10.15.2013

This Week's Poll: Republican Issues

Albuquerque - A recent CBS News poll indicates Republicans are losing the 'blame game' with 44% of Americans assigning responsibility to them for the federal government shutdown. President Obama and Congressional Democrats were viewed as the responsible party by 35% of Americans. While some Republicans are alarmed by this and are seeking opportunities to tuck tail and run towards Democratic appeasement, others are standing firm on principle and asking tough questions for Democrat and Republican leadership to answer. We arrived at the currently bleak economic condition via bipartisan collaboration with our representatives blindly following leadership's misguided band-aid solutions and political horse trades. This week I ask politicos what are the best issues for Republicans to advocate for in the lead up to the election in a little more than a year away. You may vote for multiple answers, I will share the results on New Mexico Politico Radio and Podcast this Sunday.

10.14.2013

Assistant DA, GOP Chairman, Liberty Advocate Announces U.S. Senate Candidacy

Las Cruces -  Doña Ana Republican Party Chairman and Assistant District Attorney David Clements is expected to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate early Tuesday. Clements will challenge incumbent New Mexico Democrat Tom Udall who was elected to the Senate in 2008. Clements resides in Las Cruces with his wife Erin and son Roland. Clements states in a press release, "With our government's refusal to live within its means, we have a 17 trillion dollar debt and are on the brink of economic ruin. And with Washington, D.C. unable to escape the reality of its continued failures, an all out assault on our economic and civil liberties has begun." Clements is a rising star in the New Mexico Republican Party and a prominent leader from the growing 'Liberty' movement within the party. 

David, Roland and Erin Clements
Clements at 33 has spent the past two months traveling across the state meeting with grassroots leadership, college students, and members of the Republican Party of New Mexico's State Central Committee discussing the issues and solutions that New Mexicans are concerned about. Clements takes an early shot at Udall in the press release, "As an attorney, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution---an oath I take seriously. Career politicians like Senator Udall have disregarded that same oath and have created a culture of dependency in New Mexico," he continues, "By restraining the federal government, we empower people to look within themselves to create opportunity and achieve greatness. I grew up in a lower-class family, and am still fighting for the American dream. I'm tired of Washington D.C. elites taking our hard earned money, and trying to convince us that we are helpless without their involvement in every aspect of our lives. Enough is enough.” 

Clements, a constitutional conservative and liberty advocate, is the only New Mexico republican to formally enter the 2014 U.S. Senate race. Former gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh, Alamogordo Mayor Susie Galea, and former Democratic state legislator Robert Aragon have also expressed interest in entering the race. Senator Udall is rated as one of the safest Democratic seats in the nation. Clements has an arduous path to the Capitol but I am reminded of the overused politico shop talk quip, 'in politics, timing is everything.' Congressional approval is tanking and Americans are growing more skeptical of the political & corporate establishment that influence$ the horse trader$ we send to Washington. 

Polished shades of incumbency or a long political career are appearing to be vulnerabilities in 2014. Polls and coffee shop conversations are indicating a national mood shifting towards a libertarian approach. Politicos nationwide have articulated the need of fresh faces and messaging for a ssuccessful courtship of independent and younger voters. The GOP has failed to garner significant support from said voters in recent years, the same voters who eluded more conventional establishment GOP candidates in 2012. If the Republican party is serious about making positive inroads with independent minded voters, they must change who they nominate for higher office. 

Clements is another shot of liberty for New Mexico (remember Gary Johnson?) and U.S. politics (Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Justin Amash). A shot that is needed to fight the dystopian disease spread by snakes of surveillance and Goliaths of ubiquitous government. 

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." - Samuel Adams

Disclosure Statement: David Clements and I serve together on the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Mexico's Executive Committee and have recently discussed his potential Senate candidacy, he's a friend and a friend of liberty. 

View Clements press release below.

10.09.2013

Furloughs loom at Los Alamos and Sandia national labs

New Mexico Watchdog - Two major national labs based in New Mexico have so far avoided the brunt of the partial government shutdown that, by estimates, has affected 17 percent of the federal budget. But absent a deal on Capitol Hill, it appears as though it will only be a matter of days before workers at the Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque and the Los Alamos National Laboratory are furloughed.

The director and president at Sandia, Paul Hommert, wrote to lab employees Tuesday informing them the facility is preparing for a “safe, secure and orderly shutdown” by the close of business Oct. 21. In the memo, Hommert says the decision comes at the direction of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the federal entity that oversees nuclear security at U.S. government sites across the country, including Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Hommert’s letter does not mention how many of the 9,800 employees at Sandia would be furloughed. As for LANL, no date has been set for potential furloughs of about 10,000 employees, contractors, security personnel, students and post-doctoral candidates. “As of right now, all Los Alamos employees are reporting to work as normal,” LANL spokesman Fred DeSousa told New Mexico Watchdog on Wednesday morning. Read more news...

Who's to blame for government shutdown? Vote in poll

A week has passed by and the U.S. Federal Government is still shutdown. A cacophony of accusations and exchange of bovine excrement has dominated the negotiations between House Republican leadership and President Obama's Senate Democratic leadership. Republicans want to delay and defund the controversial Affordable Care Act of 2010 also known as Obamacare and are using this as leverage in the current budget process. Democrats refuse to negotiate on this point since the legislation has been approved by Congress, deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court, and President Obama was resoundingly reelected last year thus equating it as a mandate of approval from the American people. While the shutdown has been reported as a draconian reminder of our current dysfunctional political process responsible for crippling the country, only 17% of the actual government is shutdown. Politicians and media continue to use fear mongering as a tool to push 'Chicken Little' voters to push Republicans into a corner of consent. Chicken Little knows a band-aid and rubbing alcohol aren't going to patch up the deep wound that is our economic depression and a budget that only makes it worse. The sky fell along time ago and 'Chicken Little's' across the country are beginning to realize this. We ask our politicos this week "Who shares the most responsibility for the U.S. Federal Government shutdown?" Please vote in our weekly non-scientific poll and send me your comments at ahd@newmexicopolitico.com

10.08.2013

Mayor Berry projected to win re-election

Richard Berry
Albuquerque - KOB Eyewitness News 4 projected earlier Tuesday evening that Albuquerque mayor Richard Berry will win re-election. Unofficial results show Berry with a commanding 73%-25% lead over Pete Dinelli. Paul Heh currently has 2% of the vote. The current totals are from early and absentee votes. These votes represent approximately 40 percent of the total number of votes estimated to have been cast in this year's election. You can keep updated on official results here.



View Democrat challenger Pete Dinelli's concession speech below.               
  

New Mexico Politicos