Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Albuquerque Tribune Interview

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/feb/06/bill-richardson-tribune-interview/
Tribune: Some legislators have criticized you for raising money during a session, citing a state law that bars it. Federal law obviously trumps that. But some are saying that ethics should trump legalities in this, and that the moral thing for you to do is not accept money. How do you respond to them?

Richardson: Well, that's a partisan comment. That's unilateral disarmament. I've got to start raising money.

It's very clear that the law says that if I'm the governor of New Mexico, I don't raise state funds. I've always abided by that, but this is a federal race. This is a race that is national. This involves mainly traveling around the country and raising money - although I am raising money in New Mexico.

Tribune: One of the weaknesses out there that might dog you in a national campaign is the Wen Ho Lee case and the speculation that you were the source of the leak in the case. Are you concerned about that at all?

Richardson:
Well, it's not a plus, obviously. But I believe I acted appropriately with Wen Ho Lee.

There were security problems at Los Alamos that still continue. But I believe there was - he did plead guilty to unauthorized use of classified materials. Perhaps the Justice Department and his incarceration may have been a little harsh.

Tribune: Were you the source of the leak?

Richardson: No, I wasn't the source of the leak. The media has many sources, and I've said I wasn't the source of the leak. You know, there were reports in the Asian press way before anyone ever talked to anyone at the Department of Energy. No, I wasn't the source of the leak. That's over with.

Hopefully, voters will see I was trying to protect our national secrets. I was the secretary of energy. You know, we've got these hugely important nuclear secrets that we've got to protect. There was continuous problems at Los Alamos. I tried to get them fixed. We made a little bit of progress, but obviously, there's still problems.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

NY Times 02/03/2007

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/23/us/politics/23richardson.html?pagewanted=2

Sexual Harassment

In late 2005, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish told The Albuquerque Journal that Mr. Richardson
“pokes me” when they sit together, calling that more annoying and likely to be misconstrued than improper.

“He pinches my neck,” Ms. Denish said. “He touches my hip, my thigh, sort of the side of my leg.”

The governor waved that off, telling The Journal: “I tease Diane. I touch guys. It’s my way of lessening tension.”

Poor Judgment and Bad Management

Although not laid at Mr. Richardson’s door, corruption scandals have also tarnished the state —
“pay to play,” in the words of critics. Some of Mr. Richardson’s embarrassing appointees stepped down, including a former state police officer named to a magistrate judgeship who resigned after being caught ordering the release of a friend jailed on a drunken-driving charge.

“One bad judge out of 56,” Mr. Richardson said, acknowledging “our vetting procedures are not the most extensive.”
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  • Richardson opposed the 1st Gulf War but endorsed W's invasion of Iraq, "I think there is such intensive pressure on both sides that only one more deadline, only one more chance for Saddam Hussein is going to be allowable. So I think the administration is wise in pursuing this course that says OK, total disarmament in two weeks and that's it."
  • He told a gay-rights forum, Logo, that homosexuality is a choice.
  • He said Justice Bryon White who voted against Roe v Wade was his model Supreme Court justice. It appears that Justice White voted against Miranda rights and wrote the majority opinion on Bowers v Hardwick, banning homosexual sodomy, see comments section at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/27/113257/730
  • He was reluctant to fire Alberto Gonzales because he is a fellow Hispanic.
  • His stance on illegal immigration is troublesome to many--he doesn't want to build a wall on the Mexican border, he wants to legalized all illegal immigrants in this country. In http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/us/politics/24richardson.html,
  • Richardson initially said he would support the immigration compromise announced earlier this week. But later on, he said that after reading it in detail, he had decided to oppose it, saying the measure placed too great a burden on immigrants — tearing apart families that wanted to settle in the United States, creating a permanent tier of second-class immigrant workers and financing a border fence that Mr. Richardson had long opposed.
  • He said during the campaign, "Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord, should be the first caucus and primary."