As hard as it may be for some to imagine a Bill Richardson White House, don't underestimate the powers that be. Richardson and Co. successfully double ended New Hampshire, placing the Nevada Caucus before New Hampshire and the New Mexico, South Carolina and those other states that I can't remember right now, after the granite state. So how might you swing a nominating calendar to your advantage? Money, and lots of it.
And despite the coverage in the local press, Richardson's money machine remains one of the most underreported stories in the 2006 election cycle.
While the DGA is a nice front for the syndicate, having a home base where everything is game is what makes the Richardson machine hum. Just as Nevada has minimal laws prohibiting prostitution, New Mexico has limited laws regulating campaign money. The effect is the same; you get what you pay for.
So what will be Richardson's defining characteristic in the 2008 cycle? I'm guessing Oil & Gas. After all, aren't Oil & Gas royalties the life support of New Mexico's government?
So why, when oil and gas companies are enjoying a streak of record profits--literally pick pocketing average New Mexicans every time they turn on the stove or drive to their kids to school, hasn't the governor proposed an income tax increase on these companies? Democrats at the national level have talked about windfall taxes for ExxonMobil and BP. But what about some of the biggest exporters of New Mexico's natural resources?
The answer is the same; you get what you pay for.
New Mexico has very loose campaign finance and reporting laws, but I thought it was illegal to use money raised for a state campaign on a federal one.
Posted by: Michelle Meaders | Thursday, August 24, 2006 at 04:03 PM