Tuesday, January 15, 2008First TV Of Campaign Comes From Pearce, Plus: Pete Goes For McCain; Di For Hill, And: Opening Day At The Roundhouse![]() Pearce, 60, needs the early tube time. He has little name ID in the big ABQ market where over a third of the GOP vote will come from. He remains vulnerable to being defined negatively by Wilson. By beating her to the punch on the airwaves, Pearce should have some protection from any early Heather hits. No word on the size of the Pearce TV buy. If you're a political junkie 2008 is your Super Bowl--three open congressional seats and a US senate seat to boot. You better stop by Best Buy and get fixed up with one of those big digital, flat-screen TV's. You're gonna need it. PETE PICKS A PREZ The man Pearce and Wilson are working to replace, NM GOP US Senator Pete Domenici, was also making news Monday. The 75 year old lawmaker endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain for the GOP presidential nomination. Yeah, it was kind of surprising as Pete and McCain have battled each other over the years. In his endorsement of the 71 year old McCain, Pete repudiated his earlier skepticism of the Iraq war, saying: ...Despite my own personal misgivings last year, Sen. McCain was, and continues to be, right on the American military surge in Iraq and the strategy outlined by General David Petraeus. John displayed the kind of courage and consistency a president must have. Pete's endorsement won't do McCain much good in NM. The GOP primary here is June 3. Unless a rarity occurs, the nomination battle will have been settled by then. So why is Pete endorsing McCain? Maybe he is feeling liberated by not having to seek re-election. Last week he endorsed Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White in the ABQ congressional race, and later in the campaign season insiders expect him to come out for Heather Wilson. One sidelight: Domenici did not endorse fellow Italian-American Rudy Giuliani, the presidential candidate that White has endorsed. TO CAUCUS OR NOT ![]() Still, the Dem caucus will go on. We have no recent polling on the race here, but Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish has made her endorsement of Hillary Clinton official. She said: I am standing with Hillary Clinton because she will fight every day she is in the White House for our families and children. She is the candidate with the heart, record and experience to bring about the change we need." But it's a new political day for Lady Di. State GOP executive director Adam Feldman didn't let the state's #2, an announced 2010 Dem Guv candidate, go unanswered. “It’s no surprise that Denish endorsed Clinton--they’re cut from the same mold. Both believe in taking more money from taxpayers to expand government control...Both believe in government-run health care systems that would bust our budget and put medical decisions in the hands of a large government bureaucracy...(They are) two very liberal peas in a pod…” YET ANOTHER ![]() Down south, restaurant executive Ed Tinsley is releasing his campaign finance report for the fourth quarter of '07 a couple of weeks early because he thinks it positions him well. Tinsley says he has raised $300,000 so far--none of it his own money. When he announced his bid, he told me he would be willing to spend a couple of hundred thousand of his own cash. Financial reports for the federal candidates are due at the end of the month. Let's steer it back north and drop in on GOP US House candidate Marco Gonzales. You have to give the former Domenici legislative aide and attorney credit for toughing it out. He made an announcement visit to Las Vegas, NM and drew only five spectators. The heavily Dem area is a tough climb for Gonzales, but he may be hitting the right tone on the Iraq war for the big D district. “I think the war has been mismanaged and misguided, and I think getting rid of (Defense Secretary) Rumsfeld was the right thing to do. I want peace, and I would like to see our troops come home as soon as is practicable." Marco doesn't really say much there, but he is a Republican with a markedly different tone as he battles for Dem support. His old boss Domenici sounded similar in July when he "broke" with the White House, but now is back in the fold after his Monday endorsement of hard-core war supporter McCain. OPENING DAY ![]() With his prez campaign over, the Guv was being described as bored and ready for the legislative action. They called singer James Brown "the hardest working man in show business." If they had such an award for Governors, Bill would be a heavy favorite to win. He loves the game---at any level. E-mail your news and comments. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2008 Not for reproduction without permission of the author |
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