Chairman Yates,
Recently, you took a stand against conduct by one of our gubernatorial candidates that you determined to be dishonest. In a statement regarding the issue you said, "Republicans expect honesty in government. How likely is that result, if dishonesty in campaigning is tolerated in those we elect to run government?" While this is true, your conduct hardly reflects a commitment to honesty.
At the state party convention, you took no action against supporters of my primary opponent, Tom Mullins, when they circulated smear cards against against me which violated party rules, and as they lacked attribution, constituted a fourth degree felony under NM law. You then failed to follow state law in regards to the rounding of the vote total. Among those who knew what happened, your integrity failed.
Long before he resigned as San Juan County GOP Chair to more openly support my primary opponent and slander me publicly, Rod Montoya had been openly supporting my opponent. When we asked to meet with a representative of the Mullins campaign after he announced, he sent Montoya to speak on his behalf. When this was brought to your attention, you made the lame excuse that if a party official is supporting a candidate on "personal time" it does not violate the party rules of neutrality.
My opponent has also made deliberately false statements about me personally, and you have remained silent. According to the Albuquerque Journal, he even falsely claimed that I have never voted in New Mexico. He has publicly stated that I have "never held a real job." When Mullins made a statement to that effect on his blog, many veterans were deeply offended, and he was forced to constantly delete comments calling him out for this shameless attack. I can assure you that serving in combat with the United States Marine Corps in Fallujah was a real job!
It is time to speak out if you want to show that you are not just playing favorites and salvage your own integrity. If you believe that it is your role to police the conduct of candidates, please lead by example and join me in condemning Mullin's negative campaigning with false statements that threaten our ability to unseat Ben Ray Lujan. For the sake of the party, let us focus on how we can better meet the concerns of voters regarding jobs and the economy so that we can take back our state in November.
Sincerely,
Adam Kokesh
Proud Republican candidate to represent New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District
“Susana Martinez has been airing TV ads for weeks, so we take this with a grain of salt. When New Mexicans hear from both candidates, the choice will be clear. Diane Denish will be a different kind of Governor -- someone who stands up for regular families, while Susana Martinez is a failed prosecutor best-known for plea-bargaining drunk drivers and cutting deals with violent felons."
Martinez out polls Allen Weh 41 percent to 30. Doug Turner places third with 9 followed by Pete Domenici Jr. at 8 percent and Janice Arnold-Jones with 4. Undecided is at 8 percent. ...
We surveyed 771 likely primary voters by automatic phone calls with Dialing Services LLC of Roswell, making for a low margin of error of 3.53%. The results were scaled to reflect the demographic and geographic make-up of the state.
The results show Martinez ahead of Denish by 6 points, 49% to 43%. Denish beats each of the other Republican candidates in this portion of the poll, which has a margin of error of 2.7%.
The polling interviews were conducted from Sunday, May 23 to Wednesday, May 25.
U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today reported that the Senate gave final passage to legislation to honor the late Stewart Udall. The measure had already cleared the House of Representatives with the support of Representatives Martin Heinrich, Ben Ray Luján, and Harry Teague.
The bill, which is headed to the White House for President Obama’s signature, names the U.S. Department of Interior building in Washington, D.C. the “Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building.”
Stewart Udall, the father of U.S. Senator Tom Udall, was the Interior Secretary from 1961 to 1969, serving in the cabinets of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Stewart Udall died earlier this year.
“Stewart Udall was among our nation’s the most effective interior secretaries. He was an outstanding public servant and a lifelong advocate for our country’s public lands and waters. His legacy will live on in the landmark environmental laws he helped develop. So I am pleased that the building where he once proudly worked will bear his name,” said Bingaman, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
“Though quiet and humble, Secretary Udall’s impact was that of a giant, and his defense of our nation’s environment will remain immeasurable,” said Heinrich. “Thanks to Secretary Udall’s work, our national parks and public lands belong to every American and will remain a treasured part of our nation’s spirit for generations to come. Naming the Department of Interior building in Secretary Udall’s honor is a small, but significant way to acknowledge his legacy.”
“Naming the Department of Interior building after Secretary Stewart Udall’s is a fitting tribute to his work and his lasting contributions to our country,” said Luján. “It is an honor to join this effort to recognize Secretary Udall and his legacy.”
“Secretary Udall was one of the great champions of our environment and a great public servant. In New Mexico, his accomplishments live on as we continue to treasure and protect our public lands, wilderness and National Parks. I am pleased to be able to honor the legacy of one of the great champions of the environment in this way. The Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building will serve as a timeless reminder of his many achievements,” Teague said.
After receiving complaints from several Republicans regarding ads being run by two leading Republican gubernatorial candidates, Republican State Party Chairman, Harvey E. Yates, Jr., assembled a committee to examine the ads. Documents supporting their ads were requested from both Susana Martinez and Allen Weh. The documents were examined to determine whether the ads were truthful.
It was found that the documents furnished by the Susana Martinez reasonably supported her ad regarding Allen Weh’s earlier position on amnesty. However, it was found that the documents to which the committee was directed by Allen Weh did not reasonably support either his radio or TV ad.
In Mr. Weh’s ad he suggests that Ms. Martinez has not paid her taxes. No support for that was found in the documents. Mr. Weh’s ads imply that Ms. Martinez has misused public funds in a variety of ways. Yet, an examination of the documents not only did not substantiate that claim, the examination results suggest that Ms. Martinez has handled public funds properly. In short, the effort undertaken revealed that Mr. Weh’s recent radio and TV ads are misleading.
In regard to the above Chairman Yates stated the following: "Dishonesty in political advertising should not be tolerated in either party. I believe it to be quite unfortunate that one of the Republican gubernatorial candidates has issued ads which are so misleading. I note that when Mr. Weh accuses Ms. Martinez of failure to pay her taxes, this can be taken as suggesting possible felonious conduct on the part of Ms. Martinez. This suggestion by Mr. Weh, without clear evidence, is inappropriate."
Mr. Yates continued, "Republicans expect honesty in government. How likely is that result, if dishonesty in campaigning is tolerated in those we elect to run government?"
Instead of letting rank and file Republicans think and speak for themselves, which thankfully will occur on election day, a group of self-appointed party insiders has wrongly and inexplicably decided to give Susana Martinez a free pass when it comes to keeping her word about running a negative campaign.
The Chairman’s biased interference in a primary contest is harmful to the Republican Party and wrong for our state.
Sadly, they even deny the indisputable fact reported by the Albuquerque Journal and Las Cruces Sun-News today that Susana Martinez launched the first negative salvo in this race. They also directly contradict President George W. Bush’s White House position on immigration reform. Regretfully, they would not even meet with our campaign to hear our arguments.
Fortunately, rank and file Republicans – not party bosses and the media – will decide who wins this nomination, and we further believe their choice will be a successful businessman who has created jobs, not a career politician whose only real professional experience is as a government lawyer.
We stand by our ad’s accuracy. Mrs. Martinez’s multiple ads falsely accusing Allen Weh of supporting amnesty are fundamentally dishonest and misleading.
... Brian was "bad for Democrats and bad for New Mexico," the female voice went on to provide exaggerated, distorted and incorrect information about Colón. It touched on his tenure as DPNM Chair, the presidential caucus and other aspects of Colón's career. It was very nasty.
At one point it strongly suggested that Brian may have stolen money from Moving America Forward, the foundation that was set up to register minority voters for which Colón served as Treasurer. The voice rambled on using charged language, trying to paint Colón as a bumbler, a crook and a crony -- all of this most likely coming from the campaign of one of the other Democratic candidates for lt. governor.
Then, horror of horrors, it accused Colón of supporting marriage equality. In fact, Brian Colón has been on the record for some time as being supportive of marriage equality. Shocker.
Gov. Bill Richardson today announced his decision to suspend operations of the New Mexico Film Museum effective June 30, 2010 as a budget saving measure. The Museum was created by SB 701, the New Mexico Film Museum Act, during the 2003 Legislative Session.
“In this tight budget environment we have decided to suspend operations at the New Mexico Film Museum effective at the end of this fiscal year,” said Governor Bill Richardson. “While the Museum has hosted a number of screenings and educational events it is imperative that we concentrate our resources on the core mission of developing our film production industry, including supporting the local independent filmmaking community.”
Since its inception, the Film Museum has hosted a number of screenings of local filmmakers’ works, the annual African American Film Showcase, the Native American Film Showcase, screenings during the Santa Fe Film Festival, workshops, lectures and numerous other events,
While the Museum itself will suspend operations, the mission to serve New Mexico filmmakers will continue through the New Mexico State Film Office. Museum programming will continue in other Department of Cultural Affairs museum venues as funds become available.
“… We need a governor who understands that money doesn’t grow on trees.”
WHEREAS, Dennis Hopper is a world-renowned and legendary actor, director, writer, and filmmaker who has appeared in nearly 200 films and television shows for six decades; and
Whereas, Dennis Hopper has shared the screen with fellow Hollywood acting legends including Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean; and
WHEREAS, Dennis Hopper received critical recognition and won prestigious awards for his work in Easy Rider, Hoosiers, and Blue Velvet, and was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay for Easy Rider in 1970, and for Best Supporting Actor in 1987 for his performance in Hoosiers; and
WHEREAS, Dennis Hopper is known best by many for his highly successful independent film, Easy Rider, in which he starred, wrote and directed. His success in this endeavor helped pave the way for independent filmmaking; and
WHEREAS, Easy Rider was filmed in New Mexico in 1968; and since that time, Dennis Hopper has been at the helm of several film productions in New Mexico, including the recent Starz Network hit-series, Crash; and
WHEREAS, Dennis Hopper is also a prolific photographer, painter, and sculptor in fine arts, pop arts, and abstract expressionism, with his works being exhibited worldwide, including the recent showing at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos; and
WHEREAS, for four decades, Dennis Hopper has been a resident of
WHEREAS, Dennis Hopper is a friend, supporter and advocate of Native Peoples in New Mexico and supports the State’s rich cultural diversity; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting and an honor that the State of New Mexico extends appropriate recognition and deep appreciation to Dennis Hopper, a cultural icon and friend to many, for his artistic and cultural contributions to our State and to the entire world;
NOW, THEREFORE I, Bill Richardson, Governor of the State of
“Dennis Hopper Day”
throughout the State of
17th day of February, 2010.
Mary Herrera Witness my hand and the Great Seal
Bill Richardson
Governor
Recent Scandal: New Mexico has a long history of public corruption (see: New Mexico state treasurers), and one of the more interesting characters to arise from its history is Manny Aragon. Aragon was a senator for the state for 29 years, but his legacy was marred in 2008 when he pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy and mail fraud related to a plan to steal $4.4 million from the state during the construction of the Albuquerque metro courthouse. He was sentenced to more than five years in prison and ordered to pay a $750,000 fine and $649,000 in restitution.
Four months later, I guess he thought it through. He released such a list today.
It's a weekend and I'm on vacation, so I really have no business blogging here. But this letter of resignation from Rod Montoya, 2nd vice chairman of the state Republican Party, caught my eye.To Chairman Yates and the New Mexico Republican Party,
I regret to inform you that I am stepping down from my position in party leadership. I am unable to stand by any longer as Adam Kokesh, candidate for Congress in the third congressional district, continues to mislead Republican voters.
Mr. Kokesh has spent the last year re-making himself as a mainstream Republican with conservative values. Anyone who was paying attention to Mr. Kokesh’s rhetoric from the beginning, or has bothered to ‘Google’ him on the internet, knows that this is not the case.
Adam has made much political hay about his military service. To be honest; it is probably his only real qualification to run for Congress. Since returning from his second voluntary deployment to the Middle East, he has become a professional war protestor. He has even gone so far as to encourage soldiers to “consider the constitutionality of their deployment orders”, in other words, if you think your orders to go to Iraq or Afghanistan are unconstitutional they should not be followed. He told soldiers in Germany getting ready to deploy that if they wanted to desert, they would be assisted by his organization. - - Isn’t sedition still against the law?
This action, as well as dozens of others were documented and proudly promoted on ‘YouTube’ by Mr. Kokesh himself. However, many of his most outrageous acts have been removed from the internet once they became a negative in his race for Congress. Interestingly enough, the video of Adam disrupting the 2008 GOP acceptance speech of John McCain is still available for your viewing.
I went to Santa Fe last year to meet personally with Mr. Kokesh when his decision to run for office was made public. At that meeting he described to me his “libertarian belief” of self-ownership. He said that “since I own this body, no one can tell me what I can ingest, intake, inhale, imbibe, or inject into it”. This included heroin, cocaine, and meth.
His support of abortion, gay marriage, and legal prostitution were also covered by this belief. Mr. Kokesh is now saying whatever it takes to win the Republican primary. It’s not hard to guess where he will stand on the issues, when the election is over.
I have also been very frustrated, along with most of the other County Chairmen, by the unwillingness of several candidates running for governor to honestly assess their chances of winning. Unfortunately they seem to be driven more by personal ambition than what is good for the state and for their party. There have been far too many politicians, in recent history, who have taken this road and look were it has led us all - to the brink of socialism and bankruptcy!
In Republican primaries everywhere the argument between campaign supporters revolves around 2 issues, a candidates electability and their conservative values. It just so happens that in this year’s governor’s race, Susana Martinez is both the most electable and the most conservative. She has proven this in four previous elections for District Attorney, in a heavily Democrat county.
She brings Dona Ana County into play; no other Republican candidate does this. Last year’s municipal elections in Las Cruces were a clean sweep for Democrats. We must acknowledge that the Democrat Party believes Susana to be the biggest threat to their power.
Susana is exactly what our party and our state need at this time, I believe this and most of the county parties’ leadership believes this, just look back to the state pre-primary convention results.
It is now my understanding that one of our gubernatorial candidates is planning on submitting legislation that would do away with pre-primary conventions in the future. As you know, this process attracts hundreds of Republican volunteers and motivates people to get involved in the process. I guess if you don’t like the volunteer barometer, you just get rid of it and further remove the grassroots from the party.
As you know, I have worked to grow the role of grass-roots and county party leadership within state party politics. I have also worked to develop relationships between county party chairmen, and I have made it my personal goal to increase Hispanic participation in the Republican Party in general.
Because of this, I do not take my actions lightly or without careful consideration, but I am unwilling to just sit back and hope that the voters (in my sphere of influence) see through the smoke screen of misrepresentation and slick advertising.
However, I want to make it clear that I am not going to work for any one candidate, but I plan on informing the voters of specific candidate misrepresentations, I am going to personally support several candidates that I believe in, and continue my efforts to expand the participation of Hispanics in the party.
So, it is with much sadness that I respectfully submit my resignation at this time.
Rod Montoya - Party Activist, Reagan Conservative, and Concerned Citizen
What about the idea of increasing security by means of a border wall?
"I have never been supportive of the wall," he replied. "A 10-foot wall [just] requires an 11-foot ladder."
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