What is the prevaling opinion about Bill Richardson

[thefloyd]

I just saw him speak on C-Span and he really is an effective speaker. Also got to a core issue......the battle of ideas. Even though the Cons
really never had a new idea. Cons bow to the alter of Trickle Down Economics which........does not work. Richardson had a great Teddy Roosevelt story as well. Roosevelt was speaking in a room full of conservatives and asked if there were any Democrats. One guy stood up and said he was a Democrat. Teddy asked why. Man said my dad was a Democrat, My grandfater was a Democrat, and my greatgrandfather was a Democrat. Teddy asks if your dad was a Horse thieve would you be a horse thieve? Guys says no I would be a republican.......

[WestHoustonDem]

1. He actively discouraged efforts to recount the New Mexico

vote and for that reason alone, I wouldn't support him.

[Horse with no Name]

4. I second that

No matter how good he "might have been"...his refusal to allow a transparent electoral process in NM should forever taint his political record in the eyes of a party who has been screwed out of two presidential elections.
He ought to just cross over and become a Repug--he enabled them to steal his state. Maybe he could run on their ticket.Blackwell could run as his VP. They have alot in common.

[BattyDem]

8. Count me as a third

He's an enabler ... we don't need any more of those.

[applegrove]

2. LOL - I love that story

[Ron Green]

3. I voted against him (for David Bacon, the Green) when I lived in NM....

Bill is pretty much considered a craven politician, I think.

[ChiciB1]

5. He Seems Pretty Effective....

and I feel he would be a VERY GOOD candidate for VP!! He can motivate the Latinos, and they seem to love him. My sister lives in NM, and basically a Perot???? supporter, but really likes Richardson.

She's Independent, so that may be the reason, but still she says he's great.

Every time I've seen him he's been very engaging and right on point. But I don't know THAT much about him. I like what I see.

[Warpy]

6. The first thing he did as governor was drop taxes on the RICH

even though he'd campaigned on ending the state sales tax on food.

Dropping taxes on the rich dropped revenues enough that he either had to stiff teachers on a paltry 3% pay raise or get the legislature to dip into the principal of the state's emergency fund. He did the latter.

Two years later, we lost the sales tax on food, BUT there was a huge tax HIKE on everything else, giving us a NET TAX INCREASE and keeping the taxes regressive.

The rich are still enjoying their windfall. Richardson apparently worships the rich, no matter what his rhetoric is like.

[TomClash]

7. He has a moral values problem

and he is a pain in the ass.

He's not getting the Dem nomination.

Don't waste your time on him.

[mmendoza01]

9. Give me a break about the recount....

It would have wasted my taxpayer money and it would not have delivered Kerry the White House anyway. Why is everyone so anal about it????

He would be a top-notch VP candidate. He has too much baggage to lead the ticket plus he is Latino, we aren't going to have a Latino President for a long time, at least not in 2008.

He has recently enacted legislation to buy life insurance policies for all members of the NM Nat'l Guard that are sent to Iraq. If they shall die a $250,000 sum will be paid to their beneficiary. That will make him look pretty good.

I have seen him speak on several occasions and he is pretty good usually.

[Horse with no Name]

12. The election process was flawed

There were many discrepancies. There were groups actively in court seeking a recount when he ordered the machines wiped.
Why wipe the machines? Why not just let them sit til the problem was worked out?
They didn't need them for anything...there was no harm in letting things alone til everyone was satisfied.
But he ordered them to be wiped thus forever eliminating a fair accounting of the election process in NM.
The point doesn't matter who would have come out the winner or loser...the point is a fair election, whoever wins as long as it is a fair win. The discrepancies were enough to recount, if nothing more than to satisfy the questions as to why the discrepancies occured so that it didn't happen again.
I'm sorry--there aren't enough excuses in the world as to why he acted the way he did. It was a deliberate slap in the face to the Democratic party and IMHO, he doesn't ever deserve another public office under the title of Democrat again, let alone a nod at one of the top spots.

[ThorsHammer]

10. I like him as a VP candidate

[no name no slogan]

11. He's okay, but he's got more baggage than a bellhop

He's yr standard DLCer, for the most part, but he's got TONS of personal baggage.

I've heard he's quite the ladies' man around the state capital, and has a bit of a reputation. One woman in my precinct caucus last year used to live in NM, and worked at a bar near the Capitol. She said Richardson was in there frequently, and was a bit of a sexist pig toward the women on the waitstaff. Don't think for a second that Rove & Co. won't play that against him.

He'd be an okay VP, but I don't see him being President.

[thefloyd]

13. Well if Richardson is not married he

has a right to be a ladies man. He should not be sexist of course

[BootinUp]

14. I have often been impressed

by Gov. Richardson, back when I saw more of him on Clinton's cabinet. I think he will be a serious contender in '08.

Thanks for the story.