5-4 What should Hector do?

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SANTA FE – What should Hector do?


State Auditor Hector Balderas is a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman. Also in the race is U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich. Balderas is trailing Heinrich in the polls and in fundraising.
Heinrich's lead probably isn't so large that Balderas has no chance of catching him. Hector's problem is that a strong negative campaign probably is the only one way of doing it.
So does Balderas unleash the negatives? It really isn't in his character. Balderas and Heinrich, another nice guy, have pledged to keep it clean but political observers have been waiting for the dam to break.
It probably won't happen. Balderas is young and can have a bright future ahead of him. The same is true for Heinrich. Both have taken a big first step in politics. Balderas has won two statewide races for auditor and has well-established contacts in every county.
Heinrich has won two races in the first Congressional District. The second of those contests was in a year when Republicans swept to many new victories in Congress. Heinrich also is young with a great future possibly ahead of him. He also has national fundraising sources that Balderas doesn't have.
So how do they handle it? If Balderas goes negative, Heinrich may have to also and the Republican senatorial candidate, presumably Heather Wilson, has a bagful of negative comments the two Democrats have left lying on the table for her.
If Balderas loses the Democratic primary anyway, he is tarnished. But if he stays positive, is a good loser and campaigns for Heinrich in the general election, he looks good to party leaders and has a leg up for a future race, likely a run for governor in 2014.
That is a very nice scenario for Democratic leaders. They would have two fresh, young faces who could be in office for a long time. Under our governmental seniority system, it helps a state to have members of Congress with time to build seniority. Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman did it for 36 and 30 years respectively.
One effort that Balderas is making, as noted by Santa Fe New Mexican reporter Steve Terrell, is to emphasize that it has been a long time since New Mexico has had a Hispanic in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Joe Montoya, 36 years ago was the last.
At one time, New Mexicans thought that our state needed a Spanish-American, as they were called in those days, and an Anglo in both the U.S. House and Senate. Sens. Dennis Chavez and Clinton Anderson were highly influential at getting and keeping national labs and military bases in New Mexico.
There are plenty of young Hispanic politicians, especially in our state Legislature ready to fulfill that role but Balderas may be positioning himself well for future stardom if he plays his hand right.
New Mexico no longer is a swing state. We've said it before but it keeps popping up in the news. Barack Obama won New Mexico in 2008 by 15 points. His margin still is about the same.
He is beating presumed GOP candidate Mitt Romney 54-40 in the latest poll. If New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is tossed in the equation as a vice-presidential running mate, the margin barely switches to 53-42.
Gov. Martinez won't do him much good even in New Mexico.
The latest CNN poll didn't even include her. Was that because she said she definitely wouldn't consider it? If so, why are all those other candidates who have said they will refuse the nomination still in the poll?
In another listing, Martinez is listed 10th out of the 10 top contenders.
Former top George W. Bush official Condoleezza Rice now is showing up as the public favorite for vice president. But she's not a Romney favorite. She would steal the limelight from him.

5-2 NM steps up spaceport promotion

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SANTA FE – Judging from the May issue of the New Mexico Magazine, the state Tourism Department is all in on promoting Spaceport America.
The edition presents an all-encompassing history of spaceflight in the state followed by a travel guide of some of the 52 destinations around the state where the history of spaceflight can be experienced.
The focus of the magazine, however, seems to be Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic. Branson has been convinced for some time that New Mexico is the right place for his space tourism business.
Branson has the money to build his own spaceport but why do that when states and nations are eager to do it for you? It is the same game the sports moguls play. Why build a stadium yourself when communities everywhere are willing to use taxpayer money to build one for you?
The result has been a good relationship. Branson promotes New Mexico heavily. Even when Gov. Susana Martinez was chilly toward the spaceport last year, Branson's support for New Mexico never faltered. Instead of the governor romancing Branson as former Gov. Bill Richardson did, it was a case of Branson romancing Gov. Martinez. And it worked. Martinez didn't make it to the dedication of the spaceport runway last year but she did work it into her schedule to get to the dedication of the terminal.
Ever since then, Gov. Martinez has been all smiles about our spaceport. Now she needs to put her game face on and start selling it like she has with trying to deny driver's licenses to illegal aliens.
The spaceport likely is the biggest economic development opportunity for New Mexico since the national labs and air bases of the 1940s.
The focus on Virgin Galactic has led naysayers to incorrectly see the spaceport as just a taxpayer financed playground for the rich. The same phenomenon was occurring a century ago with development of the airplane. It's going to happen folks, whether New Mexico is ready or not.
Earlier this week, a company known as SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk of Paypal, was to launch cargo to the space station.
Musk already has put a rocket in orbit and returned it safely. Several other companies are vying for business created by retirement of NASA's space shuttle. And none of them are flying out of New Mexico. The opportunities are out there. Let's go get them.
Tourism Secretary Monique Jacobson sounds like she's game. She's come up with a new slogan for the state called "Carpe Manana." It's a double play on familiar words. The phrase "carpe diem," seize the day" has been around for ages.
"Carpe Manana," seize tomorrow, can either be a takeoff on New Mexico's laid back manana attitude or a message that New Mexico is ready to seize the future.
Jacobson says the tongue-in-cheek twist on words can now be seen on
T-shirts, bumper stickers and souvenir mugs throughout New Mexico.
In the New Mexico magazine May edition, Jacobson and her staff make a convincing argument that New Mexico is the birthplace of rocketry. The articles begin with a history of Dr. Robert Goddard arriving in Roswell in the late 1920s, followed by Werner von Braun and his captured rocket scientists after Germany's World War II surrender.
The Germans brought their V-2 rockets that had terrorized England during the war and further testing began. NASA followed in the 1980s and now Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic recently.
A thousand workers were employed during construction of the spaceport. Spaceport director Christine Anderson predicts 2,000 more jobs will be created in the next five years. Some 200,000 visitors, mostly from out of state, are projected by 2014.
The Tourism Department will be ready for them with a list of 52 space-related destinations for tourists to visit. Jacobson's idea for how to attract tourists and keep them in our state longer is to keep them moving around to new experiences.

correction

In last line of 7'27 column, Joe Skeen obviously should have been Steve Pearce. Guess I was in too big a hurry to get to Maui.



My apologies

Aloha

We're off on our annual trip to Maui. Back May 19. No column April 30.

4-27 Battle brewing in one U.S. House race

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SANTA FE – With the filing of first-quarter campaign fundraising results now available, it appears there will be only one major primary election battle this year. The Democratic race in the Albuquerque-area 1st Congressional District features three candidates raising big money.
Leading the pack is Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham, with a campaign war chest of $345,000 to get her through the last two months of her campaign. She was the last to get into the race, so had been playing catch up until April 1.
Lujan Grisham tried the race in 2008 but the presence of former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil Giron meant they were drawing from similar groups of voters, giving the contest to Martin Heinrich. This year, she has received strong support from women's groups such as Emily's List. U.S. Rep. Manuel Lujan, who held the seat for 20 years, is a relative.
Lujan Grisham was the first director of the state Agency on Aging. When that became cabinet level, she was named secretary of the Aging and Long Term Care Department. In 2002, she was named secretary of the Department of Health, the state's largest department.
Coming in a very close second in cash on hand was state Sen. Eric Griego with $321,000. Griego jumped in the race very early and got a head start on fundraising and endorsements. Those endorsements have come largely from unions and environmental groups.
Reportedly Griego has received more money from out of state than the other candidates so the money may be coming from the national offices of the groups endorsing him. Griego is said to be the most liberal of the three candidates.
The third candidate is former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez. He's having trouble raising money and has resorted to a type of raffle that might be illegal.
Chavez is the most moderate of the candidates. That worked for him in his non-partisan races for mayor but doesn't work well in Democratic primaries.
Chavez has long been known as an environmentalist. He tried to make Albuquerque the greenest city in the nation. But he also worked hard to develop Albuquerque's West Mesa.
He worked for an environmental organization after leaving the mayor's office. But Griego has picked off major environmentalist endorsements. Chavez and Griego are old political rivals so these next several weeks should be lively.
In contrast, the GOP primary in the 1st Congressional District hasn't generated any excitement. Former state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones is the last person standing.
Early favorite Dan Lewis withdrew as a result of a poor nominating convention showing and the other candidate was knocked off the ballot because of inadequate signatures.
Arnold-Jones presently has only a $38,000 bank account but she won't need it until the general election. An efficient corporate executive in real life, she says fundraising is the third step in her victory plan.
The first step was to put together a strong organization. The second step was to win over 50 percent of the delegates in a three-person nominating convention race. The surprising accomplishment of that goal grabbed the attention of any doubters. Fundraising should be much easier now.
But Arnold-Jones still will be the underdog once the general election campaign begins. That's a little surprising considering that until 2008 the seat had been held by Republicans ever since its creation. But Democrats held onto the seat during the GOP landslide of 2010 and are expected to make a good showing nationally in 2012.
In the U.S. Senate Republican primary, former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson has a $1.45 million kitty, most of which she can save for the U.S. Senate general election.
U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich has $1.55 million but will have to use a big chunk for the Democratic Senate primary contest with state Auditor Hector Balderas.
In the congressional races for districts 2 and 3, incumbents Joe Skeen and Ben Ray Lujan have no primary competition.

4-25 Government can't run like a business

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SANTA FE – Historian Dave Clary emails from Roswell wondering why, now that Wall Street tycoon Mitt Romney appears to be a presidential nominee, the press doesn't seem to realize that running government like a business isn't a good deal for our nation.
Clary says it is worth noting that the last two corporate executives to run our country, George W. Bush and Herbert Hoover, presided over economic meltdowns. He also points to the Italian counterpart Sylvio Berlusconi as another prime example.
The press has covered the subject of business and government being two different animals. Therefore the promise to run government like a business isn't necessarily something voters should embrace.
The subject was discussed at some length when Gary Johnson ran for governor. His claims that he did very well turning a handyman business into a multi-million construction firm sounded good. He should be able to do the same with the New Mexico economy.
But very soon after he took office, Johnson became frustrated with these two co-equal branches of government that were always getting in his way. Every time he made a bold move, the legislature or the courts would block it.
As a businessman, he could make those bold moves without first having to sell his idea and his method of operation. Gov. Johnson, a tenacious man, ended up spending most of his time fighting with the legislature and courts rather than moving New Mexico forward. New Mexico government just wouldn't run like a business.
The appealing part of running government like a business is control of costs. Profits are bigger if a business gets the most out of every dollar. We worry that government doesn't have the same incentive. Government's purpose is to provide services that the private sector can't. Sometimes costs get out of hand.
But it happens in the private sector too, especially as businesses grow. We recently learned that the head of the privatized Los Alamos National Laboratory makes three times what the director did when a governmental body administered it. The total package is over $1 million.
Executive salaries are even more out of line on Wall Street, which got us into this financial mess. They are most of the one percent. That high pay trickles down a little way to Wall Street employees. Forbes.com estimates that Warren Buffett's famous secretary makes between $200,000 and a half-million dollars.
That must be a Wall Street standard but I can't imagine Buffett paying that much. According to Buffett's cousin, former state legislator George Buffett, Warren lives a rather simple life.
So would Mitt Romney run government as he ran his Wall Street investment firm? He promises he will. As governor of Massachusetts he raised taxes and presided over creation of a healthcare system after which Obamacare is fashioned.
Those who believe that government should be run like a business have to make several assumptions. They must believe that running a public institution requires no public-sector experience at all. We've all heard candidates brag that they have never been involved in government before. Where else can one get a job bragging about having no related experience?
Another belief must be that public sector experience is something inherently bad. And finally, they must believe that a public institution will benefit from an infiltration of business executives who will straighten everything out.
Business and government are meant to be different. Government should be doing only what the private sector can't. That means that if the private sector can do something at a profit, it should be doing it. If it can't make a profit, government handles it.
That major difference can be a big shock to those moving into the public sector. You are helping those who can't afford to get services privately. You also are doing those things that no one can do alone like fighting wars, providing public safety, building bridges and dams.
Unbeknownst to some, most public employees and officials do very good jobs.

4-23 Veep choice could be a game changer

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SANTA FE – Now that Gov. Mitt Romney has become the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, one of his biggest decisions will be to choose a GOP vice-presidential candidate.
It could be the Romney campaign's biggest decision. The choice of Sarah Palin four years ago definitely was the biggest decision of John McCain's campaign. His advisers figured a game changing veep choice was needed in order to win.
The choice of Palin was a game changer but it didn't take the campaign to victory. It quickly became evident that the choice hadn't been fully thought out and Palin hadn't been fully vetted.
That doesn't appear to be a problem with Gov. Romney. His corporate experience is expected to move him in the direction of a methodical, low-risk decision.
Romney already has given evidence of his selection process. His staff for the vetting and analysis will be composed of a small group of longtime advisers. The process will be deliberate and may not conclude until shortly before the Republican National Convention in late May.
Romney should be looking for someone who is strong where Romney is weak. That might be someone who is forceful, truly conservative and charismatic. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie likely is the best example. Donald Trump has been mentioned.
But such a person would upstage Romney who is accustomed to being the top dog. George W. Bush, the compassionate conservative, was willing to let Dick Cheney nominate himself for vice president. That's not in Romney's character. Neither is choosing someone like Newt Gingrich or South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Romney is said to want someone with experience who is ready for the job. Former two-term Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty falls in that category. He was an early entry in the presidential race. He has a working class background, which would be helpful. Romney would have no fear of Pawlenty upstaging him.
The same loyalty and lack of charisma attributes apply to Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan. Portman was George W. Bush's director of the Office of Management and Budget and held top positions under President George H.W. Bush.
Rep. Paul Ryan is the creator of the congressional budget plan. He's good with figures but will not be good with many Democrats and Independents because of his thoughts on Medicare. On the plus side, Ryan comes from humble beginnings, which would make the ticket appear more in touch with middle-class economic problems.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio seems to be the favorite of most Republican leaders, especially now that he has announced he is working on a Republican version of the DREAM Act. The act would allow children who came to this country illegally with their parents to become legal but not citizens.
That still is heresy to the far right but it is exciting other Republicans who know if they lose Hispanic voters to President Barack Obama by the 67-27 margin with which he currently is leading in the most recent poll, they are not going to win the presidential election.
Some Hispanic organizations are saying that if it is Rubio's plan or nothing, it may be difficult to turn it down. But Democrats are saying Rubio's plan will be a campaign gimmick and nothing more because it won't pass – and certainly not before the November election. Democrats can stall it and not let it reach a vote.
Romney doesn't seem to be as excited about Rubio as many other Republicans are. He is reported to not attach much importance to choosing a running mate from a battleground state or an important demographic. Florida Sen. Rubio is from a battleground state and is Hispanic.
The apparent Romney attitude isn't going to help New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez who represents two important demographics. She is a female Hispanic. New Mexico still is considered a battleground state but not as marginal as it used to be prior to the 2008 presidential election which Obama won handily.

4-20 Gov. Martinez ranked eighth in nation

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SANTA FE – Despite a few slips, Gov. Susana Martinez is riding high in New Mexico and national popularity polls. Both Public Opinion Strategies and Rasmussen recent polling show Martinez with at least 60 percent popularity in recent months.
The latest big news for our governor is her inclusion in a top-ten list compiled by Washington Post columnist Aaron Blake. His choices are evenly split between parties. Four are from the Mountain West – New Mexico, Colorado, Montana and Nevada.
Blake says his rankings take into account all factors in determining how successful governors have been – from approval rating to difficulty of what they have attempted to do legislatively to the political bent of their states.
Gov. Martinez was ranked in eighth place. She was boosted more strongly than the other four Republican governors as a possible vice-presidential nominee. Blake attributed Martinez's popularity to her focus on education and ethics issues.
One of my first questions upon hearing the news last week was who are the other nine picks. In case you might be interested, here they are, beginning with No. 1.
Andrew Cuomo of New York, Chris Christie of New Jersey, Mitch Daniels of Indiana, John Lynch of New Hampshire, Mike Beebe of Arkansas, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Brian Schweitzer of Montana and Bob McDonald of Virginia.
As for Blake's assertion that Gov. Martinez's focus on education and ethics issues is what has made her popular in the state, she has had some wins and losses.
Education likely is the most difficult issue to try changing. It involves parents, students and teachers. That is just about everyone. People have some pretty different ideas and they aren't all the same. Martinez may already have made more changes than most governors and she will keep at it. The trouble with education changes is that it takes time to see if they will work.
Changes in ethics legislation also have been difficult. Legislators have been reluctant to strengthen ethics laws that have any effect on them.
And Martinez hasn't been very good about strengthening ethics of the executive branch either. She campaigned saying she would be more transparent than her predecessor, Gov. Bill Richardson. But she has been just as reluctant to release information to the public.
In my opinion, Gov. Martinez's popularity with New Mexicans comes from not making bitter enemies with lawmakers and interest groups right off the bat as many other new Republican governors around the nation are doing.
And Martinez has made a commendable effort to trim government. She made a big show out of selling Gov. Richardson's jet. The sale had strong public support.
She then more quietly sold three other planes out of the previously eight-plane fleet. The last plane sold hadn't been used in five years. It should have been sold four years ago.
Gov. Martinez also has trimmed the state's motor pool, cut staff and lowered salaries. The salary cuts have produced some losses of valuable staff. The staff cuts have started to affect the public, causing longer lines and longer waits. But I personally haven't heard many complaints.
There is one issue that needs explained, however. Gubernatorial appointments of employees exempt from the state personnel system became a major issue in the last campaign. Martinez vowed to clean house.
Figures developed by Thomas Cole of the Albuquerque Journal early last summer, after Gov. Martinez had been in office several months, indicated that former Gov. Richardson had trimmed over half of his over 500 exempt employees during the last two years of his administration and Martinez had trimmed that number even more.
But then Kate Nash of the Santa Fe New Mexican reported last week that Gov. Martinez now has 571 exempt appointees. That is more than the top amount Richardson had.
Nash reports that Martinez has cut total state employees by over 1,000 in the past year but exempt employees have increased.

4-18 Texas leads NM in statues of the Kid

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SANTA FE – Now that New Mexico finally has a statue of Pat Garrett, our state's best known lawman, Lincoln County War researcher Mike Pitel notes that the score on Billy the Kid statues is Texas: 2, New Mexico: 0.
We recently mentioned San Elizario, Texas, just down the river from El Paso, has erected a Billy the Kid statue in its business district designed to increase tourist traffic to the village. Then there is a statue of the Kid and a small museum in Hico, Texas and a grave marker in nearby Hamilton, Texas.
Hico, pronounced High-co, claims that local character William Henry Roberts was really Billy the Kid. According to promoters of that story, the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett conspired to kill someone else and split the $500 reward offered by Gov. Lew Wallace. Garrett claimed the entire reward but Gov. Wallace never paid off.
Roberts also went by other names. After a cousin named Oliver P. died, Roberts took the name Ollie and sometimes used "L" as middle initial. He also went by Brushy Bill after coming up with the claim he was Billy the Kid.
Brushy also claimed to have been a member of the Jesse James Gang, a Rough Rider, a Pinkerton detective, a buddy of Pancho Villa and numerous other characters from Western history.
His 15 minutes of fame came in 1950 when he asked New Mexico Gov. Tom Mabry for a pardon. Mabry granted him a private hearing in the presence of two historians of the governor's choosing. Brushy did not do well on history. He completely failed at speaking Spanish, in which Billy was fluent. The pardon was not granted.
The San Elizario statue commemorates a popular local story that the Kid freed a friend from the local jail. The claim appears in Pat Garrett's book, "The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid." But historians have not been able to corroborate the story and are very skeptical it actually took place.
It appears, then, that the two Texas statues, which seek a place in Billy the Kid's story, are very dubious. They both are meant to attract tourists and likely are doing well at it.
New Mexico had a Billy the Kid statue at one time. Mike Pitel's research indicates that a life-size statue of the Kid was placed in downtown Fort Sumner on September 20, 1999.
Pitel says Fort Sumner artist Steve Sewell created the statue, at his own expense, out of chicken wire and concrete. It was situated so it could be noticed by tourists heading toward the Billy the Kid Museum in town or heading toward the turnoff to the Kid's gravesite, the Fort Sumner Museum and the Fort Sumner state monument.
A plaque accompanying the statue read: "There was a young man who came this way, changed many lives, then was taken away. BTK 1859-1881."
Pitel says the statue disappeared. The local word was that vandals tore it down one night. The story is believable in terms of accounts of the Kid's tombstone being stolen so often.
But the statue never was replaced. Other events have indicated that most people in Fort Sumner don't seem particularly supportive of anything involving Billy the Kid. He was a criminal and they don't want anything to do with him.
The Kid was shot on the rambling property owned by the Maxwell family that had moved from Cimarron, along with 25-40 other families, in late 1870. That was the beginning of what became, decades later, the village of Fort Sumner and the creation of De Baca County.
But that important piece of county history is not to be found anywhere in the area. It is sometimes difficult for a community to acknowledge its past.
And yet the nearby Bosque Redondo, where over 9,000 Navajo and Mescalero Apaches were interned from 1863-1868 is a state monument with a memorial and museum.

4-16 Bataan Marchers Arrive at Camp

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SANTA FE – On this 70th anniversary of the Bataan Death March, I am reprinting a column from a series I created seven years

ago commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. On April 16, the bulk of prisoners were reaching their

destination.
Those in the first ranks of the Bataan Death March began arriving at Camp O'Donnell on April 13, 1942. These were units that

had been marched steadily for three days over a route that ranged from 60 to 90 miles.
The pace had been brutal. The shorter Japanese guards had to dog trot to keep up. Later they began using bicycles and the

pace quickened even more. Some had ridden part way when buses and trucks transporting Japanese soldiers to the front returned to pick

up another load.
The enemy was scurrying to get its troops to the south end of Bataan as quickly as possible and its captives to the north and

out of the way. When transportation was not available, the enemy was marching its own troops at the same brutal pace it was marching

its captives.
The Japanese had lost much time at Bataan in their sweep south to take the Pacific all the way to Australia. Far too many men

and weapons had been diverted to the area. Tokyo was applying pressure to finish the job at Corregidor and move south before the

United States could mobilize to defend Australia.
O'Donnell was an abandoned camp the Americans and Filipinos had been preparing. Much still needed to be done to house the

prisoners and the Japanese didn't have time to do it. So captives were chosen to send ahead to prepare the camp.
Those were the lucky ones. As the early formations of ragged, bloody and starved men arrived, those who had gone ahead first

learned of the Death March.
As New Mexicans staggered into camp, they were grabbed by their buddies and taken to an area they had staked out for themselves.

It took many days to nurse them back to any degree of health. Some didn't make it. They had spent their last ounce of energy getting

to the camp and had no more left.
On May 10, The Japanese moved most of the senior officers to a separate camp, leaving only a staff of several colonels and Gen.

Sage. At Gen. King's suggestion, Sage was named commander of the American portion of the camp, which numbered some 9,300 men. The New

Mexicans rejoiced at the recognition accorded their commanding officer.
But Sage didn't have much say as to what happened. The camp was run by an overage Japanese reserve officer, who loved to climb on

a box in his baggy shorts and screech at them about how he would like all of them to die. Only the benevolence of the Emperor

permits you to live, he said. "You are guests of the Emperor."
The Emperor was not a good host. Conditions were hideous. Men began to die from the filth, starvation, disease and hopelessness.

Many chose to die.
Three months later, the prisoners were moved to Cabanatuan and conditions only got worse. Red Cross attempts to inspect the camp

were denied. Red Cross shipments of food and medical supplies were diverted for Japanese use.
In late November 1942, a shipment did get through. While they lasted, the death rate slowed, but it was to be a year before

another shipment got through. The Japanese camp commander said he wished to keep the prisoners too weak to resist.
The Japanese organized work details. Anyone healthy enough jumped at them because it was an opportunity to get outside the camp.

It was also an opportunity to interact with natives on the sly and to steal anything that might be helpful back in camp. They even

devised a way to counterfeit the near-worthless invasion money.
Japanese guards with venereal disease dared not report it to their own doctors for help, so they went to the Americans and paid

dearly for counterfeit medicine.
Masonic Lodge contacts and other good souls the men had met in Manila also helped with money and medicine through highly

organized pipelines. And thus they maintained their morale.

WED, 4-13-05

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

4-13 Will GOP have a brokerd convention?

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SANTA FE – Will the national GOP treat us to a brokered convention this year? I doubt it but it won't be because the national media hasn't encouraged it.
With national conventions of both parties are getting more monotonous every year, something like a brokered convention would be quite a gift.
Many conventions in the 1800s were brokered. Party bosses would wheel and deal in smoke-filled back rooms and sometimes would come up with big surprises.
It has been talked about in recent times. We heard it about the Democrats in 2004, when they were having trouble selecting a nominee. It wouldn't have been party bosses doing the brokering that time so much as the big interest groups that traditionally support Democrats.
If Republicans end up not agreeing on a nominee this year, the guesses are that the billionaires with their super-PACs will be making the decisions. The Tea Party also will have to be in on the action somehow. It supposedly is an unorganized grassroots movement but we could be sure to see some leaders suddenly emerge when it comes to the big decisions.
But this is the year of the super-PACs. And it doesn't seem that the billionaires who back them have much loyalty to any particular candidate. Some of them have publicly switched candidates. Others have been quietly talking to possible candidates who aren't in the race yet. If the big guys ever agree on one candidate, it may be over.
Most likely, however, Mitt Romney will sew it up. He's been the choice of the Republican establishment all along.
Then comes the decision about who will fit best as a vice-presidential running mate. Nice-looking moderate guys without much charisma need not apply. Someone who can add some punch to the ticket is badly needed.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the most popular choice. He says he won't take it but we heard that from Gov. Bill Richardson in two different elections and we know it doesn't count until the request actually comes.

Gov. Christie would add life to the campaign. He might add too much.
Some people are turned off by the way they play in New Jersey. Romney might be turned off because he may be upstaged.
Sarah Palin added life to John McCain's campaign four years ago. But she ended up being too new to national politics to handle the issues. She was even new to state politics.
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has the same problem. She still isn't familiar enough with the breadth of state issues to feel comfortable about being very accessible.
Running for vice president would require her to almost immediately become familiar enough with national and international issues to handle half-hour televised interviews with national news anchors.
That is why presidential nominees often choose senators as vice-presidential running mates. The U.S. Senate does the heavy lifting on international issues such as treaties and ambassador confirmations. Joe Biden, Joe Lieberman, John Edwards and Al Gore are recent examples.
Dick Cheney hadn't been a senator but he had held enough top administrative posts that he was extremely confident about everything he said. And President George W. Bush didn't seem to mind being upstaged.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio qualifies as a top candidate. He hasn't been in the Senate long but he seems to be a quick study. He is from a large swing state, he's charismatic and he is Hispanic.
As a Cuban, Rubio might not be as attractive to the nation's Hispanics as Gov. Martinez or Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada. Though young, he already has been involved in some controversies which won't help.
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman merits a look. He's from a big swing state, which has to be won. He can talk on budget matters but as President George W. Bush's budget director when everything tanked, his record would be paraded for all to see.

4-11 Pat Garrett Home in Roswell should be restored

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SANTA FE – Pat Garrett was more than New Mexico's best-known lawman. He was a major force in the Pecos Valley's agri-business efforts.
That was a theme heard throughout the dedication ceremony for the towering statue of the gutsy sheriff on his way to a fateful meeting with Billy the Kid.
State Sen. Rod Adair said Garrett's part in the Billy the Kid saga overshadows just how important Garrett was to the development of the Southwest.
J.P. Garrett credited his grandfather with basically conceiving the Pecos Valley irrigation plan. J.J. Hagerman carried out the plan and rightfully receives credit for it but if it weren't for Garrett's idea of doing it, it never would have happened.
Those I talked with, who attended the ceremony, all said the highlight was the Carlsbad High School Troubadours singing our state song, "O' Fair New Mexico." They sang all verses, capturing the feeling and vision of the sheriff's blind daughter Elizabeth, an accomplished pianist and vocalist.
Another highlight was the presence of Leon Metz, of El Paso, who wrote Garrett's biography, "Pat Garrett: The Story of a Western Lawman" in 1983. Metz ended his book with the comment that one can search the state and not find any monument to him other than his tombstone in Las Cruces.
Sen. Adair, who obtained funding for the statue from the state, said Metz's final comment inspired him to honor Garrett. Metz, now 81, said he was pleased to see his call to action come to pass almost 30 years later.
Following the ceremony, J.P. and Susannah Garret, historical researchers Mike Pitel and Bob Ross of Santa Fe and others visited the old Garrett home near Roswell where the Garretts and their many children lived while Pat was sheriff.
The home has fallen into disrepair. I had heard that but was surprised to see pictures of it. I expected a rambling, one-story, flat-roofed adobe, built to accommodate the Garrett's ever-growing family.
But instead, it is a two-story house of some size and complexity. I'm not sure if the structure can be saved but its restoration, renovation or rebuilding should be considered.
Garrett deserves it and so does Roswell, a city with many attributes to commend it. The community has much history and culture to promote. The home would make a fine museum to promote the history of Chaves County and its founders such as Joseph Lea, Charles Eddy, J.J. Hagerman and Garrett.
Roswell already has a corner on the UFO market. It should become a part of the Billy the Kid saga too.

000

In other Billy the Kid news, San Elizario, Texas, just down the river from El Paso unveiled a sculpture of Billy the Kid last Sunday. It is believed by some that the Kid sprung his friend Melquiades Segura out of jail at gunpoint one night in 1876, two years before the Lincoln County War.
Main Street businessman Al Borrego says the jail and the church are the two main reasons tourists visit San Elizario. So he talked his friend Guadalupe Jacquez Calderon into sculpting a statue of Billy to locate next to the jail.
Borrego is promoting a series of sculptures representing the history of the area. And he wanted to start with the most significant bit of history.
San Elizario also has some other significant, if less known, history. This was the location where Don Juan de Onate crossed the Rio Grande in the spring of 1598 with 400 soldiers, families and other settlers and 5,000 cattle and sheep.
After getting safely across, Onate stopped to give thanks for the safe crossing.
If Onate stopped immediately, which he probably did, the location definitely was in Texas, at or near, San Elizario. Had he traveled a few miles north, he would have been in New Mexico.
Our friends down in El Paso have fun claiming that this was the sight of the first Thanksgiving in what is now the United States.

4-9 Women in NM Politics

40912 Women
SANTA FE – In our continuing coverage of New Mexico's centennial year, we focus today on women in New Mexico politics.
For the first 10 years of statehood, New Mexico had no women in politics. During that period we were the only state west of the Mississippi not to allow women to vote except for education officials. But with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, that changed and women began making up for lost time.
In 1922, two women were elected to statewide office and one to the state House of Representatives. In addition, Adelina "Nina" Otero Warren won the Republican nomination to Congress but was defeated in the general election.
Soledad Chavez de Chacon was elected secretary of state in 1922. She was the nation's first woman to hold this high public office, which is second in the line of succession to the governor. In 1924, Gov. Jim Hinkle decided to attend the Republican National Convention. The lieutenant governor unexpectedly died before Hinkle departed.
That meant Chacon would be governor for two weeks. A major battle erupted over whether a woman could handle the job. Chacon martialed her forces and prevailed. Nearly 90 years later, when Susana Martinez became the state's first woman governor, a few people with good memories, contended that Martinez is only second.
Also in 1922, Elizabeth Echols was elected state Superintendent of Public Instruction. That office became appointive many years later. And in 1922, Bertha Paxton was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives.
Otero Warren had lost her attempt at Congress in 1922, but Georgia Lusk won a brutal seven-way Democratic primary in 1946 to go to the U.S. House for one term. Lusk also was elected state school superintendent on multiple occasions.
It wasn't until 1998 that Heather Wilson became New Mexico's second woman in the U.S. House. She was elected four more times before vacating her seat to run for the U.S. Senate. She lost that one but is making another attempt this year. If successful, she will be New Mexico's first woman U.S. senator.
In 1928, Louise Coe became New Mexico's first state senator. By the time she left to unsuccessfully run for Congress in 1940, she had served six years as Senate president pro tem, a post that no other woman has held since.
Patricia Madrid became the first and only female attorney general in 1999. Diane Denish became the first female lieutenant governor in 2002. Both Madrid and Denish have been powers in the Democratic Party for many years and had previously secured their party's nominations for top offices.
No woman has ever been elected state auditor, treasurer or land commissioner. No woman was ever elected to the state Corporation Commission while it existed. Two women – Linda Lovejoy and E. Shirley Baca -- have been elected to the Public Regulation Commission since it was created as five districts in the 1990s.
When Susana Martinez and Diane Denish ran against each other in 2010, they were the first women ever nominated by their parties for the office of governor.
New Mexico does not have an outstanding record for nominating or electing women to public office. Most of the states west of the Mississippi have much better records. It is a tribute to the strength of those who did succeed. In the 1990s, the top five state officials in Arizona were women. Four of them were Republicans. Attorney General Janet Napolitano was the lone Democrat.
Maybe it is because New Mexico has such a long history that it is more bound by tradition. We can only hope that having women nominated for governor by both of their parties is a sign of some changed thinking.
Tradition also may explain why all our secretaries of state since 1922 have been women. That is not particularly common. A few men have run in party primaries but none have done well.

4-6 Gov. Martinez Slipping out of Veepstakes

40612 Gov
SANTA FE – Considerable discussion still revolves around Gov. Susana Martinez as a running mate for the GOP presidential nominee. But most of that discussion is now occurring in New Mexico.
Gov. Martinez still seems to be making good moves. She is following the Republican playbook but isn't causing the fuss that many other newly elected Republican governors are.
Martinez got some good publicity in Arizona recently when she graciously greeted President Barack Obama at the Roswell airport on the way to an appearance at Maljamar.
It may be that the Republican establishment didn't care for the warm welcome but an Arizona newspaper offered that it was pleasant to see our president treated in a civil manner rather than a finger-shaking diatribe.
When Obama visited Arizona recently, Gov. Jan Brewer was caught on camera giving him what appeared to be a dressing down. The act was said to have enhanced her new autobiography "Scorpions for Breakfast."
Despite some good political moves by Gov. Martinez, the talk in Washington seems to be turning toward finding an established heavyweight vice-presidential candidate to help their badly battered presidential nominee.
With all the snarly television ads the candidates are making about each other, Democrats will have ready-made ammunition for use in the fall. None of the candidates will choose one of their current competitors as Obama did four years ago.
Thus national Republican leaders are said to be trying to interest people who already have withdrawn from the race or who decided not to get in at all. Those include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
While Gov. Martinez is making some good political moves, she has had some missteps too. The 25-year State Fair racing bid award to a company that was behind in its current contract payments has many wondering what happened.
Then there are the campaign promises Martinez made that her administration would be much more transparent than that of former Gov. Bill Richardson. Numerous media complaints allege that the Martinez administration is just as bad.
And then there are the changes at the state Tourism Department, which have many communities in an uproar. Gov. Martinez hired Monique Jacobson at the top of the cabinet secretary pay scale to bring a perspective from the out-of-state private sector.
Jacobson's philosophy is to focus on providing service to potential tourists rather than helping out the state's tourism industry.
It is obvious which group is going to make more noise. Potential tourists, who don't choose to come to New Mexico, won't blame our governor. They just won't come. Their voice will be heard in tourism statistics yet to be released.
But New Mexicans in the tourism business – hotels, restaurants, visitors' bureaus, etc., are squealing.
Jacobson's idea, and apparently the industry standard, is to attract younger people who are interested in an active and adventurous vacation. Since I have heard this from people in the restaurant, entertainment and news business, I will accept that it is the industry standard.
That means I am out of touch. But I can tell you that I am spending a great deal more money traveling now than when I was younger. We couldn't afford to go anywhere back then.
Roswell, one of Martinez's best performing areas in the last election, is complaining that only two of the 13 events it requested to appear in the state's 2012 Vacation Guide made it into print.
City Councilman Dusty Huckabee notes that while Roswell received only minimal coverage, Taos Ski Valley was featured. When Tourism Secretary Jacobson was appointed, she stressed that she had grown up in Taos and that her family built and still operates the ski run.
The two events mentioned for Roswell were the UFO Festival and a 4-on-4 flag football tournament. Football and skiing do fit the goal of featuring activities for young tourists.
And you can't ignore UFOs.

40612 Gov

     SANTA FE – Considerable discussion still revolves around Gov. Susana Martinez as a running mate for the GOP presidential nominee. But most of that discussion is now occurring in New Mexico.

     Gov. Martinez still seems to be making good moves. She is following the Republican playbook but isn't causing the fuss that many other newly elected Republican governors are.

     Martinez got some good publicity in Arizona recently when she graciously greeted President Barack Obama at the Roswell airport on the way to an appearance at Maljamar.

     It may be that the Republican establishment didn't care for the warm welcome but an Arizona newspaper offered that it was pleasant to see our president treated in a civil manner rather than a finger-shaking diatribe.

     When Obama visited Arizona recently, Gov. Jan Brewer was caught on camera giving him what appeared to be a dressing down. The act was said to have enhanced her new autobiography "Scorpions for Breakfast."

     Despite some good political moves by Gov. Martinez, the talk in Washington seems to be turning toward finding an established heavyweight vice-presidential candidate to help their badly battered presidential nominee.

     With all the snarly television ads the candidates are making about each other, Democrats will have ready-made ammunition for use in the fall. None of the candidates will choose one of their current competitors as Obama did four years ago.

     Thus national Republican leaders are said to be trying to interest people who already have withdrawn from the race or who decided not to get in at all. Those include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

     While Gov. Martinez is making some good political moves, she has had some missteps too. The 25-year State Fair racing bid award to a company that was behind in its current contract payments has many wondering what happened.

     Then there are the campaign promises Martinez made that her administration would be much more transparent than that of former Gov. Bill Richardson. Numerous media complaints allege that the Martinez administration is just as bad.

     And then there are the changes at the state Tourism Department, which have many communities in an uproar. Gov. Martinez hired Monique Jacobson at the top of the cabinet secretary pay scale to bring a perspective from the out-of-state private sector.

     Jacobson's philosophy is to focus on providing service to potential tourists rather than helping out the state's tourism industry.

     It is obvious which group is going to make more noise. Potential tourists, who don't choose to come to New Mexico, won't blame our governor. They just won't come. Their voice will be heard in tourism statistics yet to be released.

     But New Mexicans in the tourism business – hotels, restaurants, visitors' bureaus, etc., are squealing. 

     Jacobson's idea, and apparently the industry standard, is to attract younger people who are interested in an active and adventurous vacation. Since I have heard this from people in the restaurant, entertainment and news business, I will accept that it is the industry standard.

     That means I am out of touch. But I can tell you that I am spending a great deal more money traveling now than when I was younger. We couldn't afford to go anywhere back then.

     Roswell, one of Martinez's best performing areas in the last election, is complaining that only two of the 13 events it requested to appear in the state's 2012 Vacation Guide made it into print.

     City Councilman Dusty Huckabee notes that while Roswell received only minimal coverage, Taos Ski Valley was featured. When Tourism Secretary Jacobson was appointed, she stressed that she had grown up in Taos and that her family built and still operates the ski run.

     The two events mentioned for Roswell were the UFO Festival and a 4-on-4 flag football tournament. Football and skiing do fit the goal of featuring activities for young tourists.

     And you can't ignore UFOs.

There will be no column for Wed, 4--4

Back on the 6th