Insomnia ([info]insomnia) wrote,
@ 2008-03-21 03:17:00
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The end is nigh?!

Richardson to endorse Obama.

Finally...!  Shame he didn't dare to endorse earlier, but it's still quite important and meaningful as far as how things will play out with momentum coming into the next several races, with the national polls, with superdelegates, and with isolated pockets of latino voters in Pennsylvania (3.5% latino), and especially in Puerto Rico.

Richardson would also be an excellent Vice Presidential nominee, as the guy has a LOT of experience in the Clinton administration, especially on diplomatic and economic development issues.  He would also help to lock down both the latino vote for the Democrats *AND* the Native American vote, as Richardson was once the Director for Native American Affairs.

And he's the first American politician to sport a goatee in years. It suits him. He should keep it. 


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[info]tadziu
2008-03-21 11:00 am UTC (link)
Sorry to ruin the fun.

I am from New Mexico. Most people (especially Hispanics) do not like Richardson, considering him either not a New Mexico native (he is not), or a "fake Hispanic"(He is only half).

The only area that likes him is Santa Fe. As you may know, Santa Fe is as liberal as Berkeley.

I honestly do not know how much help this will be, but perhaps his endorsement can help Obama getting some super delegates. As for Hispanic votes...he may not be able to help.

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[info]insomnia
2008-03-21 12:19 pm UTC (link)
I think he might be a bit more popular than you think. He won reelection in N.M. 68% to 32%, winning the highest percentage of votes in any gubernatorial election in the state's history. He also won 77% of the Latino vote, which is pretty convincing, and with the majority of support in all the regions that CNN polled for.

So, he does seem to have the ability to attract a large turnout... and his strength as a national candidate would also be impressive, due to his strong political connections. That said, I can imagine he's something like the 900-lb. gorilla of establishment Democratic politics in NM, which could explain a lot of the negative reactions you're probably familiar with.

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[info]morningbelle
2008-03-21 05:23 pm UTC (link)
I don't like the whole "fake Hispanic" thing. I mean, my mother is from Chile and my father is Iranian. So, am I both or am I either? Does it matter that I speak both Farsi and Spanish fluently? Should I not associate with either culture even though I can cook both culture's cuisines and I can quote their poetry and I can dance their dances? Am I just American because I was born in the US?

How is Richardson not really Hispanic? These classifications sometimes boher me.

That diatrabe being said, I meant no offense in my response - but I can imagine how he feels. - Also, I'm glad he's supporting Obama.

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[info]alicelee
2008-03-21 03:43 pm UTC (link)
Richardson: Ew. Google on Wen Ho Lee Richardson if you somehow missed the his role in the shameful foreshadowing of gitmo.

Apparently candidate Richardson sent an appeal for campaign funds to Dr. Lee. When databases go bad...

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[info]insomnia
2008-03-21 09:14 pm UTC (link)
After reading more about this, I'm not certain how shameful his role was.
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AMY GOODMAN: Some of Thursday’s Democratic presidential debate. That clip ended with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson admitting he made some mistakes in the handling of the case of Wen Ho Lee, who was the nuclear scientist at Los Alamos of Chinese descent, falsely accused by the Clinton administration of spying for the Chinese government. As President Clinton’s Energy Secretary, Bill Richardson fired Wen Ho Lee, who was then arrested, indicted on fifty-nine counts, threatened with execution. He was held for 278 days in solitary confinement. Within a year, the government dropped fifty-eight of the fifty-nine charges. And a federal judge then ordered Wen Ho Lee’s release. In an unusual statement from the bench, he rebuked the government, apologized to Wen Ho Lee. Last year, the government agreed to pay him nearly $900,000 for violating his right to privacy by leaking information to the press.

When we interviewed Governor Richardson in September 2005 in Santa Fe, he was far less conciliatory about his handling of Wen Ho Lee’s case. I spoke with Governor Richardson at a studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At that time, he said, quote, he stands by everything he said and did in the case.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON: This was a man that was convicted on several counts of tampering with classified information, so—

AMY GOODMAN: But the minorest of counts. I mean, what he was originally––

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON: Well, no, it was not minor. This is where you’re wrong. It was not minor. There were very sensitive nuclear secrets that possibly were compromised and were improperly taken from his computer. Now, the judgment of the judge, I believe, is speculative. But I stand behind the very strong actions that I took to protect our nuclear secrets.

AMY GOODMAN: So, you say the federal judge is wrong in saying that you are the probable source of the leaks?

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON: Absolutely. He’s totally wrong.

AMY GOODMAN: I mean, in the case of Wen Ho Lee, though, originally they said he could be a reason for the possible—well, like President Bush used in the argument for the Iraq war, he could be the source of a nuclear explosion, a bombing of the United States. And ultimately, when the judge freed Wen Ho Lee, he said he had been egregiously misled by government officials about what Wen Ho Lee was responsible for. And he was irate. He was enraged, the judge, I mean.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON: Well, that’s his opinion. I believe that we acted properly in safeguarding our nuclear secrets. He was convicted on several counts. There were some mistakes in that case. It involved the entire federal government, and I stand behind everything that I did.

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Richardson did say this later, though...

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"with Wen Ho Lee, this was the issue of protecting our nuclear secrets. And he did plead guilty. I do feel that he was incarcerated in solitary confinement—this was wrong. I tried to change it, but I didn’t work hard enough ... there are some cases in the Wen Ho Lee, where I wish I had been stronger, but I don’t apologize for trying to protect our nuclear secrets, and we should have done a lot more."

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So, no. Not a stellar moment for Richardson, but it's hard to say that it's his fault. It really sounds more like the fault of the AG Janet Reno, at least as far as the solitary confinement goes... and Bill Clinton, for allowing such actions.

Frankly, his administration had numerous AG abuses of power... this being just one of the less lethal ones.

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