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.
Saying “it is John McCain’s time,” the Silver City Daily Press has endorsed the self-proclaimed maverick, joining the Roswell Daily Record as the second New Mexico daily newspaper to back the GOP candidate for president.
But in its own maverick style, the southwestern daily endorsed Democrats — Tom Udall for U.S. Senate and Harry Teague for the U.S. House — in both of the other major races affecting the southwestern part of the state.
And it said the gender of McCain’s running mate was viewed favorably during endorsement deliberations because the Daily Press is a woman-owned publication.
In its endorsement published this week (which is not available online but was sent to the New Mexico Independent on request) the Daily Press said:
It’s a historic election, and the presence of a woman and an African-American candidate on the major parties’ tickets has personal significance for many. Feelings run strong on both sides.
By all accounts, this is a critical juncture in our nation’s future, and we need a president who has been tested, and who has the experience to lead us in what will certainly be difficult times ahead.
We admire John McCain’s military experience, and see him as the more fitting commander-in-chief. His record of bipartisan cooperation in the Senate would make him an effective executive, even with a Democrat-controlled Congress.
And while many newspapers around the nation have mentioned Sarah Palin’s lack of experience as a reason not to endorse McCain, the paper run by publisher/editor-in-chief Christina Ely took a different tack:
Because the Daily Press is a woman-owned business, the management also wants to support McCain’s choice of a woman running mate. Sarah Palin has received more than her share of public criticism and ridicule, but we have our own reservations about Barak Obama’s pick, Joe Biden.
The Daily Press doesn’t disqualify Obama, and says his youth could give him another shot at the presidency sometime in the future, while McCain doesn’t have that luxury:
We are inspired by Obama and his life story. He is a young man, and we would be happy to see him sitting in the Oval Office someday.
But we think that, after a lifetime of honorable public service, it is John McCain’s time.
In endorsing Udall for U.S. Senate, the Daily Press positively cited his past work as state attorney general and said during his time in Congress his “support of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, making higher education more affordable and championing renewable energy are more in line with the needs of southwest New Mexico than those of opponent Steve Pearce.”
The paper also liked the fact that Udall “has been unafraid to take unpopular positions in the past, including opposition to the Iraq war and Patriot Act, and we admire his vote in the minority against the recent pork-laden $700 billion bank bailout bill.”
And here’s a telling walk-off line:
Sometimes we feel like the neglected stepchild here in southwest New Mexico. We hope that whoever is elected to replace Pete Domenici will remember our part of the state.
The Daily Press supported Teague for his accomplishments as a “self-made successful businessman and former county commissioner from Lea County” and for his “moderate views,” and added:
Contrary to what his opponent would have you believe from his negative television advertisements, Teague is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment and has received an “A rating” from the National Rifle Association.
Teague has a proven track record as an effective and genuine public servant that we find lacking in his opponent’s résumé.
Typically telling it as the Daily Press sees it, the endorsement also said:
Teague may not be the most articulate guy, but Washington might be better off with fewer polished speakers and more people who know how to get things done for their constituents.
The Press’ endorsement of McCain puts the New Mexico daily paper tally of endorsements at 4-2 in favor of Obama. New Mexico papers that have endorsed Obama include the Santa Fe New Mexican, Las Cruces Sun-News, Taos News and, in what surprised many of its readers, the Farmington Daily Times, with the Roswell Daily Record recommending McCain.
The Albuquerque Journal is expected to publish its presidential endorsement Sunday.
