"Richardson Submits Balanced Budget to Legislature, Opposes The Bush/McCain Surge in Iraq"

Washington for Richardson:

Imagine this, a potential Presidential candidate, governor of a small state who offers up balanced budgets to the legislature. No, I'm not talking about Howard Dean and this isn't 2004. I'm referring to the $5.7 billion budget Governor Richardson submitted to the New Mexico Legislature, that not only is balanced, but sets aside money in reserve and is an model of fiscal responsibility.

Bill Richardson:

I strongly oppose any plan to increase American troop levels in Iraq. Sending more American troops will not make us safer. It will only add to the sectarian violence that is already tearing Iraq apart. I am also very concerned with this plan’s impact on our overburdened National Guard forces, which already compose half of our forces in Iraq.

The only surge we need in Iraq is a diplomatic one. We need to withdraw American
troops from Iraq this year, redeploy our men and women to Afghanistan and other
international terrorism hotspots, and reinvigorate our diplomacy throughout the Middle East. We need a political solution to the Iraq crisis, not a military one.