A Very Unusual Presidential Election

MON, 3-03-08

SANTA FE - This has been the most unusual presidential campaign in a long time, and in many ways, the most unusual in the history of our nation.
It is the first time either a woman or a black has a good chance of becoming our next president. It is the first time in decades that a U.S. senator is likely to become president and that all state governors appear to be out of the race.
This presidential primary also is the first in a long while with neither a president nor vice president in the running. That opens up the contest much more than usual.
And there's another big difference. Religion is playing a major role in this campaign, the biggest role since 1960 when many voters worried that the Vatican would have too great an influence on Jack Kennedy, if he were elected.
This year we have a former Baptist preacher who thinks our constitution should be revised to conform better with the Bible. We have a candidate who had to suspend his campaign because of waning support, in no small part due to distrust of the Mormon Church in some parts of the country. And Barack Obama faces problems because of uneasiness with the possible influence of Islam on his early life.
Former Gov. Mitt Romney delivered a major public address concerning his Mormon faith, attempting to assure Americans that it would not affect his decisions as president. Sen. Obama has made similar assurances.
Mike Huckabee hasn't. He served as governor of Arkansas for over 10 years without his religious beliefs seeming to interfere with running the government. But it makes many uncomfortable to consider a president who doesn't express support for our founding fathers' belief that church and state should be separate.
My biggest personal bewilderment, however, was seeing Gov. Romney have to defend his Mormon faith. I've had numerous Mormon friends during my 70 years in New Mexico and all of them have been fine, upstanding people. I would guess those who are worried about his religious beliefs were people who haven't ever met a Mormon.
Mormons have served as governors, members of Congress and federal officials without their beliefs interfering with their jobs. Tom Udall was New Mexico's attorney general for eight years and northern New Mexicans elected him to Congress five times with seldom, if ever, a mention that he's Mormon. Maybe we in the West are just more broadminded.
Sen. John McCain also presents some differences. He could become our oldest president ever. He also could be one of the few, if not the only, president to win nomination with little support from the base of his party.
The Republican Party's true conservatives never could gain much popular support. Sen. McCain and Gov. Romney claim to be conservatives but their records indicate otherwise.
McCain has built a lead based on his war record, his reputation for straight talk, victories in states that allow independents to vote in either primary, and on support from party leaders.
Which brings us to the subject of superdelegates, that reviled group of party leaders bent on overriding the will of the majority. As I recall from ancient history, back in the early 1970s, Republican and Democrat leaders became concerned about the possibility of the extremes in their parties nominating an unelectable candidate.
Conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats have a history of being more active in their parties' nomination process than do moderates, who wait around until general elections to express their preferences.
The nomination and subsequent sound defeat of Democrat George McGovern, in 1972, convinced both parties they needed a method of assuring they had an electable candidate. So they made elected and appointed party leaders automatic national convention delegates.
It may not be very fair but it surely beats losing a presidential election.

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Star Wars Worked. Who Knew?

FRI, 2-29-08


SANTA FE -- Is government secrecy a good thing or a bad one? There are secrets we need to hide from our enemies for security reasons and secrets we need to keep from friends for economic reasons. So secrecy can be a good thing.
But then there are secrets that protect government officials from us when they do something stupid and don't want us to know about it. Unfortunately the reason given for this secrecy is national security. As a result, an astounding percentage of government documents are labeled "top secret."
So how do we, the public, distinguish between security secrets and embarrassing secrets? We don't. And we can't. Perhaps fellow New Mexican, Donald Rumsfeld explained the situation best when he was secretary of Defense. He was answering questions about how we ever got ourselves into such an embarrassing position in Iraq and what we were going to do about it.
With a pleasant smile on his face and a grandfatherly demeanor, he explained that there are knowns we know and knowns we don't know. And there are unknowns we know and unknowns we don't know.
By the time he finished wrapping those around each other in every way imaginable, no reporter even made an effort to untangle the mess. The fact that Rumsfeld was completely in the dark himself made no difference because his intent hadn't been to explain anything, anyway.
An example of needing to keep secrets from other good guys occurred during the recent legislative session. Spaceport America designers needed to know exactly what Virgin Galactic, its anchor tenant, needed in the way of facilities. But Virgin couldn't tell our spaceport designers without fear our state officials would have to release the information to anyone who asked, such as a Virgin competitor. So New Mexico lawmakers were asked to pass a special law keeping the Virgin Galactic spaceship design specifications secret from competitors.
A much bigger secret occurred when our government revealed it would have to shoot down one of its spy satellites that broke. Where did we miss the part about us being able to shoot down satellites?
Wasn't that President Ronald Reagan's star wars technology that didn't work? Now our government tells us we've had the capability for 20 years? And we scored a direct hit on the fuel compartment of an object traveling 18,000 miles an hour.
Star Wars works, and they didn't tell us. What else didn't they tell us? The Soviets certainly would have figured it out through their spy system. Could that be why they unexpectedly gave up?
There's definitely a tremendous amount we don't know about our air and space program. Our government has finally been forced to acknowledge that the U-2 spy plane, the SR-71 Blackbird and stealth technology all were built and tested at Area 51, north of Las Vegas, Nevada.
But what else? We hear about the next generation Aurora. We hear about spaceships reverse-engineered from the saucer that crashed near Roswell. And we also hear that about half our nation's intelligence is misinformation intended to distract our enemies.
We may never know. But something we have found out rather recently, which no one may ever have even suspected was that while we all were encouraging our early astronauts into space, we had a parallel space program in progress. It had the same crew module but it also had a small space station to which our astrospies could dock and take pictures of what was going on in the Soviet Union.
And no more surprising, the Russians were doing the same thing themselves. We discontinued our manned astrospy program when our physicists figured out how to do the same thing with unmanned rockets. It took the Soviets a little longer. They put several men in space for extended periods of time to take pictures of us.
Neither country acknowledged its manned space spy program until decades later. Those astronauts never became famous. But several of the Americans reached the very top ranks of our military.

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business proposal...

From:Miss Miss Beatrice Kassi
Abidjan - ivory coast
kassibeatrice2007@yahoo.fr

My Dear Good Friend,
It is my pleasure to contact you for a business venture which I,intend to establish in your country.
Though I have not met with you before but I believe,one has to risk confiding in someone to succeed sometimes in life.
There is this amount of Seven Million Three Hundred Thousand U.S dollars($7,300,000.00) which my late Father deposited for us here with a leading security company here in Abidjan-Cote d'Ivoire for safe keeping before he was assassinated by unknown persons.
Now I decided to invest these money in your country or anywhere safe enough outside Africa for security and political reasons.I want you to help me transfer this money from the security company into your personal account in your country for investment purposes on these areas:
1). Real estate
2). The transport industry
3). Five star hotel
If you can be of an assistance to us we will be pleased to offer to you 20% for the totoal sum.
I await your soonest response.
Respectfully yours,
Miss Beatrice Kassi

correction of 2-22 Bataan column

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- It was a long time coming and the battle isn't over. But the first step toward recognizing Bataan war veterans with a Congressional Gold Medal has been taken.
Last week, Rep. Tom Udall introduced legislation in Congress to collectively bestow Bataan Death March veterans with the Congressional Gold Medal. The next step is to get as many co-sponsors as possible and to obtain letters of support from veterans organizations to Rep. Udall.
Of the 12,000 American troops in the Philippines at the start of World War II, 1,800 of them were members of the New Mexico National Guard. They were sent to stop Japan's march aimed at taking the Pacific all the way to Australia.
Unfortunately the U.S. military wasn't able to mobilize in time to stop Japan's rapid advance down the Pacific. Supplies and reinforcements promised to Gen. Douglass Mac Arthur never arrived. American troops were left to fight with antiquated World War I weapons, ammunition and supplies.
New Mexico's troops made up the 200th Coast Artillery. During the four months they held off the Japanese advance, they downed 86 enemy aircraft with equipment that constantly fell apart.
Fortunately nearly all these men were from rural areas of New Mexico. They had grown up figuring out how to repair machines and anything else that broke down.
They endured lack of supplies, malnutrition, malaria and starvation to foil the Japanese timetable for reaching Australia before we and our allies could complete our mobilization effort.
The Japanese advance finally was stopped just short of Australia at New Guinea and Guadalcanal but not before the Philippines were overrun.
In the final months of their holdout, the 200th, which was undermanned as a regiment, was split in two and the 515th Coast Artillery regiment was created to help defend Manila. The 200th remained on the Bataan Peninsula.
As the Japanese continued their advance, all American troops were consolidated onto the Bataan peninsula, with the New Mexico Guard forming the line of defense through which they passed.
The squeeze was on as Japanese troops pushed deeper into the peninsula. Eventually U.S. commanders saw that no resources were left to continue the fight and no reinforcements would arrive.
On April 9, 1942, the troops were surrendered. The men of the New Mexico Guard let their displeasure with the decision be known. They wanted to fight to the death.
Following their capture the troops were forced to endure a torturous 65-mile, five-day march in tropical heat without food or water. Thousands perished along the way and those who survived were held as prisoners of war in squalid encampments for almost three years.
Only 900 of the 1,800 New Mexicans who shipped out to the Philippines over four years earlier returned at the war's end. Almost a third of them died within a year.
The New Mexico Guard had a proud history in World War II. It was the first to fire on the December 8, 1941 Japanese attack. It was named the best anti-aircraft regiment in the U.S. Army. And it lost more men per capita than any other state in World War II.
The New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Preservation League initiated the effort to recognize the Bataan veterans with a Congressional Gold Medal. It was joined by New Mexico's senior military officers, Generals Leo Marquez, Edward Baca, Melvyn Montano, Gene Chavez and Kenny Montoya, along with state Veterans Affairs Secretary John Garcia.
"The League is dedicated to correcting omissions of valor and honor in historical records which have tended to overlook the role of Hispanics in American history," said President emeritus Conchita Lucero. The 200th and 515th Coast Artillery units were largely composed of Hispanic soldiers.
Under Udall's bill, a collective medal would be awarded all American soldiers involved. It would be housed at the Smithsonian institution in Washington and available for ceremonies and events commemorating the march.
You can help by sending letters of support to our congressional delegation.
FRI, 2-22-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

Rep. Udall's office just informed me of a correction it needs to make in it's news release from which I took my information.

 

In the fourth paragraph from the end, in which I list generals who have helped in the effort to obtain gold medals for Bataan vets, the name Leo Montoya should read Leo Marquez.

 

Corrected copy attached.

2-27 NM Officials Getting Wild and Wooly

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- What's with our state's two top officials showing up in whiskers? Are they trying to take New Mexico back to its Wild West days?
Public officials almost never grow beards, but first it was Sen. Pete Domenici with chin whiskers and then Gov. Bill Richardson with an almost full beard.
Decompression is what Gov. Richardson cites as his reason and that seems a good enough explanation for Sen. Domenici's whiskers too. We know Pete won't be running for office again and Gov. Bill says he isn't interested.
Facial hair doesn't do a political candidate any good these days. Tom Dewey was the last presidential candidate to try. The former New York governor sported a little pencil-thin moustache that had been the rage of romantic leading men in the movies since the mid-'30s. But it didn't work for Dewey in 1944 or 1948.
My mother said it made him look like a city slicker. Others said they could never trust a man with a moustache. Guess Clark Gable never could have been elected president either.
That's essentially all I knew about politicians and hairy faces so I contacted my consultant-on-just-about-everything, writer/historian Dave Clary in Roswell.
Clary said that as soon as the captains of industry start wearing beards again, as their predecessors did back in the days when the West was wild, we'll see a president with a beard again.
Evidently it was Abe Lincoln who got the style started in the second half of the 19th century. Clary says Lincoln grew a beard between his 1860 election and March 1861 inauguration as president.
After that, every Republican president until William McKinley, in 1897, wore a beard. That eliminated only Democrats Andrew Johnson, who finished Lincoln's term, and Grover Cleveland, who wore only a moustache. In the early 1900s, Republican Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft followed suit with moustaches.
And that was it. President Woodrow Wilson was clean shaven and every president has been since then. But Clary says beards and moustaches are likely to grow again sometime. Sideburns have come and gone, especially among young men, every 20 to 30 years.
Clary also tells me that the beardless fashion persisted among upper-class, middle-aged men for centuries beginning in the late middle ages when Europe rediscovered the Greeks and Romans, whose elite favored a clean face. Only the rich could afford good razors so the poor had beards.
The Barbarians, he says, were so-named because the word "barba" meant beard. By the late 1850s, the industrial revolution enabled the poor to start shaving, so the upper class began growing beards.
Clary says many members of Congress wore a style of beard called "senatorial" from the late 1860s to the 1920s. But that has gone out of style. Of the 535 members of Congress, a few modest moustaches and two or three partial beards are it. The same is true of New Mexico's 112 legislators.
Among governors, Bill Richardson has the only beard. He is asked about it virtually every time he is interviewed on national television. It likely won't last long, especially if he wants to be considered as a vice-presidential running mate or a cabinet member. Currently there are no bearded cabinet members.
Richardson does get credit for a beard with no detectable gray, at age 60. I grew a beard at 56, when I retired from lobbying some 14 years ago. I expected a distinguished salt-and-pepper gray. There wasn't a black hair to be found. It wasn't difficult for my wife to talk me into shaving.
If Richardson plans to become a Washington lobbyist, which is what he should do if he wants to salt away some retirement money, the beard also needs to go. I would not have felt comfortable with one.
But it's not impossible to be effective with a beard. Carl Turner lobbied quite successfully for the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association for many years in a full beard and a flannel shirt.
WED, 2-27-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

We're headed to southern AZ and CA for about a month. Back Mar. 15. I'll have my computer and will send columns. Cell phone 505-699-9982.

2-25 Space Aliens Win Again

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- The space aliens won another one. Whether it's the friendly little green men from Roswell or the ferocious-looking creatures from Alien movies, they are attracting attention to New Mexico.
This time the winner was the alien office workers, who look ready to bite off people's heads but who engage in down-to-earth conversations about New Mexico being the best place to visit in the universe.
Last fall, the office workers with the very human feelings won a golden Adrian Award from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International. The prestigious award put them in the finals for a platinum Adrian, presented to the best-of-the-best.
To win the top award an advertising campaign had to be not only the most ingenious and creative but demonstrate exceptional results. The New Mexico Tourism Department could do that in a big way and thus the award for best in the class of Convention and Visitors Bureau/Destinations/Offices of Tourism category.
State Tourism Secretary Michael Cerletti accepted the trophy at the 18th annual Adrian Awards Gala, attended by more than 1,000 national tourism professionals in New York City. New Mexico's tourism ads competed against 1,300 entries from around the world.
The road to victory wasn't easy. As with the Rose Parade float, there were detractors who felt the state Tourism Office had completely blown a big chunk of its advertising budget. They felt the message of the ad campaign was that tourists should not come to New Mexico because we have monsters from outer space.
Fortunately the large number of people who responded to the ads were a bit smarter than that. They saw them as funny and light-hearted. New Mexico's Tourism Department, with a budget far smaller than surrounding states, had been able to cut through the clutter of thousands of ads with a unique and witty idea.
Sure, space aliens remind people of Roswell, but the message of the ads, which appear on television and in magazines outside New Mexico, involved all of our state. The magazine ads show the grotesque aliens enjoying many New Mexico experiences.
So many thanks to our creative state payrollers in the Tourism Department who came up with a way to grab people's attention from among the myriad ads coming at them every waking hour of every day.
New Mexicans who went to Pasadena to decorate the alien Rose Parade float got to know Miss New Mexico, Jenny Marlowe, who spent several days out West promoting our state. She also rode the float.
The Miss America contest in Las Vegas, Nevada was a couple of weeks later and the Miss America: Reality Check competition had already finished.
Jenny couldn't tell us how she had done in that competition, but she encouraged us to watch, which made us suspect she had done well. The reality check was a new competition designed to help contestants prepare for the actual competition. All 52 contestants spent two weeks under one roof being schooled in the basics of beauty pageants.
Some of the states that traditionally win have done this for their contestants for years, but as the contest has diminished in popularity, the preparation of the contestants evidently has decreased.
The Reality Check was televised for four weeks before the pageant and each time three contestants were chosen whom the consultants felt would have won that week if the pageant were held that night.
By the last week, Miss New Mexico was in the top three, so we tuned into the finals, ready to cheer Jenny to victory. The contestants were introduced in five groups. Jenny's group was states that never had won the competition.
It seemed prophetic when the announcer said, "But this year may change that." When the 16 finalists were announced, however, Jenny was not among them.
Jenny's vocal talent was supposed to be her strongest suit, but she didn't even get to demonstrate it. The winner's talent was the weakest of all. What happened? The show had so many production mistakes I could believe that was just one more oversight.
MON, 2-25-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

2-22 A Gold Medal for Bataan War Vets

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- It was a long time coming and the battle isn't over. But the first step toward recognizing Bataan war veterans with a Congressional Gold Medal has been taken.
Last week, Rep. Tom Udall introduced legislation in Congress to collectively bestow Bataan Death March veterans with the Congressional Gold Medal. The next step is to get as many co-sponsors as possible and to obtain letters of support from veterans organizations to Rep. Udall.
Of the 12,000 American troops in the Philippines at the start of World War II, 1,800 of them were members of the New Mexico National Guard. They were sent to stop Japan's march aimed at taking the Pacific all the way to Australia.
Unfortunately the U.S. military wasn't able to mobilize in time to stop Japan's rapid advance down the Pacific. Supplies and reinforcements promised to Gen. Douglass Mac Arthur never arrived. American troops were left to fight with antiquated World War I weapons, ammunition and supplies.
New Mexico's troops made up the 200th Coast Artillery. During the four months they held off the Japanese advance, they downed 86 enemy aircraft with equipment that constantly fell apart.
Fortunately nearly all these men were from rural areas of New Mexico. They had grown up figuring out how to repair machines and anything else that broke down.
They endured lack of supplies, malnutrition, malaria and starvation to foil the Japanese timetable for reaching Australia before we and our allies could complete our mobilization effort.
The Japanese advance finally was stopped just short of Australia at New Guinea and Guadalcanal but not before the Philippines were overrun.
In the final months of their holdout, the 200th, which was undermanned as a regiment, was split in two and the 515th Coast Artillery regiment was created to help defend Manila. The 200th remained on the Bataan Peninsula.
As the Japanese continued their advance, all American troops were consolidated onto the Bataan peninsula, with the New Mexico Guard forming the line of defense through which they passed.
The squeeze was on as Japanese troops pushed deeper into the peninsula. Eventually U.S. commanders saw that no resources were left to continue the fight and no reinforcements would arrive.
On April 9, 1942, the troops were surrendered. The men of the New Mexico Guard let their displeasure with the decision be known. They wanted to fight to the death.
Following their capture the troops were forced to endure a torturous 65-mile, five-day march in tropical heat without food or water. Thousands perished along the way and those who survived were held as prisoners of war in squalid encampments for almost three years.
Only 900 of the 1,800 New Mexicans who shipped out to the Philippines over four years earlier returned at the war's end. Almost a third of them died within a year.
The New Mexico Guard had a proud history in World War II. It was the first to fire on the December 8, 1941 Japanese attack. It was named the best anti-aircraft regiment in the U.S. Army. And it lost more men per capita than any other state in World War II.
The New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Preservation League initiated the effort to recognize the Bataan veterans with a Congressional Gold Medal. It was joined by New Mexico's senior military officers, Generals Leo Montoya, Edward Baca, Melvyn Montano, Gene Chavez and Kenny Montoya, along with state Veterans Affairs Secretary John Garcia.
"The League is dedicated to correcting omissions of valor and honor in historical records which have tended to overlook the role of Hispanics in American history," said President emeritus Conchita Lucero. The 200th and 515th Coast Artillery units were largely composed of Hispanic soldiers.
Under Udall's bill, a collective medal would be awarded all American soldiers involved. It would be housed at the Smithsonian institution in Washington and available for ceremonies and events commemorating the march.
You can help by sending letters of support to our congressional delegation.
FRI, 2-22-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

2-20 Good Reasons for Legislature's Lack of Productivity

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist

SANTA FE -- Gov. Bill Richardson called the 2008 Legislature the least productive since he has been in office. He's right. He blamed it all on Senate leaders. That's wrong.
True, Senate leaders have not been exactly helpful getting the governor's initiatives into law. They are very concerned about protecting their turf from any incursion by the governor.
But there are other reasons the governor didn't move much of his agenda all the way through the Legislature. The national economic slowdown has affected revenues in New Mexico. We don't have as much money with which to work. And many of Richardson's plans involve money.
The governor wasn't around for much of this past year to sell his ideas to lawmakers and the public. Expect to see much more of him out around the state this year.
Some of Richardson's initiatives, such as domestic partnerships and stem cell research, are a very hard sell in a state as religiously conservative as New Mexico. With all lawmakers facing reelection, even if they might have wanted to support such legislation, they knew the majority of their constituents would disapprove.
Had Gov. Richardson traveled the state this past year, he might have been able to convince some folks that only stem cells destined for disposal would be used, that domestic partnerships are not gay marriage and that universal coverage is not socialized medicine.
The governor was very careful that his health coverage plan would operate through private insurance companies and not be a single-payer plan run by the state. If his plan is to have any chance of success in a special session, he must bust his tail personally selling that to reluctant New Mexicans.
But Gov. Richardson's biggest hurdle in getting 400,000 uninsured New Mexicans covered is to convince lawmakers that the money is there and that requiring people to be insured isn't going to be unrealistic.
Richardson would like a health care special legislative session as soon as possible so he can hold line-item vetoes of lawmakers' pork-laden capital outlay bill over their heads. He has until 20 days after the session to act on it.
Legislators also would like a special session soon because all of them who want to be back next year must stand for reelection.
But if the governor's health care proposal is to have a chance, he would be wise to wait until after the June primary election, when lawmakers have some breathing room before getting ready for the general election.
That will give the governor time to sell his proposal and it will give everyone more opportunity to see where this economic downturn is headed and whether the state has any money to help make it work.
Richardson may only have until early summer to promote his health care package. By that time, the Democratic presidential nominee should be evident and our governor will want to be out campaigning again.
This time that campaigning will be for someone else, but in reality, he'll be gunning for a nice post in the new administration. And if his special session is as unsuccessful as those in the past five years, he may want to get out of Dodge as soon as possible.
Some pundits have predicted that Richardson wants to spend the next three years building his legacy. But it's not at all clear that the legacy he wants to build is in New Mexico.
He already has a railroad and a spaceport well on the way. He's made some environmental strides and universal health care certainly would be a feather in his cap.
But I'm guessing that his biggest desire is to have a national and international legacy in diplomacy and foreign relations. That's what he studied in college. Those were his first jobs. And since then he has developed a reputation for successful dealings with leaders of rogue nations.
And Richardson is still in that business, even while governor of New Mexico.
WED, 2-20-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

2-18 Governor Talks Tough, Possibly

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist

SANTA FE -- "Try me. Bring it on." Tough talk from Gov. Bill Richardson as he positions himself to combat impressions that he's a lame duck. The only problem is that he needs to be a smarter duck if his high and tight brush-back pitches are going to work.
Because Richardson's next words were "I've got possibly three more years here." The word "possibly" wipes out any attempt to strike fear into one's opponents.
You must threaten to be here three more years, guv, if you're going to succeed at convincing the enemy it should tremble in your presence. You can always change your tactics later.
But don't admit to the possibility that you may not be here when next year's Legislature rolls around. That doesn't leave much to be scared about.
You're doing fine with the beard. It makes you look tougher. And it covers your sagging visage. Very well done, actually. And your staff says it's hot.
But don't try to convince us you're decompressing. You're wound tighter now than when you left us a year ago. That presidential campaign really ramped up the pressure.
So don't start using words like possibly. That's going to turn you from a lame duck into a crippled duck. We know you're still looking. We've known for five years that you have your eyes on bigger things. We've heard about your planned foreign diplomatic visits.
So keep the tough guy image. But keep us thinking you'll still be knocking around here for awhile. It will help you pay off that campaign debt. You're going to have to get most of that money out of New Mexicans and they need to think you will still be around to be their governor.
And here's another suggestion. Be nicer to your friends. You'll need them. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has been a loyal soldier for five years. You're about to mess that up.
Senate leaders say you have about 16 state police protecting you. And yet you're not willing to share any of them with your lieutenant governor even when you're out of state. Do you really need that much protection if you're such a tough guy?
Forty years ago, when college students were rioting and National Guard troops were called out to the University of New Mexico campus, Dave Cargo and Bruce King had two state policemen protecting them, Red Pack and a guy to keep him company.
What's so dangerous now that you need 16 police? If you need that many, a female lieutenant governor who spends much of her time filling in for you must need at least as much protection. How about sharing a couple of those with her?
Around your office, they're everywhere. I know you need some of them to drive you fast around the state. But what do the rest do? It makes one suspect they're not really doing police duties.
The only time the lieutenant governor became exasperated with you in the past was two years ago when a news photographer caught you constantly poking at her. She didn't complain until prodded by a reporter. Her observation was that you were acting like a little brother.
And now you're doing it again. You're refusing to share. Do you really need all 16 of your security force when you're out of state? I know you take some with you and we pay their travel expenses. But don't you leave some here who could protect her?
The Legislature appropriated her a good chunk of money for state police protection while you're gone. But even then she couldn't get any help. So she hired private security and you said that means she doesn't need the state police. You've learned to play Catch 22 very well.
And now you've vetoed the money lawmakers put in the budget for her security next year. Lighten up, governor, and play fair.
This doesn't make you look very tough.
MON, 2-18-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

2-15 Clarifications Needed

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist

SANTA FE -- When does a New Mexico governor's authority end and a lieutenant governor's begin? In many cases, we don't know. Some clarification not only would be nice, it might be crucial some day.
Attorney General Gary King has issued an opinion stating that Lt. Gov. Diane Denish's acceptance of bills from the Legislature was valid because nothing in state law prohibits the lieutenant governor from accepting legislation on behalf of the governor.
Obviously that means nothing in state law gives her that authority either, which is the argument of the governor's office. So why did King take Denish's side?
The attorney general ruled that the governor's constitutional veto power is an executive encroachment on the legislative function, an exception to the doctrine of separation of powers and, as such, it must be strictly construed.
King cited a 1979 attorney general's opinion as precedent for his opinion. That doesn't carry as much weight as a supreme court opinion but it still puts the attorney general on firm legal ground.
There has been some bad blood between Richardson and the King family since soon after Richardson arrived in the state 30 years ago, but King can defend himself on this position.
Attorney General King also said that it is unclear whether the state constitution requires the governor to keep his offices open or otherwise make himself available at all times during a legislative session to accept bills presented by the Legislature.
However, King noted, a U.S. Supreme Court decision directs that a governor cannot intentionally evade a legislature's attempt to present a bill to delay the time of presentment and his constitutional duty to act.
Some legislative leaders contend that is exactly what Richardson was trying to do. But James Jimenez, the governor's chief of staff contends that some senators told his staff they would be going home for the evening, so the staff believed it would be all right for them to knock off also.
But the governor's staff did not wait for either legislative house to recess for the evening and Legislative Council Service director Paula Tackett informed the attorney general that the legislative staff had notified the governor's staff that bills would be presented to them Saturday afternoon or evening.
As it turns out, the Senate leaders who had mislead the governor's office about quitting for the evening were playing a game with the House, saying they would go home if the House didn't immediately agree to approve its bills without change.
The House capitulated, but the Senate got caught at its own game by giving the governor's staff at least a small excuse to go home on a Saturday evening. Blogger Joe Monahan reports that Gov. Richardson was on his way to a Lobo basketball game as all this was unfolding.
Regardless of the outcome of the present situation, some clarification of authority and responsibility between the executive and legislative branches should help resolve future conflicts before they occur.
The question of when a lieutenant governor takes over for a governor needs some clarification too. It has been hazy ever since 1971, when the lieutenant governor's office became an optional full time post.
Before that, there wasn't much doubt. Tibo Chavez, lieutenant governor under Ed Mechem in the early 1950s, summed it up best when he observed that his duties consisted of calling the governor's office from his Belen home every morning and inquiring as to the governor's health.
But full time lieutenant governors like to have something to do. Lt. Gov. Casey Luna was the supreme example. Gov. Bruce King never could keep him busy enough.
In December 1993, King was out of state when the Navajos asked for help following a severe snow storm. Luna move in to act only to learn that King's chief of staff already had called out the National Guard.
That was the last straw for Luna. A month later, he announced to run against Gov. King.
FRI, 2-15-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

Re: 2-13 Governor Missing In Action

Thanks, Tauna. Why don't we say, "Attorney General Gary King has issued an
opinion supporting the lieutenant governor's acceptance of the bills, but
there also have been calls for court action."

----- Original Message -----
From: <tgallagher@cybermesa.com>
To: "Jay Miller" <insidethecapitol@hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 11:31 AM
Subject: Re: 2-13 Governor Missing In Action

> Mr. Miller,
> Do you want to revise Wednesday's column in light of the attorney's
> general's comments?
> Thanks, Tauna
>
> ---------- Original Message -----------
> From: "Jay Miller" <insidethecapitol@hotmail.com>
> To: "website" <commonsensical.jaymiller@blogger.com>, "Tom McDonald"
> <tmcdonald@lasvegasoptic.com>, "Todd Dickson"
> <todd@lascrucesbulletin.com>, "Tauna
> Gallagher" <tgallagher@cybermesa.com>, "Scot Stinnett"
> <pecospub@plateautel.net>, "Santa Rosa"
> <sflanagan@plateautel.net>, "Ruth Hammond" <czoruth@hotmail.com>, "Ralph
> Damiani"
> <laeditor@lamonitor.com>, "Mike Bush" <editor@roswell-record.com>, "Martha
> Mauritson"
> <marthamauritson@currentargus.com>, "Kyle Marksteiner"
> <kmarksteiner@currentargus.com>,
> "Darrell Pehr" <dpehr@alamogordonews.com>, "Daniel Russell"
> <danielrussell@hobbsnews.com>,
> "Bill Waters" <bwaters@sfnewmexican.com>, "Andrew Poertner"
> <andrewpoertner@yahoo.com>,
> "Nat Bloomer" <editor@santarosanews.org>
> Sent: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:02:49 -0700
> Subject: 2-13 Governor Missing In Action
>
>
> ------- End of Original Message -------
>
>

2-13 Governor Missing In Action

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- The "do-nothing" Legislature found Gov. Bill Richardson missing in action last Saturday night. The result may be bad news for a peaceful end to the 2008 session and may even signal a special session.
In general, legislative sessions are predictable. But some sessions have a little twist. Last year, for the first time during Gov. Richardson's administration, lawmakers got the big budget bill to him more than three days before the end of the session.
That meant the governor had to take action on the measure before the session adjourned. The result was considerably fewer line-item vetoes than when Richardson had 20 days following the session to take action.
This year, lawmakers got three money bills to the governor ahead of the bell, but the governor's office was locked and no one was available to accept the bills.
So legislative leaders presented the package to Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who presides over the Senate. Denish agreed to accept the bills for the missing governor.
Did the lieutenant governor have that authority? Was the governor required to have someone available to accept bills from the Legislature? And why is the timing so important?
It's a game of high stakes strategy. If the governor has to exercise his vetoes before the Legislature adjourns, lawmakers have time to override those vetoes. They also can punish the governor by voting against his pet bills in the final days.
But if the governor can wait for 20 days following the session, lawmakers can't override vetoes without calling an extraordinary special session, which requires a supermajority of lawmakers to accomplish.
The result is that lawmakers have to be careful about how they treat the governor's favorite legislation in the final days lest they incur his displeasure and suffer more vetoes as a result.

Attorney General Gary King was asked for an opinion about the legalities but there have also been calls for court action. The main problem appears to be a failure to communicate.
The governor and Legislature both do their business in the Capitol. Governors usually stick around when the Legislature is in session in order to be available in case someone wants to talk.
Ideally, the governor's staff should have checked with legislative leaders before totally vacating the building. Someone with the authority to accept bills should have been left on duty. And ideally, legislative leaders would have notified the governor of their intent to send bills to his office on a Saturday evening.
One of the disappointments of this legislative session has been the lack of movement of ethics legislation. "Good government" groups, such as Common Cause, feel that such legislation is necessary to bolster the public's confidence in government, especially following the scandals New Mexico has experienced the past few years.
But ethics legislation always moves slowly. It doesn't enjoy lobbyists with deep pockets twisting arms of reluctant lawmakers. Every new piece of ethics legislation has lawmakers doing more reporting, accepting less money or fewer gifts or undergoing more severe penalties if they are caught breaking the rules.
If the ethics legislation requires more reporting or disclosures by lobbyists, it won't move quickly either because those are the people who have the ear of lawmakers. So even in the wake of government scandals, the majority of lawmakers have the tendency to want to make change as slowly as possible.
All in all, it's been a fairly typical Legislature -- much smoke and little fire. That's not all bad. A good half the legislation on the books is likely unnecessary or even harmful. Some lawmakers feel their purpose in Santa Fe is to keep bad legislation from passing.
And most of the deep-pocketed lobbyists are there for the same reason. They look for proposed legislation that regulates their clients businesses and assure that it gets tucked away in some committee chairman's drawer never to see the light of day.
WED, 2-13-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

2-11 Sir Tom Banavides Is Back In Politics

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE – Filing day for statewide and federal offices is Feb. 12 and Sir Tom Benavides is back on the political scene, this time, running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
That's great news in my business. In these days of bland politicians, who conduct polls to assure they don't offend anyone, Benavides is pure fun.
He's the guy with the distinctive eye patch, whom we can thank for pari-mutuel mule and ostrich racing and for his numerous efforts to establish a Benavides County in Albuquerque's South Valley. Fifteen years ago, Benavides was named to the order of King Alfonso X, the only U.S. citizen to be accorded such an honor, recognizing individuals who have advanced the Spanish culture.
Benavides began years ahead of time promoting New Mexico's observation of the 1992 Columbus quincentennial celebration. During that period he made many contacts with the Spanish government and traveled to Spain.
It was during a reception for the Spanish Ambassador in Albuquerque that Benavides made an appearance when the State Police were looking for him to complete a call of the Senate in Santa Fe. The following morning Benavides explained to the Senate that he actually had been in his Senate seat the previous evening, but he had had an out-of-body experience in Albuquerque.
Over the years, Benavides has won and lost a seat in the New Mexico House and twice won and lost a seat in the Senate. And his political career began as a justice of the peace.
He did all of this as a Democrat, but at one time he ran as an independent for Sen. Jeff Bingaman's seat in the U.S. Senate. He also has competed for Green Party and Reform Party positions. Most recently, he ran as a Republican for the state Senate seat he lost to Sen. Linda Lopez eight years earlier.
Republicans normally do very poorly in the Albuquerque South Valley, so Benavides didn't do well. But he never gives up
Benavides last fell from grace 12 years ago following the culmination of his six-year effort to establish a new county for Albuquerque's South Valley. Many residents of the area felt they had been short-changed by Bernalillo County.
Wanting to attract attention to his effort, Benavides jokingly referred to the new county as Benavides County and even talked about county offices being housed in the compound he and his extended family call home.
The senator knew the new county would never be named after him because there were other senators, representatives and a county commissioner from the South Valley, but Tom was a master at knowing exactly what the media liked to cover and Benavides County fit the bill.
Sir Tom was successful on three occasions in passing a bill calling for a South Valley referendum on a new county. But Gov. King kept vetoing the measure, citing a lack of tax base in the new county.
But when Gary Johnson challenged King's bid for another term, Benavides threw in with Johnson and promised him South Valley support. Johnson won. Benavides got his bill through the Legislature once again. And Gov. Johnson signed it.
Unfortunately there wasn't a happy ending to the story. Benavides lost the 1996 primary to Linda Lopez and then in November, the referendum for a new county lost by a 4-1 margin. But Benavides wasn't disturbed. That was only one of the many battles he has lost. The war is still to be won. "Just like Gen. Douglass Mac Arthur," he said, "I'll be back."
Tom always did have a way with words. And besides, his Spanish award entitles him to be addressed as "The Most Excellent Sir Tom Benavides." Although maybe not in the South Valley.
So now Sir Tom is off on another quixotic adventure, taking on U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson for the seat Sen. Pete Domenici is vacating. Benavides says this one will be easy.
MON, 2-11-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

2-8 Running Elections No Job For Amateurs

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Perhaps the New Mexico Democratic Party should leave the business of running elections to the pros. There were enough snafus in last Tuesday's so-called caucuses to discourage any thought of another do-it-yourself effort.
Normally, getting into the presidential candidate selection process early isn't a bad idea. It usually gives party members a much greater say in the selection of their presidential nominee. It attracts candidates to our state and brings New Mexico some national visibility.
But when the process results in angering party members because of poor planning, the effort can be counterproductive. Some polling sites reported as much as a three hour wait to vote and the counting took more than a day.
The problem was that Democrats, especially in the northern and central parts of the state, turned out in much greater numbers than anyone had expected.
Four years ago, when Democrats ran their first caucuses, Gov. Bill Richardson spent considerable effort turning out a big crowd. He wanted to position New Mexico among the early voting states in order to have more influence over the candidates and to have a little practice before he ran for president four years later.
But four years later, Richardson no longer was in the running, so he no longer was working at turning out a crowd. Predictions from state Democratic chairman Brian Colon were that the turnout would be far lower than the 102,000 in 2004. But it turned out to be much higher and caused all sorts of problems.
The major disadvantage in switching from the established voting date, the first Tuesday in June, is that the party has to run its own caucus. That not only is a headache but is expensive. Estimates are around $250,000.
The state GOP chose both times to stick with the June date, thereby saving a quarter-million bucks to use on general election races in the state. The downside of that decision is that your party's candidate likely would be decided months earlier.
But that didn't happen this time. Three Republican candidates remain in the race and all vow they are not getting out. It is possible state Republicans could end up playing a role in selecting the GOP presidential candidate.
New Mexico Democrats decided to run their caucus like an election, with polling places open from noon to 7 p.m. throughout the state. Had they chosen to hold caucuses, in which people come to a meeting, listen to speeches and then vote, a larger turnout than expected wouldn't have been a major problem.
So why doesn't the Legislature change the state law to move primary elections from June up to February? The problem is that lawmakers also run in primary elections and they are busy making laws in Santa Fe at the time. June is much more convenient for them.
If New Mexico had a full time Legislature as many states have, the date wouldn't be as important. Lawmakers would just recess for awhile during election time, as Congress does for November elections.
Although this year's presidential caucus was a headache for Democrats, it did create excitement. Both candidates and their spouses made separate appearances in the state in the final four days.
Actually former President Bill Clinton made two trips to the state, the second one to watch the Super Bowl with Gov. Bill Richardson. It didn't get Hillary an endorsement from our governor but it likely sent a message to some voters.
In the final days of the Super Tuesday campaign, we got an insight into why Sen. Barack Obama chose to come to New Mexico instead of some of the bigger states he skipped. His strategy was to concentrate on small states with caucuses because he could get closer to those voters.
For New Mexicans, the nicest thing about the frantic two weeks before the Democrat caucus was that neither candidate went negative. If all campaigns could be like that, we might have even more people getting turned onto politics.
FRI, 2-08-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

2-6 Halfway Through and Nothing's Happened?

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Eek. We're halfway through the legislative session and nothing's happened.
Legislatures, like lives, go through stages. The first week is a laid-back time to get reacquainted, go to receptions and introduce some bills. Friday begins a long weekend.
In the old days, Hugh Bishop flew all the bills that had been introduced to his printing company in Portales and used the three days to make all the copies necessary for Monday morning at the Capitol. Technology has speeded up the world, but the holiday continues.
Committees start working on bills during the second week but little action is taken.
And then comes the mid-point of a 30-day session. It's the deadline for bill introductions. At this point lawmakers know what issues they are dealing with -- and not dealing with. Technically bills should have passed through the chamber in which they were introduced and be on their way to the other house.
But that hasn't happened. Many important bills haven't even had their first hearing. This is when lawmakers begin paying attention. And that is when Gov. Bill Richardson stepped in with a news conference to let lawmakers know he'd like to see more action.
Something the governor failed to note, however, was that there is only one bill that has to pass before the session ends. That's the big budget bill to finance state government for the next fiscal year. And that bill is exactly on schedule. It passed the House at the session's midpoint and is now in the Senate.
House leaders did not let that accomplishment go unnoticed, scoffing at Richardson's charge that this is a do-nothing Legislature. The governor may come to regret that comment. He's given lawmakers a battle cry they may use as they take actions contrary to the governor's wishes.
Another example of needing to be careful of what you wish for is lawmakers' request of the governor that he not allow so many extra subjects to be addressed by this year's session. During short sessions, the governor controls what is on the legislative agenda other than financial items.
Richardson agreed to limit the items he put on the legislative plate this year. But now many lawmakers are saying they didn't mean for the governor not to allow the special items in which they are interested.
Next week lawmakers will reach the panic stage as they see conflicts with the governor and other legislators bringing the session to a halt before work is completed. We'll hear much about train wrecks, meltdowns and special sessions. And maybe there will be a few silent wishes they could add in that Friday from the first week.
But almost always it works out. Amazingly New Mexico gets its business attended to in 30 or 60 days while bigger states take all year to accomplish no more. And even with year-long sessions, the phases mentioned here still occur. The final week is just as frantic with late-night and weekend sessions.
The truth is that New Mexico has a system that works and which costs us a lot less than a full-time Legislature. Our unpaid lawmakers put in a punishing one or two months to keep our state running and then return to their lives as citizens.
At this point, no more bills can be introduced. That ends at the midpoint of the session. House and Senate party leaders do introduce a number of blank bills, called dummies, just in case an important, but unexpected, situation arises.
Few of these dummy bills ever are used, however, They are guarded closely by the leadership in order to prevent misuse.
As we begin the downhill slope, some controversial bills on the governor's call already have made it through one house. Stem cell research has passed the Senate and domestic partnerships passed the House.
The big problem is ethics legislation recommended by a task force that has worked for two years. It is going nowhere.
WED, 2-06-08

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com