I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
WASHINGTON — Congressmen Steve Pearce and Tom Udall see the world from different angles. Pearce, a former oil company executive, is a Vietnam War-era Air Force pilot and son of an oilfield roustabout. Udall, an environmentalist, is a Harvard-trained lawyer and scion of a liberal political family.
Pearce, a Republican, combines a laconic cowboy’s persona with a penchant for brash rhetoric to support his conservative outlook. Udall, a Democrat, has skillfully climbed the committee ladder in Congress to carry on his family’s conservationist legacy.
Their backgrounds and their styles may just reveal something of how each man might operate in Congress’ more exclusive chamber — the U.S. Senate — if they make the leap.
Pearce, a three-term lawmaker, likely will continue to be a brash conservative confronting Democrats on national issues while making sure to tend to state and local issues. Udall, a five-term lawmaker, will remain a legislative operator using powerful committees and patrons to make his mark on environmental and veterans issues.
“They would bring very different legislative styles and policy positions to the Senate,” Michael Rocca, a University of New Mexico political scientist, said. “I would expect both to maintain their high levels activity and party loyalty in the Senate.”
“You know exactly where Pearce and Udall stand, there’s not very much overlap,” a New Mexico Democratic lobbyist added.
But as different as they may be on the issues and on style, in one area both lawmakers would push the limits of a staid, go-along-get-along political culture that has embodied New Mexico’s politics. They are not shouters, but they do stake out strong positions on some issues and they are not afraid to use sharp words to defend their views.
Pearce, in particular, sees himself as a lone cowboy with an intense work ethic standing against the world.
“Anything he does, he does himself,” a Republican lobbyist in New Mexico said, adding that Pearce is famous for working from 5 a.m. to midnight if it is required.
His laconic demeanor belies an ideological intensity and a tendency to demonize his political opponents. He called a Democrat-backed energy bill that the House approved last month “a hoax” and “phony,” and concluded his remarks with a dose of ridicule.
“When we should be establishing American dominance in the energy field, we are saying no to nuclear and yes to bicycle power,” he said.
As the most conservative member of the New Mexico delegation and a reliable vote for President Bush, Pearce stands alone on some issues. Last year, Pearce opposed the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, S-CHIP, and voted to sustain President Bush’s vetoes. Everyone else in New Mexico’s congressional delegation voted for the bill and to override Bush’s vetoes.
Closer to home, Pearce has put his nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic to help direct federal money to defense installations and preserve a federal law enforcement training facility from budget cuts. He’s worked to crack down on methamphetamine abuse by proposing to stiffen penalties for drug dealers and steer federal money to drug treatment programs.
Pearce has sought to deter illegal immigration and to make it harder to enter the U.S., and, even though New York GOP Rep. Peter King took credit for it, Pearce introduced legislation, which the House approved, protecting citizens from civil lawsuits if they report suspected terrorist activities.
Udall, for his part, has taken a less confrontational approach in his five terms in Congress. He has cultivated powerful patrons to become a “go-to” lawmaker on environmental issues and to secure a seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
Perhaps as important for his Senate bid, he’s turned his office into a model of constituent service. If there’s a baby born in a hospital in Udall’s district, political insiders joke that Udall is likely to congratulate the mother before she delivers her baby. His allies say he is also a good boss who inspires loyalty in his staff.
He’s also used his position on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, where he served from 1998 through 2006, to increase health and education benefits to veterans.
(Udall secured a seat on the House Appropriations Committee in 2006. The “Approps” panel is considered an “A-List” or “Exclusive” committee. Its members cannot serve on another committee).
But to understand Udall is to understand his family. Stewart Udall, Tom Udall’s father, served in Congress and then as Interior Secretary in the 1960s. His uncle, Morris, represented Arizona in Congress and ran for president in 1976 (Mo Udall’s son, Mark, is running for senator from Colorado). Whether Udall arrived on Capitol Hill with a pre-ordained understanding of how to climb the greasy pole of politics, he wasted no time cultivating powerful patrons in the Democratic Caucus. On the House Interior Committee (now the Resources Committee), Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the panel’s ranking Democrat and a big brother figure to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., taught Udall how to block Republican initiatives and use the committee to further policy goals even though House Democrats were relatively powerless in the minority.
While Udall was in line to secure a subcommittee chairmanship on the House Resources Committee, he had enough supporters to recommend him for a spot on the Appropriations Committee.
When Democrats took control of Congress, Pelosi tapped the Cousins Udall to work on one of her most important priorities: requiring electric utilities to get a portion of their power from renewable resources. Working with some Republicans, they initially wanted utilities to produce 20 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2020. The House approved a scaled down 15 percent standard, but the Senate failed to muster the 60 votes needed to accept the amendment.
Both Pearce and Udall have directed earmarks to their districts to upgrade Air Force bases, water treatment systems, public buildings and drug treatment centers in FY 2008.
Despite their ideological differences, neither candidate is making an issue of the other’s performance in office, a New Mexico political strategist said.
The race, however, is looking more and more like it is Udall’s to lose. He’s maintained a lead in the polls and analysts generally agree that Pearce, who is a scrappy campaigner and has won some tough primaries, is too conservative to win statewide.
Stuart Rothenberg, the author of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, reported last month that the National Republican Campaign Committee pulled money out of the race, effectively conceding that it no longer thinks the GOP can hold the seat.
