Richardson pledges domestic partnerships for '08 session

By David Alire Garcia

At an Aug. 30 Santa Fe fundraiser for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign, organized and attended mostly by the state’s gay elite, Richardson poked some fun at himself.
Recalling the political hornets nest he stirred up at a gay-themed Democratic candidate debate earlier this month, at which he called homosexuality a personal preference (“It’s a choice,” he infamously said), Richardson owned up to the gaffe in the first few lines of his remarks.
“I want to start out by saying I’m sorry,” he told the gathering at a ritzy Las Campanas home. “Is there any press here,” he then asked with a big grin on his face. “Can I go off the record with one word?” Hearing no objection, the governor added: “I fucked up.”
The forgiving and slightly inebriated crowd instantly erupted in laughter.
Later on, Richardson promised to put domestic partnership legislation on his official call for the coming January 30-day legislative session in addition to major health care reform.
“The governor is the only person that can add to the agenda,” he said. “If I don’t do anything, it will only be the budget. But I want to tell you here that we have some unfinished business and it’s called domestic partnerships.”
He noted that advocates will need to gain one vote in the state Senate—“or two just for insurance.”
Richardson added, “If we can pass this law, this is going to be historic. Remember we are in a red state,” he said. “I know I’m in a sea of progressives, but I want you to know you are vastly outnumbered,” Richardson said to more laughter. “And if you don’t believe me go to Clovis or go to Alamogordo.”
Members of the fundraiser host committee estimated that as much as $100,000 was raised during the evening.

kind words for bill

I'm pretty sure the Republican mentioned in this very flattering column about Richardson is David Pfeffer...who else could it be?

Bill who?

Poor Bill. An entire article devoted to questioning whether knowledge of foreign policy is necessary for a presidential candidate and not even one mention of Richardson. Although Santa Fe gets a little shout out (sort of).

Bill's Gay Gaffe

Choice Words
By Nate Dinsdale

Published: August 15, 2007


Do you think homosexuality is a choice, or is it biological?-Melissa Etheridge to Gov. Bill Richardson at the Aug. 9 "Visible Vote '08" presidential forum focused on LGBT issues.

"It's a choice. -Bill Richardson, responding to Etheridge.

"Presidential candidate Bill Richardson, plung[ed] last night's Democratic gay and lesbian forum deep into Ricky Gervais-style awkwardness. For someone who brags about his experience, Richardson keeps acting like he's not ready for prime time.-Michael Crowley on The New Republic's "The Plank" blog, Aug. 10.
"Throughout his 15 minutes on camera, Richardson tried again and again to return the conversation to his very strong record of actual achievements in gay rights, but the "˜choice' and "˜maricon' gaffes only underline how easily he and voters have been distracted from his impressive resume"”on this and so many other issues. It's the central conundrum of his candidacy.- Chris Crain on his "Citizen Crain" blog, Aug. 10.
"I just simply made a mistake. I misunderstood the question"¦I thought it was a tricky science question, where you put politics into science. I think the word Melissa used was "˜biological'. Since I use "˜choice' so much, I'm so committed to choice"”a woman's right to choose"”I thought that was the appropriate answer"¦Also, I had flown all night from New Hampshire. I was a little tired, but there's no excuse. I made a mistake. I think my record stands for itself.- Bill Richardson, in an interview with Queerty.com, Aug. 10.
"I regret Gov. Richardson's mis-statement"”as I sometimes regret one or two of my own"”but his error in the pressure of a debate should not detract from his very strong record in defense of equality for all Americans, including those of us who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender."- Openly gay US Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, in an Aug. 13 statement.
"[Richardson's] rationale and his initial answer are inexcusable. To gays and lesbians, flubbing the choice vs. nature question is like botching the answer to "˜What's one plus one?' Note to Richardson's current and former gay staffers and supporters: Do an intervention"”and get him an Ambien"”before he implodes again.- Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post column, Aug. 13.


Here's some funny Comedy Central video on that forum.

Tubular

Sadly, I missed the CNN/YouTube debate last night and am now dredging through the galaxy of video clips floating in Cyberspace in an effort to piece everything together.

I'll pass the conch to David as far as offering a more succinct and relevant appraisal of the Guv's performance but my general first impressions are that the format was brilliant.

Sure, you can't have melting snowmen ask questions about global warming at every debate (although I strongly encourage it). Nevertheless, this go-around seemed to be refreshingly devoid (as much as humanly possible) of the usual canned questions = canned answers format. It's good to see presidential candidates showing a pulse every now and then, even if it takes some guy dressed as a redneck lumberjack asking about Al Gore in order to do it.

On paper (literally, looking at the transcript), Richardson seems to have held his own. Although, true to form, it looks like he struggled for face time with his answers appearing few and far between. Once again, Big Bill earned the unanimous "most disappointing performance" nod from CNN's online panel of experts. But, from what I've seen, it probably wasn't that bad. Or was it?

What about Women's Rights?

Monday the AP quoted Richardson as saying, "I believe my platform is the strongest pro-women’s platform and it shouldn’t be based just on the fact there’s a woman in the race," and that voters hearing his agenda would be swayed.

Unfortunately voters didn't get to hear Richardson's ideas about abortion rights at two public events put on by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Clinton, Obama and Elizabeth Edwards showed up, and though all seemed more interested in arousing pro-choice support without giving solid action plans, it's too bad Bill didn't take the opportunity to prove himself and get specific. It seems especially important for a candidate from a rural state to step up and talk about how to guarantee birth control and sex education in the more isolated, more conservative parts of the state/country. Especially when reports of pharmacists, based on their own beliefs, refusing birth control or Plan B to women with no access to another drug store become more and more common.

Candidates, on both sides of the issue, talk a good game about how important their view point is, but rarely does one take the opportunity to really put themselves on the line to stand up with solutions. Clinton even seems to demean the issue by calling women's rights "human rights." Technically, sure. But until the human race steps up to care for the ones who take the brunt of burdens of unplanned pregnancy calling womens rights, human rights is the same as lumping people under animal and asking PETA why they aren't feeding hungry orphans in Sudan.

Republicans & Republican'ts

I've always secretly wished that voters would flock to the polls in November and, improbably, elect "Mickey Mouse," "Your Mom" and/or "Ponch from CHiPs" to the US presidency via a feverishly cynical write-in campaign.

Turns out, Your Mom has about as good a chance as anyone to at least win the Republican nomination. According to a new AP/Ipsos poll, the leading candidate for the GOP nod is currently "None of the above."

Ouch. Rudy G and Fred "Law & Order" Thompson are the closest to None of the Above (23 percent) at 19 percent, followed by McCain and Romney. Rudy has been in a free-fall since the Spring but McCain appears to be the one that's dead in the water, what with empty coffers and an exodus of campaign advisers. I'll bet that lipstick-smeared, Neo-Con face-lift isn't looking so pretty in the mirror these days.

The Dems,for now, are looking solid. But even with the toxic fallout from G-Dub coating all things Republican, Democrats always seem to find a way to shoot themselves. Nevertheless, the AP quotes University of Iowa poli-sci guy David Redlawsk as saying "Democrats are reasonably comfortable with the range of choices. The Democratic attitude is that three or four of these guys would be fine."

In case you're keeping score at home, Bill Richardson is probably the "or four" Redlawsk references. Despite his best efforts (see this week's "There's Something About Bill" in SFR), the Guv hasn't managed to cripple his campaign yet.

In the meantime, Big Bill is spending the first half of this week in New Hampshire at various "job interview" and "Women for Richardson" events. Tomorrow is an off-day, presumably to be spent in mental preparation for his "All Day" appearances on Thursday and Friday in Des Moines.

Give the man credit. Most people are ready to leave Des Moines after 20 minutes, let alone two full days. According to the latest campaign schedule, Richardson will spend Saturday in "Iowa" (no specific cities or events are mentioned, maybe it's a euphemism) before jetting off to South Carolina on Sunday in advance of the DNC Presidential Debate on Monday. That debate could be big (for better or worse) for the Richardson camp considering SC is the campaign's weakest early primary/caucus state to date.

But hey, at least he's not getting beat by None of the Above.