What are your thoughts on Bill Richardson for president?

[bluestateguy]

Pro: He's Hispanic, and Democrats could win back Hispanic votes lost in 2004. He puts New Mexico in the bag. Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and to a greater extent than last time, Florida, are all in play. He has the experience in both domestic and foreign policy and executive office experience. Would be a good fund-raiser

Con: Clinton Administration baggage--fairly or not. The nuclear labs stuff would all be brought back to light to depict him as careless on national security. A 14 year House voting record that can be picked apart by Karl Rove's interns. A Baby Boomer: possible Vietnam War draft issues? A little too DLCish for the party's base.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[FW_]

2. I like him

not sure if he'd be my #1 choice, but I think his pros outweigh the cons.

[Eloriel]

21. He's absolutely wonderful -- right up until the point

where you get to his politics.

And he'd make a better Rockefeller Republican than a Democrat. SURELY we can do better. SURELY we can hold out for a REAL Democrat. Surely.

In short, he's a strong DLCer.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. Another DLC candidate? They do so well....at losing.

How about an unashamed liberal for a change?

[Cats Against Frist]

4. Vice

I'd like him for Vice president, and as much as I do want to see someone more liberal run, I think a Clark/Richardson ticket is a pretty damn solid choice.

[me b zola]

5. Never.

[robbedvoter]

6. So mealy mouthed on 911 - turned me off. No.

[shraby]

7. Thumbs down...he helped stop a recount

in New Mexico.

[Radical Activist]

8. I'd like to know more about his record

Is he too right-leaning for my taste or not?

I think we need a ticket with two people who aren't from either coast that can appeal to voters in all states, so he does have that going for him.

[AntiCoup2K4]

17. Let's put it this way....

He's appeared on FAUX News more than Zell Miller, Joe Lieberman, and Evan Bayh combined.

Now that doesn't mean he's to the right of all of them. Probably to the left of Zell actually. But it DOES mean that FAUX can count on him to give a neocon approved answer to whatever they ask him, and thereby spread the lie that most Democrats and by extention, most Americans support the Idiot Son of an Asshole.

[fooj]

9. NM voters were bent over because of that man!

No. No. A thousand times NO!

[Quixote1818]

11. I am from NM. How were we bent over?

[Quixote1818]

10. He is the perfect VP choice for several reasons

First of all, I think we need to forget about winning the south and go for the South West that has an ever increasing Hispanic Population. For instance in 2000 Bush won Colorado, Nevada and Arizona handedly but in 2004 they were all much, much closer. Why? Because of the influx of Hispanic voters. Richardson has a TONE of international experience and probably is about the most connected political person behind Bill Clinton. He is a Pro at saying just the right things. Also, the Hispanic vote is getting bigger all over the place and Bush has had some luck making inroads into the Democratic Hispanic base because of his friendly immigration policies which are widely unpopular with Republicans but not unpopular enough to cost Bush any states. So I see Republicans reaching out to minority's more and more not because they want to but because they want to win. Democrats have to be aware of what the Right is trying to pull with the Hispanic Vote which largely went down under the radar screen this year but I believe is EXTREMELY important. Rove knows exactly how to win! His plan was to get out the Religious Right vote in record numbers and also make Bush look more interesting to Hispanic voters based on a friendly immigration policy. Rove nailed it and thats why they won. We have to keep the Religious Right home and bring the Hispanic Vote back to our side and also get out the Religious Left rural vote. If we can do that we WIN and I think Richardson is just the person to at least get us the Hispanic vote back again. With Richardson on the ticket we get Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico back.

[bluestateguy]

15. One point about Arizona

Arizona was actually not as close as 2000. The increased Hispanic population is washed out by middle aged and elderly white Californians moving into the state, thus making Arizona more Republican and California more Democratic. A lot of conservative midwesterners are also moving into the state. But Arizona is winnable.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

16. Exactly!

I'm from NM and I think he would be the perfect choice for our '08 nominee.

[fooj]

19. I'm all for reaching out, however, Richardson's propensity for politically

correct language doesn't change the fact that there was POSSIBLE election fraud and violations of public trust in New Mexico. The investigation is ongoing. The American people deserve leaders that serve with honor, integrity and COURAGE. The recent lawsuit filed against New Mexico re: voting irregularities gives us cause for concern. The integrity of the vote should not be compromised for any reason. Win or lose!

[paulk]

20. we're on the same page

I made several posts here on DU during the primaries to the effect that Richardson should have been the VP choice this election. I think Edwards was a mistake - a southwest strategy makes a lot more sense for the reasons you state.

It gives us not only the states you mentioned, but it makes California a total lock and puts Florida in play. Jeb Bush's popularity has a lot more to do with his Hispanic wife than people realize.

There are also large Latino populations in Nebraska and Wyoming - not that we could win there, but it would force the Republicans to fight for them. I was really disappointed that the Dems didn't seem to understand the importance of the Hispanic vote this time around.

A southwestern strategy is a lot more doable than the south at this point, and Richardson would be a perfect fit.

[Quixote1818]

25. Agree 100% plus Richardson is a safe VP pick. because he is moderate.

[Lady President]

12. I like him, but no

Personally, I like Richardson. I'm not sure if he would be my first choice, but he would be high on the list. He and Edwards were the only two I really wanted to see as Kerry's VP.

Additional pro: He was an absolute work-horse at the Convention. He was a constant presence and knows the issues facing every state. No homework needed for him to jump into action. He is also very respected within the Party. (This will be a con for some people, but help with fund raising.)

Additional con: I'm not sure if there is a shred of truth to it, but he has a reputation of being a drinker. I've never heard he has a problem, but he does bend-the-elbow. This won't help with the holier-than-thou types.

[ArtVandaley]

13. For VP. Feingold/Richardson 2008

[seabeyond]

14. ya right this for real. he is stopping all challenges to nm

he, we everyone knows there was problems in nm with their machines and other problems and irregularities and for whatever reason he is doing everything in his power, even going against the law to stop a look see into the problems.

nope for me

[New Earth]

24. nope for me too

for the same reason.

[Al-CIAda]

18. DLC who is down with the PNAC agenda...stopped the recount....

...not no but HELL no.

[tritsofme]

22. In my eyes his capital has gone down since NM went red this year

He should have been able to transfer his popularity over to Kerry.

Other than that, he is a model for my ideal candidate, I'm looking for a Southern/Western governor.

[Quixote1818]

26. Bush got out the vote big time in Eastern New Mexico towns like

Hobbs, Carlsbad, Alamogordo, Portalas, Artisia, Clovis and in other rural towns such as Farmington and Silver City. While Kerry campaigned mostly in Albuquerque Bush went to all these little towns and just did an incredible job getting the red neck vote out. Their was nothing Richardson could do however we only went red by a few hundred votes I think. Last time we only went blue by a few hundred. It was a shift of about 1/2 of 1%. What can you do?

[Vadem]

23. Nooooooooooooooo! n/t

[Gloria]

27. NO! He sold out the NM recount...he's Republican lite as far

as I'm concerned.

Let's see if he accepts Federal money for "abstinence only" sex ed in a state like NM that desperately needs to get girls and boys fully informed...

He also has a few business dealings that may bubble up again to the surface if he sticks his neck into the Presidential ring....

[mmendoza01]

28. New to DU & a NM native here's my opinion....

Guys,

I have found DU via a google search and am amazed at the great discussions here. I'm currently a university student here in NM & a native so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

Pro-Obviously the Hispanic vote is HUGE! I still find it hard to believe that * (think that's what you guys call Bush??) got near 45% of the Hispanic vote but there has been some damage done with my generation of young Hispanics whereas our parents are reliably Democrat. A LOT of Hispanics have fallen victims to the BS values crap b/c a lot of Hispanics are very religious and family orientated.

Putting a real Latino like Richardson on the ticket solidifies the Democratic party's care of Latinos. Believe it or not * having a Mexican in-law made a lot of inroads. It was looked on really favorably that his family was Hispanic too.

I have seen him speak and he is pretty good and does not go overboard with Spanish (would piss off many whites, not that they aren't already pissed off). He just eliminated the taxes to food & medicine here in NM and has pushed for middle class tax cuts. He is also pushing for tougher laws against parents who abuse their children.

He is very pro-education which is a huge issue for myself and many Hispanics.

He has no problems fund raising, running for governor against a dude w/ no college degree he just killed him when everyone knew it wasn't going to be a race.

Our state has not experienced a budget crisis like many other states recently.

He also has experience with foreign policy being the UN Ambassador.

Putting him on the ticket automatically moves NM into blue. NV would have a better chance and would probably go blue. CO & AZ probably not just with him on the ticket, (AZ's problem is a HUGE Mormon population in Phoenix) but it would be a step in the right direction.

Cons-He is very abrasive! For example for a regent at any university to be appointed he requires them to fill out an undated resignation letter. There are rumors of Clinton-like affairs. Wen Ho Lee & the crap at Los Alamos Labs while he was SEC of Energy. Being Hispanic could piss off a lot of whites (I think most of them wouldn't vote Democrat anyway though).

Overall he would be a solid VP candidate no doubt. BTW, why are people pissed off b/c he didn't go after voting irregularities? If it would have turned the election fine by me but I don't want to see NM money wasted only to see * still win.

Hope this isn't too long...