Democrats Just Jumped the Shark in NM CD-2!!

OK, so here I am, an Edwards supporter, now trending Hillary because the Obama campaign has completely turned me off for sundry reasons, as expressed on so many other blogs….

Today, I pick up our local rag (The Las Cruces Sun-News, which I have railed against many times) to see that the local Democratic Party has stymied our progressive hope again! Al Kissling, the progressive who ran strongly against Steve Pearce (R-Oil Drilling) without any monetary assistance from the national party, didn’t receive enough support to earn a spot on the ballot. Apparently seeing the handwriting on the stone (see here).

Pearce, by the way, has won the top spot against Rep. Heather Wilson (involved in the Justice Dept. phone call scandal awhile back) on the Republican side for Senate.Which leaves us with Bill McCamley, a Dona Ana County commissioner who I have dubbed a “DLCer-in-training” running against Harry Teague of Hobbs, a former Lea County commissioner. Teague signs have already begun popping up around Las Cruces–small blue affairs with “family values” the prominent message. Having read about Teague months ago, I know he’s a conservative Democrat. So, now we have McCamley, who pushed a tax for the not-s0-local spaceport project (in tandem with Bill Richardson) vs. Teague who is way too conservative for my taste. Teague may actually win, since this is a conservative district…White Sands and Ft. Bliss are right next door–and McCamley has left a lot of locals loathing him because of the spaceport tax which VERY narrowly eked out a win via some very organized business and political interests. The most egregious part of that deal was when Richardson showed up at a school to push the spaceport at an event closed to the public! People who weren’t 5th graders or parents were barred from entering! This left a very sour taste in my mouth because as a former educator, shoving politics to a captive audience of kids is something considered off limits in my time. Of course, this event also had the parents invited, which means potential voters were hearing all arguments for the tax, but only those allowed inside! What should have been a public forum, with both pro and con views aired, became a rally only for parents being sold via the “it’s for the children” angle. Seems Richardson and company have something in common with the DNC which is disenfranchising MI and FL!!

Anyway, my plan to vote and work for Kissling is now gone! Any hope of getting a good progressive into Congress is over, unless we get Udall in as Senator. I’m wondering if that will happen, considering the general disarray of the Democrats this year. Down-the-ticket may well be a big problem if lots of disgruntled Dems go for McCain in this state with such a heavy military and ex-military presence.

Sigh. I met McCamley at an Edwards rally in 2004. He seemed like such a nice young man then…