Health care reform day. No matter what happens today, the day will be dominated by coverage of whether or not the Supreme Court of the United States upholds or strikes down the health care reform law passed by Democrats -- one that largely has not yet gone into effect.
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Republicans are staunchly against the law, while Democrats back the law. But all that matters right now are what the nine Supreme Court justices believe -- and, in all honesty, it will likely once again all come down to what Anthony Kennedy thinks. As I said a couple of days ago, some believe that Chief Justice John Roberts will decide to vote to uphold the law, but I can't believe that.
Sadly, a lot of the coverage tomorrow won't focus on what the SCOTUS decision does to affect health care, but rather how it will have an effect on elections in November.
By the way, if you want to the the Word in your email inbox every morning, you
.
Anyway, here are the news stories of the day before the health care bomb is dropped in today's Word:
- The Democratic Party of New Mexico did not ignore yesterday's report by the Independent Source PAC on the emails related to pressuring the Downs at Albuquerque deal. The party chair Javier Gonzales said in a statement:
- "Now we know the reality: the Governor's top deputy Ryan Cangiolosi and her right-hand man Jay McCleskey were in consistent contact with the lawyer and lobbyist for the company, manipulating the bid process in favor of her benefactors. That's the definition of Pay-to-Play, and now that's it is more than rumor, more than hints of corruption, it's time for Law Enforcement officials to step in. We have every confidence that the Attorney General is already taking a hard look at this, and we hope he will consider all avenues - including the appointment of a special prosecutor - to get to the bottom of this newest evidence about the Downs deal so the people of New Mexico know the truth about how far this governor and her administration have gone to personally participate in bid-rigging on behalf of her contributors."
- Unfortunately for them, the Downs deal has had little media attention.
- The State Investment Council
- voted against former Senator Leonard Lee Rawson as vice chairman of the SIC
- . Rawson was Martinez's choice for the position. Martinez heads the panel, though State Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, has been leading efforts to remove the governor from the position for years because of the potential for corruption.
- Martinez's push to
- transform the capital outlay program will continue
- .
- The NM Telegram wrote
- about two new ads in the New Mexico Senate race from outside groups
- on Tuesday. The
- Santa Fe New Mexican had their own take
- on the ads.
- The Albuquerque Journal decided that this was the time to report that Hector Balderas' campaign manager
- left her spot in the State Auditor's office to run his campaign
- . The story also notes that this is not uncommon; I would bet that if a story was written about every case of this happening, newspapers would be a lot fatter.
- The Santa Fe Reporter, NM Telegram's partner in the Morning Word, takes a look at how a
- long-time Department of Health whistleblower is now suing the state
- .
- According to a dismissal letter sent by Deputy Secretary of Programs Jim Green, Ortiz was fired for “inappropriate and unprofessional conduct” and “creating a hostile work environment,” but much of the letter focuses on his “disingenuous or irresponsible communication with the media.”
- In a separate piece on the SFReeper blog, where NM Telegram appears each weekday morning,
- SFR digs deeper
- .
- Nobody
- tell Fox News
- --
- gas prices are plummeting
- . Rising gas prices were thought by some political commentators to be a danger to President Barack Obama's reelection campaign. Not necessarily because of the prices themselves, but because the effect it would have on the recovery from the recession.
- Sunland Park update! Now a judge wants the Dona Ana County Clerk's office to
- look through early voting numbers in the embattled city
- . At last check, the city was still without a mayor.
- Republican Pat Woods, who defeated the Susana Martinez political machine in a Republican primary earlier this month,
- took in the Roundhouse
- on Tuesday.
- Fortune ran
- a devastating piece
- on the Republican version of the "Fast and Furious" scandal on the eve of the vote to hold Attorney General in contempt of Congress. The conservative obsession will likely result in the Republican-dominated chamber voting against Holder -- but Republican attack dog Darrell Issa, R-Cali.,
- injected some doubt into the proceedings
- .
- “During the inception and the participation through the death of Brian Terry, we have no evidence nor do we currently have strong suspicion” that Holder knew of the tactics, Issa said during testimony before the House Rules Committee on Wednesday.
“We have just the opposite, have a number of people, including Lanny Breuer, who should have known who’s responsibility was to know, that as part of our ongoing responsibility to figure out who was responsible,” Issa continued. - There will be some Democratic defections on the vote (largely attributed to the fact that the National Rifle Association said they would score the vote), but Republicans risk making this look like a partisan witch-hunt.
- If you ever doubt that anyone can run for Congress, just look at Adam Kokesh, who lost in a Republican primary in New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District in 2008,
- and what he is doing now
- .
- Some people shouted curse words while others carried profane posters supporting free speech at Monday's rally in the rain on the Middleborough Town Hall lawn. People who support the bylaw also showed up.
The protest rally was organized by Adam Kokesh, a libertarian who publishes podcasts online from a Virginia studio. He says police can "steal from you if they don't like what's coming out of your mouth." - Last we saw Kokesh, he was
- reading aloud a letter fantasizing about assassinating Mitt Romney
- .
- The town of Truth or Consequences pu
- t a moratorium on well-drilling in the city
- because of fears it may diminish the town's hot springs.
- National Geographic says that Blake's Lotaburger is the home of the
- fourth-best burger in the nation
- . I like Lotaburger and all, but I'd still say their breakfast burritos are superior to their burgers.
