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A Look Back & A Look Forward & A Few Book Recommendations

By paulgibson51 on April 23, 2018 • ( 0 )

Money in politics, land access in Española, report on Dem Party State Central Committee and reports on Lujan-Grisham’s bad vote, a case for civil disobedience, Rodella vs. Herrera, and the students lead again against gun violence.

News in Brief and Actions This Week

Money in Politics, a Book Recommendation and An Invitation. Just this week, the New Mexican reported that Rep. Carl Trujillo had outspent his opponent Andrea Romero 13-1. We just completed a Santa Fe Mayoral campaign where the ultimate winner had a huge financial advantage. I also reported on Rep. Lujan Grisham’s very bad vote on the Volker Act and her piling up over a million dollars in donations, with a significant amount coming from large financial institutions and gas and oil. But these three local examples pale when considering the insidious influence of money in politics on a national scale.

Just how vast the influence of money is on politics is made evident in a tremendous book I am reading: Daring Democracy by Frances Moore Lappé. I will be doing a post on money’s influence in politics and the media, based upon this book on Tuesday, but today I just want to first recommend the book and then secondly to encourage you to attend a full day conference: Saturday, April 28, 2018, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, Santa Fe Community College, Jemez Room. Achieving a Fair Political System: Building a Grassroots Coalition to Revive Our Democracy Free Conference. It is a unique kind of conference. While there will be a good many experts with different perspectives on the problem, the design of the conference is to work in groups with those experts and develop strategies that can be implemented locally. I’d encourage you to check it out and attend. To read about it on our Actions & Events Page, click here.

Easement Issues in Española Valley with Rep. Ben Ray Lujan. Monday, April 23, 2018, 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Northern New Mexico College, Nick Salazar Center for the Arts, 921 Paseo del Onate, Española, NM. Join Congressman Ben Ray Luján and tribal, state, county and municipal officials as well as title insurance experts for an informational update to the community regarding ongoing issues with road easements and title insurance within the Española Valley. To RSVP or for more information please contact Congressman Ben Ray Luján’s office at (505) 994-0499 or email joseph.casados@mail.house.gov

Democracy Is Messy But.… The Democratic State Central Committee was messy indeed. If you have never been to a County or State Central Committee meeting, they can be a bit chaotic, especially if their isn’t a skilled parliamentarian to manage the meeting. Normally, Sen. Ivey-Soto who performs that role. After one meeting without him, I am guessing the Party will make sure he is present in the future. Instead of having one skilled parliamentarian run the meeting, we had six or eight folks each of whom felt they knew the rules, but none of whom agreed. And so one “out of order” after another ensued with votes to table issues where no one could agree, only to return to the issue later.

But while it was at times infuriating and other points comic, it was also so authentic, so full of people passionate about their perspective and so full of the different faces of New Mexico. Immediately after the Adelante Progressive Caucus was approved, the East Mountain Rural Democrats and Ranchers Caucus was approved. Reports were heard from the African American Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Native American Caucus, Federation of Democratic Women Caucus, LGTBQ Caucus, Labor Caucus, Veterans Caucus and Young Democrats Caucus. And in the end, chaos or not, we got it done. Hats off to all who attended. You hung in there and there was some dignity in it all.