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10:34am -- Richardson Keeps Going...And going.... |
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Written by Michael Coleman
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Saturday, 05 January 2008 |
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I am in Keene, N.H. this morning, a picturesque little New England town where Gov. Bill Richardson is expected to lead a noontime get out the vote rally. Richardson had a well-attended meet-and greet in Keene last summer. We'll see how many of those folks show up today. Driving into Keene, one of New Hampshire's larger populations centers, Richardson has an impressive presence. Lots and lots of attractive political signs dotting the roadsides, and his camp has also commandeered the town square, where Richardson will exhort his followers. I just walked by and U2's "With or Without You" was pumping from the speakers onstage. Hmmm. I've got more to blog after the rally. Coincidentally, this is also where Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., grew up. Her brother runs a music store on the main drag. It's the kind of town where just about every business is a mom-and-pop-type place. There's a small college and a couple of coffeehouses that serve up strong java and cool music. Thanks for the free wi-fi, Brewbakers. ---------- Richardson didn't dazzle at last night's debate from Manchester, N.H., but he held his own and he earned the biggest laugh of the contest with a zinger directed at the quarelling three front-runners. "I've been in hostage negotiations that were a lot more civil than this," Richardson quipped, drawing big guffaws in the packed press room. He went on to call for a more polite dialogue among the Democratic contenders, as he has throughout the campaign. "Let's stay positive - there will be plenty of time to get negative with the Republicans," Richardson implored. The hostage quip was probably Richardson's best in a campaign that has had more verbal blunders than memorable one-liners. It was exactly the kind of quick-on-your-feet moment that has helped propel Mike Huckabee from obscure former governor to front-runner. Richardson could have used a lot more of these moments, a lot sooner in the campaign. ------------------------------------------------------------------
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Iowa Dreamin' and Don Imus |
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Written by Jeff Jones
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Thursday, 12 July 2007 |
He’s running. We’re watching.
Keeping tabs on Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic presidential nomination …
IOWA DREAMIN’: The baseball fan and former college hurler did a little daydreaming Wednesday on the famous “Field of Dreams” movie site in Dyersville, Iowa.
The site features a baseball diamond surrounded by cornfields.
Richardson, who pitched a few balls and took a few swings there Wednesday, told The Associated Press that he’s seen “Field of Dreams” 18 times, and ranked it as his secondfavorite movie — behind “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.”
“I came here as a fan. I know I’m running for president, but I would have come here as a tourist,” Richardson told the AP. “I love the movie.”
IMUS AGAIN: Richardson’s use of a Spanish word that many consider to be a derogatory term for gays could be landing him in trouble with some members of that community — a group he has actively courted in his presidential campaign.
Several gay blogs — along with the L.A. Times and USA Today political blogs — have reported on the issue. It stems from a 2006 interview with Richardson on the now-canceled Don Imus radio show, in which the governor used the term maricón.
The banter went something like this: Imus said one of his staffers, Bernard, didn’t believe Richardson was Hispanic and asked Richardson if he would agree that Bernard was a maricón.
Richardson, speaking in Spanish, said he believed Bernard was a maricón if he didn’t think Richardson was Hispanic.
That term is considered a derogatory term for gay men: Gaynewswatch.com, which broke the story, likened it to the word “faggot.”
Richardson has a record as a supporter of gay rights: He has called repeatedly for a repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy concerning gays in the military and called for a special state legislative session earlier this year to deal in part with a domestic partners bill that ultimately did not pass.
In 2003, Richardson signed an executive order extending benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian state employees. That year, he also signed a hate crimes law that can tack additional prison time onto offenders’ sentences.
According to gaynewswatch.com, Richardson apologized if he had offended anyone with the remark on Imus but maintained that in the Spanish he grew up speaking, the term in question “means simply ‘gay,’ not positive or negative.”
According to that Web site, the Richardson statement also said that, “I would never knowingly say or do anything to hurt the (gay) community — a community that I have worked hard for and supported my entire career.”
THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BAD NEWS:
According to a national Newsweek poll, 81 percent of voters say they would cast their votes for a Hispanic candidate for president — someone like Bill Richardson, for instance — if that person won their party’s nomination.
However, the poll — detailed in an msnbc.com story by Brian Braiker — found only 39 percent of Americans actually feel the country is ready to elect a Hispanic president.
“More bad news for Richardson: despite his years of experience, only 25 percent of Americans feel he is ready for the job; 57 percent don’t know,” Braiker wrote.
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Written by Jeff Jones
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Wednesday, 11 July 2007 |
He’s running. We’re watching.
Keeping tabs on Gov. Bill Richardson as he seeks the Democratic presidential nomination …
KEEPIN’ THE HEAT ON:
Richardson in a recent e-mail to supporters continued to criticize President Bush for his decision to commute the prison sentence of former vice president’s chief of staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
“Every time I think George Bush and his administration have gone as far as they could, they sink to a new low,” Richardson said in a Friday email.
Bush recently commuted the 2 1/2-year sentence of Libby, who was convicted of lying and obstructing justice in an investigation concerning the leak of a CIA operative’s identity.
Bush has not ruled out a pardon for Libby, and Richardson in his e-mail included a letter to Bush urging him not to do that.
“ …If you want to preserve any of your credibility, you must not erase his crime completely,” Richardson wrote.
AND KEEPIN’ THE HEAT
ON: The New Mexico Republican Party, meanwhile, is accusing Richardson of hypocrisy on the Libby issue.
The party says Richardson’s campaign hit “a new low” when it criticized Bush for his handling of Libby.
The GOP points out that in 2004, Richardson commuted the life sentence of Janet Vigil, an Albuquerque woman convicted of killing her husband in 1988.
“Bill Richardson’s hypocrisy has hit a new low,” said Adam Feldman, the party’s executive director. “He commuted the sentence of a person convicted of 1st degree murder, and yet still has the nerve — and the arrogance, frankly — to criticize President Bush.”
A GOP news release pointed out that former Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican, had denied Vigil’s request for clemency.
IOWA — AND MUCH MORE: Richardson will campaign in 10 states over the next 16 days, including three trips to Iowa, according to his campaign.
Richardson was to be in Iowa on Tuesday and today for numerous campaign stops. After a quick evening visit to Cincinnati, he is scheduled to head to Detroit for a Thursday NAACP candidate forum.
On Friday, Richardson is to be in Reno, Nev., to open a campaign office there. He has stops planned later that day in Utah and California.
Richardson is to be back in New Mexico on Saturday for fundraising and then is scheduled to head to Chicago for a Sunday candidate forum.
He is scheduled to be campaigning in New Hampshire July 16-17 and is to be back in Iowa July 19-21.
On July 22, the governor is to take his road show back to South Carolina, where a presidential candidate debate is scheduled for July 23.
Richardson is then scheduled to be in Iowa July 24-25.
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