Martinez in Tampa

Primetime was downtime for the three major American broadcast networks when it came to Governor Susana Martinez. Not one of them--ABC, CBS or NBC--carried her eight minute speech to the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, leaving our Guv--the nation's first female Hispanic Governor--to tout her uniqueness on the cable networks. That drained the impact and drama of the speech that was presupposed on the eve of the speech by her supporters, her staff and the state's media (Transcript and video here). It also meant her moment in the sun was blacked out on the three major New Mexico network affiliates. They did give it extensive coverage on their late news broadcasts.

So what happened? A Senior Alligator said it was a marketing failure, that the content of Martinez's talk needed to be stronger:

Sarah Palin already worked the Sarah Palin angle. Nice effort on the part of (Martinez political adviser) Jay McCleskey to try a Latina version--even though there's no Hispanic and no woman on the ticket. It's all just a variation on what's becoming an increasingly worn out GOP theme: don't judge people based on how they look--but here's a few folks we'd like you to judge based on how they look. This crew really is that cynical... 

As for the speech itself and Susana's delivery,  reviews were generally favorable. The Guv started out with some butterflies in her stomach, but quickly found her footing. The WaPo's Chris Cilliza came with the kinder, gentler review, listing her among the evening's "winners" in Tampa:

Before tonight most people--including most Republicans--didn’t know much (if anything) about the New Mexico governor.  Martinez changed that--in a good way--with a down-to-earth delivery and ease in the moment that many politicians with much more experience on the national stage would rightly be jealous of.  In listening to Martinez, she struck us as the female equivalent of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie--very comfortable in her own skin and easily relatable to the average person.  The strength of Martinez’s speech was, for us, the most surprising thing about the night...

So was it it a single, a double, a home run? A double would seem about right. Veteran ABQ Journal reporter Michael Coleman seemed to have it in the same area of the ballpark, saying the speech "earned an appreciative if not rousing reception" inside the Tampa convention hall.

Dem analyst Harry Pavlides came with this analysis:

I thought it helped her cause with the Republicans on a national level. Down the line, if Romney were to win, they could look at her for a cabinet position. I was impressed with the speech, but then again I was impressed with Sarah Palin. I think if the national networks had covered her, it could have been a much bigger night for her.

An Alligator noted another reason Susana may have been shafted from the Big Three's primetime coverage:

Martinez really got the shaft being placed between Condolezza Rice and VP candidate Ryan. The TV commentators are only talking about them after Rice's powerful speech and Ryan's nomination speech.  The commentator aren't mentioning Martinez and her speech is being overlooked.  That will affect her ability to be memorable nationally, especially in '16.

Martinez's delivery of her speech--just before VP candidate Paul Ryan addressed the convention--was more than adequate and the Governor easily delivered lines she has given hundred of times before. But to a national audience drenched in "up by your boot straps political stories" it probably seemed interesting, but not compelling.

"It was more inspirational. It was not policy-oriented and thus there really was no news hook for the media," offered another of our Senior Alligators.

Martinez did boast of one policy accomplishment in her speech--or what she says is a policy coup. She told the convention:

I inherited the largest structural deficit in state history. And our legislature is controlled by Democrats. We don't always agree. But we came together--in a bi-partisan manner--and turned that deficit into a surplus, all without raising taxes.

We're going to be generous and not call Martinez's assertion a big lie. But the fact is that Governor Richardson raised taxes and slapped on a hiring freeze when confronted with dwindling revenues because of the recession. Martinez and the Legislature agreed to about $185 million in budget cuts in her first legislative session to bring the budget into balance. Hardly the biggest deficit ever, but Jay and Susana are going to keep repeating it it because her legislative cupboard is so bare.

Governor Martinez did a serviceable job in her speech. She did not hurt herself and it was a point of pride to see the New Mexico Governor getting the national spotlight, albeit not as bright as it could have been.

ME AND MY SHADOW

Leave it to New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan to get the pics you are dying to see. This one definitely makes the list. It's Governor Martinez with none other than "Shadow Governor" Jay McCleskey as they take in the Republican National Convention at Tampa.

The picture is courtesy of our Alligators on the scene keeping the look out for you.

Jay doesn't think he has earned the nickname "Shadow Governor" but to seasoned political observers--the Senior Alligators--he surely has. He wields more power than any previous gubernatorial adviser in memory. He has become a public figure for the divisive campaign he ran against Republican Senate candidate Pat Woods in Clovis in the June primary. Attack ads were run against him, not the Governor, and we should expect more hits from Jay and on him as we get into the meat of the New Mexican campaign season.

Our first exposure to him was back in 2003 in the ABQ city council election when he ran one of his bare knuckled campaigns which are today his trademark. He was all of 27. The next 10 years he more or less spent in the political wilderness bu then struck gold consulting Richard Berry in the 2009 ABQ Mayor's race and Martinez in 2010.

Susana seems to like it that way, as after 20 months in office she has not made any overt moves to limit McCleskey's power which became even more public when a series of private emails among Martinez administration officials was leaked.

McCleskey has long ties to the Republican National Committee. Is he going to try to ride the Martinez horse to the national stage? Well, first there is the small matter of her re-election campaign in 2014. And he will have to withstand increasingly louder calls for the Governor to be more inclusive in her inner circle to balance out McCleskey's power.

ROGERS AND CUSTER (CONT.)

There has been some rain the Guv's Tampa parade this week. It's those latest offensive email comments from GOP National Committeeman and lawyer/lobbyist Pat Rogers. The Guv has been fending off calls for his resignation from the national committee. But Rogers' foes are taking their battle to the doorstep of the Modrall law firm where Rogers hangs his shingle:

ProgressNow New Mexico will join leaders from Native American, Hispanic and LGBT communities Thursday morning (August 30) at 9:00 am outside of the Modrall law offices located at 500 Fourth Street NW, Albuquerque for a brief press conference before community leaders deliver letters and attempt to meet with firm representatives. The public and media are invited to attend this public event. 

In case you missed it, here is the incendiary Rogers email in question. It is Rogers "joking" about the Governor's mandatory meeting with state Tribal leaders held in June:
 
Quislings, French surrender monkeys, secret supporters (all along) of JAJ [Janice Arnold Jones]...The state is going to hell. Col. Weh would not have dishonored Col Custer in this manner. I hope who ever recommended this is required to read the entire redist [redistricting law suit] transcript and sit through the entire meeting with the Gov....

The All Indian Pueblo Council has called for Rogers' resignation from the Republican National Committee. The Indian Law Practice Group at Modrall put out this letter of apology for Rogers' comments:

Rogers has recognized  that the comment was a poor attempt at humor and has apologized for his remark...We too want to apologize for Pat's comment..It does not reflect our values or the values of Pat or our firm...

Governor Martinez had to deal with questioning about Rogers in Tampa. Like Modrall, she is trying to make Roger's apology--not his resignation--the final chapter:

It was a poor attempt at humor, but he apologized and we need to move on. I’m sure it was offensive and he apologized.  He has done fabulous work for the Republican Party for decades."

Martinez pointed out that ABQ state Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton of Albuquerque, a Democratic National Committee person-at large at the party’s national convention in Charlotte, N.C. next week, also made ethnically insensitive comments late last year. Stapleton, in a public exchange at the Capitol, referred to Martinez as “the Mexican” on the Capitol’s fourth floor in Santa Fe.

“She (Stapleton) apologized and we moved on,” Martinez said. “I didn’t ask for her resignation. People sometimes will say things that may be hurtful and aren’t the smartest thing to do, but she apologized and I moved on.”

Nice try by the Guv at fading the heat by citing Stapleton, but this is not a one time offense by Rogers. A series of emails released by the union-funded Independent Source PAC has revealed a series of comments that could be viewed as derogatory toward Hispanics and gays.

It's not surprising that Martinez and Modrall are circling the wagons. The Guv swears by the polls and as long as they are good, she doesn't move--even as some around her run amok.

Modrall lives by the billing hour. If the hyper-controversial Rogers impacts the bottom line, he will be gone. Otherwise, it appears Modrall is willing to risk having its legacy law firm rebranded with the Rogers stamp.

By the way, while Modrall has Republican roots notable Dems also practice there, including former US attorney John Kelly and Michelle Hernandez who recently sought the Democratic nomination from the Dem State Central Committee for an opening on the NM Supreme Court.

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A 5,400 word missive on the life and times of the state's most controversial and powerful political player landed on the Land of Enchantment Friday, shaking the terra firma with such force that observers immediately wondered if it will permanently alter the political landscape.

It certainly changed forever the life of Jay McCleskey and perhaps that of his benefactor, Governor Susana Martinez.

The anticipated article from the National Journal on McCleskey--known variously as the "Shadow Governor," the "Fifth Floor" or the "Karl Rove of New Mexico"--lived up to its hype.

It was a smash hit in the political community where it began circulating in thousands of email boxes and on Twitter and Facebook accounts in the early morning hours. It was a bomb with McCleskey and his acolytes who have held power with a tight grip for three years, not hesitating to use a toolkit packed with the implements of intimidation and deployed without restraint on anyone who dared blocked their path.

If there has been a man more feared or loathed in New Mexican politics in the past 50 years, we can't remember it. You could almost hear the sighs of relief from his many foes as he was finally unmasked but in a fair and temperate manner that hung its hat on the raw truth. And, oh my, how the truth hurts.

The article from the venerable, nonpartisan DC-based National Journal--read widely and deeply among America's political leadership and intelligentsia--was so exhaustive and left in its wake so many political and legal threads--that it was like someone kicked over a basketful of snakes. You could only watch with wonder and amusement as they slithered in all directions. It will be impossible for the Governor and McCleskey to put them all back in the basket. The best they can hope for is to contain the most poisonous among them.

It's true--as a number of readers pointed out--that much of what was revealed to the nation about McCleskey and the state of New Mexico politics has been reported or alluded to on this blog. Obviously, we're pleased to see our rigorous and mostly lonely blogging on McCleskey's questionable activities and the unprecedented accumulation of governmental power by a political consultant confirmed and vindicated.

But this piece by Chicago-based writer Daniel Libit was chock full of new revelations, exhaustively researched and reported and packaged in a form that delivered the high impact that only American journalism practiced at its highest levels is capable of.

Now about those snakes. Let's start chasing some...

THE DAMAGE DONE

Let's start with the obvious. The article was extremely damaging to Martinez on the national level (as well as McCleskey). That it centered on Republican discontent with McCleskey--not Democrats--is  the blow that knocked her to the canvas.

That it is revealed that she is essentially a figurehead who has ceded just about all of her power to McCleskey is another sharp right to the jaw. And her Sarah Palinesque aura--not quite knowing all she should--completed the definition of her as a poseur--a pretender--not anywhere near vice-presidential. Heck, not even gubernatorial. The charade has ended. If she wants back in, she has mucho work ahead of her.

Even if the casual reader did not delve deeply into the content, they were greeted with this damning headline:

"The Man Who Discovered Susana Martinez Could Also Be Her Downfall"

That was surely enough to catch the attention of Governor Christie and his aides and that of Senator Rand Paul or any of the other would-be Republican presidential nominees. It also raised eyebrows and more questions for the national press gaggle that specializes in all things presidential. The story was widely distributed by national reporters via social media.

Suddenly, a small packet of pixels had Susana's place on the list of VP contenders dropping as fast as a penny thrown off the Empire State Building. She went into free fall and if she's going to reverse it, someday she will have to do something about her McCleskey problem. It's simply too bothersome for a possible president or his operatives to deal with.

Unlike her, the Prez contenders aren't joined at the hip with McCleskey. Susana would need a surgeon practiced in separating Siamese Twins to rid herself of Jay. But in Washington, dropping troublesome operatives is done as casually as bursting a pimple on a nose.

Many of you in the bleacher seats are saying, "So what, Joe?" Susana never really has had a chance to be on a national ticket. It's a fantasy manufactured by Jay."

You have a point if you feel that way, but if Susana doesn't share your view and believes in life after Santa Fe--and really has fire in the belly for some kind of slot on the national scene--she is going to have to do something about McCleskey. He's now so radioactive in DC that they'll grab for their Geiger counters when he rolls down K Street.

ROT AT THE TOP

Susana's national aspirations--fantastical or not--are not her immediate concern. What is, of course, is her forthcoming campaign for re-election next November. This article lighted up the skies far brighter than any of the five Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls have thus far and it's an open question if any of them will effectively use it and the revelatory information it contains to break out of the pack.

Gary King was first to react, condemning the McCleskey behavior detailed in the article as "unethical" and as proof that Martinez "had abdicated" her office to a "vindictive" McCleskey.

Dem hopeful Allan Webber dubbed the revelations in the National Journal as The Rot at the Top.

Lawrence Rael chimed in: "(It's) time for New Mexicans to look. . . closer at the man behind the myth of Martinez."

State Sen. Linda Lopez came with this:

Thanks to the article, we have sources close to her operation detailing how Jay McCleskey is empowered to dictate policy, influence contracts, and keep millions of dollars in dark money well-cloaked and at an arm’s length from the governor, who can, politically, legally and conveniently feign ignorance.

State Senator Howie Morales, also a Dem Guv candidate, did not make a statement on the explosive article.

Attorney General King also said the conventional wisdom that Martinez is unbeatable was trashed by the damning article. Maybe, but that's going to have to be put to the test. And it's going to take a lot of money--a commodity about as plentiful in the Democratic camp as snowballs in Palm Springs.

THE LEGAL PERIL

Andrea Goff

King did not call for a formal investigation of McCleskey's questionable handling of campaign money, the Achilles Heel that now seems to ache for attention. Maybe that's because there's good reason to believe there is an active federal investigation underway on that topic as well as one on the down and dirty lease deal for the Downs at ABQ racino.

Regarding the latter, former Martinez fund-raiser Andrea Goff dropped a bombshell in her interview.

She revealed that she received incriminating text messages from McCleskey after her father-in-law, Buster Goff, joined with other members of the State Fair Commission and voted to delay approving the controversial 25 year Downs racino lease.

"Buster screwed us. . . .He was supposed to pass it." McCleskey said in one text.

Buster Goff later switched his vote and the current Downs owners won the lease over a competitor.

That text and others that Goff turned over to the FBI sent our Legal Beagles barking. To them it was  damning evidence against McCleskey and meant that there indeed had been bid-rigging.

To the Beagles:

The text messages Goff  turned over to the FBI are direct evidence of wrongdoing and are admissible in court. McCleskey's own words implicate not just himself, but through his use of the word "us" the other conspirators in the rigging of the deal. . . .McCleskey's writing that Buster Goff was "supposed to pass it"--is proof of the rigging, and "Buster screwed us" of the conspiracy to rig. 

McCleskey also linked the reason that Goff needed to approve the deal to the impact his failure to do so would have on William Windham, the Martinez campaign donor and an owner of the Downs. That's evidence that the deal was a quid pro quo which is necessary for the prosecution of some but not all federal corruption charges.

McCleskey also discussed ways to conceal additional campaign contributions that Windham attempted to make, but did not because he did not have a vehicle in place to conceal the funds from public scrutiny (conspiracy to commit money laundering, efforts to derive personal benefit, wire fraud, etc).

In response to Goff the Governor's office said: "Andrea Goff is a disgruntled former consultant who is no longer affiliated with the governor, and her wild-eyed accusations have no credibility."

Perhaps a year or so ago that statement would look as strong as reinforced steel. Not today. Not when everyone can see the blood in the water and the steel looking like tin.

MORE LEGAL BEAGLES

We can't certify the certitude of the Legal Beagles, but their barking is noteworthy. Here's some more:

McCleskey's efforts to convince Andrea Goff to work on his behalf "off the books" could be used as pattern and practice evidence to conceal information from disclosure (reinforcing the money laundering). The texts--because they come from McCleskey--are as good from an evidentiary standpoint as if Andrea Goff had been wearing a wire.

The texts revealed by the National Journal from McCleskey to Goff reinforce the collusion in the administration that was depicted in the widely covered Downs emails. That is something the local media has not done. 

While the Feds can take years to bring charges, this article confirms that there is a strong chance that it will eventually happen. Corruption cases are often filed many years after the crimes were committed.

Thanks, Beagle.

JUST AN ADVISER

What stands out in the aftermath of all this is McCleskey's humble public moniker as the Governor's "political adviser."

He is not a government employee and has no official power but he has wielded more of it than anyone--seemingly even the woman elected to the office. He didn't get the nickname "Shadow Governor" for nothing. (Did you read the part where he sets up shop in a little anteroom next to Susana?)

But what of the real Governor--the one who took the oath of office that cold January 1 in 2011? She's an ambitious politician who unhesitatingly hitched her wagon to that of Jay's and now has to do some unhitching. Whether she has come to that conclusion or not, just about everyone else under the sun has. For our codependent Governor, the day of reckoning for the deal she struck with her Svengali draws near. Even Nixon had to dump Haldeman and Ehrlichman.

Will there be a breakup of this symbiotic political duo? It depends. Did the Governor read that National Journal article like a partisan or like the former District Attorney she is? We know she has to be fretting over what the piece did to her political standing among national donors and the national media when it comes to the VP prize. But does she feel threatened by something much more troubling?

There's the ABQ Downs racino wheeling and dealing. Then there's the millions of dollars that have flowed through her SusanaPAC, her re-election campaign and the 2012 Reform NM Now PAC. All of them were led by McCleskey who received hefty commissions from them and who--according to the National Journal--appears to be pulling in some $300,000 a year, not counting advertising commissions.

That's an astounding sum in a little state like ours. And the spending and expense records of these entities may be ripe for exploitation not only by her political opponents but by government and media investigators (We'll save the "NM Competes," the dark money nonprofit entity for tomorrow).

No matter how tight Jay and Susana may be, they are not husband and wife. If and when she sees that her survival interests conflict with his, will she just swallow hard and stay the course? Or will she start to slowly oar away?

Susana Martinez has needed Jay McCleskey in an almost desperate way, so much so that in the words of Harvey Yates, he was allowed to assume extra constitutional power. Now the worm has turned and McCleskey needs Martinez as much as she needs him--not just for a meal ticket--but for protection from the pack of wolves that has taken up residence outside of his "Fifth Floor"office.

THE FLOODGATES

The floodgates are now open in the NM Republican Party. It was not lost on anyone that all the named critics in the National Journal piece were prominent Republicans--and most prominently--former NM GOP Chairman Harvey Yates. And then there was that diss of McCleskey by current NM GOP Chairman John Billingsley. The argument by the McCleskey faction that it was a handful of disgruntled R's was not convincing. An untold number cower in fear.

The outing of McCleskey dilutes the potion he has relied on to keep everyone in line. That potion is equal parts fear and intimidation. Now with the national media--and we assume law enforcement--on high alert for any McCleskey mischief, disgruntled Republicans (and Democrats) have less reason to remain closed mouth in their dislike for the current regime. Not that Martinez is going to draw a Republican primary foe next year, but that prospect has gone from unimaginable to something like highly unlikely.

POSTSCRIPTS....

The perceived invincibility of what one of our readers dubbed "The Machine" has been dented--big time. How much so we will see by the aforementioned actions of GOP critics of Martinez and through any increased bravado by the Dem Guv candidates, at the next legislative session and any further inquires by the national media and law enforcement.

Several readers wondered if we will now get an investigation of allegations that law enforcement has been used to run checks on the license plates of political opponents as well as using the NCIC data base for political purposes. We know it's a story that one TV station was looking into....

Yes, it was strange that McCleskey posed for a series of pictures for the magazine article. The supposed #1 rule of a political consultant is not to become the story....

The author of the National Journal piece--Daniel Libit--was born and raised in ABQ. He graduated from ABQ Academy...