Richardson proposes New Mexico budget

The governor detailed his proposed six billion dollar budget for New Mexico yesterday. It is heavily focused on education and health care. Among the highlights:

$119 million increase for "public schools, the Department of Education and other education programs." Included is a 3% pay raise for teachers. An additional $9.3 million was set aside to "expand pre-kindergarten programs across the state."

$110 million increase in Medicaid aimed at providing "medical services for children in lower income families." $9 million of this appropriation will go toward providing "health care coverage for an addition 9,000 children."

"2% pay raises for state employees."

$39 million increase for "the state's higher education network." This includes a 2% pay increase for "faculty and staff at [state] colleges and universities."

--Wyndam

Compare the Candidates!

I'm asked this frequently: "Where can I find a good comparison of all the candidates on the issues?"

Good question! Here's the answer:

I generally use Vote Gopher for these purposes. You can compare candidates by issue, and they give you quotes to back it up. Issues 2000 (a.k.a. On The Issues) does the same (yes, it's updated to 2008) and is more extensive, but for the major issues, I find Vote Gopher more user-friendly.

My favorite site, though, is Open Secrets, which logs all monetary transactions made by the candidates (from the initial donation to where the money is spent). A great insight into the world of political fund raising, and where the money goes.

But if you want to compare the candidates side-by-side on one sheet of paper, I suggest getting a back issue of the New York Times from December 30. On pages 16-17 of the National Section (the A section, in this case), there is a full, broadsheet chart that includes the positions of all the major candidates from both parties (that means no Duncan Hunter, Dennis Kucinich, and certainly no Mike Gravel) on some of the main issues--Iraq, Health Care, Taxes, Detainees, Interrogation, Immigration, Energy and Climate Change. It's not perfect, but it's the easiest way to compare the candidates. And if you can't get a hold of that, the Times has a nice section with the candidates' biographies, web sites and relevant articles.

--Wyndam

Go on, Ask Bill!

More fun with videos!

Governor Richardson has a neat part of his site where he directly answers questions sent in by the public. It is called "Ask Bill." His responses are concise (about one to three minutes long), but remain insightful.

Here's a game: compare our videos on Richardson's stances with Richardson's own:
The governor discusses health care here, and issues we have yet to touch on fully, but he does discuss the "Heroes Health Card" and other veteran bonuses, which we talked about here.

And in this clip, he discusses equal rights and domestic partnerships for homosexuals. We elaborated on LGBT rights in this video.

Finally, Bill Richardson touches on two issues in this clip, energy initiatives and foreign relations. We discuss his energy policy here. He also skims over the need to focus on Africa (we talk about that here), build coalitions through respectful diplomacy (in the middle of this video, after my rant), and throughout, he displays some of his vision for the presidency (discussed further, by us, here).

Have an issue you care about? Send in your own questions to Ask Bill!

Fun game part two: identify the books on Richardson's shelves. So far, I can only make out "My Life" by Bill Clinton--it's well known that Governor Richardson is a big fan of the former president, and vice versa. If you recognize any others, add them to the comments below. It'd be interesting to know what's on that shelf--you have to believe they've been strategically placed. And as a diehard Yankee fan, I'm trying my best to look past the Red Sox hat...

--Wyndam

On Veterans' Affairs...

Soldiers go off to war zones around the world to fight for our country and our freedom. They risk their lives for us everyday, and ask little in return. Yet when they come home, there are few initiatives in place to help and thank them. It's time to right this wrong and give something back to these brave men and women. Bill Richardson has a detailed outline for how to do just that, which includes better health care, and a new G.I. Bill.

In this clip, Wyndam and Alex discuss the intricacies of this plan, and why it is necessary.