Sunday, May 27, 2007

Richardson's MTP Implosion

I saw Gov. Bill Richardson on Meet the Press this morning, and wow, was I disappointed.

I had heard great things about him, especially in terms of his experience with international diplomacy and energy efficiency/independence. And I heard some great ideas from him on both fronts during this interview.

But when asked why he decided to join the board of an oil refinery company that recently bragged it would have even bigger profits due to the squeeze on supply, he answered, multiple times, "I have to make a living", in some form or another.

Is there no other way to make a living than by working for the board of a company whose policies typically directly contradict yours with respect to energy efficiency and independence?

What is Richardson's ethical guidelines for choosing to serve on the board of a company? Has he none?

Another thing that disturbed me was his switch in stance on the assault weapons ban. He originally voted for it, but then voted to repeal it as a representative of the state of New Mexico. His argument? He's a Western governor and he needs to represent his constituents. Well, he's not going to be a Western president!

I know this gets into the gray area of what views an elected representative should espouse once in office--his/her own or that of his constituency--but I honestly believe that if you think giving uzis to hunters is unnecessary one day, you shouldn't change that view on another day because you're now in a position where that view is unpopular.

Lastly, Governor Richardson simply needs to do a better job of doing his homework before he speaks.

He was originally for the comprehensive immigration reform bill when it was announced, but now he's against key provisions. The reason? When he announced his initial support, he had only read the bill's summary! Um, if you served in Congress for over a decade, it shouldn't be a shock to you that the devil is in the details. It's perfectly acceptable to say when asked whether you're for a piece of legislation, "While I like the ideas that this bill puts forth in summary form, I'm going to the responsible thing and take some time to study it before I make any judgments one way or the other." What the heck would have been wrong with that?

Governor Richardson has some great ideas, and some real passion to him, but I don't feel his MTP interview was a demonstration of his presidential qualities.

2 comments:

Sam D said...

Theosophe, he has no internal principles, no moral compass. He just wants to get elected. I live in NM; used to live in his cong district. He was a lousy rep; and especially as sec of Dept of Energy, really screwed over the Lab (LANL). He prime achievment was to jail Wen Ho Lee in soitary - with chains for over 9 months on spurious charges due to one guys' oft repeated charges. In the end Wen Ho Lee pleaded to one count of improper downloading just to not have to stay imprisoned longer. the other 23 charges were dropped.

As to Richardson's most attractive point: He says he will get the troops out of Iraq, 100% -- on the first day he's in office. That is a pure lie in the mode of Richard Nixon who campaigned on a promise of "a secret plan to end the war in Viet Nam." And why not when his advisor is none other than Henry Kissinger himself. They are more than friends.

From my comment on DKos - a day late:

Funny how he is running on his resume but omit one his most prestigous positions. From the end of his DOE stint until he started running for Gov Big Bill was a Director and officer of Kissinger McLarty Associates. From sourcewatch

Kissinger McLarty Associates is an international strategic advisory firm. The firm was formed in 1999 by the merger of two organizations headed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Mr. McLarty, who served as President William Jefferson Clinton's chief of staff ...
. . .
Officers
* Thomas F. McLarty III/Mack McLarty, President[2]
* Richard W. Fisher, Managing Director
* Henry Kissinger
* Bill Richardson
Partners
* Homeland Security Ventures[3]
* Magnet Group LLC[4]
* Hiram Capital LLC
* Zemi Communications: Strategic Partners:
Kissinger Associates
Kissinger McLarty Associates
Venture Communications, a Swedish capital services and communications firm serving the Scandinavian high-tech market.

. . . and

* Blackstone Group - Kissinger McLarty Associates

* "Blackstone's alliance with Kissinger McLarty Associates is designed to help provide financial advisory services to corporations seeking high-level strategic advice. The relationship was announced in 2000 and recently completed its first strategic advisory assignment on behalf of a NYSE-listed company. Kissinger McLarty Associates, which is chaired by the former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, is a leading strategic and geopolitical consulting firm based in New York City."

I can't understand why Big Bill is not publicizing his prestigous association with the uber warrior. Kissinger, the the guy meeting weekly with Cheney and about monthly with Bush saying "you only lose if you retreat."

The reason Bill can say he will get us out of Iraq on his first day in office is that he is flat lying. That statement is so unreal that I can't see why anyone falls for it. It is a variant of Richard Nixon's secret plan to end the VN war and you know how good that was.

On the homefront:

From the NY Times article

Critics say Mr. Richardson can be vindictive, penalizing opponents by holding up their projects or grants.

"He rules the roost," Lonna Atkeson, a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, said. "He takes things away when people are not so nice."

Told that some people called his politics rough, Mr. Richardson blurted, "Who’s saying that?"

Then he said: "No, no. Look, I’m aggressive. I get things done. I believe I’m a good manager."

riiiiight.

Though NM is rolling in revenues from its oil and gas on state lands, BB put big tax cuts to upper brackets first. Then Money for schools & teachers (they vote). But:

The Annie E. Casey Foundation ranked the state 48th in its 2003-4 Kids Count index of problem indicators. The foundation said more than a quarter of New Mexico children lived in poverty, among the highest rates in the nation.

A Census Bureau study shows that from 2003 to 2005, an average of 21 percent of New Mexicans went without health insurance. Just Texas had a greater average rate in that period.

It goes on and on. He is the expert on cronyism, grudges, pay to play and sell outs. But he's got a dimple.

see http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2007/5/27/111835/382/82#c82
for the links.

Theosophus, (I hope I spelled your elegant name right) he is a hack. And not even a well spoken hack.

Theosophe74 said...

Thanks, sam, for the details on his board connections and his political tactics.

When it comes down to it, Bill Richardson just doesn't seem to rise above the political fray, no matter what his cute commercials say.