Phone call from my daughter

I just got off the phone with my daughter who has been working in NH for the past week for Bill Richardson. She was taking brake from holding a Richardson sign outside a polling location. She told me yesterday she worked on lit drops, then made calls, then did signs until the wee hours of the morning. She was at her polling location when the polls opened. Good daughter that she is, she called and checked in with her mom. Now, she said, she is going to find a place on the floor to take a nap.

I hope Richardson does well today! Richardson might not have the big bucks or the media attention he deserves, but he has the experience to lead. I hope the good people of New Hampshire vote for the best candidate -- Governor Bill Richardson.

After Iowa, now New Hampshire

Yes, the Iowa results were not what I had hoped. But the Governor is still in the race. In many of the caucuses, Richardson was one or two people shy from the 15% needed for "viability". In New Hampshire, a vote is a vote, without the 15% rule.

Richardson is still the best candidate out there. He has the experience and skills we desperately need. He has the policy positions we need too -- such as ending the war, improving education, getting us affordable health care, and protecting the environment.

There are three things we can do to help Richardson build momentum and do well in New Hampshire. First, you can donate to the campaign. Second, if it is at all possible, you can volunteer in New Hampshire. (My daughter is there right now.) And third, you can make calls for Richardson. If you are interested in doing either of the last two, call the NH headquarters at (603) 657-7384. We can make this happen and have an incredible President of the United States.

Richardson on tv

Tomorrow, Sunday, Bill Richardson will be on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. I encourage you to watch if you are able.

Jefferon-Jackson and Veteran's Day

"America has to become not the policeman of the world, but the conscience of the world."

At the recent Iowa Jefferson-Jackson dinner, the candidates had the chance to present themselves. Richardson pledged to bring the troops home from Iraq within a year, not by 2013. And with his diplomatic experience, he's the one who would know how to do it!

The Governor spoke with compassion for the soldiers who are in constant danger and developing PTSD. He expressed a disgust with the position that waterboarding is not torture, noting the shame that four Democratic senators running for President did not vote against the appointment of Judge Mukasey.

Watch his speech here:



Notably, Bill Richardson also said, "It is not okay for Democrats to tear each other down," calling for a positive campaign with constructive criticisms but without smears or unnecessary attacks.

Another (shorter) video worth a watch, and very worth sharing, is his new ad highlighting his commitment and incredible diplomatic powers. What a contrast with our current President, to have gone and saved Americans from Saddam Hussein by diplomacy!

busy, busy

Once again, life intervened and I haven't been posting as often as I would like. But there are only 24 hours in a day. That hasn't limited my enthusiasm for Bill Richardson. I have been talking to all kinds of folks and I think the energy is growing in his favor. One of my friends even took off his Edwards bumper sticker the other day and put on a Richardson one!

Please continue to talk to our friends, loved ones, acquaintances, and folks we meet on the street. Richardson is the best candidate out there from any party and we need him to get the nomination!

The Richardson Surge

I urge everyone to read this article from The Nation about my candidate of choice "The Richardson Surge"

I have to quote just a bit:

Richardson has refused to play his assigned role, and with an unexpectedly resolute antiwar stance and a freewheeling campaign style that distinguishes him from the field's punch-pulling frontrunners, he is the first member of the race's "also-ran" pack to elbow his way from the margin of error to the verge of serious competition.

Richardson rocks!

On a related note, in order to keep Richardson surging, he needs our money. The end of the quarter is coming up, and every dollar will be significant. Please, even if it is only a few dollars, give what you can!

Thanks.

Reactions to the Univision Debate

On Sunday's Univision debate, the candidates addressed millions of Hispanic voters. However, they did it through translators. In fact, Richardson had to do it through a translator too. I've blogged about this before. But it is silly that a translator is needed when speaks both languages. Richardson was the first to sign on to the debate, and at that time, there wasn't an English-only rule. But in order to woo the rock-stars, the rules were changed. And the Governor was not happy. "“I’m disappointed today that 43 million Latinos in this country, for them not to hear one of their own speak Spanish is unfortunate," he said.

Richardson and I aren't the only ones who were disappointed in the rules. As Ruben Navarrette Jr. wrote in his commentary for CNN:

Univision had prohibited the two candidates who speak fluent Spanish -- Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd -- from answering questions in that language and insisted that all candidates answer the questions in English and have their answers translated into Spanish. Apparently, this was meant to level the bilingual playing field.

During the debate, Richardson called the network on its hypocrisy. Identifying himself as the first major Latino presidential candidate, he said it was unfortunate that Latinos in the United States couldn't "hear one of their own speak Spanish." Then Richardson accused Univision of promoting -- gasp! --"English-only."

Bravo. He's right. It was a dumb rule, obviously intended to prevent the monolingual front-runners -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards -- from being at a disadvantage.

But silly rules or not, even being cut off for speaking the language of his mother, Richardson still did a fabulous job. He reiterated the need to bring all the troops home from Iraq and to do so swiftly. He again spoke of the need to have comprehensive immigration reform. We need to have stronger border security. We need to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants. But we don't need a wall. A wall is a waste of money. As the governor says, "The wall is a horrendous example of what is wrong with our current approach to immigration reform. Congress only funded half of the wall. You know, if you build a 12-foot wall, people will get 13-foot ladders." And of course, Richardson reiterated the need to scrap No Child Left Behind.