Supporters of Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) and his now aborted bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President have taken a new turn: They are petitioning to have Richardson named as Vice-President on the Democratic ticket, regardless of the nominee. Apparently, this new wrinkle is not authorized by Governor Richardson or the Richardson for President campaign.
Initially started a few days ago by Ken Camp, a Richardson volunteer supporter and blogger, who started a blog and petition drive (richardson4vp.blogspot.com); the move was seconded by another petition created by former Richardson National Grassroots Coordinator, Jeff Gulko. The two groups have now joined forces and have already received almost 500 signatures in the petition effort.
Today, Thom O’Shaugnessy and David Buchanan, who headed up Richardson’s volunteer and political initiatives in California, launched a new website, www.draftrichardsonforvp.com, complete with links to Camp’s blog and the petition, as well as news stories on the petition drive.
Asked by the Santa Fe New Mexican about the petition effort, Dave Contarino, Campaign Manager for Richardson for President, simply said, “You can’t stop the people.” It’s apparent that Governor Richardson has no plans in the near future to stop the petition drive or the grassroots movement to keep his name at the forefront.
“I whole-heartedly support Governor Bill Richardson, but I will delete this blog and the corresponding petition if asked to by Governor Richardson or any of his senior staff,” Camp wrote in his initial post. “I know the Governor has said he isn’t interested in being Vice-President, and if asked to cease my activities, I will.”
However, to date, Camp says he hadn’t heard from Richardson or any of his staff so far, despite some buzz about his project in New Mexico blogdom.
According to the website, supporters believe “…We believe Governor Richardson is the one person who can balance the ticket with a wealth of both foreign policy and domestic experience. Bill Richardson has balanced budgets 5 times, made New Mexico the clean energy state, and created over 80,000 well-paying jobs to the state.
Governor Richardson’s foreign policy and diplomatic experience is without equal. As a Congressman for 15 years, Ambassador to the United Nations, and confidante of world leaders, Bill Richardson has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 5 times for his efforts in bringing hostages and captives home, negotiating ceasefires, and returning the bodies of our servicemen home from North Korea to their final resting place.”
On the day after the New Hampshire primary, according to Albuquerque Tribune, who interviewed voters, “But while a sample of voters interviewed Tuesday said they liked Richardson, they liked him more as the vice presidential candidate, whether with surprise winner Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, runner-up Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, or third-place finisher John Edwards of North Carolina. (http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/jan/09/bill-richardson-would-make-good-vice-president-new/)
Support for the petition is growing, but are the candidates listening?