Democrat Killer? (Page 5)

New Mexico

As a part of the woo-the-West strategy, the Democratic Party recently set up a commission that explored the possibility of creating a Western regional primary early in the primary season--a single day on which the West as a bloc would flex its political muscle. If, as is widely expected, the proposal is approved later this year, overnight the West will become a key factor in determining the party's next presidential nominee. Such a move would, not coincidentally, probably give a major boost to Richardson's presidential ambitions.

A Western regional primary, says Richardson, "would mean the presidential candidate would have to be attuned to Western issues--and the gun issue would be important. It would force candidates to confront the gun issue more realistically, instead of just a blanket opposition. The core issues are access to healthcare, jobs and job protection, education. These are Democratic core issues. The gun issue? It should not be a litmus test. Because there are more and more Democrats who support the Second Amendment."

"Richardson's a very politically astute individual," says Robert Goode, NRA regional representative for West Texas and New Mexico. "He knows you're beating your head against a wall when you go after the firearms issue. And he backs his words with his votes." Goode continues that, if a candidate like Richardson ran for the presidency, he believes the NRA would step back and not take a partisan stance on the election. Goode's colleague Charles Weisleder, a 70-year-old NRA lobbyist, agrees. "Richardson," says Weisleder, a bald man smiling broadly over coffee at an Albuquerque Shoney's, "got a lot of gun votes because of what he said to us. A lot of people are driven by the firearms issue."

Shannon Robinson believes the Democrats would have won the last presidential election--would have certainly won New Mexico, with its five Electoral College votes--if the wedge issue of guns had been successfully neutralized. "Folks need to understand that we need to fight issues that are significant to why people are Democrats," the Bull Mooser asserts. "The Democratic Party is the party of inclusion. Bush's latest budget has a very predictable effort to let people know 'you're on your own. You're not going to get help from the federal government.' The Democrats are the group trying to create success for all Americans."

Quite simply, says Robinson, lighting another cigarette with the smoldering butt of the one just smoked, the stakes are too high to let an issue like guns rob Democrats of Electoral College votes in a state like New Mexico. "This is real," he exclaims as he details the way in which he wants the party to get on-message. "We're playing for the ability to rule the world. And what we have on the line is the conscience of the world, which is aghast that we had an election and didn't discuss the new imperialism that Bush's people have played us into."

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