Morning Word, 06-02-12

The New Mexico news recap

Morning Word

By Matthew Reichbach

No, it isn't Wednesday yet. Tomorrow night, it will all be over. Well, until November.

How fast are things changing?

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Of the stories I bookmarked for inclusion here on Friday or Saturday, fully 3/4 of them are now obsolete.

And today will likely be an even more busy day in the world of politics, but not necessarily in things that are visible in campaigns.

Campaigns will be looking to convince the undecided vote that is left to vote for them. GOTV plans will be went over again. Campaigns will ready themselves for a long Tuesday.

Meanwhile, it is too late for TV ads, mailers and the such to have any sort of effect on the votes. And since early voting ended on Saturday, Tuesday is the main event.

We'll all be watching.

On to the Word:

  • Oh, the saga of the Reform New Mexico Now PAC. First came the news that Reform New Mexico Now PAC was
  • getting involved in Democratic primaries
  • . Then came the Democratic backlash, with Democrats
  • taking aim at the PAC
  • and criticizing the PAC, with extensive ties to Republicans including Gov. Susana Martinez, for getting involved in Democratic primaries.
  • After a District Court ruling, Secretary of State Dianna Duran was
  • forced to release matching funds
  • for publicly funded candidates. Another example of egg on the face of the SOS.
  • A quick rundown of the coverage of the 1st Congressional District race. The progressive website In These Times says
  • things have turned ugly
  • in the race. Roll Call said the race
  • "has gone nuclear."
  • Sure the primary races are bad. But James Monteleone at the Albuquerque Journal says
  • the general election races will be even worse
  • .
  • But not the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate race. There was a debate on KOAT last night and the Martin Heinrich and Hector Balderas refrained from attacking each other, instead using their time on the air
  • to bash likely Republican candidate Heather Wilson
  • , the Albuquerque Journal reported.
  • Most of all, they were in lockstep in saying the former five-term congresswoman is not what New Mexico needs. Wilson is the wrong candidate, the Democrats said, if Washington is to revise priorities that put tax breaks for millionaires ahead of Medicare and Social Security recipients.
  • Rep. Anna Crook
  • doesn't like the tone of a Republican Senate primary
  • that Martinez has gotten involved in.
  • Over the last several weeks, the nastiness, misinformation, innuendo, slanderous mailings, robo calls and, in some cases, flat-out lies have created a toxic political environment the likes of which I have never seen before.
  • Martinez might be making some, if not enemies, at least very reluctant allies in the Republican caucuses.
  • Milan Simonich
  • has more on this race
  • .
  • A former sheriff's deputy is
  • a person of interest in a 30-year old hate crime
  • .
  • The Santa Fe New Mexican said there
  • could be some surprises tomorrow
  • .
  • The AP has
  • the latest on the wildfire raging in the Gila
  • .
  • The news has been slow on the Sunland Park front lately. That hasn't stopped
  • the Wall Street Journal from looking at the scandalous city
  • .
  • Steve Pearce says the Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire
  • is all because of Washington D.C.
  • .
  • . The biggest hindrance is the U.S. Forest Service bureaucracy in Washington, which caters to extreme interest groups that stop responsible forest management. Because the Forest Service refuses to permit logging in our forests, they are overcrowded with trees that go up in flames during droughts, and invite massive conflagrations like we see in the Gila. It would be far easier to thin the forest conscientiously in advance than resort to emergency fire suppression, which risks lives and property.
  • Jim Baca
  • doesn't exactly go out on a limb
  • .
  • The congressional race is a toss up! I have no idea who might win that one. Either Eric Griego, who squandered a big lead with bad TV and media, or Michelle Grisham Lujan who surged based on good TV and media. Marty Chavez will join me on the dustbin of New Mexico political history.
  • Baca also predicts that Heinrich will beat Balderas.
  • Nearly 7,000 mourners attended the memorial for Albuquerque boxing legend Johnny Tapia last night. Here's the
  • Albuquerque Journal story
  • and here's the
  • Santa Fe New Mexican story
  • .
  • Federal officials and strippers
  • are combining to raise awareness about sex trafficking
  • .

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