Thursday, January 13, 2005Is Heather A "Drama Queen" Or Is She Really In 'Trouble?' Exclusive Analysis From My Top D.C. And NM Sources, Plus: More From Capitol HillNow Heather is saying she may be kicked off the House Armed Services Committee by conservative House ringleaders because she is too "independent." That committee is also vital to us because it authorizes money for the weapons portion of Sandia labs--about a billion bucks or so. Heather needs a "waiver" from her Energy Committee chair to serve on Armed Services and is painting a pessimistic picture of her chances, even though she has asked top Republicans to help her. A decision will come later this month. REALITY CHECK Dems and Washington insiders critical of Heather are saying all of this commotion is about her getting attacked in last year's election for being a lapdog of House Majority Leader Delay and his conservative minions. Here's two quotes cobbled together from insider D’s with D.C. backgrounds: Does that mean Heather will end up staying on Armed Services as she did Energy, or will she really be kicked off and shown to be the "independent" she claims to be? My DC sources say in the long run what really matters is that the ABQ congressperson be tapped in to the dough that keeps the town ticking. When it comes to that no one cares who looks "independent." If Heather is tossed from a committee that gives our area power and money it will not be a feather in her cap. It could, however, be a thorn in her side come the next campaign. AT PEARCE'S PLACE And what about sophomore Congressman Steve Pearce from southern NM and that coveted spot on the House Appropriations Committee he talked of getting during his campaign against D Gary King? Well, it turns out that Steve is still loved by Delay and company, but because of several insider factors he failed to get named to the most powerful of the committees. Says a Washington insider: "His chances will go up once he serves four years. Getting on that one takes more time." Pearce remains on the Resources and Transportation committees. I'M STILL IN D.C. And a final note from a top D.C. confidant who has seen and done it all. Commenting on Heather's real or imagined problems with the House leadership, he reminds us that back in the 70's former NM Congressman Harold "Mud" Runnels, a conservative from southern NM, lost his seat on the House Budget Committee whe he did not support a measure from House Speaker and top liberal Tip O'Neill. "Harold came out fine because he recognized Tip and the liberals were not supported down south." Thanks to all my insiders for their help with today's report. You will get stuff like they give nowhere else so be sure to check back here often. JOIN ME ON KNME-TV Just what is Big Bill and his 112 friends known as the NM Legislature up to? Join me and other media gabbers with moderator Kate Nelson Friday night at 8:30 p.m. on KNME-TV, Channel 5 as we preview the long, (oh, so very long) 2005 Legislative session. See you then and, as always, thanks for stopping by. Make our site, WWW.JOEMONAHAN.COM, one of your favorites and e-mail a link to interested friends. Interested in advertising to NM's large political community? E-mail me from the top right of this page, or call 505-243-4059 for details. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2005 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Wednesday, January 12, 2005Can GOP Trip Up Big Bill On Anything? How About Voter ID? Plus: The Gorham's Goodbye
Sen. Duran
There does seem one issue the often divided GOP might be able to rally around in the upcoming 60 day session: Voter ID. Alamogordo State Sen. Dianna Duran, a possible GOP candidate for Secretary of State in 2006, is all ready with a voter ID bill and fellow Otero County lawmaker, State Rep. Terry Marquardt will introduce the same version in the House. The Guv split with some Dems when he said favorable things about voter ID in the last campaign. Now the R's have an opportunity to hold his feet to the fire on an issue they enjoy overwhelming popular support on. But will they? THE GORHAM'S GOODBYE The Gorham's were called into service when the GOP chairmanship of John Dendahl had run its course. But the Dendahlites never forgave her and the party has yet to fully unite after the bitter battle that ended with her ouster early last year. TRACKING JOHN Another big name R, ABQ North Valley ex-State Rep and 04' Guv candidate John Sanchez, made the blog a while back when it was said he had built a home in the ABQ city limits and was eyeing a run for ABQ mayor. But I need to check that out further. That house may be in the county, according to R's in the know and Sanchez has not been making any noise about running for Mayor. He has, however, not ruled out another run for Guv in 06.'John, just make it easy on us and drop us an e-mail. Make our site, WWW.JOEMONAHAN.COM, one of your favorites and e-mail a link to interested friends. Interested in advertising to NM's large political community? E-mail me from the top right of this page, or call 505-243-4059 for details. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2005 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Tuesday, January 11, 2005Big Bill: Movin' It To The Center, Plus: More Inside Info From The Innards Of The State Senate, And: Senator Pete Says No Time For The Pain
Big Bill
It's all part of the positioning for 2008 of course. And the Big Fella's supportive move of the military is not lost on those conservative Dems who abandoned the party in droves last year Some will call it pandering. Others will call it leadership pointing out that Big Bill at least has a compass and a road map to lead Dems out of their wilderness. INSIDE THE SENATE Here's how one of those R's analyzed the new line-up in a late-night e-mail: "The interesting point is that while trying to give the possible malcontents something, he had to leave out many competent Senators who have been there for a while especially from up north. They might feel more responsibility about representing their constituents than representing Big Bill. Those that sold their souls for a committee chairmanship will now be obliged to answer to Bill. If they stick with the coalition the Dems will still be in control--committees will be proportional. Republicans will probably only get a couple of vice-chairs out of the deal--But maintaining the Senate's integrity will be the main thing." Maintaining integrity is a great goal, but maintaining power is the first order of business. On that, Big Bill and the Dems are leaving the Senate R's in the dust, and the coalition too. PETE'S PAIN Meanwhile, back in the U.S. Senate Pete Domenici is saying he is rested and ready. This in the wake of continued speculation about the health of the 72 year old and whether he has the stamina to chair the Energy Committee. Pete will be 73 in May. He says new arthritis treatments have helped him and he is not in chronic pain. His late campaign foray into Indian country on behalf of Bush hurt Kerry here and in turn Big Bill. That also had to ease his pain. Make our site, WWW.JOEMONAHAN.COM, one of your favorites and e-mail a link to interested friends. Interested in advertising to NM's large political community? E-mail me from the top right of this page, or call 505-243-4059 for details. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2005 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Monday, January 10, 2005TV's Dianne Anderson Shifts To Radio; Will Join Larry Ahrens On New Talk Outlet, Plus: Together Again: Big Bill & The Sanchez Brothers
Anderson
"Diane is well-know but has shown little interest in politics or controversy, the staples of talk radio. There will be a curiosity factor but she will have to prove herself in a medium that in many ways is actually much tougher than TV. Larry also has high name recognition, but the station he will be on will have much less power than KKOB and it is doubtful he can attract the kinds of numbers he did there," analyzed one radio exec monitoring developments. It will be several months before Anderson and Ahrens light up the phone lines at the new talker. They will do separate programs. Time will tell whether the magic they bottled at their old outlets will transfer to their new media home. Stay tuned. SANCHEZ INTRIGUE Raymond Sanchez It's an open secret that Big Bill touted Sen. Phil Griego for Majority leader in the early going, but he could not make the grade. The naming of Raymond has other Alligators claiming Big Bill got a "twofer" with Raymond, pointing out that new House Majority Leader, Ken Martinez of Grants, is a protégé of Raymond, who in turn was a protégé of Kenny's father, the legendary former House Speaker Walter Martinez. Aaah, the web and intrigue of our beloved La Politica. THE BURGOS BLOG Republican Mario Burgos has caught the blogging bug. Burgos, who unsuccessfully sought a a seat in the state house last year, decided to stay in the game anyway and blogs regularly from his conservative armchair and PR shop in Santa Fe. You can check him out here. Make our site, WWW.JOEMONAHAN.COM, one of your favorites and e-mail a link to interested friends. Interested in advertising to NM's large political community? E-mail me from the top right of this page, or call 505-243-4059 for details. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2005 Not for reproduction without permission of the author |
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