North Korea

As you probably know, Gov. Richardson has been off in North Korea - living up to his image as a diplomat and internationalist. I thought I would post this little blurb about the trip, from the MSNBC First Read political blog:

RICHARDSON: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is in North Korea today and tomorrow, along with NBC’s own Andrea Mitchell. "Richardson said the timing of his visit is important and will show North Korea the United States' good intentions. He said the North Koreans will understand the symbolism of a delegation that includes Anthony Principi, Bush's former veteran affairs secretary, and Victor Cha, a top adviser on North Korea. His group is expected to oversee the transfer of remains from the North Korean army to U.N. personnel. On the plane trip over, Richardson's delegation watched the 2006 movie Behind Enemy Lines II, Axis of Evil. It is a story of a group of U.S. Navy Seals who have to fight their way out of North Korea after being sent there to destroy a missile site."

Turn Up the Heat!

March 31 is the last day for this fundraising quarter. In addition to the benefit of the money itself, when these numbers get reported it is a major media thing. If Gov. Richardson does not have a strong showing, talking heads are going to say he does not have a shot; if he does do well, maybe they will start paying more attention to his progress.

The campaign is running a little program called Turn Up the Heat and they need your help to meet the goal. If you are able, please do go to the site and make a contribution.

Making the contribution online is secure, fast, and easy, and ensures that your donation will be counted in this accounting cycle.

Best Wishes to the Edwards Family

I have been unsure if I should post this here, but I have decided that it makes sense to take a break from this being a blog with a mission to promote a particular candidate and instead write something a little more personal.

As I am sure you all know by now, Senator Edwards' wife Elizabeth is again fighting breast cancer. (If you have not been following the story, read here) Edwards will continue his campaign while his wife seeks treatment - either alone being quite a task, and certainly to do both at once will be a stressful and emotional feat.

While we certainly should continue to debate on the things that matter, I think the media coverage and blog talk of if this will help Edwards get "sympathy" votes and the like is incredibly tacky and you can expect not to hear any such thing from this blog.

It is a great and noble choice to be involved in public life, and it is not easy on one's family under the best of circumstances. I personally wish the Edwards' all the best, and I hope that Mrs. Edwards health improves. I also sincerly hope that we can be respectful and use this only to raise awareness about how many women from all walks of life are struck with breast cancer each year and not as a political tool for or against his campaign.

"Blunt but Insightful"

Gov. Richardson has been making the rounds in the press lately, with appearances such as a recent visit with PBS' Tavis Smiley, which you can view here.

He also was featured on the popular radio program To The Point (which you can hear online or on several local public radio stations)

Steve Clemons for The Huffington Post describes the Olney show thusly:

Among the many blunt but insightful comments Richardson shared were that "Attorney General Gonzales needed to decide if he was the nation's lawyer, the peoples' lawyer, or whether he was just the President's political flack." [...] All in all, Bill Richardson's comments were excellent -- and were the type of quick hit common sense that other candidates should try out.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Should be Repealed

After the waffling and bungling of the matter by other candidates, Richardson wants to make clear where he stands. He does not think homosexulaity is immoral, nor does he think that "don't ask, don't tell" is working for our military.

From the AP, via KOBTV:
SANTA FE (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson says he wants Congress to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in which gay service members are required to keep their sexual orientation private.

Richardson’s comments are in response to remarks made this week by the Pentagon’s top general that homosexual acts are immoral and that the military shouldn’t condone homosexuality by allowing gay personnel to serve openly.

Marine General Peter Pace has since apologized for the comments, saying he should have limited his discussion of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Richardson says he doesn’t believe homosexuality is immoral and that people shouldn’t be judged based on their sexual orientation.

Richardson calls Pace’s remarks “unfortunate” and says the Bush administration should reject them.

When I saw him speak at the DNC meeting, one thing that surprised me was how compassionately he spoke about tolerance for the glbt community and, even more so, how intensely the crowd showed their approval. I think people are just really fatigued of hate and intolerance being considered acceptable from "mainstream" politicians. As an issue for debate, I just think it is over (not that, personally, I think it should have come up in the first place).

Technology Gets a Seat at the Table

In New Mexico, a bill supported by the governor has passed the state senate to create a cabinent office that will handle the state's technology concerns. The Department of Information Technology will "consolidate the technology needs of all state agencies within one department", according to Sen. Linda Lopez (in the Farmington Daily Times).

Several states already have such offices (Connecticut, Nevada, and Michigan, for example). Hopefully, it will not be long before we see a president who cares about these issues and can bring them to the national state as well. It seems clear that Governor Richardson is committed to that goal.

Embracing technology is just a show of sensibile, modern policy in a world that absolutely depends upon it. Science - modernity itself, really - belongs at the table in discussions about the regulations that will govern some of the most important aspects of our lives. Remember that technology policy is not just about the technology itself (though having people who understand what they are talking about would certainly help), but rather encompasses some of the enduring conversations: security, freedom, privacy, etc.

Maybe, if we had a national technology advisor working with our elected officials, we could finally draft policy that is not decades behind - and could stop talking about the internet as a series of tubes

Richardson Second in Minnesota Poll

The first straw poll in Minnesota has delivered some good news from that state: In one precinct, Richardson came in second behind Obama. Third was a tie between Edwards and Clinton. One person abstained and one voted 'undecided'. More information from someone who attended is available here.

Caucuses and straw polls like this are really neat - neighbors getting together to talk about who can best serve the needs of the community and trying to persuade one another. If you have not had a chance to observe one, you should check it out. I am hoping to get to do so sometime this cycle.

[via Washington for Richardson]

Update:
The Santa Fe New Mexican has a report of the events of the Minnestota straw poll above, including results from the rest of the state. Overall, Richardson made a very strong showing state-wide.

It's only a straw poll, but Bill Richardson took second in the Minnesota Democratic Farm Labor Party presidential straw poll. He beat everyone but Barack Obama. It was just one precinct, and Obama won in a landslide, but hey, it's a start.

In the overall poll, Hillary Clinton (324) beat Obama (323) by one vote, with Richardson (176) taking a strong fourth beind John Edwards (115). MyDD summarizes the entire caucus results here.