New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson Announces He Will Seek 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination

(Los Angeles)

RICHARDSON: Thank you very much. (SPEAKING IN SPANISH) to so many that have been here today, especially three remarkable women who just spoke before you.

Gloria Molina, thank you so much for your strength and your leadership over so many years.

Linda Lynch (ph), you exemplify the best of this country, not just your own advocacy for human rights, but the way you stood behind the ideals of this country and your husband.

To the first lady of New Mexico, Barbara Richardson, my partner, you truly in standing with me show that together we can change this country.

(APPLAUSE)

And I notice another woman on stage, and I'm going to ask a question. The lieutenant governor of New Mexico is here. I'm wondering who's minding the store in New Mexico...

(LAUGHTER)

Well, we do have a line of succession.

I want to thank all of you for joining us here today. It means so much to me to announce my candidacy in California, the state that I was born and where I'm going to win this primary here in this state.

(APPLAUSE)

It is here where we will make history again, perhaps in this room, as Gloria mentioned, when my hero in politics, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, accepted his nomination in 1960.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

(APPLAUSE)

The United States faces huge challenges, both here and abroad.

RICHARDSON: And I'm running for president because this nation needs a leader with a proven track record, an ability to bring people together to tackle our problems here at home and abroad.

I am that person, not because I say so, but because of what I've done and what I can do for the American people to bring our people together.

(APPLAUSE)

The challenge of the campaign that I'm launching today is to get that message heard. Running for this office is the ultimate job interview. It's not just about the positions that you've held, what you've done, but your ability on day one to lead this country at a critical time in our nation's history.

This presidential election is unlike any others that we've ever seen. From day one, we have to repair the damage done here at home and our reputation abroad.

And that all starts with restoring diplomacy as the primary instrument of our foreign policy and basic fairness as the primary means for solving problems here at home.

(APPLAUSE)

There are a lot of candidates out there with a lot of good ideas. Some are rock stars. But I have a proven record.

I won't have their money, but I will have the voters and the grassroots campaign that will win...

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But coming up with a good idea is only half of the job. The other half is bringing people together to get it done. I'm proud of my record of getting things done, and I'll put that record up against anyone's.

Some of the critical questions to ask every candidate are this. One, how will you solve the crisis in Iraq and bring our troops home?

(APPLAUSE)

How will you deal with global warming and energy independence? How will you address the health care crisis in this country? And what will you do about immigration? How will you grow the middle class again and make our economy be number one?

RICHARDSON: I can't address all of these issues in one short statement. But I urge everyone to check my Web site, richardsonforpresident.com, for a more complete explanation.

But we are going to discuss several here.

First, Iraq. Some will tell you that we only have two options, either stay in Iraq and try to referee a civil war or leave and collapse into chaos.

I've spent a lot on this issue. I've spent a lot of time in the region. And let me tell you this: That which I just stated is a false choice. Removing all of our troops and healing Iraq are one and the same. Only when it is clear that the United States will leave Iraq and find a diplomatic solution is the only chance for success.

A negotiated political settlement involving the warring political parties and interested neighbors is how we prevent a regional war and protect America's interests.

And we have a strategic interest in putting together what is called diplomacy -- a regional conference with all of Iraq's neighbors, including Syria and Iran, to help stabilize Iraq.

After all, we should remember what the great Nobel Prize winner, former prime minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, said. He said, "You don't make peace with your friends; you make peace with your enemies."

But I would leave no troops behind in Iraq. No airbases. No security patrols. No embedded soldiers training Iraqi forces. Because we all know what that means: It means our troops would be targets, with targets on their backs.

We need a president who is not dismissive of diplomacy, but someone who embraces it as the primary instrument of our foreign policy, because he has practiced it and knows how to get results.

Being stubborn is not a foreign policy. And being president means working with both parties.

As Lee Iacocca has said, that great American, quote, "Courage in the 21st century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage means a commitment to sitting down at the negotiating table and talk." I couldn't agree more.

It was tough face-to-face talks that helped secure the release of Linda's husband, Paul Salopek, and two colleagues from a jail in Darfur.

I'm very proud that his wife, Linda, is here today.

RICHARDSON: But I also want to tell you something else about the strength of her husband, Paul. He said to me that he would not leave without the two Chadians, even if I got him out on his own. That is courage, and that is the kind of commitment in being a family and bringing people together that I would bring to the presidency.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, when I visited Darfur in January and negotiated a very fragile cease-fire, I saw thousands of widows and fatherless kids trying to escape the genocide, waiting in line in oppressive heat for a month. They wanted to know why it was taking the United States so long to do something, and I didn't have a good answer.

As president, I will make sure that the American people are led with the following ideals: diplomacy, negotiation first; diplomacy second; and diplomacy third.

We also need a president who is not dismissive of energy independence and global warming. This is no longer a choice, it's a moral imperative for a planet and a matter of survival for our country.

I'm very proud that in New Mexico, with all of these legislators here, with the lieutenant governor and the mayor of Albuquerque, Martin Chavis (ph), we made New Mexico the clean energy state. We're already requiring utility companies to produce energy from renewable sources. We're already investing in energy efficiency. We're promoting renewable tax credit for solar, wind, biofuels. (inaudible) plan of anyone running for president.

Within 12 years, my plan would reduce greenhouse emissions by 20 percent, lower demand for oil by 50 percent, and push fuel economy standards to 50 miles per gallon.

RICHARDSON: By the end of 2040, my plan would require that 50 percent of our electricity be generated from renewable sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent. And that is why the League of Conservation Voters has rated this plan the most aggressive of any presidential candidate.

(APPLAUSE)

Health care. You know, every political candidate says that all Americans should have access to affordable health care. But how do we achieve that?

You know, in New Mexico, we made a good start. We expanded our state health insurance to cover every child under five. We've tackled childhood obesity, insured more New Mexicans, increased immunization, as the first lady has led that effort. And we're going to expand health care access even more.

But states shouldn't have to struggle to solve the problem on their own. My plan as president is simple: Every employer must provide health insurance for their employees or pay an equivalent fee to the federal government.

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And every individual must have health insurance.

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Employers and individuals will have their choice, their options. If they like the coverage they have, they can keep it. My plan creates no new federal bureaucracies.

Next, the middle class. They've been under attack in the last six years. They want a president for the middle class, and I intend to be a president for the middle class, with the middle class.

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RICHARDSON: And as president, I'm going to reverse those policies that have hurt our middle class. I will do what we did in New Mexico. Tax credits for companies that create jobs paying above the prevailing wage. Startup tech companies that we've invested in technical training. And while Washington could do nothing and the Congress could give itself a raise several times, we passed in New Mexico an increase in the minimum wage to $7.50.

(APPLAUSE)

And finally, immigration, immigration, in this great city and this great state. We're a nation of immigrants and we should not forget that. And as the governor of a border state, I deal with this issue every day.

The proposal moving forward in the United States Senate is a step in the right direction toward establishing a path to legalization, but at the same time it's a step in the wrong direction, because it separates parents from children and loved ones from their families.

We should not support any measure that divides families.

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And they've come up with a new word. It's call the touchback (ph) provision. And any guest worker program must require available jobs to be first posted for American citizens and legal residents.

The touchback (ph) provision is a problem. It means that everybody has to go back and apply. That is ill-conceived.

We can address the problems with immigration by taking three realistic steps.

First, we have to recognize that no fence ever built has stopped history, and a border fence won't either. If you build a 10-foot fence, someone will use an 11-foot ladder.

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Instead, use that money to secure the border with more Border Patrol officers. We need to double the Border Patrol. That would secure the border.

Second, we need a path to legalization requiring those living in the United States illegally to, yes, pay a realistic fine, pass a background check, and pay any back taxes.

RICHARDSON: And third, it's called diplomacy. We have to work with the Mexican government and Central American governments and those that send those in need to our shores.

Mexico needs to do more to stem the flow. But if we create a reasonable guest worker program and provide a path to legalization for illegal immigrants already here, there is every reason to expect Mexico to do its part with economic reforms and to help us with border security.

Now, there are a lot of issues in this campaign. For me, those are pivotal, along with how can we get America to be first in education? We must reform our schools.

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We must find ways to give every American -- to give every American a chance at a high school education and a college education, an education in community schools, junior colleges. That is the American dream.

We must pay our teachers better. We mut find ways, also, to regain our strength in science and math and civics and languages and the arts.

So many issues, so much to do. The key issue in this campaign is who can bring this country together. We're divided over immigration, over gasoline prices, over the war in Iraq -- red states, blue states.

What we need is somebody that can bring us all together as Americans to solve these problems.

(APPLAUSE)

So this is a pivotal time in our nation's history. The challenges we face are not acts of God or accidents of fate.

RICHARDSON: They're manmade and they're deliberate.

Whether it will be willful ignorance or an ignorant will, we are left with the ravages of an administration that will take years to rectify.

But we can do it. I'm optimistic about this country, I'm patriotic. We can bring people together. We can restore our leadership internationally. We can help the middle class in this country. We can do it. We can negotiate with honor. We can defend with integrity. We can reach out with conciliation.

We have many fences to mend, and I'm ready to get started.

(APPLAUSE)

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

My grandmother, who used to, years ago, take me to church and say, "Go to church, confess," then she would joke that it would take a long time.

(LAUGHTER)

"Be good and you will be part of a dream."

So today the dream for me is to lead this country with all of us here together. I am honored by the wonderful response of so many of you that have been so much a part of my lives. This is a group of supporters that looks like America. That's how we will govern.

(APPLAUSE)

And now I will take any questions from the press as we conclude this wonderful event.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

RICHARDSON: You said Florida?

RICHARDSON: Well, I am going to campaign everywhere. Now, here's what I see. I believe that February 5th, with more primaries coming -- California, Texas, many others, Florida moving up -- the fact that Florida, Texas and California are early, I welcome that, because they're states with strong Latino populations; they're states with strong environmental concerns; they're states where I believe I can do well. I will work very hard in those states.

Nonetheless, I believe that Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina are still going to retain their huge importance, and doing well in those four is going to propel any candidate to the next level and the next series of candidates.

In other words, doing well in Iowa and New Hampshire will propel any candidate to the presidency.

I'm also very pleased to announce to all of you that have been with me, even when I started out below the margin of error...

(LAUGHTER)

... when I first announced, that last night we achieved double digits in both Iowa and New Hampshire in polls. So we're moving.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

RICHARDSON: Well, I don't know what the Democratic Party will decide. I will campaign in Florida. I will make it a large part of my campaign. I've already done that. I will treat every primary with the seriousness that it deserves.

What Florida, obviously, has emerged -- the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party officials and Florida officials, what has to be determined is how many delegates? Is it a beauty contest?

I don't know the answer to that.

Regardless, I am campaigning in Florida. They moved it to January 29th, is that right? So I'm going to be there a lot. In fact, I'm going there next week.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Is there a hypocrisy there? How could you do that and still get away with the use of (inaudible).

RICHARDSON: Well, first of all, it's hardly a fortune.

RICHARDSON: When I left...

(LAUGHTER)

When I left the government I had to earn a living. You know, I never had a real job. And so I went in the private sector and I accepted positions on the boards of two energy companies, one a refinery, another an offshore oil company.

When I left to run for governor I had some stocks. They're minimal compared to the other candidates.

I've always been a strong supporter of renewable energy as a congressman, now as a governor. I will divest myselves of the rather small amounts when I'm elected president.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

RICHARDSON: Is the American public overtaxed?

The American public is not taxed fairly. I'm a tax cutter. I am going to use the tax code to stimulate this economy the way I've done so in New Mexico. We have cut personal income taxes, state income taxes for individuals, for small businesses. We have, as I said, cut taxes for companies that come into New Mexico and pay over the prevailing wage.

If you are a company and you are a technology startup and hire local New Mexicans, we will charge you no taxes for three years.

If you come into rural areas, we'll give you another tax advantage.

As you know, we have been enormously successful in attracting films and aviation and high-tech and renewable energy companies.

I believe that we can stimulate and strengthen this economy, and I believe that incentivizing companies to create jobs and to be green. My energy plan calls for tax incentives and using the tax code to make America green, to make buildings green, to make fuel efficiency, to make investments in renewable energy technology and renewable fuels.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

RICHARDSON: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

(APPLAUSE)

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

(AUDIO GAP)

RICHARDSON: ... sexuality was immoral.

I believe very strongly -- and I will carry out these policies as president -- that there should be no discrimination on the basis of gender, race or sexual orientation.

If you look at my record in New Mexico, we have promoted nondiscrimination and elimination of hate crimes and all kinds of measures that protect the rights of all Americans.

QUESTION: So why don't you support full marriage equality, sir?

RICHARDSON: Did you have a question? Where are you when I need you?

(LAUGHTER)

What is it?

QUESTION: Why don't you answer the (inaudible) question?

RICHARDSON: Go ahead.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

RICHARDSON: Well, to those that criticize my plan, I say to them, there's already a bloodbath. There's already a civil war. There's already sectarian conflict.

My plan says this: We withdraw American forces. No residual forces by the end of this calendar year, because they've become targets.

RICHARDSON: And it troubles me that over half of the Iraqi people say it's OK to shoot an American soldier.

But my plan preserves Iraq and gives it a chance for the future by having, one, a political compromise of the three religious groups that allow for a coalition government and a division into three entities.

Secondly, a donor conference where issues relating to reconstruction can be addressed, Europeans, Arab countries, Japan.

And then, third, a security conference, a securing conference involving Iran and Syria where we deal with also Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan in a framework that brings security to Iraq.

But let me just say, Iraq is not exactly helpless. This is a country that has had several elections. So it has democratic institutions. It has over 200,000 men in army. It has sizable oil revenues, close to 150 million reserves in oil.

So I believe America has done admirably. The United States military has performed its responsibility. Now it's up to the Iraqis to take over.

And my solution also calls for a regional approach to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. You can't separate Iraq from the situation in Israel and the situation in the Middle East.

So bringing nations like Iran and Syria and bringing issues relating to the entire region as we resolve the Iraq issue is going to be centerpiece.

The key is diplomacy. The key is bringing people together. The key is not doing things alone as we have before. The key is mediation. The key is called bringing people together.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Governor, aside from the fact that you were born in this great state of California, can you tell us more about why you decided to make the announcement here instead of in New Mexico?

RICHARDSON: All right. Well, I also have a confession to make. I was born here, but I didn't exactly spend a lot of time here. In fact, I was born here because my father, an American citizen, wanted me to be born in America, and he had a sister that lived here. And so that's why I was born here.

Now, I didn't spend much time here.

RICHARDSON: In fact, it was about eight hours, because I went right back. But now there's a California primary, so I'm trying to improve on those roots.

(LAUGHTER)

Look, I am -- I am announcing here because this is a very important state. It's a state with a large Latino population. I'm a Latino. It's a state that issues that are important to me are also important to California, issues of water, renewable energy, transportation. You have a traffic problem here.

My point is that an American president should have smart land use, smart growth policies, that involve not just rebuilding highways, but bullet trains and light rail and many other new, energy-efficient methods of transportation that I believe would be important here in a state like this.

But, obviously, you've moved up your primary, February the 5th. That makes you an immediate player. And here I am. And so, symbolically, this is where I'm announcing my presidential candidacy.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Governor, my understanding is that federal law says you cannot require businesses to give health care to anyone. Is that true?

And if that is true, how are you going to get around that law to require businesses to give health care to people?

RICHARDSON: Now, you're talking about relating to whom?

QUESTION: To health care, to your proposition regarding health care, that you would require employers to provide health care.

RICHARDSON: Oh, I see.

Well, you can do it. You have to pass legislation to do that. And I believe that my health care plan, with a Democratic Congress, we could get it passed in one year. And I believe it would take probably a couple of years to implement.

But the centerpiece of my plan is the following principles: Yes, everybody shares. Businesses share. Individual workers share. The state shares. The federal government shares. Very much along the lines of a plan that is being seriously considered here in California and already exists in Massachusetts.

Secondly, no new bureaucracies.

Third, reestablish the doctor-patient relationship.

RICHARDSON: Four, focus on prevention. I want this country to have a health care policy that focuses on prevention.

In New Mexico we eliminated junk food in schools. We're going to do this as president. We also had a healthy breakfast for every child. We had mandatory physical education. I believe that is necessary.

I would give incentives to companies to find ways to make their employees more health conscious.

We need to be a nation that has more research into Alzheimer's, cancer research, stem cell research, diabetes. Thirty-three percent of health care costs are diabetes related, yet there is no plan to reduce diabetes or obesity in our society. We need to take those steps if we're going to have effective health care.

And then, finally, if you look at our health care budget, it's $2.2 trillion; $2.2 trillion. Yet 31 percent of that is administration and inefficiencies, not direct care.

And the problem that we have is that it's almost 20 percent of our gross domestic product, yet Europe, European countries are at 10 percent and they cover everybody. We have 47 million uninsured.

Our statistics on infant mortality, on disease prevention and many other indicators are a lot worse than these countries. So we have to dramatically change our health care system.

But the fundamental part of our health care system is universal care for everyone, and we can do it.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) the symbolism of your candidacy being a Latino running for the White House, sir?

RICHARDSON: The symbolism?

QUESTION: Yes.

RICHARDSON: Well, for the record, I am the first Latino to run for president in the Democratic Party.

(APPLAUSE)

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

(SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

Just for the record, because I got to be correct in some of these things, the first candidate for president was some 25 years ago, he was a Republican named Benjamin Fernandez. And I checked, I don't know where he is. He may still be around. So I'm really the second in history, but the first in the Democratic Party.

Thank you all very much.

(APPLAUSE)

END

Source: CQ Transcriptions