Thanks for Commenting
Good morning Mario. There are so many levels to comment on this entry...first of all, Dana Pabst...OK Mario, it is ok to blame the GOVERNMENT for him being on the road, but not a corporation (that actually served him drinks continually during his flight)? I thought the republican party was about personal responsibility (though only to the point of conviction, then you pardon your felons).
Also, if a Bill Richardson supporter makes a mistake HE is to blame? Again, what is it with republicans and PERSONAL responsibility? I guess it really does show a pattern...no personal responsibility, no fiscal responsibility, no moral responsibility, no ethical responsibility. Good thing that power is being wrested from the hands of that evil and twisted party.
The Open and Ethical Elections Code, both through the law and through the rules/regulations, specifies in great detail what are permissible expenditures for a publicly financed candidate. The law was written in this fashion to make certain public funds are used for the purpose for which they are intended. The City Attorney understands this, as evident by his comments in the article.
I would encourage folks to read the provisions of the law and rules that clearly lay out permissible campaign expenditures. Go to: www.cabq.gov/clerk.
This law is not perfect. But, the option of voluntary public financing of campaigns is immeasurably better than the unsustainable fundraising arms race.
Plus, Mario, the law actually increases speech. More speech is a good thing, right?
What I find funny about Big Bill's anti-US Airways crusade is that:
1) Phoenix-Albuquerque is a 40 minute flight, which means Pabst could have had (at most) two drinks on the plane.
2) Papst's wreck occurred more than three hours after his flight had arrived, meaning he must have gone drinking somewhere else (read: the bars in the Sunport) after he landed.
Also, to the person above, I'm not a Republican but personal responsibility lies upon the drinker (Papst,) not on the people he managed to get served from. As a former bartender, I can tell you that it is nearly impossible to determine if a person is drunk when they've just entered your establishment/airplane, especially if the person in question is an experienced drinker. You don't have time to administer a field sobriety test on every patron. Laws that try to put the responsibility for DWI on the seller rather than the drinker are complete nonsense and, if ever tested by the Supreme Court, probably Unconstitutional.
Finally, the fact that Bill Richardson of all people is on an anti-drinking crusade is ridiculous. I've personally encountered Bill four times since his election as Governor and each time he was enormously drunk. Richardson's attitude towards DWI seems to be that everyone should just get their dedicated state trooper to drive them around when they're drunk like he does.
I campaigned for Richardson in his 2002 bid but after having him drunkenly try to pick up my girlfriend immediately after the campaign I've lost all respect for the man. He's just Marty Chavez writ large.
I have seen Bill Richardson drunk twice. He sobers up very good. Get him in front of an audience and the drunkness seems to disappear.
You should have seen him at the Sandia Casino at one of the boxing matches. Drunk and all over the women around him. Wish I would have had a camera.
Imagine that, a politician who drinks and chases women! How about one that snorts coke, goes bankrupt, steals an election, brings a nation to the brink of bankruptcy, pardons felons before they serve one day in jail, etc., etc., etc.
It's hard to take these criticisms seriously when this blogger is such a shill for a party gone awry!!!
Jet, you shouldn't talked about Bill Clinton like that.
Tom, your a moron.
Tom:
My point is, you can make all kinds of accusations and some are more serious than others, but if all you are doing is spewing party line b.s. then it is pretty hard to be sanctimonious and to be taken seriously.
Fred seems to have figured you out pretty well.
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