Tell me about bill richardson....

[liberalitch]

Why isn't he an automatic choice for VP?
The geography is right, so is the fact that he would certainly deliver the hispanic vote.... he's experienced in DC.
And he's just teddy bear cute!

[molly]

1. I met him at a Biden Seminar a few years ago

he has a VERY STRONG and FIRM handshake. He is very nice - he would be an excellent choice. However, he has said on numerous occasions that he vowed to be Gov and he will not accept a VP position.

[sundog]

2. Richardson...

I live in Southern New Mexico & he is despised here. But of course this is total freeper country & a Republican stronghold (quite depressing). Liberals are definitely the minority. For some reason, the freepers in this part of the state want to blame every one of their woes on Richardson.

I have no problem with him, but this state is very divided over him.

[liberalitch]

4. How does the hispanic community feel about him?

What kind of draw would he have on republican hispanics in states other than NM

[Kahuna]

7. If Richardson only increased Hispanic Democratic turnout 5%..

Do you think it would help?

[sundog]

9. Hard to tell...

I just have a barometer on feelings around here -- but of course there are also a lot of closet racists here as well. Again this is SOUTHERN New Mexico -- which may as well be a different country from anything north of Albuquerque.

As far as "Republican" Hispanic vote -- uggh -- this is a phenomenon I don't understand -- there are several I know around here, and their souls have been whitewashed. They don't want to be associated with others in the hispanic community... somehow separating themselves from the poor & downtrodden -- you know, that crappy "better than" mentality -- quite sad actually.

I'm not sure to what extent Richardson would sway the votes in the hispanic repub faction, because again there in a tendency to disassociate from the rest of the group.

On the other hand, I know a few blue blooded liberal Hispanics here & I know they will vote for Kerry no matter who is on the ticket.

I would love to see Richardson play some part when Kerry takes office -- just to piss off the freepers around here :)

[beyurslf]

8. I have friends in ABQ and they say everyone there LOVES him.

He is popular in Santa Fe too.

[Warpy]

13. He's a DINO

I'm in northern NM, and he's not much liked here, either.

He campaigned on ending the regressive tax on food and medical care. What he did was decrease taxes on the rich. This year, he proposed ending the misery tax on food, but insisted on making it "revenue neutral" by raising misery taxes elsewhere. He didn't bother making that tax cut for the rich "revenue neutral."

Since there is less revenue coming in, especially from the rich, he's had to dip into the principal of the state emergency fund to pay for things like teacher raises, something that should never have been done.

He's a typical DLC Democrat, GOP-lite.

[LandOLincoln]

15. Well, he won guv in a landslide over John Sanchez,

a young, handsome native New Mexican businessman who--he would have us believe, anyway--came from nothing to make a success of himself, instead of being born into money as Richardson was.

I wasn't paying that much attention to the gubernatorial race, but I figured Sanchez would give Richardson a real run for his money. It wasn't even close.

So I think it's pretty safe to say he's popular everywhere outside of Little Texas.

BTW, please tell me you don't live anywhere near Silver City. Can't stand to think that would be Freeper territory, especially given the number of retirees from California who've moved there in the last 10-15 years.

[sundog]

17. Not Silver...

T or C area -- hardcore repub country -- they about hang you if they find you're a liberal -- lol

[Exgeneral]

18. Southern NM?

Don't you mean Tejas?

[Kahuna]

3. I could very easily live with Richardson. Great resume and

loads of gravitas. He would motivate lots of minority voters of all races to vote. Not just Hispanic.

[liberalitch]

5. I hope that would be the case....

He doesn't seem to be well known enough in the east

[Kahuna]

6. "Not known in the east?" Kerry doesn't need the help so much

in the east. It's the western states where Richardson could help out.

[liberalitch]

12. Oh, I know, I just think...

that the fact that he's not well known out here may hurt his chances of getting on the ticket.

I know that he says he won't give up the governor's mansion, but I sure like to see it

[mrgorth]

10. I want Richardson

it would also help dispel the fact that both tickets are old white men.

[liberalitch]

11. That's what appeals to me.....

that and the teddy bear thing.

[Bombtrack]

14. He's ruled it out a million times. He doesn't want it. AND it would be

impossible for him to do QUADRUPLE duty. He has to run his state in the middle of his first term. He has to oversee Kerry's campaign in New Mexico. He has been chosen as CHAIRMAN of the democratic national convention. And you're going to tell me he can be vp candidate as well?

Get it through you're heads, he's not in contention any more than McCain is.

[saracat]

16. Rumours Of Women Trouble

And he was the designate to find Monica a job when she became demanding.Offered her UN and Revlon as I recall.I covered a recent DLC event that he attended and the buzz was he didn't pass the vetting. Spec was women in the background. I believe something similar was going around during the Clinton years around the same time Henry Cisneros got busted for something similar.

[no name no slogan]

19. Someone in my precinct used to live in NM

and she worked on the waitstaff of a bar near the capitol. Bill was in their quite often, having a few, and flirting with the women. I'm sure she's not the only person from NM who could tell stories like that.