Jesus is a LIBERAL

NOB HILL--The New York Times has a long piece today called The Evangelical Crackup. It is the most popular emailed article of the day.

For the last couple of years I have stated that the next big political battle in America was going to happen within Christianity. How could the Christian church support war, torture, lying to the American people, moral hypocrisy, and the government being in bed with religious zealots.

Well, this "Jack Spratt" coalition of the rich and the religious is coming undone. Thank God.

Bill Richardson's TV Ads Stun Wonkette...Make Everybody Else Smile

NOB HILL--Wonkette seems confused, but her readers loved 'em...just read the comments below the video. I'm talking about the new commercials Bill Richardson is showing in Iowa. You can view them right here. What do you think?

By the way, according to The Two Kates, these ads got more hits than any other videos in webdom for a 24-hour period when they were just released.

Debate Results? Johnny Ranks the Democrats

OSUNA & VISTA DEL NORTE NE--MaryAnn and I ate brats and watched the whole thing at the home of Joaquin Guerra last night...over two head-busting hours of circuitous reasoning and nuanced performances. Oh...I got pages of notes. But what it comes down to is this: THE RANKINGS. Let's see who won, who lost, and where everybody finished in the pack.

1. Clinton - Surpassed the expectations most people had of her. Well spoken. Knowledgable. Looked good ...even presidential.
   
2. Biden - Able to explain Demo Senate position the best. Seems to have more hair than what I remember.
3. Richardson - Complex answers to complex problems. Only person to talk about gun owners in a positive light, Africa, splitting up Iraq, and (later in the spin room) a de-authorization of the war. He did seem a different kind of candidate.
   
4. Obama - Said nothing he hadn't said many times before...but with less passion. Few specifics. High expectations led to an underwhelming performance.
5. Kucinich - Warm and fuzzy view of America's future. Came off very well, but not regarded as a serious contender.
   
6. Gravel - Been 'under a rock' for 30 years so he pretty much started the night at zero. Curmudgeonesque performance. Is Gravel the new Ross Perot?
   
7. Edwards - Soft sell too soft. Disappeared into the crowd. A lot less interesting than his wife.
   
8. Dodd - Invisible man. One too many senators.
   
   
   

Hey...Johnny_Mango's on TV Tonight

Kate Nelson's "In Focus," which airs tonight at 7:30 on Channel 5, will feature Democratic Chairman John Wertheim, Republican Chairman Allen Weh, Right-wing blogger Mario Burgos, and that coffee-swilling boulevardier, Johnny_Mango. (What's HE doing there?) This will be in the second segment of the show and concerns the political ramifications of the Iglesias / Domenici / Wilson situation.

Iglesias Threw the Election to his "Ally" Heather Wilson

NOB HILL--I have already made the point that former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias consciously hid those unethical phone calls he received from Sen. Domenici and Rep. Wilson. He hid them from both the public and the Justice Department. And he would have kept silent about them forever if his former mentor and ally had remained loyal to him. But they didn't...and so now we have Iglesias testifying he felt "sick" and "leaned on" in the most personal terms and in front of the whole U.S.A.

Here we have a man who knew he had the outcome of the election in his hands: if the indictments came down before November, Heather Wilson wins...and if he reports the phone calls, Heather loses. This congressional race was that close, being eventually decided by only a thousand votes.

In front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Iglesias stated that he didn't report the calls because he was "conflicted." He added, "I wanted to stay out of politics." But he did have an ethical obligation to report the calls at least to the Justice Department. Not only that, he was bound by department policy to do so. It was solely a personal decision based on friendship that drove him to stay silent until after the election.

David Iglesias ran for NM Attorney General as a Republican the same year that Heather Wilson made her first run for U.S. Congress. She won; he did not. But he considered her an "ally" and said so in front of the Senate committee. Pete Domenici was the man who was responsible for Iglesias being named U.S. Attorney. Indeed, Iglesias was being groomed for another run for political office...possibly for Heather's seat if and when she ran for Domenici's Senate position.

David Iglesias had a lot to gain for keeping silent. "I wanted to stay out of politics," is what he said. "I'll keep our secret," is what he meant. Did David Iglesias throw the election? Did his public duty get subverted by his alliances with Domenici and Wilson? Yes...and Yes.

Just like in the movies, when the Godfather comes calling in a favor, guys like David Iglesias are supposed to say, "Yes...anything for you Godfather." But instead his mouth opened and nothing came out. When Domenici then hung up on him, David Iglesias' future in statewide politics was over.

Why Iglesias Didn't Rat Out Wilson and Domenici Last Fall

NOB HILL--Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias only made one mistake when he recounted his telephone calls with Congresswoman Heather Wilson and Senator Pete Domenici: he didn't report the conversations to the Justice Dept. immediately. The story is well told in tonight's ABQ Tribune. And he explained it on NPR tonight by saying he was "stunned" at the perceived pressure being put on him by Wilson and Domenici to bring indictments against local Democrats before last November's election. He was too stunned to report it. Then, he said, he thought everything would just blow over. He added, "I was wrong."

Boy howdy. He is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee next Tuesday where, he says, he will be under oath to tell the truth. I might add this needs to be the WHOLE truth.

I believe that Iglesias, a loyal and dedicated Republican, consciously did Wilson and Domenici a favor by not reporting their actions before that election. Wilson's contest against Patricia Madrid was close. In fact Wilson might have been trailing in the polls when she made that call. Wilson was trying to get the public to associate Madrid (Patsy she called her) with hispanic politicians with crooked reputations. Manny Aragon's name was rumored to be in the indictments; certainly this would hurt the Madrid campaign. Heather Wilson and her mentor Pete Domenici wanted those indictments now...not after the election.

To his credit Iglesias did not rush the indictments (In fact they have yet to come down). But he also did not report their phone calls to the Justice Dept. like he was supposed to. Would the Justice Dept. under the Bush administration have done anything? Who knows. Would the calls have been made public at that time? Probably not.

Still, I am sure that Iglesias was certain that he was doing Wilson and Domenici a huge favor in "forgetting" about the calls. Maybe that seems obvious, but this would then be yet another violation of the public trust...and something that Iglesias probably would not admit to doing without being "under oath." He will be under oath next Tuesday.

So there were two actions here. Wilson and Domenici sought to influence the timing of legal proceedings, and Iglesias hid their phone calls. He hid them until he was fired.

How he must have felt everything was going to be okay! Sure he hadn't rushed the indictments surrounding the building of the courthouse, but then he had something on Wilson and Domenici as well. He was keeping their secret.

Until he was fired. What really burned him up was the reason given for his dismissal: poor performance. Livid, he recounted those phone calls, and chose not to go down alone.

"My Long Shot is Richardson," says Chris Matthews

NOB HILL--Hardball's Chris Matthews had just finished interviewing Arizona governor Janet Napolitano. She had said the race for the Democratic nomination was not just between Clinton and Obama...that there were a lot of good candidates out there and the voters want to actually hear what they have to say.

Matthews chimed in, "My long shot is Richardson. I think he's going to come up."

Well so do I. It amazes me that he has so much genuine support here in New Mexico. Favorite Sons are not a common phenomenon. Look at Gov. Tom Vlisak of Iowa...he dropped out today 2 years from the election. Polls showed him with only 14% of the Iowa caucus vote.

How can a candidate bring in money and excitement if only 14% of members of his own party in his own state support him? If a poll were done in New Mexico, I bet that Bill Richardson would get somewhere above 70% of NM Democrats supporting him. Maybe even 90%! Everybody I meet wishes him well.