce wants big oil to tell him what to do about gas prices. Probably has something to do with the $648,324 he's gotten in contributions from them...

Anyway, we want him to listen to YOU.

Just text SP and your message to MyTOM (#69866) and we'll  have them displaying online (and get them to him in hardcopy). You can see everybody's messages at TomUdall.com/Make_Pearce_listen.

(we tried to embed the display here... no luck... :)

Thanks!
Steve

Cross-posted on Campaign Diaries

Whatever the make-up of the 111th Congress, no one will be able to say that Democrats didn't try everything in their power to reach a 60-seat majority. As of the spring of 2008, there already were eight highly competitive seats that no one would be surprised to see turn-over: With Virginia and New Mexico all but lost for Republicans (and Senator Ensign acknowledging just as much), the GOP is in grave danger in New Hampshire, Colorado, Alaska, Mississippi, Oregon and Minnesota. On the other hand, Republican attempts to go on the offensive have been disastrous, with only Louisiana looking competitive.

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP

A few weeks back, Marjorie Childress had a great article about net neutrality over at the Independent (the other place I write and actually get paid for).

Something interesting that I remember this weekend was seeing which candidates were the most net-friendly.  I don't mean just showing up and glad-handing at Netroots Nation or sending staff, but also understanding net neutrality.

And the divide between Democrats and Republicans was as clear as the digital divide between the middle-class urbans and lower-class rural New Mexicans.

The New Mexico Independent was curious about what those who are running for federal office in New Mexico think about the issue. As it turned out, Democratic contenders were all informed on the topic and knew where they stood. Conversely, none of the Republicans running for Congress responded to the inquiry. They either declined to comment because of the complexity of the issue or declined all comment. First Congressional District candidate Darren White refused to respond despite several requests.

I just returned from the Democratic Party's protest near the Hotel Albuquerque where John McCain was speaking this afternoon and let me say, it was a great success! 

 

Given what happened yesterday, I feel it's important I repost my earlier diary on who are the GOOD Democratic challengers when it comes to FISA.  I'll try to corral all their statements into this diary, so you can see who the "good guys" are.

First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill.  (For the Senate, I'm only including those who voted against cloture yesterday for the bill.)  They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.

Follow me below the fold to see the dozens of Democratic challengers who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.

A NY Times profile on the Udall cousins (Mark and Tom), storied Democratic officials from the West, and both with active Senate campaigns, buries an interesting and very disappointing nugget of information way down deep: the two Udalls, despite runnings as Democrats, will support Gordon Smith (R-OR) in his campaign against challenger Jeff Merkley. The reason? He's their cousin.

Here's the relevant passage:

Every State. Every race. Right here.

This is number 21 in a planned series of 50 entries between now and November, looking at each of the 50 states in terms of every race on that state's ticket--Presidential, Gubernatorial, Senate, House, State legislatures--the whole enchilada! Special attention paid to identifying and promoting the most important contests per state.

Today, we will explore a wonderful, wonderful state with perhaps the best election prospects of them all—NEW MEXICO!!  

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP

The Tom Udall fundraising machine is still running strong, with no signs of stopping -- if anything, the fundraising efforts are gaining steam.

Democratic candidate Tom Udall has raised over $2.1 million in the second quarter for his Senate run according to a press release from his campaign.

In the second quarter, which ended at the end of the day on June 30, Udall raised more than he had in any other quarter so far.

It's a very exciting day for us here at the Tom Udall for Senate campaign.  The Associated Press reports that President Bush has signed the Webb GI Bill into law:

The new GI Bill essentially would guarantee a full scholarship at any in-state public university, along with a monthly housing stipend, for people who serve in the military for at least three years. It is aimed at replicating the benefits awarded veterans of World War II and more than doubles the value of the benefit — from $40,000 today to $90,000.

The GI Bill measure, authored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., had such extraordinary support from both Democrats and Republicans that White House objections were easily overridden. The bill also allows veterans to transfer their benefits to their spouse or a child, an idea Bush has championed.

We wanted to thank all those on DailyKos who made a difference by signing Tom's letter to President Bush asking him to sign this bill, which we diaried here and here.

In the last couple days, there have been several posts across the blogosphere citing what various candidates running for Congress have said on FISA and retroactive immunity for the telecoms.  But so far, it's been all over the map.  I'll try to corral all their statements into this diary, so you can see who the "good guys" are.

First, let's start off with the current House and Senate members who voted against this bill.  They do deserve credit, as it's their jobs on the line.

Follow me below the fold to see the dozens of Democratic challengers who are standing up for the Constitution, and are against this FISA bill and retroactive immunity.

Hey gang!

We're launching a new TV ad here in NM tomorrow, and thought we'd pop it up here for you to take a gander at. It highlights the fact that Tom has to fight tooth-and-nail to keep good jobs in New Mexico and bring in more.

Video on the flip.

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP

Kate Nash of the Santa Fe New Mexican had an article on the differences in drilling and the environment between Steve Pearce and Tom Udall.  The differences between the two on just about every issue are stark and real.  On this issue perhaps more than any other.

Udall wants to push renewable energy; meanwhile, Pearce's energy plan is to "drill everywhere" and give reassurance that money will eventually be given to fund renewable energy.  Meanwhile, just last week, Pearce voted against providing money to renewable energy sources.

Udall already is airing TV ads aimed at tapping into consumer frustration at the gas pumps and advocating we "get serious" about alternative energy sources. Pearce, meanwhile, fired off a barrage of news releases blaming Democrats and "the Tom Udalls of the world" for contributing to high fuel prices by restricting domestic production of oil and gas.

Tom Udall is one of those "better" Democrats, and will be an asset in the Senate.  Rep. Udall:

The FISA bill we considered today would compromise the constitutionally guaranteed rights that make America a beacon of hope around the world.

Today's vote was not easy. I stood up to leaders of my own party and voted against this bill, because I took an oath to defend Americans and our Constitution, and it was the right thing to do.

That duty is most important when it is most difficult. We can protect our nation while upholding our values, but unfortunately, this bill falls short.

Tom Udall