Just Say No to Bill Richardson

A name often mentioned as a potential running mate for likely Democratic Presidential nominee Barak Obama is that of former Democratic Presidential Primary candidate, and current Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson. In this posting, I would like to suggest that Gov. Richardson could actually harm the Party's chances in the November election.

First of all, as the results of the early Democratic Party primaries prove, Gov. Richardson was never able to attract a significant number of voters in the Democratic Party! If you can't win the support of more than 6% of the voters within your own party, what benefit would it be to have you on someone else's ticket?

Along the same line, the party bosses would become the laughing stock of the political realm if they attempted to justify Gov. Richardson's selection on the grounds that he would attract the Hispanic vote. In the most recent public opinion polls, Obama holds an average lead over John McCain of 8 to 10 points in that sector of the electorate. With that margin, why waste a nomination on winning the approval of a group that you already control?

Governor Richardson's fiscal and budgetary policies are also open to criticism, if not outright hysterical laughter.

In 2004 Gov. Richardson forced a plan through the State Legislature for a commuter train, which was promptly named the "RailRunner," that would "cut greenhouse gas emissions" and provide an "economical" form of transportation for workers from other cities to access "high-paying jobs" in Santa Fe. And the projected cost of this far-sighted, environmentally-friendly transportation policy? Try $400 million dollars. And what do the citizens of New Mexico have in return on their "investment" so far?

Albuquerque is now the center of a dynamic, 30 mile-long section of leased (from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad) track connecting it with the towns of Belen (population: 8,000) to the south and Bernalillo (population: 7,000) to the north. As of today, the system is losing money at such a rate that 9 of every $10 required just to keep the thing running will be from taxpayers' pockets! And it's still more than 60 miles short of its intended destination!

Another factor to be considered is that Gov. Richardson seems to have the nasty habit of saying one thing, to please the public, while he is consciously planning to do something entirely different. Let me make a case in defense of that statement.

Throughout his 2006 campaign for re-election as Governor of New Mexico, Richardson adamantly insisted that he would not be a candidate in the 2008 Democratic primaries. He, of course, won re-election and was sworn in for his second term on January 20, 2007. Care to take a guess as to what he announced on January 21, 2007?

Right! He announced that he was now a candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Do you think that he arrived at that decision overnight?

Yet another reason as to why the Democratic National Convention should be wary of naming Gov. Richardson to anything is that his appointees to various positions within the State of New Mexico are not what one would cite as examples of professional competence or integrity.

Former State Senate President Pro-Tem Manny Aragon is a case in point.

Upon his retirement from the State Senate Aragon, despite having absolutely no previous experience that would qualify him for the job, was actively supported by Gov. Richardson for the soon to be vacant post of President at New Mexico Highlands University. Manny, of course, got the job.

Two years later, after running up some "questionable" travel expenses and approving purchase orders with the consent of the Board of Regents, Aragon agreed to "resign" in consideration of a lump-sum payment of $200,000.

Since his expulsion from his job at N.M. Highlands University Aragon, and three others, have been on the receiving end of a Federal indictment in an alleged conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering scheme that authorities say cost New Mexico taxpayers $4.2 million.

I guess it's also just a coincidence that Gov. Richardson also lobbied the Board of Regents at the University of New Mexico to hire another of his seemingly unqualified buddies, former Clinton Administration Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera, to be the President of the University despite the fact that Caldera, like Aragon, had no experience in a senior administrative post at any university.

After 2 ½ years on the job, Caldera's inept performance and administrative policies had led to a situation just shy of armed insurrection on the part of the faculty. In a move undoubtedly inspired by the Highlands University "buyout" of Manny Aragon's contract, Caldera agreed to resign in exchange for $700,000 and a tenured position as professor at the UNM Law School.

The most notable aspect of Caldera's post-UNM President career has been his tenure as a member of the Board of Directors of Pasadena, CA-headquartered IndyMac Bank, which was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on July 11^th. According to Securities and Exchange Commission documents, Caldera received $213,520 for his service on the failed bank's board in 2007 and $261,626 in 2006 while the bank was loaning out millions upon millions of dollars in risky mortgages.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Calderon taught a class last fall at the UNM law school that, in retrospect, seems appropriate: The Law of Corporate Governance!

In consideration of the above-presented information, the selection of Bill Richardson as the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate would appear to be a very risky political move at best.

On second thought, I hope Richardson gets the nomination and that he becomes the next Vice-President of the United States. I could easily spend the next four years trying to run out of Spiro Agnew similes.