Despite the results in Iowa and New Hampshire, I'm not giving up. I've been blogging for Bill Richardson since February 2006. I've been organizing and doing political work for Governor Richardson for most of the last 2 years, before there was a campaign, and I'm not giving up yet.

Some people I know think of me like Don Quixote, taking on windmills, believing in some sort of pipe dream. But it's not that simple. As John Lennon said, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..." There are many Bill Richardson supporters across the country, many whom I've come to know.

Bill Richardson started his political career being underestimated. And despite losing that first race for Congress, he gained a lot of respect because he worked harder than everyone else. And eventually, that hard work translated into a lengthy career in public service, doing the work of the People. Bill Richardson did not get where he is today because he listened to the people who told him no. Bill Richardson ignored the people who told him no, worked harder than his opponents, and proved himself.

So, today, despite the results in New Hampshire not being what we hoped for, I'm not giving up. I refuse to take no for an answer. And now that the campaign is headed into the West, where the people know Bill Richardson best, let us all display that Richardson spirit and not let people tell us that Bill Richardson can't be the next President of the United States. As long as we continue to work, put in the time, effort and money, anything is possible.

Bill Richardson never gave up, and neither am I. I'm flying to Reno. Nevada on Friday to do what I can for the campaign in advance of the January 19 caucus.

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"You know, every candidate in this race is asking for the biggest job promotion of his or her life. The voters ought to look at what we've done.

"What has the Senate done in the last 12 months? Since my colleagues took over leadership of Congress, have they gotten us out of Iraq? No. Did they scrap No Child Left Behind and reform education? No. Did they stop an Attorney General who wouldn't say that waterboarding is torture? No. Have they done something to create the next generation of great paying jobs? No.

"I know that we can do better. And I have done better.

"In the last twelve months, I helped shut down North Korea's nuclear reactor. We brought back the remains of 6 American soldiers from that country that had been missing since the Korean War. I extended health coverage to every child under 12 in my state. I raised teacher salaries. I cracked down on unscrupulous lenders. I passed a landmark clean energy bill to create clean air and thousands of jobs that cannot be outsourced.

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"Richardson has heavyweight credentials for a heavyweight job; Obama, Edwards and Clinton, by comparison, have barely found their way into the ring," the paper wrote.

"A handful of years as senator for each of them simply does not stack up to Richardson's powerful resume as a former congressman, energy secretary, U.N. ambassador, and now, governor of New Mexico."

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The poll also found, however, that one in five Iowa Democrats and one in three Iowa Republicans said they could still change their minds before the caucuses on Thursday -- the first big test in the state-by-state battle to choose candidates for the November presidential election. [emphasis mine]

I just sent the following e-mail to our Washington State for Richardson group:

Dear Friends, I've just set up a new Facebook group for Richardson supporters called "I Will Caucus for Bill Richardson in Washington on February 9,2007. If you have a Facebook account please join this group so I can start confirming that you will participate in the caucus and support Governor Richardson. Please also invite everyone you know who supports Governor Richardson, lives in Washington state and will attend the February 9 caucus.

Here is the link to the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7889506977

Thanks again for all you do.

Ken

If you're in another state and coordinating for the campaign you might consider doing the same thing to start getting a handle on identifyingRichadson supporters in your area.

After watching the Democratic Presidential debate last week, and seeing the major difference between the candidates on Iraq, I've spent the last week taking action to support Governor Richardson. This morning, using the tools on campaign's Action Center, I've sent Letters to the Editor of my local newspaper, The Olympian, and national newspapers, the Washington Post, New York Times, LA Times and USA Today.

The tools are very easy to use to send your own letter. You enter your Zip Code and a list of local newspapers pops up and then you can select which newspapers you want to receive your letter. Then you type your lette and click submit and of it goes. 

Here is the text of my letter I sent out 5 minutes ago:

As we learned in last week's Democratic Presidential debate at Dartmouth, on the issue of Iraq there is a major difference among the top four candidates. When asked by moderator Tim Russert, only Governor Bill Richardson committed to getting all of the troops out of Iraq before the end of his first term. Senators Clinton, Obama and Edwards would not commit to getting the troops out before 2013. That's five more years of stay the course.

On the issue of residual troops, Senators Clinton and Obama have made it clear that forces would remain in Iraq. Senator Edwards muddies the waters by saying he'll remove combat troops, but makes no mention of the non-combat support troops he'd leave behind. Don’t be fooled by the kabuki dance and rhetorical gymnastics of the other candidates. Residual troops equals stay the course, and that’s simply unacceptable.

Governor Bill Richardson has a plan that the majority of the American people have endorsed: get all of our troops out of Iraq immediately. No peace can exist in Iraq until American soldiers are out. Bill Richardson has the long record of foreign policy experience with proven results and superior diplomatic skills, among the candidates, to get the United States out of this quagmire.

Please consider writing your own letter to the editor and add your voice to the growing chorus that is joining Governor Bill Richardson's call for an immediate end to the war in Iraq and getting all of the troops out. While the rest of the candidates dance around on the issue of Iraq, Bill Richardson is providing a clear, steady voice that addresses the wishes of the vast majority of the American people. And Bill Richardson has the experience and skills to turn his plan into reality.

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I'm at the Washington State Democrats Central Committee meeting this weekend,  representing Bill Richardson for President, signing up new supporters and making connections with Democrats around the state.  Thanks to Aaron Belenky, Jack Arends and Becky Graham for all of their support and hard work this weekend. Without them, this would have been a one-man show.

Last night, Aaron Belenky hosted the Richardson for President hospitality suite. With the help of Aaron's projector and my laptop we showed Governor Richardson's new ad  (the 5 minute version) that lays out his positioon on Iraq and clearly delineates where the other candidates stand. The video was looped and played over and over endlessly, until the battery died on the laptop. We received  a great reception from Democrats from around Washington state. Everyone was very positive about Governor Richardson, many are already supporting him, and those who weren't had him as their second choice.  I'm pleasantly surprised by the level of support we're seeing from the party faithful, and think that we're on the cusp of becoming a more visible force in Washington.

I also spoke to the Washington State Democrats Hispanic/Latino caucus this morning and gave out literature on Mi Familia Con Richardson. Many of the caucus members had met Governor Richardson in May when he came out to Seattle. This morning they welcomed me to the "family". The Latino caucus is very excited and motivated about supporting Governor Richardson's campaign and so we're working to turn that into action.

In addition, we've got a DNC vacancy to fill, and one of the candidates is a supporter of Governor Richardson. So, I've been providing assistance to her campaign to get appointed, so that we can increase the number of friends that Governor Richardson has on the DNC.

We've also signed up some new supporters and picked up a number of endorsements of party leaders while we've been here in Wenatchee. This support will be crucial when we get out the vote for our caucuses.

So it's been a very good weekend for the campaign here in Washington, and people out here are very positive about Bill Richardson and ready to get the campaign rolling.

While the mainstream media fall all over themselves using the latest polling to make a case for the so-called frontrunners to be the Democratic nominee, CBS News provides us with a good reminder that polls aren't everything.

In a nationwide poll that CBS News and The New York Times conducted just before the 1984 New Hampshire Democratic primary, Walter Mondale held what CBS News and The Times characterized as the largest lead ever seen in national polls in the race for a nomination. Fifty-seven percent of Democratic primary voters in that poll chose Mondale, and only 7 percent chose Gary Hart. However, the day after that poll was reported, Gary Hart beat Mondale handily in the New Hampshire primary.

Sure, you say, but that's national polling and the New Hampshire primary. What about Iowa?

As Richardson supporter Stephen Cassidy has frequently noted on the blogs, in 2004, 42% of Iowa caucus voters didn't make up their mind on which candidate to support until within a week of the election.

Don't believe the hype. Polls aren't everything. And as long as Governor Richardson can find hands to shake and people to talk to, he has just as much chance as any other candidate in the race.

Promoted by Joaquin~ This is a great op-ed find. If any of you find more of these be sure to let me know about them and I'll front page them.

It turns out that though USC is a fairly conservative campus (at least it was when I went there), I'm not the only Trojan supporting Bill Richardson. Check out this great editorial by Greta McAnany from today's Daily Trojan.

 Richardson's adherence to social justice tied with his New Progressive philosophy will make the necessary transformation for America.

Attention to social justice will give people a government that emphasizes equal rights and support them. New Progressivism stresses that opportunity is not reserved for the upper echelon of society, but for the masses as well.

As president, Richardson will be able to implement the effective systems he developed in New Mexico to our nation's suffering economy and job market. The special care he takes with marginalized citizens reveals he will be a president who will seek to unite rather than divide.

Sure, other candidates have adequate experience and a few good ideas, but will they be able to finish the job?

[...]

Richardson has consistently proved he is up to the challenge of improving American society and will follow through on his promises.

He is the only candidate intent on including everyone in the dream he has for America.

Well said Greta. As an alum, it's great for me to see a student use the Daily Trojan to educate the masses, who otherwise might not hear much, about Bill Richardson.

As we Trojans like to say, Fight On Governor Richardson!

Cross-posted at Daily Kos.

This diary started with a conversation I had recently with two prominent labor leaders here in Washington state. Both told me that they felt Bill Richardson was a strong labor candidate because he speaks favorably of unions and working families no matter what audience is listening, something not all of the candidates do (in their opinion). But waxing poetic about union politics and issues, as Democratic candidates are known to do, isn't enough. Actions speak louder than words. And Bill Richardson has a long record of accomplishment with regard to America's working families.

As Governor, Bill Richardson has increased the minimum wage for all New Mexicans. In addition, he reinstated collective bargaining for public employees, supported stronger penalties for employer violations while workers attempt to unionize,secured the first public works labor agreement in New Mexico history and made New Mexico's prevailing wage a union wage. Governor Richardson also cut taxes for working families again this year, returning $52 million to their pockets. 

As today is the 35th wedding anniversary of Governor Richardson and First Lady Barbara Richardson, I'm issuing the following challenge to the Richardson for President community: Who among you will join me in donating $35 to the campaign in honor of this special occasion? I'm going to make my contribution now. Please join me in congratulating the Governor and Mrs. Richardson.

Go here to make your contribution today. 

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I'm sitting here with Cara Valente-Compton in the Richardson for President booth at Yearly Kos. It's a constant flow of people who are seeking more information about the campaign and checking out the other vendors and campaigns.

So far it's been really positive, with new people signing up at Richardson for President, and picking up flyers with information on Governor Richardson's positions on various issues, as well as walking away with their Richardson swag. It's been really great meeting fellow Richardson supporters who want to volunteer and have been looking for a way to get connected. We've also had a really good group of supporters from Chicago, helping us man the booth.

Congressional candidates Larry Grant of Idaho an Gary Trauner of Wyoming, both of whom had positive things to say about the Governor, have stopped by to visit. 

Governor Richardson will be here tomorrow to participate in a forum with the other Democratic candidates, and then will have a breakout session which Emmett wrote about earlier.

I'll post more later, so watch for the updates.