Clearly New Mexico

Over the past couple of months, a discussion on the core issues facing Americans has pretty much fallen by the wayside during the presidential campaign. Americans expect an adult debate on foreign policy, the economy and health care. Instead, the 24-hour news cycle is obsessed with one candidate's middle name and who's most at home taking shots at a bar.

It's not surprising that people are getting fed up.


Fortunately for those of us who relish meaningful policy discourse, Senator John McCain is hitting the road this week to trumpet his plan for reforming the nation's broken health care system.

As a primer for the headlines that are sure to come, I thought it might be important to highlight some questions about the Senator's core policy prescription; tax credits to spur the purchase of private insurance.

Prior to the questions, however, let's review some important facts about Senator McCain's intimate relationship with the insurance industry.

Over the past dozen years, Senator McCain has raised about $3.5 million from interests tied to the insurance industry. Just shy of forty lobbyists from the industry are listed as fundraisers, co-hosts of events, or staffers for the Senator. Furthermore, several high-ranking members of the McCain campaign staff are high-paid lobbyists for insurance interests. (The campaign finance and lobbying figures are based on Public Campaign Action Fund analysis of data obtained from the Center for Responsive Politics).

With this primer, three questions come to mind for the Senior Senator from Arizona.   Read More »

A destructive trend has gripped this country over the past three decades. Culminating with Grover Norquist's infamous musing about government ("get it down to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub"), the fanatical movement to dismantle, and subsequently privatize our public structures has damaged America.

Public structures include tangible items like roads, bridges, parks and levees. But, intangible things like an emergency management system, food inspection procedures and standards for clean drinking water are also public structures.   Read More »

Is State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons playing with legal fire? Read the following for the backstory.

Albuquerque Journal

Only in New Mexico

Clearly New Mexico

Over the weekend, the world almost ended (really, it did) because one of the candidates for president suggested that rampantly bad economic conditions for working people might actually breed bitterness.

Or, something to that effect.

The matter of whether or not Senator Obama's "bitter" point was in fact offensive has been debated at length. Some of my personal favorites include Robert Reich and TPM.

I will refrain from adding to the cacophony. Instead, let's circle around to the matter of health care costs. After all, the rising cost of health care is putting pressure on corporations and therefore affecting their ability to hire workers, right?

Well, yes and no.   Read More »

During the first three months of 2008, the race to determine who will become the 44th President of the United States has had no shortage of compelling stories. To simply review the peaks, valleys, turns and twists would likely be worthy of a separate post.

Instead, I'd like to focus on the individuals who have been at the helm of two of the campaigns: McCain campaign manager Rick Davis and the recently demoted (or not?) Clinton "chief strategist" Mark Penn.

We've already gotten an up-close look at Rick Davis on Clearly New Mexico, so perhaps we should start with Mr. Penn.

Mark Penn has been a Clinton family confidant for the better part of twelve years. Originally recruited by former Clinton advisor turned Fox News analyst, Dick Morris, Penn started out by providing polling and strategic consulting services to the 1996 Bill Clinton reelection campaign. Since then, Mr. Penn assisted with the 2000 Hilary Clinton U.S. Senate campaign and (up until today) the Hillary presidential operation.

Pretty straightforward consulting resume, right?

Not so fast.   Read More »