Karl Rove
He was speaking in El Paso but his eyes were on New Mexico as Karl Rove, the Prez's top political advisor told Texas Republicans: "We're building the biggest grassroots organization in the history of New Mexico politics. We have county chairs in all 33 counties. We're literally organizing leadership down to the precinct level."

Rove made his boast to a 100 R's who gave a thousand dollars a pop to hear the political sage analyze the election landscape. Texas, of course, is in the bag for the Prez, but New Mexico is worrisome. He lost it by 366 votes in the last go round, and the recent resignation of GOP party chair Ramsay Gorham has heads spinning and open wounds smarting. Rove and the White House never did see eye-to eye with Gorham and her insistence on having more control over the Bush campaign here. That headache is now gone and the new chair-to-be, retired marine colonel Alan Weh, is a loyal soldier who will see it the White House's way through November. But NM Democrats not fond of overstating their chances are telling me that Bush is looking solid only in SE NM. Perhaps that's why Rove, according to the El Paso Times, told the GOP fat cats Bush plans regular personal appearances in our enchanting land.

Expect more of those visits to be in the Duke City area which is going to be the big battleground within this battleground state.

NM AIR WAR UNDERWAY

Rove's boasts over the Prez's ground operation here are backed up with TV spots that you have been seeing nonstop for the past several weeks. Just how much cash have the Bushies dumped on local tube buys? Industry experts tell me Bush spent $320,000 on NM TV In March, compared to zero dollars for Kerry. But the Democrat's March presence was maintained here through independent liberal groups Moveon.org and The Media Fund which bought $270,000 on our airwaves. It doesn't take much to make an impact in the NM media market. That Bush 320k was a drop in the bucket. Nationally, the Prez spent $15 million on the tube in March, Kerry about $6 mil.

Kerry's campaign will raise its head in the state Tuesday night at the La Posada in ABQ where a $25.00 a person fundraiser will be hosted by Dem heavy hitters Jeff Bingaman, Diane Denish, Tom Udall, Richard Romero, John Wertheim etc. Not on the card, however, is Big Bill, even though he continues to have fun with his possible Veep chances with the Massachusetts senator.

A LITTLE DAB WILL DO YA

Big Bill has three chefs working at the mansion, but what he really needs is a good hairdresser. And he may have found one, judging by his appearance on CNN last week. The big Guy's wiry do has had his close advisers fretting for years on its impact on his all-important TV image. When he was UN Ambassador it looked like they pulled in Christophe to shape the stately locks. Recent efforts shave proved less successful, with the Guv sporting an unkempt brillo pad look. The new do includes shorter locks and something to keep the unruly strands tamped down. As far as we know there is no botox involved.

WARD CAMP---PAID POLITICAL

We welcome advertising from NM's political candidates, and when they come aboard, we give them space to tell us about themselves. Ward Camps is a GOP candidate for the Public Regulation Commission. Here is his pitch to his fellow R's as he seeks the nomination to fill the ABQ seat being vacated by Herb Hughes.

“Working to bring greater energy efficiency and more information to customers about their utility bills has convinced me that we can improve our utility system here in New Mexico. Having worked with more than 15 state regulatory agencies throughout the United States, I have seen what works and what doesn’t. New Mexico can do much better.

Dramatic increases in insurance costs to small businesses, the need to crack down on uninsured motorists, and the lack of customer services are also areas where the PRC has fallen short. The PRC can be improved in so many ways. Isn’t it about time, we had a PRC that was responsive to the people of New Mexico?"

For more on the Camp candidacy click on his ad. And for details on how you or your candidate can get before New Mexico's most likely voters, give me a call at 505-243-4059 or email me at jmonahan@ix.netcom.com. There's a link at the top right of this page.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2004
Not for reproduction without permission of the author