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To: Wharf Rat who wrote (64633)	10/31/2004 11:22:25 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 89467

Endorsements pit Navajo leader against senator By Leslie Hoffman/Associated Press Writer Oct 28, 2004, 12:07 am Email this article Printer friendly page ALBUQUERQUE — The president of the country’s largest American Indian tribe is battling New Mexico’s senior senator as the fight for this tightly divided swing state intensifies. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr.’s endorsement of Sen. John Kerry for president, along with that of his tribe’s council, has drawn sharp criticism from Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. At a weekend rally in Farmington for Vice President Dick Cheney, Domenici alleged those leaders “just don’t get it.” “The truth of the matter is that under President Bush, the Navajo people have been the recipients of an exceptional amount of funding,” Domenici said in an interview with The AP this week. “President Joe Shirley better wake up.” The spat is emblematic of the tug-of-war over a traditionally Democratic voting bloc in a tossup state during the final sprint to Nov. 2. At stake on the Navajo Nation are more than 95,000 registered voters spread across parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, all with the chance to cast their ballots in a tribal election and federal presidential election on the same day. The tribe has declared Nov. 2 an election holiday, meaning tribal resources can be used to get Navajos to the polls. Shirley says that up to 80 percent turnout is possible. And every vote counts in a state like New Mexico where Bush lost by only 366 votes four years ago. Kerry has also won endorsements from the state’s All Indian Pueblo Council, Laguna Pueblo’s council and Govs. Stuart Paisano of Sandia Pueblo and Alvino Lucero of Isleta Pueblo. Former San Ildefonso Gov. John Gonzales has been a strong Bush supporter. Domenici claims Navajos are being steered in the wrong direction by the tribe’s leadership. On education, for instance, he cites money for 12 new Navajo schools and seven more in line in the latest funding priority list. Overall, he touts $470 million from the Bush administration in new Indian school money from 2002 through 2005. Shirley counters that the credit for funding increases goes to members of Congress and tribal leaders who have lobbied to get it done — not the administration. Further, he said support for programs such as the Indian Health Service remain insufficient despite what he characterized as minimal increases under Bush. The Navajo leader suggested Bush make a trip himself to see firsthand reservation needs, from education to health care to infrastructure. Shirley and Council Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan met with Kerry during a campaign stop in August. “We’re not recognized. We’re not acknowledged. We want to be at the table, and that’s what Mr. Kerry has promised,” Shirley said in an interview. The suggestion that Bush needs a firsthand look to comprehend Navajo needs riles Domenici. “Does he think candidate Kerry has any better understanding of how poor the Navajos are?” the senator said. “President Shirley, are you suggesting that the poverty in Indian country has been the result of the last four years of activity by the federal government led by George Bush? That’s such an exaggeration that it’s almost incredible.” Gonzales argues that Democrats have taken the Indian vote for granted while the Bush administration has worked to give tribes economic tools to build self-sufficiency. He was the Republican speaker at a University of New Mexico forum this week about the presidential candidates’ platforms on Indian issues. “To me, I think the Republican Party represents empowerment of tribes,” Gonzales told an audience of about 50 students, faculty members and others. “The record (President Bush) has established shows progress has been made in Indian country.” Laura Harris, a Kerry-Edwards campaign adviser on Indian issues and the Democratic voice at Monday’s forum, touts her ticket’s platform as one that emphasizes education, environmental protection and sovereignty for the country’s tribes. In particular, she cites Kerry’s pledge to establish an Indian section within the White House’s intergovernmental affairs office. The choice for Indian voters, Harris said, “comes down to two words — tribal sovereignty. Kerry gets it; Bush doesn’t.” Domenici disagrees. “Many Indian leaders talk about individual sovereignty. Individual sovereignty is already a reality. To continue to try to make it a distinguishing issue between Bush and Kerry is just unreal,” he said. daily-times.com