Richardson and Native American affairs

There is a great article in today's Indian Country, "'Big Three' can learn much from Richardson". In it, the editors note that Bill Richardson already has a strong track record on Native American affairs, including government to government relations. He is proposing to have a cabinet level secretary of Indian Affairs. As they write:

Given his record, this is less lip service than intention. In 2005 he appointed Jemez Pueblo native Benny Shendo Jr. as New Mexico's first secretary of Indian Affairs. It is the only state in the country that has a cabinet secretary and a department of Indian Affairs. Spoken commitment followed by action is the key to winning the increasingly critical Native vote.

The article continues by pointing out that while Clinton, Obama, and Edwards are courting the Native American vote, none of them are planning on attending the Prez on the Rez debate.

It is important to note that while the leading candidates are reaching out to Indian country as campaign strategy, they will not appear at what may be the only forum focused solely on Indian issues. Prez on the Rez, an event sponsored by the Indigenous Democratic Network (INDN's List), is slated for Aug. 23 at the Morongo reservation in southern California. The forum places Democratic candidates squarely before Indian people to address their concerns. It is the first such forum to be held in Indian country, and leaders of all federally recognized tribes have been invited. The chance afforded to nearly every other group in America has finally materialized for Indian people. Not surprisingly, Richardson was the first to accept the invitation. Unfortunately, the ''Big Three'' won't attend due to scheduling conflicts. It is too bad. Each could benefit from the example set by Richardson, and by experiencing firsthand the strength of Indian leadership and the challenges they face in their communities.

Once again, Bill Richardson stands out on issues important to the country, and to Maine.

An Article and an Ad

This morning, the Boston Herald had a great column on Richardson. In part it reads:

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is on the rise from the second tier in the Democratic presidential race and former Sen. John Edwards is closing in on Barack Obama as front-runner Hillary Clinton’s strongest challenger.

That’s how I saw it in Monday’s dramatic new-age debate, televised by CNN with questions from ordinary citizens on YouTube. It’s an exciting format, with some questions offbeat and clever, others heartbreaking and poignant. And it brought out the best in Richardson. . .

The governor, who wants to be the first Hispanic president, appeared strong, empathetic and decisive as he addressed issues from the Iraq war and genocide in Darfur to No Child Left Behind.
Answering a moving plea for help from a woman in a Darfur refugee camp, Richardson said he had visited it, seen the desperation and pain there. He asserted passionately, “The answer here is caring about Africa” - about AIDS and poverty and massacres. He said the U.S. must do much more to pressure other nations in Africa and beyond for a more effective U.N. presence in Darfur.
Richardson doesn’t mince words. Asked whether No Child Left Behind (though many have been, in a badly run, underfunded effort) should be revised or scrapped, he quickly replied, “Scrap it!” It was badly conceived, he said, especially in its insistence on penalties for underperforming schools. “If a school isn’t doing well, we should help it,” he said.

He really was terrific in Monday's debate. I especially appreciated the Governor's answer to the question about same sex marriage. Instead of saying he is torn on the issue or that he thinks marriage is only between a man and a woman, he said he wants to accomplish what can be accomplished. That is, he wants to work towards civil unions, domestic partnership benefits, and anti-discrimination. Good answer!

Now for the ad... Many Mainers are veterans. I don't know the statistics off hand, but I am sure we are among the higher percentages of veterans in the country. As such, we are interested in how our service members are treated. I urge everyone to look at Richardson's new ad "Heroes"

Debate tonight!

I encourage everyone to watch the debate tonight! Just an advance warning, CNN has decided to put Clinton and Obama in the center again -- and will most likely give them the most airtime again. But, hopefully, Bill Richardson will have a chance to show his stuff.

Top Tier!

In case you haven't heard yet, Richardson is now in third place in New Hampshire! He just keeps moving up.

On another note, Forbes had a poll on the coldest candidates. Bill Richardson ranked the least cold out of all of them -- Republican and Democrat. I should note he tied with Obama on this scale. I am certainly not surprised that Richardson ranked the least cold -- he is so personable.

Yesterday in New Hampshire

Yesterday, I took a half day off of work and drove four hours south to Portsmouth, NH to see the Governor. He shook many, many hands in Portsmouth before going to a house party/ "job interview" in Dover -- which I also attended. Folks, he is such a genuinely nice guy. That is the biggest thing I came away thinking.

But I should let you know some other things he said which are really exciting. First of all, he kicked off his "Women for Richardson" group. With this, he added some initiatives which he will pursue once in the White House.

He said for Supreme Court nominations, he will come out and ask what the potential nominee thinks about Roe vs. Wade and whether it is settled law.

He wants to give caregivers a social security credit. This point is important because being a caregiver is one of the reasons that women get smaller social security checks than men. When someone leaves the workforce to care for a child or parent, they don't get credit for those years. Governor Richardson wants to rectify that inequity.

He wants to mandate that employers disclose pay statistics by gender, race, and job category, so that women can see if they are being treated fairly in the workplace. This too is major. Far too often, women are still being paid less than men who do the same work. But it is hard to find the data. With Richardson's proposal, we would have that data.

Of course, he also spoke about the war. Richardson has been outspoken about the need to withdraw our troops quickly. He pointed out that our troops are not preventing a civil war; there is already a civil war. He also would seek a diplomatic solution. With his diplomatic ability and experience, I think he has the best chance of being able to achieve a diplomatic solution.

Another point that I found interesting is Governor Richardson said he would support expanding public financing of elections. I think this is a very important issue and would urge everyone who reads this to check out the organization Just $6 (I do not know if the Governor supports their version of expanded public financing or not, but the organization is worth checking out regardless.)

What a great guy! As more people get to know him, I am sure they will agree.

He keeps coming up in the polls!

Two polls were just released of Democratic voters in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Richardson has reached 8% in Pennsylvania and 7% in Michigan. To some, this might seem low, but it wasn't all that long ago when Richardson polled too low to register. With this kind of upward trend, being number 1 is on its way!

Cool Shirt

Well, I've been looking for the perfect Bill Richardson shirt. I think I have it! Check it out...
It will not be the only Richardson shirt in my wardrobe. But until the campaign offers official ones on their website, unofficial will have to do.

What do you think?

NY Daily News Candidate Challenge

I just came across this article this morning. The NY Daily News asked the top 4 candidates from each party to answer a series of questions, mostly on foreign affairs (Iraq, Iran, and the US international standing). Richardson, of course, gives great answers and shows that he knows what he is talking about. While he could have given stump-speech quick answers, he instead gave clear and thoughtful answers to each question. I highly recommend everyone read this -- and read the responses of the other candidates as well. It is a perfect example of why I think Richardson is the best person for the job.