New Mexico's second congressional district-- which is bigger than some states-- is not going to be easy for any Democrat to win next year. There's a relatively popular Republican incumbent, a very, very rich one, and Democratic and independent voters will need a reason to turn him out of office. A Republican-lite candidate of the DCCC brain trust variety is not going to be able to do it. And, of course, the heavy-footed and bumblingly incompetent Steve Israel has come down against the progressive in the primary, Leslie Endean-Singh, and on the side of the more conservative Democrat, Roxanne Lara. If Democratic voters in NM-02 want a pro-fracking fanatic they already have one in Steve Pearce. That's not a message the DCCC should be encouraging. Oh, they're not… they sent out this fundraising memo to the rubes who still contribute to them:
Subject: White House Veto threat:Date: 11/20/13 01:46:12 PMFrom: "DCCC Rapid Response" Friend -- House Republicans will vote TODAY to completely undermine President Obama’s efforts to establish environmental protections against fracking. Once again, Republicans are putting the interests of Big Oil and Gas above public health. President Obama has pledged to VETO this Republican bill. Stand with the President before today’s vote: Sign here to join the White House and tell House Republicans to stop choosing Big Oil and Gas profits over public health and the environment >> Thanks, DCCC Rapid Response
What they don't tell the people on their list is that any money they donate is going, at least in part, to Roxanne Lara, who is 100% pro-fracking. Here's a short post New Mexico's Capitol Report did about fracking as an issue in the upcoming NM-02 congressional election:
Endean-Singh, when asked last week if she would support a bill banning hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, said, “Absolutely, I’d have to weigh it … Fracking kills the environment, and just because it’s a tiny bit less damaging than coal, that doesn’t justify it.”When asked the same question, Lara said, “It depends on what the bill said. We’ve been fracking safely in Eddy County for over 60 years. What I support is a good balance between state environmental concerns and with the industry doing what it needs to do to keep us running.”Pearce, who once founded an oil services company, has been a strong proponent of oil and gas and in his most recent election in 2012 won with 59 percent of the vote.