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Intelligent Political Discourse - for the Thoughtful New Mexican

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LOOKING AT THE CULTURAL DIVIDE

02/14/2022

We want to be sure to mention right away that we are skeptical of the notion that the Lord God Jehovah interferes directly in the outcomes of elections on behalf of one party or another. He may. He may not. We don't know.

We have pushed back against the idea—believed by many on the right, especially professing Christians—that Donald Trump is God's instrument, or prophet, or a person called to be president at this moment in time. We nonetheless supported him in his race against Hillary Clinton, and we believe he has been a successful president thus far.

With regard to divine intervention, we adhere to Abraham Lincoln's view of such questions. During the Civil War, it is said that some gentlemen in conversation with the President said something along the lines of:

"Mr. President, we trust during this time of trial in which the nation is engaged, God is on our side, and will give us victory.”

President Lincoln is said to have responded:

"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My great concern is to be on God's side. For God is always right."

Nonetheless, we note that among Republicans and Democrats, or among conservatives and liberals (or more properly today, leftists) there are extremely varied views with regard to religious faith, religious beliefs, and even the sources and general outlines of the Judeo-Christian traditions.

In the days following the 2016 General Election, we saw quite a few posts that reflected the bitterness and shock among Democrats in reaction to Donald Trump's unexpected victory. The Santa Fe County Democratic Chair's Facebook post was typical, at least in the outrage, but it also reflected the deep cultural divide not only between the competing visions of America, but in terms of religious beliefs. Here is what she posted:

Santa Fe County Democrat Party Chair on the Role of God in the Election

November 9, 2016 · Santa Fe 
So yesterday and today I have seen quite a few posts that the results of the race would be devine [sic] intervention, that God would be leading the decision. So I ask what god? Who's god?[sic] Is your god better than another person's god? Do you think you are better than someone else because of how you believe? 
What Bible do you follow? Do you actually know when the bible was written? It was between 274-337 A.D. for you [sic] information. That means between 274-337 years after the death of Jesus of Nazareth. It was written by Emperor Constantine who decided what went in from verbal and some written records. 
Did you know the documents of Judas where found several years ago and it showed he wasn't the traitor Constantine made him 
to be. Did you know another apostle was shown in those documents as the traitor? 
Do you know what evangelical college your "pastor" actually went to and is it accredited? Many aren't. 
And now let's discuss the Pledge of Allegiance. Did you know "under God" was added on June 14, 1954. It was not a part of the original Pledge. 
So before you start spewing your 
so called biblical beliefs and pretending you want "god" back in schools, learn where your beliefs actually come from, and quit believing that just because you try to act religious that you really are. If your actions and how you treat others out in the world don't match your so called religious beliefs - you are impressing no one.
 
There are a Number of Problems with this Passage
 
Again, we have no quarrel with her objections to claims that the outcome of the election was determined by divine intervention. 

On the other hand, much of her key points are simply false. The Old Testament portion of the bible was written throughout a number of centuries, probably beginning around 1,200 years before Christ— and it was written by Jewish scribes, rabbis, and scholars, not by Constantine. It most likely was completed somewhere around 150 B.C. So that part of her story is just way off base.

As for the New Testament, it was not written contemporaneously with the events described, it was in fact written down perhaps as early as 50 AD, though most scholars believe the earliest writings began around the year 70, and they were concluded between 100 and 120 A.D. 

Constantine was a key figure in Roman history, and perhaps in the history of Western Civilization, but no one anywhere suggests that he wrote any portion of the bible.

As for Judas, yes there was a discovery in 2006 of an ancient document, probably from around 280 A.D., that was titled the Gospel of Judas, but it is a Gnostic gospel that falls within the standard realm of Gnosticism. It offers the idea that Judas acted as a response to Jesus's request that he betray Him, so it definitely does not identify any other apostle as the one who betrayed the Christ.

As for the claim that the words "under God" were added to the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954—that part of her screed is true.

 

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More Disturbing: Many Democrats Accept all this Without Question

 
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Why the 9th Circuit Ruling is Wrong: Modern Judges Do "Policy" Nowadays. Not Law. Federalist 48.

02/09/2022

 

 

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CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS: Is the Attorney General Following the Law?

02/07/2022

We have been reading a recent post on the Facebook page called "The New Mexico Justice Project" (TNMJP). The article is titled "LEGAL USES of CAMPAIGN FUNDS. Encouraged by the report, we used the link provided in the TNMJP article do do some rudimentary searching on the Secretary of State's website. (TNMJP and its article that contains the links can be found here: https://bit.ly/36knbwk. 

 DID the ATTORNEY GENERAL HECTOR BALDERAS FOLLOW THE LAW?

In 2017, Attorney General Hector Balderas contributed $2,000 to Dogwood Therapy Services. After the 2018 election, in December 2018, he contributed another $500 to Dogwood Therapy Services. According to the Secretary of State’s business website, that is a private, for-profit entity, not a charitable organization, 501(C)(3).

Dogwood Therapy Services is also a fine organization, doing great work. But does it qualify for lawful donations from campaign funds?

Can Representative Derrick Lente take a Family to the Balloon Fiesta?

Representative Derrick Lente spent $500 in campaign funds in August, 2019, for a “donation to host family for Balloon Fiestas.”

Can Candidate

 

Candidate Denise Romero appears to have provided $177 in campaign funds to a private individual for “Family in Need for Christmas Gifts”

 

DOUBLE DIPPING?

Representative Eliseo Alcon claims to have driven 6,849 miles for his campaign in 2019, and has reimbursed himself at least $3,913.12, just for mileage.   How many miles has Representative Alcon been reimbursed during the same timeframe by the Legislative Council Service, particularly in a year that had a 60-day legislative session?    

And again, what about Attorney General Balderas?  Apparently, James Hallinan served as the Public Information Office at the Attorney General’s office until July of 2018.   But Hector Balderas paid him almost $3,700 for campaign work between January and July of 2018.  Was James Hallinan actually working for Hector’s campaign while he was ostensibly working for the state at the Attorney General’s office?

And State Auditor Brian Colon, the guy who is supposed to be the watchdog of state finances?  He’s reimbursed himself over $2,000 in campaign funds for gas and meals since assuming the full-time job of State Auditor.   Is he paying for his gas and meals out of his campaign account while he’s collecting a state paycheck for the same days?   

DONATIONS TO ANOTHER CANDIDATE FOR “PUBLIC OFFICE”—SUBSECTION (6)

Subsection (6) says that a candidate can give campaign funds to a “political committee or to another candidate seeking election to public office.”

Senator Mark Moores was just recently told that he could not contribute his state senate campaign funds to a candidate or political committee in the Albuquerque city election currently being held.  

But Attorney General Hector Balderas contributed $1000 to People for Ken Miyagishima in September.  He also contributed $2,650 to his friend Brian Colon when he ran for mayor of Albuquerque in 2017.

 

 

 


Tim Keller. New Mexico Journalism 102. Polequaptewa. Part 2 of a Series about the New Mexico Press*.

02/03/2022

In covering the continuing saga of State Auditor Tim Keller's "investigation" of Tax & Revenue Secretary Demesia Padilla, Keller's employer Blue Stone Strategies, Indian Gaming interests, and Indian activist Nikishna Polequaptewa, we've learned a lot more about attitudes of certain New Mexico reporters  politician, public figure or c is featured in a given story, or who or what cause or political party might be subject to close scrutiny.

In other words, can anyone in the state imagine for a moment what the headlines would be all over the state if instead of Tim Keller involved in the story it was, say, Susana Martinez, or anyone in her administration, or any GOP legislator or, say, the Commissioner of Public Lands or Secretary of State?

Of course you can. Ballistic City. The Santa Fe New Mexican would be all over this—and its Class A farm club affiliate, the Santa Fe Reporter would be frothing at the mouth. Even the more laid-back Albuquerque Journal would be having a field day.  Las Cruces Sun-News? Oh yeah—going out of what's left of their mind.

 

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Santa Fe New Mexican conversation with Nikishna Polequaptewa

Going out of their mind.

 

doing the training ho was as deeply involved 

 

so these are the things they say they did for NM tribes while Keller was employed 2009? until he was elected as auditor :

 

Since starting with Blue Stone Strategy Group, Tim has worked with 15 tribes around the country on a wide range of projects protecting sovereignty through economic development and effective government operations. Keller hasperformed turnaround projects for various tribal business enterprises as well as tribal government restructuring and redesign work for tribes ranging in size from 200 members to 20,000

 

Tesuque- strategic planning, RV store, land acquisition.

Isleta – adds more to the scope of work after Keller is hired.  RVs and Fun Connection.  Convenience Store.  Procurement training?

Sandia Tobacco Manufacturing – Tim doing due diligence

McCune/All Indian Pueblo Council – retreat?

Taos Pueblo- strategic planning

 


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SPOTLIGHT: A Review.

02/03/2022
 

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Poll Questions on Ballot

02/03/2022

Last fall the Bernalillo County Commission, egged on by the Democratic Party of New Mexico, decided to place "poll" questions on the General Election ballot

 

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 a once in 60 years opportunity to achieve something in the legislature, y potential for a legacy, to live up to the promise of both campaigns.  Voter ID.  Voter integrity issues.  Electoral integrity.   Clarity in scores of voting-related procedures.  Campaign finance. 

 

There are 50 or more sections of the Election Code that need amendments, clarification and in some instances a total rewrite.   opportunity to really make a difference—something  we have actually believed that you actually believe in. 

 

focus on what is right, and good and for the future of the people of New Mexico.

 

 

Commission OK’s pot, tax issues for ballot

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Bernalillo County Commissioners dealt a big blow to the Albuquerque City Council and Mayor R.J. Berry Monday.

Commissioners voted 3-2 along party lines to add two controversial issues the mayor vetoed, to the November ballot.

Now, voters will get to weigh in on decriminalizing marijuana, and raising taxes to support mental health services, but it’s only to get their opinions. The issues will be posed as advisory questions, and will not become law.

Democrats on Albuquerque’s city council tried to push those two proposals forward, but Mayor R.J. Berry didn’t sign off on them.

Monday, democratic commissioners said they want to know how voters feel about the issues. “I believe we’re in a crisis situation and I believe we need to hear from the people, direct, and should we pull our resources together to address this problem?” said Debbie O’Malley, Bernalillo County Commission Chair.

But there’s another decision that has city councilors upset. The city council and the mayor wanted three other initiatives on the November ballot.

Those include special elections, GO bonds, and council having power to approve and remove police and fire chiefs. However, at Monday’s special meeting, democratic commissioners voted against putting those issues on the ballot, even though the mayor signed off on them.

That means if the city wants voters to weigh in on those three measures, it’ll likely have to spend $500,000 on a special election.

So why would commissioners buck city council? It’s a decision that has a lot of people outraged. One councilor even lashed out online.

“Giving the voters the opportunity to weigh in on this is the way to go,” said one woman during public comment. Supporters of the marijuana initiative got the issue on the ballot, just not the way they initially wanted.

The partisan vote by Bernalillo County Commissioners to add the marijuana, and tax-hike issues to the November ballot, has stirred up a lot of controversy.

“I don’t believe we have the authority to put any issues like this on the ballot,” said Republican Commissioner, Wayne Johnson. “They’re not tax involved, and they’re not real policy, it’s a giant poll.”

Despite legal questions and opposition, democratic commissioners said they want to hear from the people. “I urge the electorate to turn out to vote,” said Art De La Cruz, Democratic Commissioner.

“These are questions that are on the minds of voters now, these are real concerns,” said O’Malley.

Going into the meeting, commissioners were aware of an already jam-packed ballot.

In another party-line vote, they decided to not place the three council and mayor-approved issues on the ballot: GO bonds, special elections, and council having the power to approve and remove the police and fire chiefs.

“You’re always kind of disappointed when these types of things happen, but at the same time I respect the will of the Bernalillo County Commission,” said Ken Sanchez, City Council President.

Republican Councilor Dan Lewis was more harsh, and tweeted, “Commission puts a taxpayer funded pot poll & tax hike on election ballot and says screw you to City Council ballot questions. Outrageous.”

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office told KRQE News 13 “It is unfortunate that the democrats on the County Commission chose to ignore the bipartisan efforts of the City Council and the Mayor by putting non-binding survey questions on the ballot in lieu of allowing voters to set policy on important issues.”

Even though the commission can’t change drug laws, democrats hope the outcome of this pot poll will influence those that can. “State of course has a lot of authority on this issue,” said O’Malley. “That will help to inform them when they convene in January, so I think it’s a good thing.”

Since the ballot is so full, there’s still a question whether the pot and tax hike issues will even fit. News 13 asked the county clerk Monday night whether they will fit, and they said the Secretary of State is now handling the matter.

An official with the clerk’s office said they will not know for certain whether there is room until formatting is complete on the ballot. Absentee ballots must be mailed out by September 20th


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Haussamen and ohter Bloggers in New Mexico. We Think That's The Point: Discourage Illegal Immigration

02/03/2022

Thursday afternoon, blogger Heath Haussamen wrote about the ongoing "compromise" efforts over ending driver's licenses for illegal aliens.

He gave most of the credit to the Democrats, titling his piece:

"Kudos to Dems for dropping battle over semantics in driver’s license debate"

and writing: "I'm glad to see Senate Democrats focusing on serious points instead of the political battle. I hope the governor does too."

 

But that's okay, unlike most left-of-center bloggers (maybe all the others) in New Mexico, Haussamen makes a discernible effort to be fairThat's a little confusing, because for almost all of the last 13 years, Senator Michael Sanchez has just not allowed any

 

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Because there are other important issues that haven’t gotten as much attention from policymakers. For example, Pacheco’s bill would require people who apply for a driving card to prove that they’ve lived in New Mexico for two years or filed a state tax return in the prior year.

 

 

 

of House Bill 99, sponsored by Rep. Paul Pacheco, R-Albuquerque, Senate Democrats “seem to have given in” on this point, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

 

 

I

 

 

 

 

Heath Haussamen

Heath Haussamen

 

That is a much stricter requirement than it takes to get a driving card in Utah — whose system New Mexico Republicans are comparing with Pacheco’s bill. It’s fair to question whether the requirements in Pacheco’s bill are so strict that they could result in immigrants who currently have licenses losing their ability to drive legally in New Mexico.

The requirement that people prove two years of New Mexico residency or that they filed tax returns in the state the prior year would also discourage new immigrants without legal status from coming to New Mexico. They could go to some other states and become licensed to drive immediately, whereas here they’d have to spend 1-2 years getting around without legal authorization to drive.

And immigrants without legal status aren’t the only people who want driving cards instead of REAL ID compliant licenses. Some oppose giving the government as much personal information as REAL ID requires, or they just have no need to go through the hassle. In Vermont, 40,000 people got privilege cards in 2014 and 2015 — much more than the state’s “estimated 1,500 migrant population the cards were designed to serve,” according to the news organization VTDigger.org.

American citizens and legal residents who are considering moving to New Mexico but don’t want REAL ID cards might be discouraged if they have to live here long enough to file state tax returns before they can get driving cards.

These issues are getting little attention. They deserve much more scrutiny than whether we call it a driver’s license or a driving card.


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Pat Davis and his Stolen Valor, and who knows, Maybe his Stolen EVERYTHING

02/03/2022

 

The guy at left is not Albuquerque City Council candidate Patrick Davis, but it could be.

Davis hasn't been caught wearing a beret, Lt Col rank insignia, a Ranger tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, jump wings, and more medals than anyone can possibly be awarded. Yet.

But he might. He's feeling the waters.

Last year Davis was arrested for drunk driving. That's not unusual—so many New Mexicans do that most people shrug it off. And even for politicians, voters tend to be forgiving—IF they're up front about it, own it, show contrition, don't make excuses and come clean.

The ones that get into trouble are those who try to say it never happened or whatever, or pull a Pat Davis scam.

 

 

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Claims He's "in the Military"

Davis, according to eyewitnesses, went beyond trying to weasel out of his arrest.  First he whipped out a preposterous story that his slurred speech was due to the fact that he has some sort of big-time southern accent, almost like Colonel Sanders, or Tennessee Ernie Ford, Boss Hogg, or some such character.

That was bad enough. Far worse though was his claim that he was in the military. He isn't. He wasn't.

Stolen Valor

With a very small modern US Armed Forces, almost everyone in the Army or Marine Corps has been deployed to the Middle East at some point or other, with a good chance they've been placed in harms way.  Davis knows that. He also knows that because of increasing hardship on our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, they are admired perhaps more than ever before.

Saying you're in the military when you are not, is not an accident.  It isn't "misspeaking." It's a deliberate effort to claim credit for a degree of service—if not valor—that you absolutely know you did not render.  You know full well you didn't earn the claim and deserve no credit. Just like the guy in the photo who looks like an 18th Century European monarch. 

Will he get away with it?  Probably. "Progressives" don't give a damn—in fact they probably admire the chutzpah. The New Mexico media won't hold him accountable—they're intimidated by the wrath of the progressives. 

Traditional New Mexicans—and most Americans—Don't Care for that Sort of Thing

Many New Mexicans—Hispanics, Anglos and Native Americans alike—whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, hold traditional values, and they take a dim view of this kind of thing. Whether it's because they are veterans themselves, or have family members or friends serving or who have served, they may hold people like Davis accountable.  

The "community organizers" from out of state began arriving in droves about nine years ago, and they are numerous—as are their clients (and prey)— but we can still pray there are enough left in our state who will draw the line at this.

Here is the eyewitness account:  /uploads/files/Amy%20and%20Dwayne%20Gordon%20part%202.mp3

 

Fort Union, New Mexico


The Whole Woman Thing: Differing World Views. Myth and Reality. Only Women.

02/03/2022

Andrew Mayzak feeling inspired.

Yesterday at 3:49pm · Redmond, WA ·
 

Can we talk about this for a minute?

This is a Yale-educated law professor, First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State who:

-Endured 25 years of smear campaigns
-Lost the Electoral College by 80,000 votes
-Won the popular vote by 3 million votes
-Attended her opponent's inauguration
-Received no handshake from Trump
-Was booed by the crowd when she appeared

And goddammit... LOOK at her. Polished and confident, wearing white for the Suffragettes, her husband taking *her* arm instead of the other way around.

Symbolism matters.

Perseverance matters.

She matters.

This is the godmother of New America, a rational, pragmatic, imperfect human being who was born 50 years too early for her gender to be a non-issue in an election.

While she missed the presidency, she arrived just in time to show us all, in unflinching terms, the deep undercurrent of sexist double standards in our society.

And in doing so, she taught generations of girls and women that yes, you DO matter and yes, you CAN do anything.

This is Hillary Clinton.

 

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Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair Fortunately American womanhood* dodged a bullet in all of the "ridiculosity" that is the American presidential election "system." Both candidates were absurd as candidates and America finally shrugged and voted for change more than anything else. But the degree to which both candidates were utterly unfit for the office is nothing short of a tragedy.

*Identity-based choices are so clearly foolish as voting criteria, yet they are relentlessly pushed by those who (for logical reasons, admittedly) eschew issue-based decision-making.

However, for the sake of discussing and accepting it as a premise for the sake of this post, one should not want as a "role model" a person so documentably dishonest and violative of so many statutes and practices. She destroyed documents under subpoena. Why tell young girls she is "great." She is absolutely and indisputably NOT a role model. There are hundreds if not thousands of well-qualified, honest, intelligent women who could be president. It is foolish to hold this one up as the greatest when it is palpably untrue.
Like · Reply · 5 hrs
Melanie Sherman
 
Melanie Sherman I agree. She was completely fit for office and won the popular vote. Too bad the election was rigged.
Like · Reply · 1 · 5 hrs
Marianne Hook
 
Marianne Hook Rod, role models need not be perfect. And I think this post says that. However the smear campaigns mounted against this woman I believe were unprecedented. And if you think all of that had nothing to do with her being a woman you are choosing not to see this through other's eyes. But it comes right down to what this post said: she showed girls and women that they can aspire to do anything. And to remind them that although the road may not be smooth each woman that perseveres makes it better for the ones behind. Whether or not you agree with her politics makes no difference.
Like · Reply · 1 · 5 hrs
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair I agree that her politics makes no difference. We just see these kinds of issues entirely differently. Cries of "ism" is the modern day first resort of a scoundrel. (And I don't mean you, as I know you are a woman of integrity, outstanding ability and achievement. But I do believe you are caught up in the hype and slogans of the political ideology to which you are attracted.) Women will never be "equal" or achieve at the level they should and deserve until they stop saying that every single setback, every single criticism, is a product of sexism. It isn't. I have read both of Margaret Thatcher's post-career memoirs, "The Path to Power" and "The Downing Street Years." Not once did she ever play the "gender card." In fact she found it revolting. She was either going to compete and beat men for party leadership or for prime minister or she wasn't. But she had nothing but contempt for the "because I'm a woman" whinery. America is a fascinating study of world views, of philosophies, of differing approaches based on all manner of demographics. It's part and parcel of the national cultural divide. Conservative families don't even raise their girls to require a role model, or to have to have a particular woman win something in order to be inspired. They actually teach their girls to be inspired by Lincoln, or Reagan, or even FDR---overcoming, achieving or whatever. But they don't base any of it on identity politics. They teach their kids to be inspired by ideas, not by sex, not by race, not by ethnicity. It is a huge divide, but at least people ought to understand that the divide exists.

 

Melanie Sherman I agree. When it doesn't go the way a woman wants, she should fire a bevy of immature tweets, and follow up by saying it was rigged. That is the way she can sink to being equal.
Like · Reply · 1 · 5 hrs
Fred Hofstetter
 
Fred Hofstetter What a bunch of condescending bullshit! God bless the scoundrels.
Like · Reply · 2 hrs
Rod Adair
Write a reply...
 
 
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair And now for something more inspiring than the cult of demographic grievances:

“I want all the little girls out there to know that the lessons are very simple. Be kind your entire life

because all the kindness I showed to other people came back to me manifold in this campaign. And
secondly and most importantly, if you work hard and you get your shot one day, you too will shine.
You have to believe in yourself, don’t listen to the critics, don’t listen to the naysayers. You know
who you are. You’re beautiful, you’re smart, you can do it. That’s my message to all those little girls
dreaming out there.”

– Kellyanne Conway

(No “sexism,” no “misogyny,” no “racism,” no “bigotry,” or “something doin’ me in.” Just aspiration and inspiration.)
 
Elizabeth Ward Rod check yourself. For you to even suggest the HRC was unqualified or unfit for the presidency is absurd, especially in the face of a draft dodging, thrice married pussy grabber who has no understanding of laws or the constitution. Which makes me wonder what is behind this delusion you're under...
Like · Reply · 19 mins
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair I think Trump is an appalling individual. I really do. It's been a difficult 18 months for me. It's been hard for me to figure out what is going on. But in the end, I guess I sort of get it. According to the internals of polls I've looked at, about 38% of Trump's voters were true believers in Trump, and about 62% are people like me who simply could not brook another 4 years of increasing danger internationally with folks who haven't a clue. Additionally, for me (and I realize not everyone cares---in many ways we are in a post-constitutional, post-principle world, to go with the obvious post-truth, post-moral, post-Christian Era everyone can see) it is simply insurmountable to destroy documents under subpoena. As someone who has had to testify in state and federal court on elections and redistricting issues, it is just unthinkable that an American public official, let alone an officer of the court would do that---and with nary a pang of conscience. What that means is that she would never have been accountable---she was yelling that at the top of her lungs. As for Trump, I hoped that he would appoint smart, honest people and give them a chance to succeed. It looks as though he is doing that. Probably there is a vaguely similar divide among Clinton voters---and you may well be one of her true believers. I don't wish her or you ill. I don't think people should be angry over any of this. At the same time, I think people should be realistic. Do I believe Trump actually did grab women by genitalia? No. Not really. I don't. Do I think he is a braggart? And someone who, quite perversely, might think that is something to "brag" about or boast about having done? Yeah, I do. Because he misleads all the time about an enormous range of things. So we had a face-off between two awful candidates. Just G-d-awful people. Awful awful awful candidates. And everyone had to make her or his choice. I think everyone should stop marching and howling at the moon and get on with life.
 
 
ABORTION
 
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Rod Adair Actually it has nothing to do with either of those things. Women have had access to abortion for 40 years, and the if-only-we had-a-"birds & the bees"-awareness program" has never been taken seriously as a sine qua non, nor has there ever been any data to support the idea that our $billions spent on information programs make any difference at all. (Don't get me wrong--They're considered fine and they're going to be there forever, but they don't have an impact on pregnancies.) The decreased abortion rate has been been observable and tracked for 25 years with almost all of it due to changes in how single-motherhood is viewed. It's now a first-alternative of choice for many millions.

So abortion rates are declining because more and more unintended pregnancies are being carried to term. Not because anyone is "smarter," or any "I am woman hear me roar" theme songs.

At any given moment nearly 40 percent of women are still using no birth-control method at all. As a result almost half of all American pregnancies are unintended.

While the pro-life movement has failed to do that much, it actually does seem to have changed American minds about the morality of abortion. While only about 20-30% of Americans wish to see abortion outlawed, between 40-50% now think abortion is "wrong." And now only 35 percent of Americans now describe abortion as “morally acceptable." All those factors explain the declining abortion rate, not the cliches.
 
 

Too, too true I am afraid.
I wasn't much of a fan of A Prairie Home Companion, but I do like Garrison Keillor as an observer and writer. (And Bill Smith don't jump on me for being a glass half-empty sort by not giving our dear president-elect a chance to prove all his wonderfulness.)

Garrison Keillor: And now we sit and watch in disbelief
He promised the swamp would be drained, Was elected, said “Rain!” and it rained And the old crocodiles Wore flesh-eating smiles And the turtles were well entertained. — It’s a wonderful satire right out of ...
SLTRIB.COM|BY GARRISON KEILLOR SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST
 
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Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair I've always been a fan of A Prairie Home Companion, despite Keillor's occasional lecturing. He's talented.
Like · Reply · 1 · December 9, 2016 at 5:36pm
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair So what's your reaction to Angela Merkel's reversal on these Muslim women's get-ups being worn in public?
Like · Reply · December 9, 2016 at 6:11pm
Elizabeth Ward
 
Elizabeth Ward Rod, please don't just read the headlines. Merkel wants the full face veil, that allows only the eyes to be seen (these very often are women from Saudi Arabia). Hijabs, headscarves and modest clothing are not changed.
Like · Reply · December 9, 2016 at 6:50pm
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair Elizabeth Ward I don't know what I wrote that in any way indicated I am only reading headlines.
Like · Reply · December 9, 2016 at 6:56pm
Rod Adair
Write a reply...
 
 
Nancy Burnham Boyd
 
Nancy Burnham Boyd I read this yesterday and oh so true. ??
Like · Reply · December 9, 2016 at 6:32pm
Marianne Hook
 
Marianne Hook Rod, I'm not sure. I think banning of the burka will only affect a very small number of people. We are only talking about the full-face veil, not the hijab or headscarf or long coat or abaya. I am betting very few Islamic women in Germany veil their faces. So what is the purpose? Is it so people can't disguise themselves or because it is Muslim? And if it is because they don't want people to look Muslim, than why not ban the hijab? If it is because they can't disguise themselves, then will masks or balaclavas be banned? And because it offends the German culture? What next? Forcing people to drink beer to show their loyalty to German culture? And at the same time I do think the burka is a symbol of female oppression. And, like so many other things in the world, women have become the scapegoats for a much bigger issue. Just get women to fall into line, and the problem is solved.
Like · Reply · December 9, 2016 at 6:34pm
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair "Women, women, women." I have some other friends who obsess over identity politics, and see every single thing as some sort of demographic group being the issue, as opposed to actual policy discussions. (This is where, I believe---and I think many Democrats also believe this, including VP Biden, Bill Clinton, et al.---Democrats have wandered far afield, unable to communicate with too many voters. Many seem bent on doubling down on that kind of focus (and don't get me wrong---I hope they do) whilst others will try to draw the party back into communicating (which I hope they do not do).
Like · Reply · December 9, 2016 at 7:02pm
Marianne Hook
 
Marianne Hook "Women, women, women" as you say. Over half of the population of the world. Yet, for the most part, they are not the terrorists. They are not the violent members of gangs. They are not the MIddle Eastern immigrants groping women in Cologne last New Yea...See More
Like · Reply · 4 · December 9, 2016 at 10:45pm
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair Marianne Hook I kind of think (I certainly hope) you realize my use of the word "women" was certainly not a criticism of women, but merely to emphasize how much is posted (much of it fake news) about women this and women that. Much of it over-the-top claims about all sorts of stuff.

As for what you just wrote, I can hardly make one head or one tail out of most of it. But I will say this: since I'm an 1854 Republican and was there when we passed the 14th Amendment in 1870 (with unanimous opposition from Democrats) I believe laws should be uniform and non-discriminatory. If we feel uncomfortable with Jesse James walking into a convenience store with a veil over his face, we can also feel uncomfortable if some woman does the same. We can also prevent that by law, if need be—for obvious reasons.

And thank you for getting away from some of your politically correct statements about Muslims—your "Middle Eastern immigrants groping women" comment is spot on. (And I know you were not referring to Ashkenazi Jews re-immigrating.)

As for being helpless punching bags? Not so sure—some of the most virulently hateful speech directed at Jews from people from the "Middle East" I see coming from women. And while the overwhelming percentage of terrorists are men, there are also documentaries showing mothers in Gaza teaching their children to hate Jews from before the time they can even walk.
Like · Reply · December 10, 2016 at 6:44pm
Rod Adair
Write a reply...
 
 
Elizabeth Ward
 
Elizabeth Ward if the cabinets picks are any indications of his wonderfulness, it will be a long 4 years. Drain the Swamp LOL he may have drained it but he's staffing much of his cabinet with the remains!
Like · Reply · December 9, 2016 at 6:50pm
Rod Adair
 
Rod Adair Since I just saw a message from Marianne Hook asking my take on the cabinet, I will say this: In 2002 I was the Lt. Gov. part of a ticket that got beat by the Democrat ticket (Bill Richardson and his Lt.Gov. running mate). At an early hearing on an appointee I broke with the critics (D & R) and called for approval. People were surprised---just because I had been running against him. But that's not the view of American polity I take. I believe an executive, chosen by the people merits considerable deference in his or her choices. We all want people on our team who believe in the same goals and objectives and who we believe can carry those out. Short of a nominee being involved in criminal activity or some other obvious disqualifier, a person should be able to assemble his or her team. We don't "hire" people to do a particular job then say--"No, you can't have your staff come in." So we should not do that with elected executive officials either. I personally believe executives deserve a grace period and their team. (It doesn't mean you shouldn't firmly oppose POLICIES, bills, proposals etc--or support them. But saying you can't have your own team is to deliberately try to make them fail. We should not do that.)
Like · Reply · December 9, 2016 at 7:15pm · Edited
Rod Adair
Write a reply...
 
 
William F. Smith
 
William F. Smith Hey Marianne. I'll be the first to criticize Trump if he screws up as PRESIDENT. Remember, I didn't vote for him (literally), I voted against Hillary. I don't like him, never did. But I won't play Carnac the Magnificent. He's getting briefed with ...See More
 

Reporters Talking

02/03/2022

 

 

New Mexican

Journal reporter: Wow, did you see where Governor Martinez has the audacity to nominate those two lawyers to the Uniform Law Commission?

SF Reporter guy: Yeah, dude, you really nailed it. Great story [high fives ensue]. It's hard to believe she'd nominate them after one of them was rejected for regent, and the other caught so much shit for being a prosecutor. 

Alibi guy:  Yeah, and like, dude, totally on merit too.  I mean that one guy had been listed as treasurer of a political organization. He's like totally unqualified.  And that lady, whoa man, I bet she'd prosecute me right now. [raucous laughter all around the horn]

New Mexican guy: Hmmm. I don't know, I mean, the mayor of Santa Fe was running the Democratic Party while he was a regent—and they ran millions of dollars of political ads, with him as a sitting regent. I'm just not sure it was, you know, like totally on merit. I mean, it could have been politics.

Alibi guy:  Dude, are you, like, on ludes or something?  What the hell is wrong with you?

 

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controversy in her picks for New Mexico’s various boards and commissions.

In her latest round of appointments, Martinez named Matt Chandler to the state’s Uniform Law Commission, a group of lawyers tasked with ensuring certain state laws are consistent with those of other states.

As you might recall, Chandler was booted from the University of New Mexico Board of Regents in March, after the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected his nomination 23-17.

The vote was largely due to lingering bad blood over Chandler’s work with a pro-Republican political group, and it marked the first time a gubernatorial appointee had been rejected by the Senate since 2010.

Chandler, a former Clovis-area prosecutor, had been appointed to the UNM Board of Regents by Martinez in December 2014.

The Governor’s Office stood by Chandler during this year’s confirmation fireworks, and a Martinez spokesman said Monday that Chandler will bring an “extensive legal background” to his appointed post.

Meanwhile, Martinez, the state’s second-term Republican governor, also appointed Susan Riedel to the state Public Defender Commission, established to help oversee the operations of the Law Office of the Public Defender.

Riedel previously worked as a district judge and as a chief deputy for Martinez when the now-governor was a district attorney in Las Cruces. She ran for attorney general last year but lost to Hector Balderas, a Democrat, in the general election.

Martinez also appointed Riedel to the Public Defender Commission in 2013, a move that was opposed at the time by some defense attorneys and lawmakers who claimed Riedel didn’t qualify because of her background as a prosecutor. Riedel served on the commission for six months; she then stepped down to focus on her campaign.

Unlike members of some other state boards, appointees to the Uniform Law Commission and Public Defender Commission are not subject to Senate confirmation, meaning Chandler and Riedel will avoid the Roundhouse hot seat – if not all criticism – during next year’s legislative session.

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Intelligent Political Discourse— for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

 


Ruth Bader Ginzburg in New Mexico. Her Candor has Helped Many Understand Modern Judging.

02/03/2022

 

 

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An Investigative Report: The Chandler Vote. A Look at Corruption in the New Mexico Judiciary, and Legislators who went to bat for it. To be Published this Afternoon on NMPJ.

02/02/2022

 

 

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American Media: Of Parrots and Nonsense. A few observations.

02/02/2022

We admit we do complain a lot about the US national media. But it is merited. Today we'll point out just a couple.

 

 

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Parroting

Especially in regard to politics or government, there is very little actual expertise among the talking heads on TV especially, but the defect also trickles down to print media. They know little of the background information required and less of history.

This leads to parroting: someone says something on a panel, or in a column, and everyone follows suit.

and less of much more. Regarding coverage of politics, there are of course some institutional and what might be called "structural" problems: the overwhelming likelihood of journalism and English majors will dominate ere are some structural problems of course, with few


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The Young Pope: A Review

02/02/2022
 

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Roybal Caballero (and Angelica Rubio) Pushes No Borders Agenda

02/02/2022

 

 

 

ELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT; PROHIBITING STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES FROM ENFORCING FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 29-1-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1966, Chapter 24, Section 1) is amended to read:

     "29-1-10. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES--ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS.--[All state and local law enforcement agencies are hereby authorized to participate in the Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 1965, Public Law 98-197.]

          A. A law enforcement agency of the state or its political subdivisions shall not use state funds, equipment, personnel or resources nor accept or utilize federal funds, equipment, personnel or resources for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship who have entered or are residing in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws in Title 8 of the United States Code, unless otherwise legally required to do so.

          B. For the purposes of Subsection A of this section, the workforce solutions department is not a law enforcement agency."

 

 

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ot!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks to the advocates who have been relentlessly dedicated to stopping the exploitation of our working poor families in New Mexico! I am proud to stand united together. Adelante!

Lawmakers push for interest-rate cap on payday, title loans
The payday and title loan industry says that despite a negative reputation, small lenders offer one of the few options for low-income residents in New Mexico,…
SFGATE.COM
 
 

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Pinocchio Awards: Eye on Monahan and those of that Ilk

02/02/2022

 

 

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The Role of the New Mexico Secretary of State. Myths about Voting in New Mexico. The Real Story behind Financial Disclosures for Elected Officials.

02/02/2022

 

Financial Disclosure Form

Candidates won't fill it out properly.

Who is covered? Required to file?

Who is supposed to respond?

Is it authorized for posting? on line, why not, Justice Daniels

Should it be in statute?

Legislature has been asked to authorize it

Ethics commission without laws?

 

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Democratic Party Emblem
Republican Party Emblem
Questions about the 2014 General Election
For most questions, including detailed ones about voting, you can find answers at our FAQ’s link under the Voter Information tab.
However, this fall our office has received a number of inquiries about the 2014 General Election Ballot. Incorrect statements being circulated from various sources appear to have created some confusion with some voters. The following questions and answers are provided for New Mexico voters so that they can know the facts about their General Election, which will be held Tuesday, November 4:
I have heard there are new symbols for parties on the ballot this year, is that true?
No. Party symbols, or “emblems” as they are described in state law, have been required since the 1954 election, and have appeared on the ballot for the past 60 years. The symbols that appear on the ballot this year are the same symbols used throughout the past 60 years. Each political party is required to furnish our office an official emblem. The most recent emblems, which include the same symbols used by both major parties over the past 60 years, furnished by each party having a candidate on this year’s ballot were provided in October, 2013. Here are the emblems provided by each political party:

 


 

                                          

 


Are there new voting machines this year? If so, why?
Yes. The old equipment was wearing out and prone to breakdown at critical times. The Secretary of State asked the legislature to purchase new ballot tabulators. The Secretary of State’s staff distributed the new tabulators to all 33 county clerks and provided training and simulated elections for the county clerk staffs. These new tabulators will be used at all polling places for this general election.
Will I have to do anything different this year when I vote?
No. The voter will feed his or her own ballot into the new tabulators in the same way they have with the old equipment. The new tabulator show “Ballot Successfully Cast” on the display screen and emit an audible “ding.” If a voter has “over-voted” — by voting for more than the allowed number of choices in a contest or ballot question — the tabulator will notify the voter on the display screen and return the ballot to the voter.
Do I use a pencil or a pen?
Pencils are not permitted. Use the marker provided by the poll workers.
Do I have to show an ID to vote?
No. New Mexico law does not require an ID to vote. You only need to provide your name, registration address, and year of birth to receive your ballot. Although a physical ID, such as a driver’s license, is not required, showing poll workers an ID can help to reduce error, and ensure that a voter receives the correct ballot.
Can I vote a straight party ballot by making one mark on my ballot?
No. New Mexico law does not permit straight-party voting in that manner. Until 2001, a means of voting a straight-party ballot was required as an optional form of voting, allowing voters to complete a ballot by means of a single mark or operation. However, in 2001 the legislature, by unanimous vote, repealed straight-party voting. Since 2001, it has been illegal to offer the option of straight-party voting.


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Election Issues. Bolixing up Elections. 17-year-olds Voting? Or Not? Foul-ups Continue.

02/02/2022

There was much hoopla over the notion of making New Mexico 17-year-olds eligible to vote in New Mexico primaries. The measure, in

Af

We have reviewed the email from Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto with regard to the effective date of House Bill 138, allowing some 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections in New Mexico.

 

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As pointed out by Senator Ivey-Soto, the bill becomes effective on May 18, 2016, in accordance with the New Mexico constitutional provision providing that bills become effective 90 days after the adjournment of the legislature, in the absence of an emergency clause.

As also noted, by not passing the bill with the required two-thirds majority, the legislature stripped this bill of its proposed emergency clause as it moved through the legislative process. The direct effect of the removal of the emergency clause is that 17-year-olds will not be permitted to vote in the 2016 Primary Election. 

The bill amends section 1-4-2 of the Election Code by adding a subsection B, which reads as follows:

If a person who is 17 years old will be a qualified elector on the day of the general election, and registers to vote in accordance with the provisions of subsection A of this section, for the purposes of the primary election, that person shall be considered a voter, and may vote in the primary election immediately preceding that general election. (Emphasis added.)

The existing language in Subsection A states:

Any resident of New Mexico who will be a qualified elector at the date of the next ensuing election shall be permitted within the provisions of the Election Code to register and become a voter. (Emphasis added.)

So, like any other voter, a 17-year-old who wishes to vote in the primary election must meet the registration requirements of the Election Code.

Section 1-4-8(A) provides:

“the county clerk shall receive certificates of registration at all times during normal working hours, except that the clerk shall close registration at 5:00 p.m. on the twenty-eighth day immediately preceding any election at which the registration books are to be furnished to the precinct board.  (Emphasis added.)

And under Subsection D:

“during the period when registration is closed, the county clerk shall receive certificates of registration and other documents pertaining thereto, but shall not file any certificate of registration in the registration book until the Monday following the election,…” (Emphasis added.)

Section 1-4-12(B), which was amended in 2015 as part of a bill authored by Senator Ivey-Soto, provides that:

“the county clerk shall not process certificates of registration when the registration books are closed pursuant to 1-4-8 NMSA 1978…”  (Emphasis added.)

Additionally, Military and overseas voters are also subject to the provisions of 1-6B-5 (A):

“A federal qualified elector may register to vote using any of the following methods; provided that the document is received by the county clerk by the deadline for registering to vote as provided in Section 1-4-8 NMSA 1978:…”. (Emphasis added.)

The 28th day prior to the June primary election is Tuesday, May 10, 2016, 8 days prior to the effective date of House Bill 138.  The effect of the removal of the Emergency Clause by the legislature was to delay the effective date of the legislation to a date beyond the closing of the books for the 2016 Primary Election.  The county clerks are not permitted to reopen the election books on May 18 to add voters who were not eligible to vote as of the date of the closing of the books on May 10. 

The amendments to section 1-4-2 contained in House Bill 138 make it clear that 17-year-olds must lawfully register to vote in accordance with the existing provisions of the Election Code.  Since those 17-year-olds cannot lawfully register to vote on or before May 10 — the date of the closing of the books — they cannot thereafter become eligible to vote under the Election Code.

Senator Ivey-Soto asserts that:

“…half way through early voting the rules will change for 17 year olds who will be 18 by the General Election.”

However, in reviewing the position asserted by Senator Ivey-Soto, a couple of examples demonstrate how his analysis does not square with the decision made by the legislature when it removed the Emergency Clause from HB 138.  Under Senator Ivey-Soto’s concept:

  1. A 40-year-old overseas citizen who attempts to register to vote electronically under Section 1-6B-5 on May 20 would be denied the ability to vote because the books will have already closed 10 days earlier.

And      

  1. A 17-year-old, overseas or domestic, who attempted to register to vote on May 20 would be placed on the books for the Primary Election, despite the books having closed 10 days earlier.   

The position proposed by Senator Ivey-Soto would violate the provisions of Section 1-4-8 and 1-4-12 of the Election Code.  The registration books cannot be reopened on May 18 to add voters affected by House Bill 138.

The New Mexico Secretary of State’s office is not saying much about whether some 17-year-olds will be able to vote in the upcoming New Mexico primary elections. During the 2016 legislative session, a bill passed that allows those who will turn 18 before the general election to participate in primary elections. Gov. Susana Martinez signed the bill into law following the session.

 

Still, it is unclear whether the Secretary of State’s office will be ready to accept votes from that age group during the primary on June 7.

The Secretary of State’s Chief of Staff Ken Ortiz told NM Political Report in an email that the office is “exploring the legal options to assure the law is implemented appropriately.”

He did not provide an answer to a direct question on whether 17-year-olds would be able to vote in the upcoming primaries.

Viki Harrison, the executive director of voting advocacy group Common Cause New Mexico, told NM Political Report that her group is planning a campaign to encourage eligible young adults to register before May 8, which is the deadline to register for the primary.

“They need to get their procedures figured out,” Harrison said.

Harrison said it is important to engage with young voters in order to keep them involved in the political process.

“Let’s make it a habit now so people vote their entire lives,” Harrison said.

The voting registration deadline and the law’s effective date only create more ambiguity as to who will be able to vote in the primary. The bill sponsored by Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, was signed into law on March 2 and set to become effective on May 18, about a week after the deadline to register for the primary election. Still, according to a state statute, voters who will turn 18 by the general election can register any time before that.

Bernalillo County Clerk and Democratic Secretary of State Candidate Maggie Toulouse Oliver toldNM Political Report that her office and others throughout the state already register voters before they turn 18.

“We can, and do, receive those forms now, put them into the system and put them in a suspense status,” Toulouse Oliver said.

This means that even though the young voters registered, they are not able to vote until they turn 18. This is what currently allows someone who turns 18 shortly before the general election to vote, even if their birthday falls after the general election registration deadline.

Toulouse said she expects the Secretary of State’s office to allow some 17-year-olds the chance to vote in June and her office is now waiting on the technical aspect of how it will happen.

“The Secretary of State’s office has verbally indicated to us that that is their intent and so the only remaining question is a technical one within the system,” Toulouse Oliver said.

Recently in Ohio a judge ruled that 17-year-olds can vote in primaries if they turn 18 before the general election. Advocates on both sides of the issue in that state argued that more young people voting in the primary could greatly influence the outcome, specifically since Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has been polling well with young people. It’s unclear how New Mexico’s primary will impact the presidential race as it is the last day of the national primaries.

Harrison also said she is confident that the Secretary of State’s office will allow qualified young adults to vote in the upcoming primary. She said an increase in voter turnout will ensure a better democratic process.

“This little experiment called democracy is not going to work if only 10 percent of people vote,” Harrison said.


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MacNelly

02/02/2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Racism in the World, and in America. What is True?

02/02/2022

 

 

 

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HURLING a banana at a black soccer player was commonplace in England in the 1980s but has, thankfully, long been eradicated from its national game.

While it might not be happening in the UK so often now, the blatantly racist act — synonymous with treating players as apes or monkeys — endures elsewhere in European stadiums from Spain to Russia.

Team sport by its nature brings excitement, misery and passion, it’s part of the deal, your club counts. As we know, it also summons prejudice — unseen and unknowing at times, blatant at others.

The young woman on Saturday night came primed with a banana, not an apple or orange, as we know it. Maybe she just reached into her bag and grasped the first missile that came to hand and chucked it, badly. Or maybe not. It’s all still a bit unclear.


x

02/02/2022

New Mexico Democrats Make Total Power Grab: After Capturing the House and the Office of Secretary of State. Automatic Voter Registration.

02/01/2022

California and Oregon have recently passed automatic voter registration. They are the only two states in the nation to have done so. Yet even those two extremely liberal, very far Left-wing states did not take this step by use of a constitutional amendment.

New Mexico Democrats, fresh off capturing the state House of Representatives along with the office of the chief elections administrator, are determined to make a power grab greater than even the most liberal states in America have dared to do.

Constitutional Amendments when used only because of the threat of gubernatorial veto are as much overkill as they are improper in the American tradition. If Democrats controlled the House, the Senate and the Governorship would they propose a constitutional amendment to force everyone to be on the voter rolls? Knowing full well that it's very difficult to repeal the amendment should there be a flaw in the measure, or would it cause other problems? Of course not. The only reason they are offering this proposal as a constitutional amendment is the threat of the veto.

Proposed Constitutional Amendment

 

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red voters would mirror registered voters in terms of party distribution, automatically registering everyone to vote would increase the number of Democrats, Republicans and third-party or independent voters by about 27 or 28 percent across the board. But that would mean significantly more Democrats would be added to the voting pool in the state, because it's 27-28 percent of a Democratic pool that is already significantly bigger.


Gay Wedding Cakes and Homo-Fascism: "We will control your Behavior

02/01/2022

 

 

http://louderwithcrowder.com/hidden-camera-gay-wedding-cak…/

 

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The Electoral College: Why Mimi Stewart should be Opposed. The Nancy Pelosi of New Mexico

02/01/2022

 

 

The OJ Jury: Another good reason to have the Electoral College

 

 

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Campaign Abuses Include Contributions to the Attorney General. Reader Push-Back on Our Analogy: "The Washing Machine only needs to take One Tumble."

02/01/2022

As we alluded to a couple of days ago, quite a number of organizations and candidates openly abuse New Mexico campaign finance laws.

There are several organizations—"big money" PACs who are big players in New Mexico legislative races—that take in contributions from perhaps only one or two sources.  And because those organizations are planning to use their money, and do use their money for direct contributions to candidates, the contributions they are receiving are way over the legal limits permitted.

Similarly, for these same players who are planning on using their money to give to other PACs, these contribtuions are also way beyond the legal allowable limits.

 

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The Teachers Union is Also a Big Abuser

We have already mentioned the Carpenters' Union. We can add to that list the AFT New Mexico Solidarity Fund.  This fund gets all of its money from only two sources, both of which are AFT-controlled bank accounts: the AFT-NM Solidarity Fund Holding and the AFT Educators United.  

Conveniently all three entities are located at the exact same address: 530 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque.

Just as one example of how they operate in violation of NM statutes, we can look at their September 2014 First General Report. Here's what happened.

The Solidarity Fund received $24,300 from AFT-NM Solidarity Fund Holding and $20,300 from AFT-NM Educators United on August 28. Those are both over the limit if the intent is to use the money for direct contributions.

On that same date, aUGUST 28, THE sOLDIARITY FUND DISTRIBUTED ALL $44,600 dicretly to 16 Dempocratic candidates:

Harrison Todacheene, Doreen Johnson, Joanne Ferrary, Maggie Touslouse Oliver, Eliseo Alcon, Frank Otero, Patty Lundsrorm , Jeff Steinborn, Terry Forteneybrry, Rudopho Martinez, Gary King, Bill McCamely, Brian Egolf, Lucky Varela, Doreen Gallegos, Christy Thomas, Richard Mastin, Linda Sanchez Allison, Tomas Salazar. 

What did th

AFT NM Soldidarlty fund Holding  530 Jefferson St  20,300

AFTNM Educators United 530 Jefferson St NE  24,300

August 28 to AFT Solidarity

on August 28 All of that to candidates and other washing machine PACs

or the American Federation of Teachers (Washington, DC).

Just as in the case of Carpenters Union, their total funds used — in excess of $250,000 for 2014 campaign — are well beyond what can legally be spent in direct contributions to candidates or other PACs.

hr the American Federation of Teachers (National Teachers' Union)  the bulk of its PACand the American Federation of Teachers- occupation “national union”.  These are mostly used for hard money contributions

This is also trufor direct contribtuions to candidates or even to those political committees taht use the money for direct contributions to candidates.

One of those we identified a couple of days ago was the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters (Carpenters' Union).  The Carpenters Union'   took in about $83,000 from it's own Vacation Fund.

Albuquerque Teachers Federation

We have no way of knowing where these funds come from. Why? Becasue these organizations violate New Mexico law and don't report that information. 

However, we do know where these funds go.

 

 

 

688,886.31 in contributions.   671,783. out , in 6

National Education Association New Mexico- funded by “NEA NM Members” – not individually identified.

 

 contributed in the 2014 cycle.     $7,100 to Hector.     $15,600 to Ken Martinez Leadership fund.   (exceeds limit by $5,200)   $202,017.16

 

 

 

Washing Machine PACs:  How to become a "Maytag" Campaign Donor

PAC contributions made directly to candidates are limited to $5,200 per election (primary and general).  However, for such contributions to be legal, a PAC must be able to show that its total contributions from a single individual are at or below that figure.

For example, one single unidentified contributor cannot fund a PAC with $100,000—or $1 million or whatever—and then have the PAC turn around and distribute those proceeds directly to candidates as it wishes.

Union Example

As an example, the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters PAC (SWRCC) took in about $83,000 — all of their contributions — from one single solitary source: the "MWRCC Vacation Fund." But they turned right around and used all of the money to give directly to candidates.

Politicians and PAC Examples

The Committee on Individual Responsibility (COIR) and the Ken Martinez Leadership Fund (KMLF) for example, gave $5,200 to Phil Archuleta, or Joanne Ferrary, Doreen Johnson, Harrison Todacheene, Elizabeth Thomson, Emily Kane, Matthew McQueen and Stephanie Garcia Richard. 

They maxed out to their favorite candidates, which is all well and good.

However, both the COIR and KMLF also gave to quite a number of PACs who then turned right around and gave the same maximum contributions right back to the same candidates.

So you could end up having the COIR or the KMLF giving as much as $25,000 to $30,000 to one single Democratic General Election candidate.  How do they do this?

They give the max from the COIR and the KMLF, plus they give the max to any of perhaps a dozen other PACs, all of which got the funds from the KMLF or COIR.

Who was the biggest support and defender of these "washing machine" provisions in floor debates when they were adopted by the House?  If you said, "Ken Martinez," go to the head of the class.

 

Why We Coined the Term "Washing Machine" PACs

Some political players, including PACs and other organizations, are so large, and so rich in contributions, that they take in far more money than they can ever legally contribute to candidates directly, under current New Mexico statute.

We coined the term “Washing Machine PACs” to describe what politicians, unions and PACs are doing to evade the contribution limits in the Campaign Reporting Act.   

Washing Machine PACs represent the "middle man" (the second of three entities) that participate in these transactions.  

They take huge contributions from the extremely large entities, and turn around and distribute the proceeds to legislative candidates. Their only purpose appears to be to allow large, over-funded entities to evade the contribution limits in hotly contested legislative races.

The Campaign Reporting Act has a provision that says:

A person, including a political committee, shall not knowingly accept or solicit a contribution, directly or indirectly, including a contribution earmarked or otherwise directed or coordinated through another person, including a political committee, that violates the contribution limits provided for in this section.

To be fair, the Committee on Individual Responsibility (COIR) appears to be receiving fully legal contributions from the trial lawyers who are responsible for supporting the PAC. The KMLF may be doing the same.

All well and good to that point in the process. However, reading the above provision closely, they run into trouble down the road. Here's how:

 

How to Visualize the Process

COIR and KMLF are analogous to heads of households who need to make sure each of their family members has plenty of clean clothes to wear.  They go to a big commercial laundromat.

But instead of dropping five quarters into each of several machines to do a load for a particular family member, they drop $5,200 in each of several washers.  Then they go to the next row of washers and do the same for the next family member, and on and on until all half dozen family members each has several loads being cleaned.

There are three entities involved in this process: 

1)  The Giant PACs who are the patrons of the laundromat—the folks walking in and dropping the $5,200 in each machine

2)   The middle PACs, the owners of the laundromats who operate the washers;

3)   The candidates, the folks who get lots of "clean" clothes to wear (i.e. money) at the end of the process.

 

A List of Washing Machine PACs Currently Operating in New Mexico

To be fair, all three entities described above are in violation of the cited statute.  However, only the middle group constitutes what we call the Washing Machine PACs. They are small entities, used by the big entities, to pass through contributions directly to candidates.

Some Washing Machine PACs we have identified include the following:

A Strong New Mexico PAC

ATF Educators United

Leadership PAC for Rick Miera

Lobo PAC New Mexico 

New Mexico Freedom

Our New Mexico PAC

Wolf PAC

2012 PAC

NM DLCC

?Ken MaRTINEz LEAGDREHIOP DFUND'

nm HOUSE MAJOITY FUND

rNM PAC

hOUSE LEADERSHIOP PAC


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The Proliferation of Genders; The Homosexual Reality and the Duping of the American People

02/01/2022

Playing Along With the Lie

July 01, 2015
The establishment understands that a joke directed at Bruce Jenner is also directed at them
William Kilpatrick
(Photo: us.fotolia.com | ekarin)

As soon as Bruce Jenner decided he was a woman, the media immediately fell in line. News reports obligingly referred to him as “her,” and commentators agreed that henceforth Mr. Jenner’s name will be “Caitlyn.”

Whether it will become a hate crime to say otherwise remains to be seen. But it has already become problematic to joke about the transition. For example, Spike TV cut out a joke about Jenner made by Clint Eastwood at an award show. When introducing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at the 2015 Guys’ Choice Awards, he compared Johnson to former athletes who had turned to acting such as “Jim Brown and Caitlyn somebody…”

Seems fairly mild as jokes go, but in our highly sensitized society it’s better not to take chances, and so the Spike executives spiked the joke. As in the old Soviet Union, politically incorrect jokes are being driven underground. And, as is increasingly the case, almost any thought can be deemed to be incorrect.

The establishment understands that a joke directed at Jenner is also directed at them. The butt of the joke is not just Jenner but also the elites who laud and honor him for his “courage.” So, rather than incur the wrath of the establishment, the executives at Spike, who, after all, are themselves part of the establishment, decided it was not nice for guys to joke around.

A common theme in the underground jokes of the Soviet era was mutual pretense. One joke which circulated widely in factories and collective farms ended with the punch line, “they pretend to pay us and we pretend to work.” In societies where reality is denied, jokes are a way of reasserting reality—a way of saying, “we may pay lip service to the official deception, but we are not fooled by it.”

In totalitarian societies, everyone is expected to play along with the lie. The increasingly totalitarian nature of our own society can be gauged by the number of official lies the citizenry is obliged to consent to. One of the latest and biggest whoppers is that Jenner has pole-vaulted over the gender bar. Jenner is not a woman—not physiologically and not chromosomally—but everyone is expected to collude in the pretense that he is. Looked at one way, a joke about Jenner is a measure of insensitivity. Looked at from another perspective, it’s a way of holding on to reality.

In a PC society, there are some things it’s not safe to joke about—transgenders, same-sex marriage, Muhammad. Uh, no…better spike that last thought. However, one can’t help but notice that there is a curious connection between the Jenner affair and the establishment-mandated make-believe about Islam. As with sexual identity groups, Muslims are considered to be victims—of oppression, bigotry, and Islamophobia—and thus beyond criticism or judgment. And, as with the transgender phenomenon, the establishment requires you to collude in a lie—the lie in this case being that Islam is a religion of peace, no different from any other religion.

In both cases, the lies are dangerous. That may be more obvious in regard to lies about the nature of Islam. The pretense that Islam is something it is not puts lives at risk. The strategic incoherence of the War on Terror and the resulting loss of life is due in large part to a denial of the close link between Islam and radical Islam. Western leaders never understood what was happening because they wore self-imposed blinders. Hence, they were continually caught off-guard—first by Hezbollah, then by al-Qaeda, and then, in no particular order, by al-Shabaab, Abu Sayyaf, Boko Haram, ISIS, and numerous other groups that were simply putting the Islamic doctrine of holy war into practice.

 

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By contrast, the Olympian efforts to normalize the transition of Bruce Jenner would appear to be a minor matter. Apart from whatever danger he may pose to his fellow motorists, in what sense can Jenner be seen as a threat to his fellow citizens? Well, if he were Bruce Jenner the supermarket clerk, there would be little cause for concern. But since he’s Bruce Jenner the celebrity, the media’s poster boy for gender fluidity, there is something to worry about.

It may seem quaint to say so, but the division of the sexes into male and female is still the basis of society. It’s the way societies propagate themselves. And the union of male and female in marriage is the way society ensures that the propagated aren’t left to fend for themselves like baby lizards.

Alternative arrangements have been tried, but no viable substitute has been found. For about the last four decades, the academic, artistic, and media elites have insisted that a flourishing society can be built out of self-actualizing individuals doing their own thing. But, apart from the world of TV sitcoms, it hasn’t worked. When the experiments of the elites are tried in inner-city Baltimore, or in the rust belt, or in the no-longer-thriving mill towns of New England, the result is dysfunction on a mass scale. Prior to the sixties, the illegitimacy rate for the U.S. was about three percent. Now it’s over forty percent and climbing. That means more fatherless children, more overtaxed mothers, more educational failure, more drug addiction, and more unsafe towns and cities. To paraphrase the ad for Chiffon Margarine, “It’s not smart to fool with Mother Nature.”

The idea that one sex can do the work of two in raising a family will one day be seen as a suicidal notion, not unlike the Shaker belief that the best way to preserve Shaker values was to stop having children. The same goes for the idea that sexual identity is an optional lifestyle choice. Because once you start tinkering with sexual identity, you are tinkering with the foundations of society.

You might be able to get away with a little such tinkering in a healthy society with a healthy birth rate and a preponderance of intact families. But after forty years of do-your-own-thing-and-let-others-pick-up-the-pieces, intact families are becoming a rarity. What makes the current fascination with gender experimentation even more suicidal is the existence of an enemy culture which uses its own population growth as a weapon to extinguish rival cultures. Europe, which gave up on vive la différence about half a century ago, has one of the lowest birth rates on the planet. Meanwhile, the Muslims who hope to replace them have one of the highest.

Europe is not yet in its death throes, but, given the mathematics of the situation, that day seems almost inevitable. And when it comes, “death throes” might not be the best way to describe it. At that point, old Europe won’t have enough energy to throw a throe. Europe’s last days will more likely be of the going-quietly-into-the-dark-night variety.

Europe’s experiment with a childless society is now revealed to be about as sophisticated as Dr. Frankenstein’s experiments with electricity and corpses. Sophisticated people have always thought that the Frankenstein story is a cautionary tale about scientists tinkering with forces they cannot control. But it was never intended as an allegory about scientific overreach. In fact, the character of Dr. Frankenstein was modeled on the author’s husband, the poet Percy Shelley. And, although Shelley did conduct amateur experiments with electricity, Dr. Frankenstein’s ghoulish experiments are actually a metaphor for Shelley’s self-centered experiments with free love and sexual liberation. Mary Shelley’s concern was not with the destructive experiments of mad scientists, but with the destructive results of mad philosophies. Frankenstein is a reflection on her husband’s proto-Nietzschean philosophy and on the damage it wrought in the lives of those close to Shelley once it was put into practice.

In America, the experiments continue. And the results are predictable. The celebration of trans will not translate into healthy families or a healthy birthrate. The children of the Jenner generation will be too absorbed in questions of self-identity to do much generating—let alone to raise families. Nor are they likely to notice that a replacement population with very different ideas about self-fulfillment is on the doorstep. And when they do finally notice, it is unlikely that they will be able to resist.

Just as the anything-goes Weimar Republic was unable to resist Nazism and was, in fact, prelude to it, our own self-obsessed society will likely pave the way for its own abolishment. What now seems to be a progress toward total freedom will someday be seen as steps on the road to total control. Whatever temporary successes its proponents may achieve, gender fluidity is not the wave of the future.


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Many Contradictions in Secretary of State Oliver v. Steve Pearce: Why the SOS Position can be seen as both Hypocritical and Legitimate.

02/01/2022

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver has told Steve Pearce he cannot use the funds he raised as a candidate for federal office in his race for a state office. This is weird — even hypocritical — in many ways, though not weird in one particular way. 

First, the one way in which it is not weird: The New Mexico Election Code at Section 1-19-29.1. paragraph C states:

 No contributions solicited for or received in a federal election campaign may be used in a state election campaign

That is pretty doggone explicit. Of course well-informed readers will immediately note that many, perhaps a majority, of New Mexico courts completely reject the concept of "the plain reading of a statute." And they would cite the current Supreme Court and most of its majority over the past two decades as having established a very consistent record of ignoring actual statutes when they had a bigger goal of achieving their own desired outcome in a particular case. This of course does not legitimize such rulings, but merely acknowledges the political reality of New Mexico courts.

 

 

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WHY THE RULING IS HYPOCRITICAL: OLIVER HAS USED FEDERAL FUNDS OVER AND OVER FOR A STATE ELECTION CAMPAIGN

If Maggie Toulouse Oliver really believes 

 

 

 


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Supreme Court Vacancy: Nominating Commissions Grab Powers Not Granted. Inaccuracies in Newspaper Coverage.

02/01/2022

With the pending retirement of Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Bosson, a nominating commission is set to meet this coming Monday to interview eight lawyers who have applied for the vacated position.

The Role of the Nominating Commission is Misrepresented to New Mexico Voters

Some headlines around the state feature the following wording:

"Nominating commission to narrow field of high court hopefuls " [Emphasis added by NMPJ]

And the following line appears in the Santa Fe New Mexican:

"The panel will then narrow the field of applicants and submit a list of finalists for consideration by Gov. Susana Martinez..." [Emphasis added by NMPJ]

But is that true? Is that the role of the commission? To "narrow" the field?

Well, no, not really. The law doesn't authorize them to do that. And it certainly doesn't require such an action.

 

Abuse of Authority

It is definitely true that nominating commissions through the years have arrogated powers to themselves to be the "deciders" of who gets to be on the court. In some instances they have so badly abused their role as to effectively rule that former members of the Supreme Court were not "qualified" to be appointed to the district court.

They did this by carefully voting to leave a former Supreme Court justice off a list sent to the governor of qualified applicants for district judge. After all, this is New Mexico, so ignoring the law, especially by judges, can be more or less routine.

 

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The New Mexico Constitution

The nominating commission is authorized by Article VI, Section 35 of the state constitution. That section contains more than 600 words, but the key phrase reads:

"...the commission shall meet...and...submit to the governor the names of persons qualified for the judicial office and recommended for appointment to that office by a majority of the commission." [emphasis added by NMPJ]

The only actual authorization granted to the commission is to determine if each of the eight applicants is "qualified."

 

Commission is not "Non-Partisan" — As Described in Newspaper Coverage

Another line in a story in the Santa Fe New Mexican says:

"The nonpartisan commission is chaired by University of New Mexico School of Law Dean Alfred Mathewson, who serves as a nonvoting member except in the case of a tie." [Emphasis added by NMPJ]

This is simply not accurate. There is nothing "nonpartisan" about New Mexico judicial nominating commissions. In fact, the state constitution specifically requires that Democrats and Republicans be identified on the commission, and that one party may not have more members than the other: 

"...each of the two largest major political parties, as defined by the Election Code, shall be equally represented on the commission."

This doesn't mean there will be 8 Democrats and 8 Republicans on a commission, or 6 and 6, but that whatever number one party has, the other must have the same—at least nominally*.

(*"Nominally," because the task of ensuring both major parties are equally represented is left to the "state bar and judges on the committee." In practice, the state bar has relatively few Republicans; the same goes for judges. In years past, this has often meant that those selecting additional "Republicans" to fill out the commissions have ended up selecting extremely "obscure" members of the GOP, whose names have been entirely unknown or unheard of in Republican circles. Those "fill-out" members, selected by the bar association, have—not unpredictably—ended up voting with the Democrats on their commissions. There is some indication that the bar may have become more sensitive to charges of impropriety in recent years, and its "Republican" appointees may have more legitimacy than in the past.)

The history of New Mexico judicial nominating commissions—which were adopted by the voters in November 1988—far from being free of partisanship, or based strictly on "merit," is one of overt partisan wrangling and manipulation.

 

"Rules" Adopted

We notice on the UNM School of Law website that someone has adopted "Rules Governing Judicial Nominating Commissions."  

We don't know where the rules come from, or when they were adopted. There is no reference number for the rules, and they don't appear in the New Mexico Administrative Code. We certainly are not saying that saying they were not properly adopted, it's just at this point we haven't been able to determine their source or authority. "Rules" are not mentioned in the constitutional amendment adopted by the voters November 8, 1988.

Here are some of the provisions of the "Rules" which differ from the constitutional amendment itself:

Solicitation, Recruitment of Applicants

Constitution:  "The commission shall actively solicit, accept and evaluate applications..." 

NOTE:  This is fairly routine and standard language meaning that the vacancy in question needs to be made public and applications invited.

"Rules":  "The chair and the commissioners to actively solicit applicants for the position in the following ways:  Notify the Bar Commissioners who represent lawyers in the Judicial District, asking them to suggest candidates and encouraging them to personally contact qualified attorneys to ask them to apply...and place telephone calls to encourage them to apply."

Added to these "Rules" are these seemingly improbable disclaimers:

"When actively seeking qualified applicants, commissioners shall inform the prospective applicant that being approached by a commissioner does not guarantee a nomination. Each applicant, whether actively recruited or independently seeking a nomination, will be subject to the same investigative and interview procedures. It is important for recruited applicants to realize that they will not be given special consideration simply because the commission is inviting their applications." 

Closed Session

Constitution:  The Constitution has no provision for a closed session, or any secret proceeding.

"Rules":  "...the commission may go into closed session to discuss the applicants' qualifications and to evaluate them..." 

Secrecy of Proceedings

Constitution:  The Constitution has no provision for proceedings that produce no record of deliberations, debate or votes preserved for the public.

"Rules":  "The discussion during closed session shall be confidential. The extent of confidentiality shall be determined by the commission, but, in any event, shall extend to prohibit express or implied attribution of comments or opinions to individual commissioners. As part of the discussion of the applicants, straw votes, non-binding and by secret ballot, shall be taken to determine support for particular applicants."

Duties of Commission

Constitution:  The Constitution specifies that the commission is to submit to the governor the names of persons qualified for the judicial office and recommended for appointment..."

"Rules":  "In recognition of the fact that the New Mexico Constitution vests the Governor with the authority to appoint judges and that the commission does not select the judges, the commission should strive to recommend a list of two or more names for each position to the Governor.

 

Judicial Nomination Commissions More Partisan than Straightforward Appointments

Just as with the national government, it is probably more democratic to allow the elected executive to appoint judges according to his or her own criteria. President Obama does not have to wend his way through a "nominating commission."

Instead his "commission" is his own administration and White House advisors and researchers, sifting through records of jurists around the country, trying to match those who support his form of activism. Like it or not, he was elected, and that is one of the consequences, or rewards, that accrues as a result of an election.

Allowing governors, whether Bill Richardson or Susana Martinez, the same prerogative, is probably the best polity. In any case, it is certainly better than using the so-called nominating commissions.

New Mexico's 27 year-old system is generally classified under the rubric of the "Missouri Plan," so named for the state which first instituted a similar proceeding for appointing judges. 

But history has shown, unfortunately, that there is absolutely no more merit in this approach than in straightforward, open government appointments.

 

Visible Consequences

Rule by Elites—?Lawyers Selecting Lawyer Buddies

Under New Mexico's current law, the power to select judges is placed in a small, unelected, unaccountable commission, comprised of elites, either from the legal community, or activist politicians, or both. In fact, the main force empowered in New Mexico—effectively given decisive control in fact—is the New Mexico Bar Association. 

Consequences for the Law Itself

So it's no wonder the Supreme Court, and courts in general over the past 30 years, have openly done the bidding of the Trial Lawyers Association, the plaintiffs' bar.  In so doing they have expanded almost beyond credulity the extent to which matters may be opened up to lawsuit, stretched the limits of the concept of liability, and the largess of the tort system.  

They have done damage to the definition of recovery and the entire civil system, increasing costs in every facet of New Mexico —whether people realize it or not—and have made the courts ever most costly and therefore less accessible to the average person than ever before.

The Imposition of Secrecy—the Closing of Government

As we have pointed out, these judges and their bar association colleagues operate in secret with no public accountability.

What has happened, historically (it may be better now) in New Mexico, is that a commission usually ends up with about 5 or 6 known or identifiable Republicans, about 7 or 8 known or identifiable Democrats and between 2 and 4 obscure members, usually nominally Republican or "independent" but who are well-known to some members of the Democratic lawyer group.

This has resulted in a deeply politicized process. With a built-in majority focused on outcomes, not process or merit, the result has been backroom-dealing, hidden from public view, that has ended up stocking the state courts with garden variety trial lawyers, biased in favor of "results-oriented" judging rather than actual legal proceedings. 

As a result, there aren't that many judges in the state who instinctively ask the question; "What does the law say?"


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Ethics, Vic Bruno, Douglas Carver. Can there be an Ethics Commission?

02/01/2022

Financial Disclosure Form

Candidates won't fill it out properly.

Who is covered? Required to file?

Who is supposed to respond?

Is it authorized for posting? on line, why not, Justice Daniels

Should it be in statute?

Legislature has been asked to authorize it

Ethics commission without laws?

 

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NMinFocus: Microcosm of the Culture of Failure. Panelists reflect Status Quo, regurgitated Majority Viewpoint.

02/01/2022

 

 

Laura Sanchez Rivet epitomizes the attitude of acceptance of the Culture of Failure. Interested in satisfying the educatocracy. Responsive to the unions and the ed establishment, not ot th ekids, families, parents, guadians.

 

 

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Coming to Grips with Trump, Obama, and the State of American Politics and the Media

02/01/2022

Anyone who knows me knows I am not a libertarian, but rather an orthodox conservative. 


I'm getting on up there in age, so I've long since read the great books of English, British, and American political thought, as well as the details of every single presidential administration since 1789, 70 books on Lincoln and the Reconstruction Era, and the history of the Republican Party. So I know what my philosophy and world view is. And I guess I'll go out that way—as a Republican conservative—whenever that occurs (hopefully later rather than sooner, although I'm not in as good a health as I used to be).

Some of my best Republican friends even call me a “big government Republican” largely because I do see a role for government—which is one of the bigger differences, though certainly not the only one, between conservatism and libertarianism. But as you know, there is considerable overlap in the two philosophies. (I think some were annoyed by my stances on smoking ordinances, as well as my legislation on domestic violence issues, and some of the onerous effects it may have.)

But I am a Republican, having joined the party in 1854.

 

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As for opposing Trump, who is no conservative at all, I got a good deal of pushback (Snowflakes might call some of it "hate mail," though I would not) for my 18 months' worth of criticism of him, in hoping he would not be the nominee. Ultimately, there was no choice but to vote for him—and I made the case for him in great detail something like a hundred times during the general election campaign. My objection to him was his language, style, coarse nature, lying, poor judgment, and overall oafishness and boorishness. Alas, that isn’t going away.

Now he is president and I will be the same with him as I was with Obama—support him until, or if, he proves unworthy of that support.

Trump does lie absolutely needlessly and facilely, and it's so damned harmful to what he's trying to accomplish—sometimes I believe there is something pathologically wrong with him. However, it's frankly odd to focus on him when his predecessor did the exact same thing—there are lists of hundreds of lies told by Obama. I believe there are a couple or three major differences that caused unequal reaction and treatment of the two men:

1) The media loved Obama—as with many Americans, his race assuaged feelings of guilt and support for him gave them what they regarded as some kind of plenary indulgence for any sins of racism or bigotry they might furtively sense from time to time.

So 2) they openly had a media love affair—complete with tingles down legs, media orgasms during press conferences and other reporter swooning and Bawba Wawa-styled questions for 8 years—not to mention debate moderators who openly sided with him and answered questions for him (and Hillary as well).

And finally 3) There are the stylistic differences----Obama is much much smoother and his lies are not off the cuff in coarse, working class, pop culture vernacular language that's so obviously thoughtless and braggadocio. No, Obama was (and is—he’ll be the first president to hang around and nitpick on a daily basis from the get-go of his successors’ term) much more calculated and in his own way—much more mesmerizingly designed language and delivery style, developed and honed to deceive and to mislead. You gotta give him that. Short on substance, but very long on perceived articulation and sophistication of speech.

One has to ponder which of the two approaches is more dangerous.

As for your libertarian sensibilities that are so offended, I guess you can hook up with Fauxcahontas or Bernie and see if they can assuage them more readily than Trump. Somehow, for anyone who is truly libertarian and really understands the antecedents and principles of libertarian thought, it seems unlikely they can do that.

But in the final analysis, once a presidential election is over we kind of live in a dichotomous, bipolar reality in the public policy arena—so for the next four years it’s likely we are going to have to kind of choose between a Warren/Schumer/Pelosi plan of action (or inaction) on the one hand and a Trump/Priebus/et al. agenda on the other.

 

 


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So much for the "Citizens'" Redistricting Committee

12/06/2021

Much has been made of the so-called Citizen Redistricting Committee that the legislature created. It supposedly is designed to be—in their own words—"an independent, non-partisan body tasked to develop and propose district maps for New Mexico's Congressional delegation, the New Mexico Senate, the New Mexico House of Representatives, and the Public Education Commission."

So what did this "independent, non-partisan" body actually produce? They drew a lot of plans, but in the end they posted on their website only three surviving "concepts" for each of the tasks they assigned themselves. We looked at the three plans they have posted for each of those bodies. And we examined the way in which each district is constructed in terms of the partisan voting averages for each of the districts that the "non-partisan" outfit has drawn.

Here is what they are proposing:

US House of Representatives

Concept A

District Democrat Avg Vote % Republican Avg Vote %
    1           61.43       38.57
    2           43.73       56.27
    3           58.78       41.22

Concept E-1

District Democrat Avg Vote % Republican Avg Vote %
    1           61.21       38.79
    2           44.60       55.40
    3           58.15       41.85

Concept H

District Democrat Avg Vote % Republican Avg Vote %
    1           57.30       42.70
    2           51.14       48.86
    3           56.81       43.19

In two of the three congressional plans the current situation, which favors the Democrats in two of the three districts, would remain in place. However, in the third concept the Democrats would control all three districts.

We strongly anticipate that the legislature will enact a plan that is in line with Concept H, although they may perhaps make District 2 somewhat more favorable to the Democrats than Concept H currently shows.

New Mexico State Senate

Concept Democrat Seats Republican Seats
    A-1           30       12
    C           29       13
    C-1           28       14

The State Senate currently has 27 Democrats and 15 Republicans. So the Citizens' Committee has made plans to increase the Democrats' stranglehold on that body by one, two, or three members. The Committee strongly feels that a 27-15 margin is not quite enough for "good government." Collectively, they see a need for a "veto-proof" Senate at the very least—that would mean 28 to 14, or exactly two-thirds of the body.

They also see that that might not be enough for the absolute "best" government one can hope for. So they have also recommended plans that hike that margin up to as much as 30 to 12.

New Mexico State House of Representatives

Concept Democrat Seats Republican Seats
    E-1           48       22
    I-1           47       23
    J           47       23

Currently, there are 45 Democrats in the State House. There are 24 Republicans and 1 independent.

What is the conclusion of the "Citizens' Committee? Surprisingly similar to their conclusion regarding the State Senate: the Democrats don't currently have a veto-proof advantantage in the lower house, and the Committee clearly believes that that is a vital component to flesh out on behalf of Governor Grisham.

Accordingly, their minimum goal is to make the State House at least two-thirds Democrat, so two of their plans would profuce a 47-23 Democrat House. The other concept would make the House just slightly more Democrat, at 48 to 22.

We suspect that the Democrat majority will take these ideas and run with them, though they will very possibly try to tweak them in such a way as to reach a 49-21, 50-20, or maybe even a 51 to 19 advantage.

Conclusion

We cannot see how the Citizens' Redistricting Committee has produced anything—for any of the elected bodies—that would be different from what the very most partisan group of Democrats might propose.

It is very difficult to determine exactly what the Citizens' Committee believes that they have accomplished, especially in light of their stated goals of supposedly aiming to be "non-partisan" and "independent."

We suppose one could say, well, if left alone, the Democrats would likely produce a 30 to 12 Senate and a 50-20 House, so, this committee has offered a couple of "non-partisan" plans that reduce those numbers to only 29 to 13 and 49 to 21. Okay, that is true. But that is not really very much of an accomplishment, especially for eight months of hoopla and wild, exaggerated claims about the "fairness" of the group.

The body of work left behind by this bunch will only be seen for what it is: a grossly partisan set of plans that paid absolutely no attention whatsoever to the actual political or demographic makeup of the state. In the final analysis it is a triump of the will — a product of the strong desire on the part of the Democratic Party to impose its will on the people of the state for the next decade.


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Carl Nassib's Big Reveal: NFL Player "Comes Out" as "Gay." What does it all Mean?

06/22/2021

NFL PLAYER “COMES OUT” as “GAY”

Why do we need to know this? Can anyone help?

For years, we have been asking why anyone—whether they are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, trisexual, or quadsexual, and beyond—has to announce the manner in which one lives out, expresses, or manifests one’s sex life.

No one has ever been able to answer this question.Please be the first.

Should all heterosexual football players (assuming there are some) follow up by announcing their “sexuality,” or the details of how they live out their sex lives? Should bisexual or trisexual players or heterosexual players announce what they do in the bedroom? Or in bathhouses? Public parks?

We are asking.

How does this information help? How does this information promote the general welfare? Should people announce every aspect of their lives? We don’t know. We are just asking…

UPDATE, 22 June, 9:45 AM:

Some observers have suggested that Carl Nassib’s “big reveal” is a sort of “Kaepernick redux” — which is to say that it serves as a kind of “reactive armor.” (Reactive armor is used on military vehicles. It "reacts" in a manner that reduces the damage being done by a shot received from an anti-armor weapon system, generally blowing back the impact in some way.)

In Nassib's case, he may be protecting himself by putting on what he perceives to be some sort of protection.

The theory is that if you’re not getting to play, or are seen as marginal, adopting a perceived controversial position or making some sort of sensational announcement can lay the groundwork for a potential lawsuit, providing a layer of protection: “You cut me because of ________.” (And that reason of course will not be related to his play, or the fact he's not skilled enough at his position to beat out competitors. On the contrary, the reason offered will have something to do with personal, non-football-related issues.)

We aren’t sure this works with Nassib, in that while he’s not a superstar by any means, he’s probably in the top 35-40% of players at his position—something Kaepernick was nowhere close to being.


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New Mexico Democratic Blogger Gets it Wrong—Lieutenant Governors

06/16/2021
New Mexico —a New Mexico Democrat blogger gets it wrong, while discussing the potential future of current Lt. Governor Howie Morales of Silver City.
 
We were just sent a blurb with a question about whether it is true. The point being made by the blogger is that based on history Morales has little chance of going on to greater office. The blurb reads as follows:
 
"Early in statehood a Governor died in office and was replaced by the lieutenant governor but that's the only example of upward mobility for holders of the office."
That is not true. While the blogger—Joe Monahan—intended to refer to Washington E. Lindsey who took over after the death of Ezequiel Cabeza de Baca in 1917, Lindsey is not the only lieutenant governor to succeed to the governorship.
 
The other two are Andrew Hockenhull, who moved up on the death of the governor in 1933, and Tom Bolack, who became governor after Ed Mechem resigned in 1962. Bolack then appointed Mechem to the US Senate.
 
Additionally, Lt. Governor Joseph M. Montoya went on to become a Congressman, then a two-term US Senator.
 
The point Monahan is striving for—that the office of Lt. Governor is not a historically great launching pad—is more or less true. It's just that the "facts" that he asserts are inaccurate.
 
The bottom line is that—though the opposite conclusiont is widely accepted among political junkies in New Mexico—there is nothing actually inherently disadvantageous in becoming the state's lieutenant governor. Joe Montoya made it work for him. The reason others have not been able to do so probably has more to do with individual considerations and personal circumstances than the office itself.

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Stansbury wins Special Election. Final Result not Surprising, but the Margin May Be...

06/02/2021

Democrat newcomer Melanie Stansbury, a symbol of the new out-of-state Anglo dominance of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, swept to an easy victory in yesterday's special election in Congressional District 1. We expected her to win, after all the Democrats have a big edge in the district, she had an enormous fundraising advantage and much more dark money as well.

What was somewhat unexpected was the margin. Just seven months ago, Congresswoman Deb Haaland had defeated Republican Michelle Garcia Holmes 58-42. A couple of factors led us to expect a somewhat closer margin in the special election.

First of all, the Democrats control the White House—that usually militates in favor of the party out of power. Second, the turnout was, as is always the case in a special election, very low—another factor that works in favor of the GOP. Third, New Mexico isn't doing that well economically, as the policies of both Biden and Governor Grisham continue to adversely impact New Mexicans' lives.

While it is true that last Friday's absentee and early voting totals showed a huge advantage for the Democrats, 42,325 to 19,869 (with 8,776 independents and others), that kind of advantage is not that unusual, and was similar to 2020.

All things considered, we were expecting something closer to a 55-45 result. We certainly weren't expecting the outcome to be worse than 2020. But it was. This morning's totals show Stansbury with 60.33% and Republican Mark Moores with 35.66%.

That's a winning margin of 24.67%, just over 50% higher than Haaland's 16.38% margin just seven months ago.

What Happened?

The Republicans nominated their best candidate. Moores was easily the best choice available, but he was vastly outspent, and dark money from the usual national Leftist actors flooded the state.

But the complaint we heard most loudly from Republicans, both last night and in the days leading up to election day, was "Where is the state party?" "What exactly is Steve Pearce doing?"

As the results poured in last night the complaints got even more vociferous.

Last month we reported the news (first given to us by a Republican state senator) that Pearce is calling around the state to drum up support for his own run for governor next year—it would be his fourth try for statewide office.

Last evening, a former Republican state lawmaker told us that:

"Pearce isn't interested in helping anyone other than Steve Pearce. The only money he's interested in raising for the state party is whatever he can direct to his own race."

We've heard many similar comments.

The consensus bottom line from New Mexico Repubicans appears to be that Mark Moores was a competent, articulate candidate who was left hung out to dry by the Republican Party of New Mexico—a party that is controlled by Steve Pearce and his sycophants, and that is interested only in the personal goals of Steve Pearce.

This is, perhaps, not an opinion held by every single Republican, and certainly not by those who are still disciples of Pearce, but it certainly reflects the predominant opinion held by Republicans.

One former Republican officer who has moved out of state told us last night:

"How many losses will NM Republican insiders stomach before they demand a change in party leadership? There is no bottom for this group of knuckleheads. And it's only going to get worse with redistricting on the horizon."

He was of course referring to the Pearce insiders who became extremely jealous of the electoral success of former Governor Susana Martinez and who broke ranks with her after she had led the charge — by raising and spending some $3 million — to capture the state House of Representatives in 2014.

The dissident group, which, as we have reported before, included Pearce, John Billingsley, Harvey Yates, Mark Murphy, Anissa Galassini Ford Tinnin and others, quickly made a shambles of Martinez's monumental achievements, losing the House back immediately and compounding their blunders by driving the numbers down. They lost 14 seats in just two cycles. The former operative went on:

"It is amazing to see what the anti-Susana group has done. They ruined it all for petty shit. They have truly burned it to the ground. And they'll never pay a price for it."

That is true. The culprits will not pay the price. Instead, it is New Mexicans who are suffering as they are forced to watch, helplessly, as the "progressive" policies are forced on them. No, Pearce and the gang will not pay the price. But their victims will pay the price for years to come. 

Results Table

Unofficial results, thus far, are shown below. As you can see, Moores ran behind the 2020 Republican pace in all five counties. As an example, he should have carried Torrance County 2 to 1, but won by only a 54-33 margin. Similar results are visible everywhere else. In 2020, the GOP carried the Valencia County portion with 53% of the vote—yesterday, Moores did manage to win the county, but with less than a majority.

About two weeks ago, one former high-ranking Republican official expressed his fairly severe annoyance with Aubrey Dunn's constant party-switching and publicity-hound shenanigans, telling us:

"I certainly hope Dunn does very poorly, and I doubt he'll get even five percent of the vote."

We actually believed the gentleman would be wrong and that Dunn would get about 5%. But the Republican was correct—Dunn got only 2.68% of the vote. Apparently, most New Mexicans are tired of Dunn's shenanigans as well. Dog tired.

County Moores (R) Stansbury (D) Dunn (I) Manning (L) GOP % 2021 GOP% 2020
Santa Fe      875      611       65       18   55   64
Bernalillo 41,952 73,985  3,003  1,586   34   40
Valencia      460      415       42       14   49   53
Torrance   1,495      928      270       53   54   67
Sandoval   2,289   3,686      155       80   36   44
CD 1 Totals 47,071 79,625   3,535  1,751 35.66 41.81


Articles in this journal contain commentary which reflects the journal's opinion as well as the opinion of readers and others.


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BIGGEST (and dumbest) LIE of the MONTH of MAY by a TV Pundit: Martha Burk of New Mexico in Focus Claims that the “1980s minimum wage” would be over $90,000 a year by now. How dumb can you get?

05/31/2021

TV talking head pundits tell lies all the time, most of the time with little or no pushback from hosts or other talking heads. In that regard, KNME’s New Mexico in Focus is little different from most CNN, MSNBC, or other cable news shows.

We don’t talk much about New Mexico in Focus, mainly because—as is the case with most PBS affiliates—no one is watching, so little harm is done either way. We mean no disrespect to Channel 5—they have the same low viewership as other public TV stations. They work hard at producing a quality show. Low viewership is just the way it is with public TV.

Now Martha Burk is probably the most consistently egregious liar in the show’s lineup, but this past May 14 the erstwhile "contributor" let fly with a genuine whopper. Here’s what she had to say during one of her trademark rants:

“By the way, I did the math once again, and if the minimum wage had kep [sic] up with inflation since the last minimum [sic] was passed in the 1980s, you know what it would be today? $44 an hour. “

No, she didn't. (Or if she did, her "math" was something well below Pre-K standards.)

The host, Gene Grant, responded with his normal “wow!” This is unfortunate, but it’s the consistent response from the affable Grant, who appears to be bowled over with amazement at virtually every single comment from a left-wing commentator—not only taking them as gospel, but expressing genuine gratitude for what he considers to be uniformly brilliant insights.

Grant does occasionally push back on those he considers right-of-center, but most of the time, pre-COVID at least, the panel has been either 4 to 1 or 5 to 0 left-of-center. (And quite a number of those who are there occasionally to supposedly provide a "conservative" perspective are far from that.) But we digress.

We are not Asking People to be "Mathematicians," But Rather Just to Think for a Moment

Now, keep in mind that the work year is 2,080 hours. So, if you do the math, Burk is alleging that the minimum wage—if only it had kept up with the Reagan era standard—would result in an annual wage of $91,520. Seems reasonable, right?

Now, we’re not asking everyone to multiply by 2,080 immediately, but they could multiply by 1,000 or 2,000 and have a general sense that the lady is suggesting that the annual minimum salary would be, say, $88,000. You don’t have to be a math “wizard” to do that in your head.

But again, no pushback from the host. And later in the same segment, pundit Laura Sanchez, a practicing attorney, said, “Martha has a point.” No, Martha doesn't have a point. Or rather, she may have one, but it’s totally fake, as are most of her “points.”

Burk calls herself both a "Political Psychologist" and a "Women's Issues Expert." Pretty proud titles, albeit self-annointed ones. But one thing she is not is a graduate of an 8th Grade Math course.

The “1980s” Were Not the Last Time “the minimum” was Passed

The most recent change to the minimum wage was in 2009, when it reached its current level of $7.25. But changes were also made in 2008, 2007, 1997, 1996, 1991, and 1990—all of which Martha apparently overlooked when she did her “research” and “did the math once again.”

Martha, do the show and its numerous viewers a favor: Stop doing the math.

The last adjustment to the minimum wage that occurred “in the 1980s” was the rise to $3.35 an hour in 1981. That would be equivalent to $9.84 an hour today. Not $44.00.

What Really IS True About the Minimum Wage and Current Value?

For those of you interested in something factual (the opposite of a Martha-ism) here is a timeline chart with the minimum wage changes through the years and their current values in 2021.

The original minimum wage, put into effect on June 25, 1938 was 25¢ an hour. That would be the equivalent of $4.73 today. The peak apparently occurred in 1968, when that year’s $1.60/hour would be worth $12.28 in today’s money. But at no time did anything ever approach “forty-four dollars an hour.”

YEAR Minimum Wage Today's Value
2009 $7.25 $  9.02
2008 $6.55 $  8.12
2007 $5.85 $  7.53
1997 $5.15 $  8.57
1996 $4.75 $  8.08
1991 $4.25 $  8.33
1990 $3.80 $  7.76
1981 $3.35 $  9.84
1980 $3.10 $10.05
1979 $2.90 $10.67
1978 $2.65 $10.85
1976 $2.30 $10.79
1975 $2.10 $10.42
1974 $2.00 $10.83
1968 $1.60 $12.28
1967 $1.40 $11.19
1963 $1.25 $10.91
1961 $1.15 $10.27
1956 $1.00 $  9.82
1950 $0.75 $  8.31
1945 $0.40 $  5.93
1939 $0.30 $  5.76
1938 $0.25 $  4.73

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BIGGEST (and dumbest) LIE of the MONTH of MAY by a TV Pundit: Martha Burk of New Mexico in Focus Claims that the “1980s minimum wage” would be over $90,000 a year by now. How dumb can you get?

05/30/2021

TV talking head pundits tell lies all the time, most of the time with little or no pushback from hosts or other talking heads. In that regard, KNME’s New Mexico in Focus is little different from most CNN, MSNBC, or other cable news shows.

We don’t talk much about New Mexico in Focus, mainly because—as is the case with most PBS affiliates—no one is watching, so little harm is done either way. We mean no disrespect to Channel 5—they have the same low viewership of other public TV stations. They work hard at producing a quality show. Low viewership is just the way it is with public TV.

Now Martha Burk is probably the most consistently egregious liar in the show’s lineup, but this past May 14 the erstwhile contributor let fly with a genuine whopper. Here’s what she had to say during one of her trademark rants:

“By the way, I did the math once again, and if the minimum wage had kep (sic) up with inflation since the last minimum was passed in the 1980s, you know what it would be today? $44 an hour. “

No, she didn't. (Or if she did, her "math" was something well below Pre-K standards.)

The host, Gene Grant, responded with his normal “wow!” This in unfortunate, but it’s the consistent response from the affable Grant, who appears to be bowled over with amazement at virtually every single comment from a left-wing commentator—not only taking them as gospel, but expressing genuine gratitude for what he considers to be uniformly brilliant insights.

Grant does occasionally push back on those he considers right-of-center, but most of the time, pre-COVID at least, the panel was either 4 to 1 or 5 to 0 left-of-center. (And quite a number of those who are there occasionally to supposedly provide a "conservative" perspective are far from that.) But we digress.

We are not Asking People to be "Mathematicians," But Rather Just to Think for a Moment

Now, keep in mind that the work year is 2,080 hours. So, if you do the math, Burk is alleging that the minimum wage—if only it had kept up with the Reagan era standard—would be $91,520.

Now, we’re not asking everyone to multiply by 2,080 immediately, but they could multiply by 1,000 or 2,000 and have a general sense that the lady is suggesting that the annual minimum salary would be, say, $88,000. You don’t have to be a math “wizard” to do that in your head.

But again, no pushback from the host. And later in the same segment, pundit Laura Sanchez, a practicing attorney, said, “Martha has a point.” No. She doesn’t. Or rather, she may have one, but it’s totally fake, as are most of her “points.”

Burk calls herself both a "Political Psychologist" and a "Women's Issues Expert." Pretty proud titles, albeit self-annointed ones. But one thing she is not is a graduate of an 8th Grade Math course.

The “1980s” Were Not the Last Time “the minimum” was Passed

The most recent change to the minimum wage was in 2009, when it reached its current level of $7.25. But changes were also made in 2008, 2007, 1997, 1996, 1991, and 1990—all of which Martha apparently overlooked when she did her “research” and “did the math once again.”

Martha, do the show and its numerous viewers a favor: Stop doing the math.

The last adjustment to the minimum wage that occurred “in the 1980s” was the rise to $3.35 an hour in 1981. That would be equivalent to $9.84 an hour. Not $44.00.

What Really IS True About the Minimum Wage and Current Value?

For those of you interested in something factual (the opposite of a Martha-ism) here is a timeline chart with the minimum wage changes through the years and their current values in 2021.

The original minimum wage, put into effect on June 25, 1938 was 25¢ an hour. That would be the equivalent of $4.73 today. The peak apparently occurred in 1968, when that year’s $1.60/hour would be worth $12.28 in today’s money. But at no time did anything ever approach “forty-four dollars and hour.”

YEAR Minimum Wage Today's Value
2009 $7.25 $  9.02
2008 $6.55 $  8.12
2007 $5.85 $  7.53
1997 $5.15 $  8.57
1996 $4.75 $  8.08
1991 $4.25 $  8.33
1990 $3.80 $  7.76
1981 $3.35 $  9.84
1980 $3.10 $10.05
1979 $2.90 $10.67
1978 $2.65 $10.85
1976 $2.30 $10.79
1975 $2.10 $10.42
1974 $2.00 $10.83
1968 $1.60 $12.28
1967 $1.40 $11.19
1963 $1.25 $10.91
1961 $1.15 $10.27
1956 $1.00 $  9.82
1950 $0.75 $  8.31
1945 $0.40 $  5.93
1939 $0.30 $  5.76
1938 $0.25 $  4.73

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


ELECTIONS INTEGRITY? IT IS A FUNDAMENTAL REQUIREMENT. HOW DO YOU ENSURE IT?

05/20/2021

In a representative democracy—a republican form of government—elections are everything. The people must trust their electoral systems, otherwise there will be a spirit of chaos operating on one, two, or all sides of the electorate.

While there are in America today exaggerated claims of 1) election results infallibility on one side—the idea that we have a structurally sound system and that everything is just fine—and 2) massive fraud everywhere on the other side, neither claim is true.

What is True? We Lack Structural Integrity throughout the Country's Numerous Elections Systems

One thing that is true is that there are enormous gaps in the structural integrity of our elections systems. Those gaps will continue to exist until each state places in statute a series of checks and balances. Among those steps, the following are absolute requirements:

1) The only addresses that can be recipients of ballots are those addresses from which a voter actually requests a ballot;

Every entity in America—whether it is a Secretary of State or a County Clerk's office—that mails ballots out to locations or addresses, without having received a request for that ballot, is merely mailing blind. That's why people see piles of ballots at post office trash cans, in dormitories, retirement villages, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and all kinds of group quarters.

All such ballots represent the seed money, the seed capital, from which all mischief, perceived mischief, and—most important—permanent doubt will inevitably grow.

2) The only in-person voter who can receive a ballot is one whose eligibility can be verified;

This is nothing more than common sense. You cannot withdraw money from your own bank account without identifiying yourself. Hell, you cannot even extract information from hundreds of almost meaningless online accounts you may have without a secure means of identifying yourself.

People will argue, "Yeah, but voting is a sacred right" (or somesuch formulation), and the answer is "EXACTLY, with regard to a functioning representative democracy, voting is far more important than these other things. That's why security is even more important for voting."

3) All requests for ballots must be validated by means of some form of verifiable link between the request and requester;

There must be some form of uniform, verifiable, data-related system which can be trusted to validate requests for ballots. New Mexico's online requirement to provide a driver's license number, along with the "last four" of one's social security number, combined with verification of address, and an oath, are all good examples of this approach.

4) Voter ID (which is consistently supported by 75% of voters in all polls, with strong majorities from all parties) must be a part of the system;

Such an overwhelming majority of the American people support positive photo ID because it is a daily—often multiple times daily—occurrence in all of our lives. The arguments against it are hollow and require the listeners to be either:

        a) willing to deny the reality of their own lives' experiences constantly; or

        b) remarkably stupid—believing they are fooling their fellow Americans by claiming that proof of identity is impossible to possess; or

        c) simply willing to lie for a perceived partisan "cause."

It is remarkable that there are 196 countries in the world, and the United States is the only one in which people can vote without being required to identify themselves. This shows the remarkable effectiveness of both illogical propaganda and the Democratic Party's use of that propaganda.

5) Returned ballots must have a system of validation, confirming the voter’s address, his or her last 4, and a signature that is verifiable.

The same verification process used on the requesting end must again be applied on the receiving end when the requested ballot has been returned. The process cannot be allowed to be hijacked.

Legitimacy

In political science, governmental legitimacy is based on the popular acceptance of, and recognition by, a governed people or society that the authority of the governing regime rests that very authority on a rational and legal system of institutional procedure.

In that system of institutional procedure, legislative bodies establish laws that outline logical means of protecting and preserving the public interest, and executive authorities enforce those laws.

When those procedures are properly followed, the governed people will then view their laws—in effect, their protections against illegitimate government—as right and proper.

In a representative democracy, the very foundation of legitimacy (on which all acceptable/accountable governance rests) is the election process.

In a society that depends on elections, as long as any segment of that society—be it Left, or right, or middle—does not have trust in the counting of votes, that society is laying the groundwork for perpetual instability and divisiveness.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


PLEASE HELP US OUT. WE ARE BEWILDERED.

05/10/2021
We are trying to understand the unemployment rate.
 
Are you telling us that workers will stay home and not pursue jobs just because the government is currently giving them more than the jobs will pay?
 
We are at a loss here. Can’t understand what’s going on. Can someone help us on this?

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

When you Haven't been to Sunday School or Church in a Good While...

05/07/2021


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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How to Think About the Liz Cheney-Elise Stefanik Dustup: What Does it Mean in the Context of the Future of the GOP?

05/06/2021

If the Republican Party is to have success in the near term, it must do several things. One of them is to ensure that no one from either extreme of the party plays a significant role, especially not a leadership role, or any role in formulating or articulating public policy.

The reason for that is that the Republican Party itself must be totally united. Going forward, they have to have buy-in from Republican rank and file voters at a level of near 95% in favor of the party platform and its candidates. Having someone at one of the extremes will cause internal party support to fall (perhaps plummet) to a losing level.

What is a losing level?

Because the Republican Party is smaller than the Democratic Party, and possibly smaller than independents, a losing level in one in which fewer than 90% of Republicans are in agreement with each other.

After all, in 2020 Trump held that floor, with 94% of Republicans voting for him, and yet he still lost the election. So, it is imperative that they never have a candidate who cannot retain at least 90% of internal party support.

(Democrats can probably fall to the low 80s in their internal support and still be competitive. The GOP simply cannot do that.)

What Does this Mean?  It Means NO to Q-Anon and NO to Never-Trumpers

The Republican Party simply cannot have leaders who believe in wild conspiracy theories about forest fires in the west, or pizza parlors swarming with child abusers, or any of scores of other things alleged by people like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene or talk show host Alex Jones and others.

Support for the belief in those kinds of notions are not only killers in general elections, they drop intraparty support down to the 50s.

At the same time, anyone who is now or ever was a “Never-Trumper” is a non-starter as a future leader of the Republican Party. After all, the Never-Trumpers supported Biden—and supporting Biden means:

• open borders with unfettered, advertised, and promoted illegal immigration.

• killing the Keystone Pipeline

• encouraging minors to undergo sex-change operations

• destroying girls’ high school sports, women’s athletics

• supporting a stupid policy regarding Iran’s nuclear program

• allowing rich European countries to not pay their own way in national defense

• supporting statehood for the District of Columbia

• opposing any form of elections integrity, providing all means for potential election fraud

Support for these kinds of policies is anathema to orthodox conservative Republicans and other common-sense voters

Liz Cheney is a Never-Trumper

So, the decision about her race with Elise Stefanik for House Conference Chair is a no-brainer. Republicans should not elect her any more than they should elect Marjorie Taylor Greene.

In addition to encouraging people to vote for Bidenism (which has turned out to be a lurch to the Far Left) one has to ask:

“Why is Cheney still talking about Trump?”

What is the point in May of 2021 of even talking about Trump? Just as a stand-alone event, talking about Trump right now shows very bad judgment. That whole thing is over. And it doesn’t help her party to continue to talk about it.

Yes, many Republicans already know that Trump is a jerk. They voted for him nonetheless because in the final analysis the future of the United States lies with the choices Americans make in the realm of public policy—not in whether any politician stands at the podium too long—or makes too many nonsensical asides, ad libs, and simply incomprehensible claims or assertions.

Just watch Joe Biden. He’s a trainwreck when it comes to the “personality” factor. But it is vitally important to note that it is NOT those traits which will wreck America. It is HIS POLICIES that will do so.

NEVER TRUMPERS WHO WILL DIVIDE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

It isn’t just Liz Cheney. Here are others who cannot be allowed to play a significant role in the party going forward. (Otherwise, they will fatally divide the conservative vote.)

Never-Trumpers

Senators (or former Senators) Mitt Romney and Jeff Flake;

Congressmen (or former Congressmen) Jim Kolbe, Jim Leach, John LeBoutillier, Frank LoBiondo, Susan Molinari, Connie Morell, and Justin Amash.

Former GOP National Chairman Michael Steele

Governors (and former Governors) John Kasich, Mark Sanford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry Hogan, and Phil Scott.

Anti-Constitution Republicans

Additionally, as in the case of Cheney and Romney, the following Congressmen and Senators should not play a role. This is not because they are “Never-Trumpers,” but because they voted for an unlawful impeachment.

Regardless of how one views Trump’s role in the attack on the Capitol (and reasonable arguments can be made on both sides) it is plainly unconstitutional and unlawful to carry out an impeachment proceeding against a private citizen.

Republican leaders must—like Republican judges—understand how important it is to follow the Constitution and adhere to the rule of law.

Those other nine congressmen who voted to “impeach” are:

Tom Rice, Dan Newhouse, Adam Kinzinger, Anthony Gonzalez, Fred Upton, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Peter Meijer, Rep. John Katko, Rep. David Valadao.

The other six senators who voted to “convict” are:

Lisa Murkowski, Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Ben Sasse, and Pat Toomey

Again, this is not about Trump, it is about the Constitution. We have never been afraid to discuss the dumb things that Trump says or does. It is just that we already have too many judges and politicians who violate the Constitution or believe it is only a set of suggestions.

Having Republicans do the same is simply inexcusable.

Finally, we are not saying that these people cannot participate in Republican functions or attend conventions—as the Democrats do in forbidding pro-life Democrats from being able to speak. We are simply saying that they should not have leadership roles in the party.

The country is too confused as it is. The GOP doesn’t need to send mixed messages.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS JUST FLAT EVIL on VISAS

05/05/2021
Brave Afghan Interpreters v. Burdensome Illegals
 
How can the Bidenistas allow ANY delay in immediately providing immigrant visas for a few dozen brave and loyal Afghan interpreters who have saved countless American lives? Especially while they are simultaneously and enthusiastically INVITING millions of unhelpful people to cross our southern border willy-nilly?
 
Are we the only ones who see this blatantly stupid and policy-absurd dichotomy?
 
The Afghan interpreters have sacrificed their safety, their families, and in fact risked their lives for soldiers, marines, and for America. The illegal immigrants that Biden is focused on have done NOTHING for our country.
 
One group is an enormous asset. The other is an immense and growing burden—no asset at all.
 
Go ahead—tell us we are wrong about this. We're all ears.

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Hey! Come on man! You know, you know the thing!

05/04/2021
More sayings, aphorisms, quotes, and dichos—as translated into Modern English by Joe Biden.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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WILD CHASE IN Roswell, New Mexico LAST NIGHT

05/01/2021
Dude drives his pickup up onto courthouse steps.
 
By the way, the Chaves County Courthouse is a beautiful building, constructed in 1912—at a cost of $350,000 (in dollars of 109 years ago). The renovation in 2005 cost several million dollars.
 
Did Chaves County’s Eye in the Sky helicopter capture it all on video? We don’t know. But it’s an interesting story nonetheless...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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PEARCE for GOVERNOR? Murphy for Sidekick?

04/24/2021
We are continuing to receive reports that Steve Pearce is calling around the state trying to gauge how much support he has for yet another run for governor.
 
This was first reported to us by State Senator Joshua A. Sanchez (R-Bosque) in early March. Apparently, Pearce remains clueless regarding his inability—after three tries at statewide office—”to catch on” with New Mexico voters.
 
We are further told that if he doesn't run, then his erstwhile “fundraiser” Mark Murphy of Roswell will take the plunge. This is remarkable, if true, in that Murphy has a record of strongly backing Democrats—from Jeff Bingaman to former State Senator Tim Jennings.
 
We’ll see how Murphy’s political background plays out in a GOP primary against solid conservative Republicans. (And that’s without even considering his record—with Pearce, Billingsley, Galassini Ford Tinnin, and Harvey Yates—in literally destroying the Republican Party of New Mexico in 2016, 2018, and 2020.) Disaster: thy name is Pearce and Murphy.
 
Both these people are non-starters. The GOP already has several highly qualified conservative candidates lining up. There’s just no place for Pearce or Murphy to fit in.
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Bombshell! Melanie Stansbury linked to Jeffrey Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell—Who is in Jail Right Now on Child Sex Abuse Charges

04/23/2021

The CD1 Democratic Nominee Working for TerraMar? Wow!

Melanie Stansbury, the Democrats’ nominee in the CD1 Special Election, released her Federal financial disclosures on February 21, 2021. (All federal candidates are required to list their source(s) of income for the prior year.) 

Melanie Stansbury claims to be a "scientist" any time her occupation is mentioned, but has been somewhat vague about what all that entails. The financial disclosure she produced revealed five consulting contracts:

  • Wildlife Conservation Society—Bethesda, Maryland
  • Thornburg Foundation—Santa Fe, New Mexico
  • TerraMar—Woburn, Massachusetts
  • Turner Foundation—(no location listed)
  • University of New Mexico—Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

Ms. Stansbury in her federal form also discloses the location of these various companies:

 

 

The first glaring issue that arises from viewing Melanie Stansbury's employment history (which she signed and electronically verified) is the TerraMar Project which is located in Woburn, Massachusetts.

This raises a giant red flag. The TerraMar Project is a non-profit whose mission was saving the oceans. It was founded by the nefarious socialite and alleged child trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell who was also the organization's president.

Yes, that Ghislaine Maxwell who travelled hand in hand with the now deceased Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell has been accused of acting as the convicted sexual predator’s accomplice, recruiting underage girls and abusing them alongside Epstein. Maxwell was recently arrested and indicted by the FBI. Maxwell who was arrested in July 2020 was charged with six felony counts related to the sexual abuse and trafficking of minors and lying to investigators.

Indictment

The Maxwell indictment states G.M. groomed minors for Epstein and it focuses on the years between 1994-1997.

The Ghislaine Maxwell indictment. Charges include:

1) Conspiracy to entice minors to engage in illegal sex acts

2) Conspiracy to transport minors to engage in illegal sex acts

3) Transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sex acts

4) Perjury

Most importantly, GM is accused of abusing minors in New York, Florida, New Mexico, and London.

 

Questions?

 

Why would "scientist" and Democrat politician Melanie Stansbury choose to have any association with the TerraMar Project in Woburn, Massachusetts which was founded by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2012 and linked to Jeffery Epstein and allegedly his child trafficking activities?

Without question, TerraMar was very well known on the global stage. In fact, Ms. Maxwell personally presented her ocean conservation program to the United Nations General Assembly.

"These high-profile events dovetailed with Maxwell’s and the Project’s high-profile partnerships and wealthy donors. The Project’s effort to hold the United Nations to sustainable promises made regarding the ocean were praised and supported by the Clinton Global Initiative."

Why would anyone with a resume like Melanie Stansbury who claims she could work just about anywhere, work for TerraMar and Ghislaine Maxwell?

Wouldn't a "scientist" recognize that any ties to anything affiliated with an organization under Ghislaine Maxwell’s brand have the potential to allow prospective voters to question Ms. Stansbury's judgment? And, more important, question her values and moral authority to hold public office?

It appears to us that many questions need to be asked as voters complete their vetting of all the CD1 nominees.

Anyone associated with carrying water for such diabolical figures as Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein needs to be closely scrutinized.

Can anyone imagine what the outcry would be if Republican CD1 candidate Mark Moores had worked for Maxwell/Epstein?

Be honest: You know good and well that it would be wall-to-wall for the next six weeks on every TV station in New Mexico, and it would be the subject of very grave coverage from all New Mexico newspapers as well as the very most serious kind of introspective editorials from the Santa Fe New Mexican. Every. Single. Day.


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MOUNT CHAUVIN: The Wrong Hill to Die On

04/21/2021
We are fans of both Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, but they both need to shut up about the Derek Chauvin trial.
 
As we noted in our issue of April 9, the verdict is (was) a foregone conclusion. And that was not based on some conspiracy or trick by the media. It was based on testimony that we could all see. And we listened as more and more evidence was piled on to the visual.
 
Don’t get us wrong: the media are doing many evil things. Their allies on Capitol Hill are engaged in much that is evil and detrimental—obviously—to the future of our country. But the conviction of Derek Chauvin is not one of those things. And howling about his conviction actually hurts all conservatives because it makes it appear that none of us understand right from wrong and that we’re going to gripe about every single thing.
 
We have more and more on the national plate that is crucial to our country and our constitutional republic. So it is vitally important that we pick our fights because we are in a position to win very few right now.
 
The bottom line is that Derek Chauvin was in fact guilty, certainly of manslaughter, but most of all guilty of inordinate pride, stubbornness, and stupidity.
 
He was yelled at over and over to stop what he was doing but he was too stubborn—too egotistical—to admit even for a second that what he was doing was wrong.
 
All of us who live to be a certain age need to examine ourselves. If we have reached a point in our lives where experience should have taught us better, but we’re still unable to admit in the heat of the moment that we are in error or that we’re doing something wrong, well, we may have just learned nothing from life.
 
It certainly appears that Derek Chavin is one of those people who reached a certain age but had learned very little.
 
Mount Chauvin is not a hill to die on.

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WE PUBLISHED THIS STORY 66 DAYS AGO: Now everyone seems surprised that the New York Times is "revealing" it. NOPE—We were on it.

04/20/2021
New Mexico Political Journal https://bit.ly/3dx4n2E
 
February 12, 2021
 
5 People Died on January 6th. How? And Who Were They?
 
Was anyone "killed"? Yes. One person. Ashli Babbitt.
 
She was a 35-year-old military veteran from San Diego. She was unarmed. But she was shot as she tried to crawl through a broken window. That’s all we know. Authorities have refused to release the name of the man who shot her. They also have refused to explain why she was shot. We may never know the answer to why her life was taken from her.
 
Four Other People Died. Who were they?
 
ROSANNE BOYLAND, a 34-year-old woman from Georgia. Authorities say she died of a “medical emergency.” Some have said she “may have been trampled accidentally.” But that is speculation. The cause of death remains unclear.
 
KEVIN GREESON, a 55-year-old who had a history of high blood pressure. His wife said, “In the midst of the excitement, he suffered a heart attack."
 
BENJAMIN PHILLIPS, 50 years old. He died of a stroke. But he died outside on the grounds of the Capitol. He never entered the building and there is no evidence he was part of the mob attack.
 
BRIAN SICKNICK, a 42-year-old Capitol police officer. His police union chief announced that he “died of a stroke.” Media reports have stated—falsely—many times, that he was “beaten to death with a fire extinguisher.” But this is simply not true. He was not beaten with a fire extinguisher or anything else. No one knows where this story came from. But it has been repeated over and over by those in media and in politics. For whatever reason, his body was immediately cremated, and his autopsy has been sealed.
 
We hope this clears up a lot of things for people.
 
Bear in mind that none of what happened in the invasion of the Capitol by the mob is in any way excusable. All those who violated the law should be prosecuted and sentenced to jail. The rioters were, and remain, idiots. But the amount of disinformation about the event is massive. And it adds to concerns that the US media are no longer sources of "news," but merely vehicles for manipulation of public opinion.

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WHAT WILL HAPPEN to the LADY POLICE OFFICER in MINNESOTA who CONFUSED a TASER with her PISTOL?

04/15/2021
We don’t know. But we can take a guess.
 
Here is some background on the Minnesota Involuntary Manslaughter law:
 
The Minnesota Statutes cover deaths caused by negligence with the felony crime of manslaughter in the second degree and it has a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment along with up to $20,000 in fines. A person may be found guilty of this offense under circumstances such as:
 
* Their negligent conduct creates an unreasonable risk, knowing it may cause great bodily harm or death
* By killing another with a firearm or other dangerous weapon as the result of negligently believing they were shooting a deer or other animal
* By setting a dangerous device such as a snare, deadfall, pitfall, spring gun, or other device
* By negligently or intentionally letting an animal with known vicious propensities to run uncontrolled
* By committing or attempting to commit the offense of child endangerment that results in the death of the child
 
Our best guess: she is likely to be offered a plea deal that will probably result in some where around 4 to 5 year prison sentence. She will take that deal and probably end up serving about 2 1/2 years.
 
On the other hand, in the Derek Chauvin case, should his conviction be for involuntary manslaughter, he would most likely receive the maximum sentence of 10 years. It is our understanding that he could also be convicted of manslaughter or second-degree murder, which could result in a much longer sentence.

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NMPJ Proved Correct: We broke the Story on Grisham and James Hallinan. Now the MSM is Admitting we were Correct. So is Lujan Grisham!

04/14/2021

One year, three months, and 19 days ago, on Thursday, December 26, 2019, New Mexico Political Journal broke the Sexual Assault story regarding Governor Lujan Grisham and her former aide, James Hallinan. (See excerpt below.) We had noticed a tweet from Hallinan to which no one in the media anywhere was paying any attention. We did.

Only after our story ran, did the Albuquerque Journal decide to do a story. Then, the next day, the Santa Fe New Mexican followed suit. Some four days later, Albuquerque Democrat blogger Monahan reluctantly took notice.

The comically rogue party switcher and former campaign aide to Mayor Tim Keller and Udall, John Block—now a "Republican" poser— attacked our story, taking up for Grisham, calling the story illegitimate.

His sometime ally Eddy Aragon (they both have run the gamut from Republican bashers to claiming to be "conservatives"), the erstwhile semi-deranged radio station scam artist, joined him in viciously criticizing our story, hollering that "no police report" has been found—which was a detail that had not stopped him (or anyone else) from discussing the reports surrounding Justice Kavanaugh—and many others.

Here's what Aragon said 15 months ago:

“This is not a story”…“Sorry folks…I smell BS…PAY NO ATTENTION TO THIS!..."It has to be corroborated…” Has he gone to law enforcement? Does he have an attorney? “As much as I would like to cover this and wouldn’t mind this being true, he’s going to need a lawyer and a criminal report before his claim can be legitimized. There’s no one to corroborate his claims…If he actually contacts law enforcement then we can “play ball” folks! Let’s see what happens.

Again, this is NOT a courtesy that Aragon extended to Justice Kavanaugh or ANY Republican accused of wrongdoing. All those were discussed regardless of the existence of a police report.

Aragon, others, Now Lying About the Hallinan Case

We wouldn't be wasting time on Aragon if it weren't for the fact that he is now lying on his radio station, saying that he has "been on top of this story from the very beginning." His audience (which is quite tiny, perahps 150 or so) may be too clueless to realize that he is misrepresenting what he actually did on the story.

The Republican Party of New Mexico, led by Anisa Galassini Tinnin and Steve Pearce, also dismissed the story. Perhaps it was because we had called them out for the damage they have done to the Republican Party, in losing the state house and numerous other fiascos, but the reality is that they essentially defended Grisham just to be able to attack NMPJ.

Our Story was Not Only First, it was Also Accurate. Here's the First Part of Our Story from 2019:

            Thursday, December 26, 2019

        Grisham-gate: Sexual Assault. Where is the Coverage? New Mexico Media Continues with

        their  Ridiculous Double Standard

 

Think for just a moment. If some prominent political operative came up on the internet with allegations of sexual assault against Susana Martinez (or any prominent* Republican) how long do you think it would be until there was wall-to-wall coverage of the story?

On every TV station in Albuquerque? On El Paso or Lubbock TV? On KKOB? On the front pages of the Albuquerque Journal? The Santa Fe New Mexican? The Las Cruces Sun-News?  On every tweet or blog posting by the Democrat Party spokesman—little Joey Monahan?

We can answer it for you: It would be non-stop! It would be bigger than the headlines on Pearl Harbor.

(Hell, it would be huge even if it was for running a red light or maybe even talking loud in a restaurant. But sexual assault? Holy moly! Heaven forbid! It would be beyond HUGE!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Contacted Hallinan's Lawyer Almost Immediately When the Story Broke

We later Corresponded with Hallinan's Attorney, Rachel Berlin Benjamin, who sent us the following email on January 16, 2020, during the time that major media organizations, plus small fry like Aragon, Block, Monahan, and the Republican Party of New Mexico were appearing to work in concert to cover up the story.

           [Editor, NMPJ]

           In response to Governor Lujan Grisham's public comments today regarding my client, Mr. Hallinan:

It’s unfair to victims. It’s completely false.  There are real victims every single day and in this poisonous climate that’s what happens, right? that they use these things and they hide from real things do happen. I hope he gets help, but I’m proud of who I am, what I stand for and what we are going to get done. — Gov. Michelle Grisham

           I have issued the following statement:

"Governor Lujan Grisham’s comments are inappropriate and damaging, only serving to revictimize Mr. Hallinan and countless other victims. We look forward to a court’s assessment of who the 'real victims' are and who truly seeks to 'hide' from the 'real things' they have perpetrated against employees and associates over the years. We are hopeful that other victims will come forward to further expose the truth." 

            Rachel Berlin Benjamin, lead legal counsel for James Hallinan

             Buckley Beal, LLP

Now Comes the Story that Grisham has "Settled" — But Many Questions Remain

Of course we hate to say it, but, well we told you so. We have to get that out of the way, but we were the ONLY voice on this story.

However, much more needs to be uncovered. The sum is paltry. Many questions remain unanswered.

The Governor states that the money she is paying to Hallinan is coming from campaign funds. Now the Secretary of State claims that that is legal. But it clearly is not. Throwing water on someone's trouser fly and grabbing someone by the crotch is in no way "campaign related."

This is a fraud in many ways.

Plus, where are the Governor's legal fees in all this? Where are they reported? Who negotiated with the Atlanta law firm Buckley Beal, LLP?

There's much more to this story.

But for right now, it's important to know that New Mexico Political Journal was correct, and the rest of the media got it wrong. As did Aragon, Block, the RPNM, et. al.


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UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT: NMPJ Editor Emeritus Rod Adair to be in Carlsbad to discuss Redistricting

04/03/2021
New Mexico Political Journal's Editor Emeritus will be the guest speaker at the Carlsbad Republican Women's Meeting in Carlsbad about two weeks from now. 
 
Former State Senator Rod Adair, a demographer and redistricting consultant, will speak to the Republican Women's Club of Carlsbad on Thursday, April 15, 2021, at 11:30 AM.
 
The meeting will be held at the Blodgett Street Baptist Church, 1500 W. Blodgett St., Carlsbad, New Mexico.
 
The subject will be Redistricting.

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Democrats Choose Melanie Stansbury; Antoinette Sedillo Lopez Denied Yet Again. If Voters Want to Choose a Hispanic Representative, They'll Have to Support Moores.

04/01/2021

Wednesday evening the Democratic Party Central Committee for Congressional District 1 chose State Representative Melanie Stansbury over State Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez. It took a real surge on the part of Stansbury, who moved from 43 votes on the first ballot to 103, a whopping gain of 60.

Meanwhile, Sedillo Lopez was able to persuade only 23 of the 81 voters who had been up for grabs in the wake of the first round of voting.

As Wednesday began, Stansbury faced what appeared to be an uphill battle, needing 67% of those voters who had supported the six bottom candidates who had lost out in the first round. She pulled that off, getting 71% of them.

Not only that, she picked up an additional two votes from central committee members who had abstained in the first round.

Hispanic Candidate

Once again, the Republican Party has fielded the only Hispanic candidate in the race, as they did in the Governor's elections in both 2010 and 2014, and a number of downballot races over the past generation.

While there is some truth to the idea that traditional New Mexico Hispanics are moving to the Republican Party, that movement is steady, but also very very slow.

What has been happening much faster is the movement to the Democrats of the more newly arrived Hispanics—who tend to be much less educated, with fewer professionals—very different demographically and economically from the central and Northern New Mexico families who've been here for many generations.

The newer Hispanics are attracted by the Democrats' emphasis on open borders, unfettered immigration—mainly illegal—and the Democrats' enthusiasm for public assistance once the immigrants arrive: education, health care, housing, and welfare.

Moores, whose mother is Hispanic, faces long odds. The district has not been competitive since the redistricting process in 2011-12, when a number of precincts were adjusted. But even worse for the GOP, the city of Albuquerque has continued its rather dramatic move the Left, making Bernalillo County—which is the overwhelming bulk of the district—very difficult for Republicans to carry.

However, lightning could strike, as no one knows what President Biden might do, mentally or physically. Additionally, there is the possibility of overreach by the national Democrats, possibly so dramatic that it invites a backlash among voters.

While such a phenomenon is unlikely to manifest itself by June 1, even if it were to do so it is likely that rhe reaction in CD1 would not be as dramatic in other parts of country.

Some observers have referenced the Special Election of 1997, when Republican Bill Redmond upset Democrat Eric Serna, believing that it gives hope to the GOP this year.

However, there are a number of differences:

1) Stansbury is a much stronger candidate than Eric Serna was. He carried a great deal of baggage, or at least what was perceived to be.

2) The entire state is more Left-leaning than it was then.

3) There is no Green Party candidate this year—in 1998, the Green candidate got 17% of the vote, hurting Serna significantly more than Redmond (Though we believe Redmond would still have won by a whisker had the Greens been forced to vote for one of the major party candidates.)

4) There is apparently going to be a Libertarian Party candidate in this race, likely to pull more votes from Moores than Stansbury.

5) Former Republican Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn plans to run as an independent. Despite the seeming foolishness of his party-switching move AFTER he was elected Land Commissione, it's unlikely he would take more votes from Stansbury than from Moores.

Still, in the final analysis, we are living in strange times. Dynamic times. And a special election always has a significantly lower turnout than a general election, a factor that tends to favor Republicans. For now, it's the Democrats' race to lose. They likely won't, but it's possible they could.


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CD 1's Mad Scramble for the Deciding Votes. Our Exclusive Identity Politics Count. Does Roybal Caballero Hold the Key?

03/31/2021

With last night's first round of the Democrats' CD1 nomination process in the books, State Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez was left holding a 74 to 43 advantage over the only other remaining contender, State Representative Melanie Stansbury.

The race now turns to bargaining for the 81 votes that went to the six also-rans. (198 total votes were cast last night, with the frontrunners getting 117 of those.)

Lopez is only 26 votes shy of the 100 needed to win, while Stansbury is less than halfway there, needing to pick up 57 votes, exactly two-thirds of the votes that went to someone other than the two leading candidates. What will the delegates' decisions turn on?

The Roybal-Caballero Delegation

We received a report this morning that intense negotiations are ongoing to try to get State Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero to release her delegates and become the "kingmaker" (queenmaker?).

A report surfaced that one of the two leaders (either ASL or Stansbury) offered P-RC a letter to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help PR-C secure affordable housing in New Mexico so that she and her husband would not have to continue living in El Paso.

The Roybal-Caballero's (aka "the Grifters") live in El Paso, and apparently have never lived in New Mexico, even though she has served in the legislature for 8 years!

Then we realized that PR-C only received one vote (presumably her own) and has no real significant "batch" of delegates to release. We have judged the earlier report to be false.

Identity Politics Report: Will the Democrats's Decision Today Turn on Ethnicity? It Could.

At first glance, the race is now a 74-43 vote contest between two individuals, so—in times past—the decision as to which one would go ahead and reach a majority of support would depend on, perhaps, a debate or a forum in which the two face tough questions from the delegates.

However, as we have noted in our previous story, there are NO differences between these two candidates. In fact, as confirmed by the Progressived Democrats of America—New Mexico Chapter, there are NO differences between ANY of the 8 original candidates.

There is a "woke uniformity" now that transcends the modern Democrat Party. No one dares deviate from the established position on the core issues: Abortion (on demand); Immigration (totally open borders); Economy/budget (spend whatever, no restrictions, no limits); Health Care: (Medicare for ALL).

And on and on. There is no disagreement. So what is left?

Well, there's the go-to matter of identity politics. In reality, identity politics has become the opiate for the Democrat masses — that portion of the Democrat Party that has all its energy and drive. We are talking bout the Hard-Left of the Democratic Party—which probably represents about 75% of the party, with the other one-quarter of the party perhaps being considered just plain Left, or "Near-Hard Left."

The great bulk of the Democrats actually do want an enormous welfare state and the most Leftist agenda possible put in place, much of which is impractical. To distract this mass of voters from the difficulty of making such massive changes, the "inner party" Democratic leaders have turned to identity politics as a distraction:

"We care about you, because of your race, ethnicity, sex, sexual activity, et. al."

This gets everyone concentrating on identity politics rather than whether or not the leaders have enacted the far-Left economic policies the Democrat masses are dreaming of.

Here is the Count—And Some of the "Identity" Counts: The Woke Report

Sedillo Lopez: 74, Stansbury: 43, Everyone Else: 81.

Hispanics: 108, Anglos: 77, Indians: 13. So if Hispanics feel that Antoinette was "cheated" out of the position last time, they have the votes to make up for the outrage.

Women: 178, Men: 20. Well, we got THAT out of the way.

LGBTQIA+(to our knowledge): 20, Heterosexuals: 178. That must leave a good deal of discomfort among the party faithful, but it is what it is. Not even a late-breaking "HIV" appeal to get the "The-manner-in-which-we-have-sex" coalition could get the LGBTQIA+ crowd off the sand bar.

(Though some say this ratio could actually be: 63 to 135, which isn't quite as embarrassing.)

Hispanic Female: 88 Anglo Female: 77, Indian Female 13. Looked at this way, it may come down to how the Gays and Indians vote.

Hispanic Males: 20, Anglo Males: 0, Indian Males: 0, Females: 178.  "Diversity is our strength." — State Senator Linda Lopez (plus every single other Democrat elected official for the past 25 years).

Bottom Line

Antoinette Sedillo Lopez has the task of securing only one-third of the "other" voters. Melanie Stansbury must win over the 81 deciding voters by a 2 to 1 margin.

To accomplishe that, Stansbury will have to conduct, well—behind-the-scenes in a "whisper" campaign, mind you—a fairly intensive negative campaign on her part.

That's a tall order, especially in this era of identity politics and wokeness.

Can it be done? Definitely. Is it likely? Probably not.

But it is doable. The question is "At what cost to the New Mexico Democrat coalition?"

Tough answer on that last one.


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CD 1 SPECIAL ELECTION UPDATE: 8:30 PM, Tuesday Evening. 2 DEMOCRATS ADVANCE to ROUND 2.

03/30/2021
In the nomination battle to succeed former Congresswoman Deb Haaland, two of the eight candidates have advanced to a second round of voting tomorrow.
 
State Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez led by a wide margin, but did not win a majority of the 198 votes cast by the CD 1 Central Committee.
 
She will now face off with second place finisher State Representative Melanie Stansbury. Here are the results of tonight's first round of voting:
Antoinette Sedillo Lopez 74 37.37%
Melanie Stansbury 43 21.72%
Randi McGinn 34 17.17%
Victor Reyes 18   9.09%
Selinda Guerrero 13   6.57%
Georgene Louis 13   6.57%
Francisco Antonio Fernández  2   1.01%
Patricia Roybal-Caballero  1   0.50%
Apparently, Roybal Caballero got only her own vote, which would be a fitting result.

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New Mexico Democrats Set to Choose Their CD 1 Nominee: A Look at the Candidates and a Discussion of the Internal Politics

03/29/2021

The 1st Congressional District (CD1) Central Committee of the Democratic Party of New Mexico is set to choose its candidate to replace former Congresswoman Debra Haaland, who had to resign to become Secretary of the Interior.

While Democrats are heavily favored to retain the seat, no matter who they choose, they nonetheless face some potentially thorny issues within their own ranks. Identity politics is the absolute be-all and end-all of the modern Democrat Party, and it has thus far (in the view of the modern Left) provided a highly successful approach to what they see as building their 21st Century coalition.

However, identity politics can be tricky, and perhaps—if over-thought and overdone as a rhetorical device—can present possible pifalls that may result in the development of hazards along the campaign trail.

The New Mexico Democratic Party has Shifted, Considerably

Over the past generation, New Mexico Democrats have experienced substantial changes in their demographic makeup. For most of the past century, the party was dominated by Hispanic Catholics, with many of its leaders coming from rural areas, and traditional central and Northern New Mexico families whose ancestors arrived anywhere from 250 to 400 years ago.

Those Hispanic Democrats were liberals, but they weren't "Leftists" — the element now firmly in control of the national and state party apparatus. They were for people like John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, but not necessarily George McGovern, let alone folks like Bernie Sanders, or Kamala Harris.

They nominated candidates like Fabian Chavez, Jerry Apodaca, Bruce King, and Jeff Bingaman, not extreme Leftists like Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, or Deb Haaland.

Increasingly however, the party has come to be dominated by what would have been called "outsiders" in our earlier history. Many are from out of state, though a number are home-grown types, raised to parrot the ideological polemics of their professors.

The dominant movers and shakers in the party are largely Anglos, but there are plenty of Hispanics (even some with traditional New Mexico ties) who have happily and opportunistically moved Leftward and have become fellow travelers with the nationally-oriented interest groups. Lujan Grisham is a prime example, though there are quite a number of others, mainly in the legislative class.

Challenges in CD 1

When Governor Grisham plunged into the governor's race in 2018, there was a scramble for the position. It was a contest in which Democrats constantly invoked the "virtue" of identity politics, a dynamic of course which can almost never succeed in benefiting more than one candidate at a time. In the event, six candidates filed—four Hispanics, one Anglo (Albuquerque City Councillor Pat Davis), and one self-identified Native American, Debra Haaland.

But which one would be able to claim the "Diversity Prize," to be awarded to the candidate who could make the best claim of representing a "neglected minority"? Lefty Anglo Democrats were in a quandary.

Haaland, whose father is of Norwegian descent and is therefore half American Indian, half "Anglo," came on strong, making the claim that her identity trumped the other identities. Davis, who had made a splashy entry, ultimately agreed, dropping out of the race and even more splashily endorsing Haaland—an act many attribute to pressure from Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller.

Keller was seen as playing a strong behind-the-scenes role to thwart the efforts of former UNM Law professor Antoinette Sedillo Lopez. The final totals showed the success of the stratagems, with Haaland garnering 40.6% of the vote, Davis (who was still on the ballot of course) getting 3.8%, and the four Hispanic candidates together receiving a landslide total of 55.6%.

The next year, Sedillo Lopez was appointed to the State Senate to replace Cisco McSorley, and she easily won election to a full term in 2020.

Many Democrats believe this special election should belong to her, basically because she is seen as having been "cheated" out of the nomination by Haaland.

About Public Policy Differences—There are NONE: Welcome to the Modern Woke Democrat Party

Significantly, as is the case now throughout Left-wing circles in America, there are no differences whatsoever in policy choices among the eight Democrats. "Diversity" within Democratic Party circles refers only to immutable demographic characteristics, although they also add to that the manner in which one lives out one's sexual life. 

It is not just us at NMPJ who are of this opinion. The Progressive Democrats of America New Mexico Chapter had this to say about a February forum:

"all the candidates had the same reply," and they "all thought alike."

Of course they do. It is now required. So, the outcomes of primaries, or of Central Committee meetings like this one, will be determined by all kinds of factors totally unrelated to public policy. On that they are all clones of each other. What is left are matters of demography, identity politics, and cosmetic issues.

Looking at the Field (in alphabetical order of course)

Francisco Antonio Fernández  Fernández may be the least known (or tied for least known with one other) of the 8 contenders. However, in many ways he is actually easily the most qualified and best suited of the lot for the nomination of the modern Democrat Party. He certainly punches more tickets of "wokeness" than any other candidate—though to be fair, they all try desperately hard to hit on all the woke cylinders.

Fernández's narrative has a rather dire spin to his upbringing—“working class,” child of divorce, living on food stamps, free lunches, and such, but ultimately being able to work to help pay for his education—at New Mexico’s most expensive high school Albuquerque Academy (annual tuition $25,390).

It must be said that it is a singular characteristic of the modern Social Justice Warriors (again, all eight candidates qualify as SJW) that they almost all come from relatively bourgeois, rather privileged backgrounds (if not upper middle class) but invariably see themselves as oppressed. But we digress. He goes on to describe his campaign thusly:

"As a person of color, New Mexico’s first openly gay representative, and the nation’s first openly HIV positive member of Congress, we’d make history and provide a courageous voice…”

Well, there you have it. He goes to the head of the class—significantly outdistancing would-be rival Victor Reyes, who is merely "gay," by adding on the additional diversity qualifier of "HIV positive." For checking the boxes—supremely woke, identifying as "poor," being Hispanic, Gay, and finally HIV positive—he must be seen as leading the pack.

This, of course, does not mean he wins.

Selinda Guerrero Guerrero is tied with Fernández in the unknown category. But she is probably the most intensely involved in actual on-the-ground, in-the-trenches social justic warfare. Why is she running? Here she is in her own words:

Why am I running? We are the working poor, I am a union member, my family was evicted this summer due to economic impacts associated with the pandemic. We organize for Black Lives and I am a human rights activist. I am a precinct chair in the Democratic Party and a member of the current SCC.

"I have been a dedicated voter Registration Agent for more than a decade. I understand that democracy works best when ALL voices are represented. I am a community healer - my values are to Lead with Love and Stand in my Courage and that is what has brought me to do this work today....I will be honored to be your next Congresswoman."

  Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (ASL) See above. Many believe it is ASL's "turn" so to speak. Among a half dozen insiders we heard from, ASL was mentioned by everyone. She is Hispanic, female, and, well, probably claims some sort of oppression if properly pressed.

Yeah, she's rich and is a retired professor married to a wealthy lawyer, but that has no real bearing on "wokeness." If you feel it, if you identify as woke, you're in. ASL can do all of that—so she hangs with her competitors in that regard.

Georgene Louis All the insiders and hangers-on we heard from also mentioned Louis, with some saying she "should" get the nomination, but that Sedillo Lopez probably "will" get it.

Louis is something of a fast burner, steadily rising to prominence in the party after becoming the first Native American to win a non-Indian-designed legislative district. That is something of an achievement.

(NOTE: Democrat minorities are famous for having to have districts that are gerrymandered specifically to be "majority minority," while Republicans—like Jane Powdrell-Culbert or the late Larry Larrañaga, to name just two examples among dozens—ask for no such thing, and instead just go out and win in Anglo districts, running campaigns on issues rather than race or ethnicity.)

Whether Louis can put it all together in this forum, of course no one knows. But she is well-liked by the party faithful.

Randi McGinn McGinn is a fabulously wealthy trial lawyer, who was called by her late husband, former NM Chief Justice Charlie Daniels "the smartest lawyer in New Mexico." That may be hyperbole from a husband, but we have it on pretty good authority that McGinn is in solid agreement with it.

In the old Democrat Party, McGinn would be formidable, after all, she's a woman. But she is undoubtedly disadvantaged right now by being able to check only that one box of the numerous possible identity politics boxes.

We note that she has hit on at least some oneupswomanship by saying she has a record of "Defending LGBTQIA+ Rights."

All of the candidates are on board with the standard, relatively old-fashioned LGBTQ crowd. That acronym stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning.

But McGinn has added the I and the A, which stand for "intersex" and "asexual/aromantic/agender," and then tacked on the +, which means "and more," indicating the other 170-plus forms of sexual identity. Not even the two Gay men, touting their hopes to be the "first," thought to do that. So, McGinn must be credited with extra efforts toward wokeness.

An Anglo woman, McGinn is in a tough spot, but she has "thousands" of connections, so she could pull it off. In fact, one insider said that "the first two are probably Sedillo Lopez and Stansbury, but that the next two are Randi McGinn and Victor Reyes."

Victor Reyes

Reyes is mentioned by one of our insiders, probably because he is Governor Lujan Grisham's close associate and presumed favorite. He also claims a couple of identity politics boxes: Gay and Hispanic (though not the add-on HIV positive). He, like Roybal-Caballero, next below, is from Texas, but he has had the sense to take up residence in New Mexico, something PR-C has never seen as a necessary step.

Reyes holds the coveted title "community organizer," as well as a litany of woke policy roles, including "environmental advocate" and "progressive leader," as well as "top aide to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham."

He says he is a "longtime advocate and national leader on reproductive freedom and justice." (Though he would seem to play no role in such undertakings.) And he "serves as the Board Chair of Catholics for Choice," who has "helped to defeat anti-abortion legislation," (very Catholic). He further states:

"If elected, [he] would be the first LGBTQ person to represent New Mexico in the United States Congress."

Of course he'll have to elbow Fernández aside for that honor.

Patricia Roybal-Caballero If there is an award for chutzpah in this whole affair, it must go to Roybal-Caballero, whom we have noted in articles past as one of New Mexico's leading grifters. It is one thing to note that the US Constitution does not require a US Representative to live in the district being contested. But it does require the person to live in the state.

Roybal-Caballero has resided in El Paso for a number of years. True, she is a sitting State Representative, and yes, her recent Democrat primary opponents have made her Texas residency an issue, but to no avail.

Royball-Caballero has outsmarted everyone by observing this critical rule in grifter-related politics: If you are going to run for office, choose a district in which the voters are dumber than you are.

She and her husband have effectively fought his requirement to pay child support for a severely-disabled child, currently living in Texas. But after years of help from a judge with questionable ethics, they finally lost the case. So PR-C's husband now owes more than $100,000 to a woman who is raising the child alone.

Will New Mexico Democrats reward Roybal-Caballero? None of the Democrat observers, whether considered insiders or outsiders, mentioned her name.

Melanie Stansbury

Stansbury was mentioned by some of the insiders. And one of them said she "has done the best organizing."

Of course, in a small electorate like the central committee, organizing is everything.

Still, Stansbury is an Anglo in a local party which is seen by many to have cheated a "woman of color" last time around. Who knows? She's probably better positioned than McGinn, probably because of this highlighted feature she just posted yesterday:

"I am the only candidate in this race that's beaten an incumbent Republican. In 2018 I flipped a red seat blue, and I did so by organizing and building a campaign that listened to the people and lifted up our communities. I am the only candidate with the infrastructure and the team that can beat Sen. Moores on Jun 1st."

Also just yesterday, in what could be a decisive development, Stansbury received the endorsement of both the Sierra Club as well as AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. AFSCME is the most powerful union in New Mexico.

Democrats are Smarter than Republicans in at Least One Respect

We do have to give the Democrats credit for at least one thing: they have not adopted rules that allow for a mere plurality of votes to determine their nominee at the Central Committee meeting. With seven candidates and only 135 central committee members, the Republicans could have nominated a candidate for congress with as few as 20 votes, or 15% of the support present, if they had been distributed in the right way.

As things turned out, the winner got 36% of the vote. But having rules like that open the door for a fringe candidate or a nut-job to win. That didn't happen with the GOP, but they were fortunate it did not.

The Democrats are requiring a majority, something that at least provides a measure of security against the nomination of an undesirable candidate, though of course it isn't a guarantee.


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Do the Media Love Biden or What? (It would be Hilarious if it weren't so serious.)

03/28/2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Moores Wins GOP Nomination for CD1 Special Election

03/27/2021
CD 1 REPUBLICAN NOMINATION RESULTS:
 
State Senator Mark Moores has won the Republican Party nomination for the CD1 special election to replace Debra Haaland.
Here are the total votes. (Republicans opted not to require a majority.)
Mark Moores  49 40.5%
Eddy Aragon  34 28.1%
Elisa Martinez  20 16.5%
Jared VanderDussen   7   5.8%
Ronnie Lucero   6   5.0%
Michaela Chávez   5   4.1%
All others   0   0.0%
Total Votes Cast 121 100.0%

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CD 1 Special Election: Republicans in Danger of Blowing their Chances; Mismanagement of the Process Makes Picking a Bad Candidate More Likely

03/26/2021

Given the possibility of backlash against the extremism of the Biden-Harris Administration and the likelihood of a low turnout in the June 1st Special Election, the Republicans actually have at least an outside chance at an upset win in this district that is dominated by Albuquerque.

But the process the RPNM has set up may have doomed them to failure. For whatever reason, the Republican Party of New Mexico is rushing the decision-making process on their nominee for the upcoming Special Election to succeed former Congresswoman Debra Haaland, who had to resign her seat upon accepting the position of Secretary of the Interior.

The GOP Central Committee of the First Congressional District will hold a “Zoom” candidate forum tonight, then select the nominee tomorrow. Talk about a senseless schedule! In rushing things through, the party makes itself vulnerable to extremely bad decision-making.

In any case, here is our take on the announced candidates, in alphabetical order.

Eddy Aragon is almost certainly the worst possible candidate the Republicans could select. Aragon operates what some consider a semi-shady station on which he “sells” interviews to prospective candidates—something unheard of in legitimate broadcasting.

Additionally, he has only recently joined the Republican Party after trashing the party and almost all its candidates for most of the past decade.

In 2019 and 2020 alone, Aragon attacked every single Republican candidate for the US Senate, threatened to run as an independent, then at the last moment he registered Republican and threatened to enter the primary.

He did very similar things in the previous Albuquerque mayoral race, bowing out after gathering money for matching funds, but allegedly never accounting for those funds.

If the delegates are brain-dead enough to make him their nominee, Aragon would have to immediately explain what is difficult or impossible to explain in today’s world--- what appears to be pornographic or near pornographic materials and just plain crazy stuff.

He has published or re-tweeted photos and stories from what some would consider porn sites or near-porn sites for a number of years, including this topless photo of a very young woman. And then there are all these other weird posts:

As you can see, Eddy Aragon would quickly be made into an absolute joke by the Democrat Party. Republican hopes would be gone in an instant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michaela Chavez

As far as can be determined, Chavez is respected both as a volunteer in Bernalillo County politics as well as having been the nominee for Senate District 13 last November, where she lost to incumbent Democrat Senator Bill B. O'Neill, 15,655 to 8,464.

So while from all appearances she has a solid reputation and is well-liked, garnering 34% of the vote in a race for the legislature is not necessarily an outstanding calling card for a nomination for Congress.

Jared Vander Dussen

Vander Dussen, an attorney, is another local Republican who has been active in the Bernalillo County GOP, volunteering his time and helping with legal matters. Vander Dussen, as we noted last year, made the best speech at the last GOP state convention, as he was running for the nomination for this same position, CD 1.

He is polished, makes eye contact, is cogent, logical, and makes a good impression. Again, his failing is that to this point he has not had electoral success. Despite making a better speech at the convention, Vander Dussen lost to eventual GOP nominee Michelle Garcia Holmes, 23,783 to 19,847, with Brett Kokinadis receiving 5,798.

Ronnie Lucero

Lucero is not well-known to Albuquerque GOP activiists, and as best we can tell, appeared on the scene just this year. He says he is a 1989 Del Norte High graduate and he did a two-year stint in the US Navy.

He has an attractive family, but the rest of his bio is somewhat vague. He apparently is the auto loan officer for Melloy Nissan in Albuquerque. He says his work in finance has shown him how New Mexico families "struggle with less than stellar credit" and that he is running for congress to "continue his fight...for all our families."

He adds that he knows that "common sense not blind ideology will serve New Mexico better in Washington."

Elisa Martinez

Martinez is another candidate who has run for office before but has come up short. Last year she lost the Republican nomination for US Senate to Mark Ronchetti, 89,216 to 41,240, with Gavin Clarkson finishing third at 27,471.

Martinez may be both helped and handicapped by her singular focus on the abortion issue. She can be helped in a Republican Central Committee meeting by the fact that so many active Republicans are focused on that issue, which could lead to her winning the nomination. However, that same factor would probably spell almost certain doom in left-leaning district.

Soft Republican women in Albuquerque's northeast heights tend to be pro-choice, and that doesn't even begin to consider how many hard-left Democrat men and women there are in the district. So her "Johnny-one-note" campaign style will almost certainly not serve her well on June 1st.

Additionally, like Susana Martinez, Elisa Martinez is a Hispanic woman running for office. However, unlike Susana, Elisa actually repeats that all the time, saying over and over again: "I am a Hispanic woman." (She also says she is Native American.)

In sharp contrast to Elisa, Susana Martinez let her appearance as a woman and her surname show that she was 1) a woman, and 2) also Hispanic, respectively. She didn't campaign on those two facts as if they were issues in and of themselves.

In other words, while Susana sounded like a conservative Republican emphasizing issues, Elisa sounds a little more like Kamala Harris, emphasizing identity politics. We'll see how this plays out.

Mark Moores

State Senator Mark Moores may have the upper hand with the more astute voters in that he is the only one of the seven candidates who has enjoyed actual visible electoral success. Moores played football for the UNM Lobos and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of New Mexico. He then went on to earn an MBA from the Anderson School of Management.

In 2012, he won the Republican State Senate District 21 primary in a landslide with 50% of the vote in a three-way race. Then he went on to face the extremely haughty incumbent Democrat, Senator Lisa Curtis, who boasted about her electoral prowess and spent upwards of $400,000 to prove it.

But she didn't prove it. Moores absolutely crushed her, 14,067 to 10,768. He was subsequently re-elected in 2016 and also in 2020.

In terms of qualifications as well as electoral success, Moores appears to stand above the rest.

Tracy Trujillo

Trujillo may be the least known of all the candidates. She sent out a letter saying that she is from Minnesota, but that she has lived in New Mexico for "almost" six years. She is a wife and mother of 3 great boys, step-mother to 3 daughters and has 10 grandchildren.

She says that for four years she has been a "department head at Randall Lumber in Taos...in charge of power tools and Stihl chainsaws." She also says she has been President of womens leadership for New Mexico Farm and livestock bureau District 5 for two 2 years and for Taos County for 4 years

She asserts that she is running "because i believe that we need a hard working honest down to earth person who has had to work for everything."

Trujillo is the only candidate who does not live in the district, though living in the district is not a requirement for US House.She lives in Questa, in CD 3, which is currently represented by Democrat Teresa Leger-Fernandez.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

 


ILLEGALS HEADED for PLATINUM STATUS*

03/24/2021
Bethesda, MD—(AP) The spokeswoman for the Marriott Hotels Rewards program announced this afternoon that “thousands of illegal immigrants will in fact be achieving Gold, Platinum, and even Titanium status” in the hotel chain’s program for its frequent travelers.
 
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported the Biden Administration plans to keep what they call “undocumented” immigrants in hotels, as President Biden’s invitation to immigrate has attracted far more migrants than they had planned for.Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham, IHG, Choice, Best Western, and Hyatt are all part of DHS’s planning.
 
All Marriott properties in McAllen, Texas are already booked for the next several weeks, though there are vacancies at the TownPlace Suites in Edinburg ($303/night) and the Courtyards in both Brownsville and Harlingen ($144). Wyndham properties as well as Choice hotels were going for $69-$115/night, while Hyatt and IHG venues were more pricy, ranging from $175-$350.
 
Marriott revealed that many migrants had already enrolled in their program, noting that with a 60-day stay a migrant “will achieve platinum status” and “those staying 15 more days beyond that will be a part of Marriott’s prestigious ‘Titanium’ club, with numerous benefits.”
 
Asked about the particulars of the payments—in that the taxpayer is actually purchasing the stays—Marriott responded that “It’s irrelevant who foots the bill, the guest receives the points if they’ve enrolled in our program.”
 
Hyatt, IHG, and Hilton all said their programs follow that same rule. Wyndham and Choice had not responded by press time.
* (Satire)
NOTE: This post is meant to be satirical, though things described are “theoretically possible.” The daily rates were accurate as of 24 March. And there was no vacancy in McAllen on that date. Also, the description of the Marriott Rewards program is accurate, though Marriott did not really issue the statements the post satirically attributed to them.
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A DEMOGRAPHIC VIEW of IMMIGRATION—WHAT HAPPENS WHEN OPEN BORDERSBECOMES NATIONAL POLICY

03/22/2021
Here are some periodic looks at the principal sources, state by state, of foreign in-migration, from 1850 to 2013.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Kamala Harris Giving a Gross Lecture—and her Junior Partner Biden following up

03/20/2021
This marks the 1,000th time during the past year that the Democrats have given a speech telling the world how truly awful the United States is and what a horrible people Americans truly are.
 
It is amazing how well this sells. You can believe this if you want—and we realize all Democrats (and other dumbass virtue-signalers) actually do believe it.
But we are NOT a nation of haters, or misogynists, or racists, or sexists, or bigots. To hell with both or them. 
 
We realize their rhetoric constitutes a wildly successful formula for electoral success, but we don’t care.
Virtually everything they say is not only BS, it’s a monumental, truly EVIL lie.

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SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE! * The Chinese Just Humiliated the US Secretary of State. How? They Threw the Democrats' Rhetoric Right Back in Their Faces. Biden-Harris-Democrat Rhetoric Comes Back to Bite them in the Butt!

03/19/2021

*With apologies to Jim Nabors/Gomer Pyle

Your Words Can Come Back to Bite You in the Butt

Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the Democratic National Committee, and the US media have spent the last several years telling our own people (and simultaneously the whole world) how truly awful the United States is and what a horrible people Americans truly are. It is amazing how well this sells.
 
Never mind that we are NOT a nation of haters, or misogynists, or racists, or sexists, or bigots, many Democrats actually believe this and the rest of them at least see this kind of narrative as a wildly successful formula for electoral success. So, even if it's not true, they see it as helpful to their cause. But it is not only a monumental, truly EVIL lie, it also has consequences.
 
China Throws Biden-Harris Rhetoric Right in Their Faces
 
Secretary of State Blinken and his team just met with the Chinese in Alaska. When they started in trying to talk with the Chinese about a whole range of issues, including human rights, Hong Kong, the Uighurs, et. al, the Chinese just laughed in their faces.
 
How? They threw Biden and Harris's own rhetoric—the entire Democrat narrative—right back at them.
 
"Don't talk to us about human rights. The United States is the most racist nation in the history of the world.”
Winken just sat there, looking like a buffoon. What else could he do. Nothing really. Once you've gotten into office by lying to the American people about what our actual history is, and the Chinese quote your own description of that history, you're kind of left in an untenable position. He could say:
 
“Uh, well, uh, you see, all THAT was just for shameless domestic political advantage. We don’t really believe we have been worse than all your "dynasties" or worse than Chairman Mao, or worse than the Cultural Revolution, or worse than the Tiananmen Square massacre, or what you're doing in Hong Kong."

But it would be ill-advised to say that now. The Chinese would just respond:

"Well, you tell your own people you are. Is it true or not? Were you lying then or are you lying now?"

And They Would be Correct—Thanks to the Democrats, We DO tell Ourselves That
 
Thanks to ridiculous indocrtination in our school systems, we now we still have the 60 million American school kids looking on and going:
 
“Yeah, that’s right. We have no place in the world of diplomacy. We are the most evil nation in the world.”
What is Actually True?
 
There are 196 countries in the world. Name one that has no racists, misogynists, or bigots. No. Wait. Name one that actually has fewer per capita (and show your work). Go ahead. Let us know who they are.
 
The Democrat Party is not only lying to adult voters, they are also engaged in de facto child abuse by indocrinating our children with an aggressive and highly intense syllabus of ignorance. They campaign messaging and their curricula are both filled with the historical, demographic, and anthropological ignorance—making our people vastly dumber. 
 
And it has consequences. As the Chinese have just shown us. The Democrat Administration is now pretty much hopeless in diplomacy.
 
What the Democrats Teach is an Evil Lie. Why? They've Been Infiltrated by Cultural Marxism
 
Democrats teach our people that we are the inventors—the owners—of slavery. They deliberately do this rather than teach the truth, which is that slavery is deeply rooted in human history, present since time immemorial on all continents and among all people.
 
And in so doing they fail to teach that the West—especially the US—has made enormous strides to correct and overcome not only slavery, but many other human failings and original sins.
 
The Democrats have long since been infiltrated by cultural Marxism which seeks to tear at the American social fabric and slowly destroy us from within. Democrats have loved using the tools of Cultural Marxism even if most of them are not Marxists at heart.
 
They love it because it includes the temporary advantages gained from the cumulative effect of identity politics. In other words, the resulting Balkanization of our nation helps—at least in the short run—to build winning electoral coalitions. It leads to victories at the polls.
 
But meanwhile, it eats away at our self-respect and our unity as a people.

 

What we have right now is a wreck. The Democrat Party has wreaked havoc with truth, with education, with an understanding of human nature, and with both world history and the history of the United States.

 
We are all already paying the price. And it will be a much steeper price, provided that these same racist demagogues continue with their lies for the duration of the next four years.

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STATE SENATOR SELF-IDENTIFIES AS A "B-WORD" (Weird, we know. But it's not our fault. See below.)

03/18/2021
In the video below, State Senator Jacob Candelaria -- who has also created a "draft candelaria for governor site -- turns himself in as "one of the 'bitches' who is planning to raise taxes on New Mexicans."
 
Bizarre. But pretty much par for the course for the New Mexico State Legislature. We cannot make this stuff up.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hot mic moment of New Mexico’s 60-day legislative session: “These bitches are trying to throw taxes on us.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nmleg?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nmleg</a> <a href="https://t.co/g4iS58sZDn">pic.twitter.com/g4iS58sZDn</a></p>&mdash; Daniel Chacon (@danieljchacon) <a href="https://twitter.com/danieljchacon/status/1372624405004713994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
https://twitter.com/danielj.../status/1372624405004713994...
 

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CALLING BS on the ATLANTA “RACISM” THING

03/17/2021
(This is NOT satire)
 
The media, Democrats, and Leftists are absolutely determined to make the Atlanta shooting (and in fact every single thing in the new Bidenworld) about “race.”
 
This morning a woman named Sung Yeon Choi-Morrow appeared on TV (CBS) to make the most convoluted, confused, tortured, indecipherable argument that regardless of what the perpetrator said, his motive was “racism against Asian women.”
 
From her name (Choi is about the 4th most common surname in Korea) and her appearance, we can only presume that she is Korean-American, and almost certainly what is known as “Amerasian.” That is to say she is likely the product of an American father (probably a US serviceman) and a Korean mother.
 
News flash: There is no greater degree of prejudice, discrimination, and outright hateful bigotry on earth than that of native Asians (Korean, Chinese, Japanese (esp.), Vietnamese, et. al) against babies born to foreign (non-Asiatic) fathers—especially American servicemen.
And, frankly, beyond even that—most especially BLACK American servicemen. (Yes, native Asians are profoundly prejudiced against Blacks.)
 
— And what country in the world takes these children in, by the thousands? Where can they come, live, be adopted if need be, and have all the opportunity in the world to achieve whatever dreams they have? (Even if it’s the “dream” of forming their own“non-profit” that bashes Americans for “racism”?)
 
— Answer: The United States of America
 
To paraphrase Arnold Schwartzenegger, believe us now and think about it later: We have seen all of this first-hand in both Korea and Japan.
 
In America today we have wildly aggressive preaching and promotion of ignorance about race, racial injustice, and discrimination. It is perpetrated by both the Democrat Party (it appears to be their ONLY “policy”) and the media.It is especially aimed at millennials, but also directed at the ever-present virtue-signaling dumbass housewives/househusbands of the Northeast Heights.
 
What makes us particularly vulnerable to such propaganda in our increasingly poorly-educated electorate is that so few voters have any idea what the world is actually like.
 
The result is that we have a major political party (in fact the dominant one) that successfully preys on voters and indoctrinates both the youth as well as highly impressionable children, convincing them that we are not only the most racist society on earth, but the most racist in human history.
 
The greatest enemy our nation faces is not climate change, income disparity, illegal immigration, or any other economic or social challenge. It is ignorance and the entire panoply of catastrophes that will emerge from political campaigns that are based on nothing but ignorance.

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POLICE, PROSECUTORS WORKING on PLEA DEAL with MASSAGE PARLOR MURDERER*

03/15/2021
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia authorities are working non-stop to extract a “hate-crime” confession out the white gunman accused of killing eight people, mostly of Asian descent.
“We’ve offered him 10-years max if he’ll just cop to the hate-crime thing,” said an assistant DA,“but the guy is stubborn. He’s looking at the death penalty if he insists it was just his inability to deal with his sex addiction.”
Atlanta authorities are under extreme pressure from the Democrat Party and a new group “Asiatic Lives Matter,” to ensure that this now famous incident is deemed racially motivated.
 
The vastly more famous Black Lives Matter organization has condemned these efforts, noting that:
“Our position is well known—OUR lives are the only ones that matter. And any effort to encroach on that territory will have repercussions.”
The White House weighed in with President Biden saying “yes,” when asked if he was following the story. He then added:
“You can’t go into a convenience store anywhere in Delaware without running into an Asian.”
At which point, three aides surrounded the president and quickly whisked him away from the media.
 
Stay tuned to this station for further updates.
* Satire
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STATE SENATE IS INEXPLICABLY IGNORING A MUCH-NEEDED BI-PARTISAN BILL TO PROTECT CHILDREN

03/10/2021

As can be gleaned from almost daily news stories from all 50 states, child protection services are all too frequently embroiled in the most bizarre controversies, often involving incompetent decisions made by bureaucrats—or resulting from indecision or outright neglect.

In New Mexico, most of the responsibility in this area of children’s’ lives rests with the Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD).

But no matter what a state’s name for these agencies may be, what is crucial for each is the existence of some form of independent and objective monitoring.

In New Mexico, as is the case in every state, all government entities must be closely watched because such oversight is essential to protect and improve outcomes for our most vulnerable.

It’s also crucial in avoiding the most egregious, embarrassing, and infuriating horror stories we have all seen pop up from time to time.

The Substitute Care Advisory Council (SCAC) is statutorily authorized to provide a permanent system for independent and objective monitoring of children placed in CYFD custody. While changes have been made to try to increase the effectiveness of the SCAC, they have not been enough.

On February 1, State Senator Gay Kernan (R-Hobbs) and State Representative Marian Matthews (D- Albuquerque) stepped forward with a bill to provide the crucial protections our most vulnerable children need to have. Their bill, Senate Bill 242, provides those kinds of protections, strengthening the SCAC’s ability to do its job.

EVERYONE RECOGNIZES THE NEED FOR THE OVERSIGHT

This didn’t come about out of the blue. On the contrary, the need for the legislation has been thoroughly documented.

The photos shown here, tragic and heart-breaking as they are, don't even begin to represent the tip of the iceberg of examples of neglect and error by CYFD.

Oversight is needed. It's not a question for debate.

In its annual report, the Council documented the statutory changes needed to meaningfully provide oversight of CYFD and to effect child welfare system change (they are found at the SCAC website at www.nmscac.org). SB242 addresses all these needed changes.

THE GRISHAM ADMINISTRATION ADMITS THE CHANGES ARE NEEDED

CYFD Cabinet Secretary Brian Blalock has also been vocal about his support for oversight and accountability of CYFD.  In a February 2020 press release titled Big Plans for Increased Transparency & Accountability from CYFD, Secretary Blalock stated,

“… as a government agency, the public’s involvement in oversight and expectation of accountability are crucial elements of ensuring we stay on the right path for kids.”

Secretary Blalock has further shown his support by designating SB242 an “agency bill,” meaning they are backing it. 

The bill was heard in the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee (SHPAC) on February 22nd.  An SB242 committee substitute received a “ Do Pass” from SHPAC and it was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC).  The current version of SB242 was scheduled to be heard on March 6th in SJC, but without explanation it was removed from the agenda during the hearing.

As of today, March 10th, SB 242 has not been rescheduled in SJC.

What is going on? What is Senator Joseph Cervantes doing with this crucial legislation?

Cervantes is the powerful chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Time is running out for the session. This is not an issue that is appropriate for legislative or political games and subterfuge.

In Summary

The question is not whether we need a structure for independent and objective oversight of our child protection agency. We know we do. The statutory directive already exists in the authorizing Act and the framework exists with the Council.

SB 242 makes the Council’s oversight of CYFD and the Council’s collaboration with the department, the court, and the legislature stronger. SB242 ensures not only the vital element of collaboration, but the absolute requirement for transparency and accountability.  

Failing to take action on this bi-partisan, bi-cameral legislation in the 2021 legislative session not only fails New Mexico’s most vulnerable children, it fails all of New Mexico.


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BIDEN’s APPOINTMENT PROCESS REVEALED

03/09/2021
It’s a big story that President Biden today did not know the name of his Secretary of Defense. This is understandable because his staff emphasized that he was naming “a black guy” as SECDEF, not that he was choosing General Lloyd Austin.
 
So, quite naturally, all Biden knows—in his dotage—is that he’s a black. He “checked a box” with him. He has no idea who he is, let alone his name.
It is apparent now that the Biden staff have a blueprint for all appointments, and it has nothing to do with the abilities of appointees—or anything other than demographic check-offs.
 
Here is the “plan” for all vacancies:
 
Just bring us the names of any and all individuals in the department, or anyone who is considered to be in the most remote consideration, AND WHO ALSO HAPPEN TO FIT ONE OF THESE BOXES (in no particular order of preference):
 
??Female
??Transgender
??Gay
??Gay and Transgender
??Transexual
??Transexual and Gay
??American Indian
??Black
??Hispanic
??Some sort of Muslim or Middle Easterner (It’s just crucial that he/she has to be anti-Israel)
??Asiatic—East Asian
??Asiatic—Subcontinent
??Any other concept or combination of a perceived“minority” *
 
Biden doesn’t even know the names of his appointees. In appointment “ceremonies” or announcements, he doesn't even know which one is which.
He and other administration officials speak of nominees only by reference to the particular demographic box the appointee is checking off.
 
The script always goes like this:
 
“[So and so] is the first Gay transexual Black and Hispanic female to be appointed to this post.”
 
What incredible pride a Biden appointee must feel!
 
“I was selected because I’m _____________. The President not only doesn’t know my name,he has no idea who the hell I am.”
And 81 million people (including dumbass useful idiots from Albuquerque) voted for this.
 
Hilarious—in some ways. Tragic in most.
* No matter what demographic box an appointee fills, he or she must THINK exactly the same as the now-dominant extreme Left of the Democrat Party. There can be no “diversity” of ideology or worldview or policy preference whatsoever.

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TODAY in GOP HISTORY, March 7, 1965

03/07/2021

On this date—and throughout this era—Republicans were powerless to stop the racist policies of the Democratic Party.

56 years ago today, police and law enforcement officers under the command of Democrat Governor George Wallace and Dallas County's Democrat County Sheriff Jim Clark attacked Black marchers who were demonstrating for voting rights in Selma, Alabama.

Selma is the home of Dallas County Sheriff's Department, Selma, Alabama

In Alabama in 1965, all 67 county sheriffs were Democrats. All 67 county boards of voting registrars were controlled by Democrats. No Republican had any say in any matter having to do with voter registration or elections, nor had they during the previous eight decades.

The tradition of the Democratic Party in Alabama has been so strong that Republicans did not capture a majority of county sheriff offices in Alabama until the 2016 election, when they did so by a margin of 34-33.)
 
In 1965, Democrats controlled the Alabama State Senate 35-0, and the State House of Representatives 105-0.
 
As noted by Alabama-born Condoleezza Rice in her 2000 RNC speech, during this time and for the previous 85 years prior to this time, the Alabama Democratic Party would not register blacks to vote.
 
Only theAlabama Republican Party would do so—that's who registered her father to vote in 1952. And that is why Condoleezza became a Republican.
*Republicans are responsible for more than 90% of "firsts" regarding the appointments, elections, and the recognition of the heritage and contributions of minorities and women, as well as in the area of conservation and preservation of American heritage.

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Biden Adopts East German Approach to Women's Sports. Democrats Intent on Destroying Title IX, Want to Kill Hopes and Dreams of Young Girls.

02/26/2021

President Biden Makes a Mockery of Title IX and Girls’ Sports

The Biden Administration has dropped support of Trump’s lawsuit that had been brought on behalf of female athletes. Trump sought to block biological males from competing in girls’ sports in Connecticut. Former Attorney General Bill Barr and Trump's Department of Justice had backed the lawsuit, saying the Connecticut law violated Title IX.

On Wednesday night, February 24, Alanna Smith, one of three girls who had brought the lawsuit, blasted the Biden Administration, saying,

“Fairness needs to be restored in our sport and all other women’s sports … these biological males are just taking it away from us.”

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), which has permitted boys to compete in events and win awards that would otherwise have gone to girls.

Biological boys have taken 15 women’s state championship titles (titles held in 2016 by nine different Connecticut girls) and have taken more than 85 opportunities to participate in higher level competitions from female track athletes in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons alone.

Smith began her comments, saying:

“I got involved after I ran against the biological males at the New England meet because in the 200 meter I took third place when I  should have gotten runner-up...”

“And it’s not really about placement but it’s all about knowing that I work so many hours a week to be able to get runner-up in New England’s [championships] as a freshman.

And I am really disappointed in the news, because me and the other girls, Selina and Chelsea, have worked really hard to get our stories out there, to get people to realize that fairness needs to be restored in our sport and all other women’s sports.”

The Overt Hypocrisy and Lies of the Democrats, the American Left, and the Media

One observer noted,:

“...the Left claims to always stand up for women, they’re the party of women, and yet here we are with policies that disenfranchise female athletes. And [there are] serious questions abut what this means in terms of harassment of female athletes.

“Does this mean that biological males are allowed to go into the locker room as well as compete against them and take away scholarships and placement in state championships?

To be clear, the lawsuit will move forward, but it is significant that the Biden Department of Justice will now oppose the young women—siding with radical activists over female athletes.

Additionally, it is now clear that the Biden Administrationand the Democrat establishment are determined to gut legal protection for women not just in is not just Connecticut, but throughout the country.

Biden and all Democrats in Congress are now pushing the so-called Equality Act, which ignores the real physical differences between men and women and threatens women’s privacy, women’s homeless shelters, and yes, even women’s sports on a national level for female athletes.

Democrats constantly parrot the line “It’s only fair” to allow biological males to compete.

So we are left wondering if the American people realize that a lot of actual biological females have missed out on numerous events?

So-called “transgender” athletes (boys) have taken spots on the podium at district, regional, and state championships that belong to biological females.

As Alana Smith stated:

“We train for so many days a week, so many hours to be able to be the best in our state and the best in our region, and these biological males are just taking it away from us and we really deserve it.”

Biden and the Democrats in Congress are Bent on Destroying Title IX

Title IX was designed to ensure that girls have a fair and level playing field, have a chance to showcase their talents, to be champions, and frankly, to earn those college scholarships.

The Trump Administration wanted to see women’s sports protected across the country. The Biden Administration wants to see women’s sports destroyed.

One Connecticut girl noted that she lost four girls’ state championships and two all-New England titles.

Biden and 100% of Democrats in Congress View the East Germans as the Model for American Sports

Americans used to joke about “the East German Olympic team” in female events—the whole scheme used by the former Communist nation was viewed as a laughingstock and a disgrace.

But now, 100% of Democrat elected officials see the East German model as legitimiate and someting to be proud of—and to adopt as our national policy. Biden sees the East Germans as his new American ideal, the new model for sports.

Barr had it Right

Barr had stated in March 2020:

“Under [Connecticut's] interpretation of Title IX...schools may not account for the real physiological differences between men and women. Instead, schools MUST [emphasis added] have certain biological males — namely, those who publicly identify as female — compete against biological females. In so doing, [Connecticut] deprives those women of the single-sex athletic competition that is one of the marquee accomplishments of Title IX."

Virtue Signaling Housewives (and Househusbands) of Albuquerque's Northeast Heights

Many voters who claimed to be "conservative" or "moderate," both nationwide and in New Mexico were going all-out to virtue-signal about how anti-Trump they were because of his stupid tweets and often-ridiculous verbal "asides" and unscripted comments (which, to be fair, were often ignorant and embarrasingly inaccurate).

However, we have maintained that the overriding question in all elections in a democracy has to do with public policy. The conclusion we reached was that the Trump Administration was not only pursuing the right policies—foreign and domestic—but was remarkably successful. The fact that Trump talked too much and too dumbly had, in the final analysis, no effect at all on policy.

Trump's policy regarding women's athletics was correct. People who voted for Biden out of the desire to virtue signal ended up voting for a whole host of policies that would make the former East Germany, the current China (and Russia) and scores of other bad actors in the world and in America very proud.

In our view, millions of Americans will come to regret those votes.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

 

 


DON’T PUNISH OLYMPIC ATHLETES. Find a way to Lead the Country and Produce Effective Policy

02/18/2021
For us, boycotting the Olympic Games has always been and still remains a dumb idea. We opposed it when Carter did it and we still think it’s a bad idea for Republican congressman Walz of Florida to propose doing so now—because China is hosting next year’s Winter Olympics.
 
Yes, China is bad. We all know that already. We didn't need Carter to tell us the Soviet Union was bad—we all knew that too.
 
The problem for many politicians is that they can't figure out how to formulate public policy, so they look around to see what kind of “gesture” they can substitute for their lack of creativity.Invariably, they pick on someone or some thing wholly unrelated to the issue. Picking on athletes is fairly popular.
 
“Yeah, that's the ticket! Let's tell a couple of hundred athletes who’ve been training for 8 years they can’t participate during the window of time when they have their only chance in their lives to medal! That will teach the Chinese a biglesson!”
 
No. It won’t actually. The Chinese don't give a damn. And they won't care about the athletes either.
 
The bottom line is there's no real substitute for the hard work of developing and implementing public policy—domestic policy, foreign relations, economic and trade policy, defense and national security policy. It takes hard work and it takes brainpower.
 
Boycotts take neither. They’re just empty gestures by lazy people who choose to lash out at innocent bystanders rather than focus on the problem at hand.
 
Go back and think harder. And leave the athletes alone.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

ANDREW CUOMO: Sorry-Assed Phony and Liar

02/17/2021
Yeah, sure, there are lots of really bad politicians, sorry-assed, phony ideological nut jobs that we all see every day.
 
But it’s not every day that we can see the complete package—a sociopathic, misanthropic, egomaniacal, narcissist who is a compulsive liar and cheat and who oozes deception in such quantities as to truly earn the moniker “ass-ole”—like we see in the person of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
 
And the women who claim he’s “attractive,” or “appealing”? Well, we are, frankly, left at a loss about that.
As far as we are concerned his face would make a freight train take a dirt road. He’d scare a stick horse. We just don’t get it.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

One ALARMINGLY IMPORTANT OBSERVATION from the Sunday Talk Shows

02/15/2021

Something repeated on the Sunday talk shows approximately 150 times.

Something you should really PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO:

Democrats yesterday and again today are continuously referring to the Constitution as:

                        “a technicality”

Have you noticed this?

If that doesn't grab your attention, either you're not paying attention, or you don't understand it.

Caveat lector


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

One ALARMINGLY IMPORTANT OBSERVATION you should really PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO:

02/14/2021
Democrats yesterday and again today are continuously referring to the Constitution as “a technicality”
 
Have you noticed this?
 
If that doesn't grab your attention, either you're not paying attention, or you don't understand it.
 
Caveat lector.

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COVERAGE of the ACQUITTAL VOTE

02/14/2021
Guest Commentary by Editor Emeritus, Former State Senator Rod Adair, R-Lincoln & Chaves Counties
 
As someone who grew up in a time when an actual news media existed, I really miss them. The media trended consistently liberal, but there was still a conscience—an acceptance of the need to report what happened without 100% commentary on every single event.
 
Today, with the deaths of the last liberals in the Democratic Party, what remains in the dominant media are 100% anti-liberal Leftists. They uniformly state that it's “our way or the highway.” So there is absolutely nothing left for them to say other than:
 
??If you don’t vote exactly as the Democrats and the media have commanded you to vote, you:
 
1) are automatically wrong—no debate about it
 
2) have no knowledge of facts or the law
 
3) are an abomination and a “threat to democracy”
 
4) evil
 
With 80% of Americans getting their news from these sources, combined with many millions of poorly educated or intensely indoctrinated Centennials, Millennials, and Gen Xers, it seems inevitable that our nation is headed toward a form of 21st Century Bolshevism.
This is a sad prognosis, but it seems unavoidable.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

Lessons from the Impeachment Vote: How the Constitution—and the Law— is Viewed by Senators. Are American Politicians and Jurists Tribist? Or Borkist?

02/13/2021

The entire impeachment proceeding gives every voter who cares about the role of the courts in the United States an opportunity to see very plainly a clear example of the great chasm in jurisprudence that has increasingly divided both voters and elected officials.

Fundamentally, it is a question of what our laws mean—what our Constitution means. Does the law mean what it says, or what we wish it to mean? Do laws provide the agreed-upon, established, printed rules of American life? Or are they merely pages in a book that can be referred in a general way so as to provide an alleged reference even as the actual words themselves are ignored?

It comes down to this: Do you see the Constitution in the manner of Harvard Professor Lawrence Tribe, or Judge Robert Bork?

This becomes the essential question of what is law about? Do we have laws that codify the will of the people in plain language—language that provides equal treatment for all people? Or do we merely have documents or books that we "call" the law, while ignoring the actual texts contained therein?

Do we approach events, circumstances, and political or criminal situations with a view toward what we as a people have codified? Or do we approach legal questions with only the goal of a desired outcome? Is the question of justice one that is resolved if we "feel good" about what we want to see happen? Or is it about really and truly applying the law, consistently, uniformly, and equally for all?

Judge Richard Posner said that Lawrence Tribe's view is that:

"the Constitution is what we want it to be...and that what we should want it to be is the charter of a radically egalitarian society."

Judge Bork on the other hand, believed that the text of a statute or of the Constitution means what it says in the plain language it is written.

The Senate Vote in the Impeachment Trial Reflects the Reality of the American Divide About What Law Truly Is

We already know that all modern Democrats believe that the Constitution—and American law itself—law is merely a theoretical tool. There is no section, no clause, no phrase which cannot be turned into whatever "we want it to be," "or whatever outcome achieves 'justice' as we see it." So the votes of the 50 Democratic senators were nothing surprising at all.

It must be said however, for anyone who is still being fooled by the verbal gymnastics and numerous political somersaults of Joe Manchin of West Virginia, that no, he is not sincere, and never has been. He and Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona (beauty that she may be) have firmly established that they are in reality no different from their colleagues. (Don't look for them to uphold the filibuster rule either—regardless of their prior statements).

On Saturday, 13 February, Republican Senators Collins, Murkowski, Romney, Toomey, Burr, Cassidy, and Sasse annnounced to their constituents that they are Tribists. For whatever reason, hatred of Trump or whatever, they did not follow the letter of the Constitution. 

Sasse is very disappointing. He has demonstrated clear intellectual capability and has intelligently articulated public policy and the role of government on many occasions. His votes over the past week ar the most surprising and disappointing.  Cassidy and Burr are puzzling.

Collins has to tread a very careful line, though that is no reason for poor reasoning.

Murkowski is, for lack of a better name, something of a scam artist: she knows she cannot get a Republican nomination in Alaska, so she has fashioned her own cynical "coalition" of non-philosophical Republicans, Democrats, and fairly clueless independents. That is her "formula" for forging a general election majority and she is sticking with that, regardless of what she has to do to attract it.

(Murkowski and Manchin are probably the very worst of the worst in the Senate. You can't really include the rest of the Democrats—they openly admit and advertise their ideologies. They aren't really trying to deceive anyone.)

Do you Follow the Plain Language—the Rule of Law—or the Desired Outcome?

Senator Mitch McConnell, regardless of what you may think of his opinion about what Trump did or did not do on January 6th, did very carefully and logically lay out what the Constitution says. You simply cannot get around the plain language: It is impossible to get around the words "removal," "president" and the plain reading of the text.

It does not say anything about former officers, nor does it give any other authority. It says what it says.

50 Democratic senators predictably, said nothing matters other thanthe outcome we want. Sadly, seven Republicans joined them. There is no rationale for the GOP to renominate six of these seven. All but Collins come from states where actual Constitution-respecting Republicans can win general elections. Collins is a separate issue.

Murkowski, Romney, Toomey, Burr, Cassidy, and Sasse should never again receive a GOP nomination for any office.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


GOOD THINGS from the IMPEACHMENT TRIAL:

02/12/2021
Although it is not a "good thing" for politicians to violate the Constitution, as the impeachment proceedings have done, it can be at least be said, that despite the unconstitutionality of impeaching a private citizen, some good things have happened, albeit by happenstance.
 
All the dominant media—CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC—have been excitedly providing live coverage of the trial.
But in so doing, today they have been unwittingly tricked into showing the defense. What this means is:
 
??The dominant media have been forced—for the first time ever—to show the American people the full context of a number of Trump’s statements. And it has proven that they have lied about them with false “quotes.”
 
??The dominant media have been forced to show the riots and killings during 2020 and the ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORT FOR THE RIOTS AND VIOLENCE BY NUMEROUS DEMOCRATS—the same Democrats bringing the unconstitutional impeachment.
 
??The dominant media have been forced to show Democrats using actual incitement to riot and mayhem—something they cannot show from Trump.
 
??The dominant media have been forced to show how the Democrat House managers deceitfully altered and edited video, tweets, and other media.
 
??The dominant media have been forced to show the hundreds of times that Democrats have used the very same language—actually much more aggressive language—they have claimed to be “inciteful.”
 
??The dominant media have been forced to show the numerous—almost uncountable—times, that the Democrats have claimed that an election has been “stolen“ or that an election should be “overturned” or that an election was “illegitimate.”
 
?? The dominant media have been forced to show the numerous times that Democrats objected to the electoral vote count—including objections by the lead house manager in his very first act as a congressman.
 
All of this is absolutely spilling over with supreme irony. Without the mainstream media’s wild enthusiasm to provide live coverage of this trial, the dominant American media would never have revealed to the American people most of the things they have now been unwittingly tricked into revealing simply because of the trial itself.
 
No doubt millions of open-minded Americans are learning many facts for the very first time. This is at least one positive outcome from the unconstitutional proceeding.

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REGARDING BAD BEHAVIOR in theBIDEN ADMINISTRATION

02/12/2021
This just in:
 
The bold words
 
“I promise you I will fire you on the spot,”
 
have been downgraded by Biden to
 
“send a personal note expressing profound regret.”
 
“Firing on the spot” has already been deemed obsolete and passé just 23 days in.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

5 People Died on January 6th. How? And Who Were They?

02/12/2021

The media and the Democrats, and even the House Managers of the Impeachment Trial, have all repeatedly talked about how many people were "killed" during the riot on January 6, 2021. But these statements need some clarity, and for that matter some accuracy.

Bear in mind that none of what happened in the invasion of the Capitol by the mob is in any way excusable. All those who violated the law should be prosecuted and sentenced to jail. The rioters were, and remain, idiots.
 
But the amount of disinformation about the event is massive. And it adds to concerns that the US media are no longer sources of "news," but merely vehicles for manipulation of public opinion.

Was anyone "killed"?

Yes. One person. ASHLI BABBITT.

She was a 35-year-old military veteran from San Diego. She was unarmed. But she was shot as she tried to crawl through a broken window. That’s all we know. Authorities have refused to release the name of the man who shot her. They also have refused to explain why she was shot. We may never know the answer to why her life was taken from her.
 
Four Other People Died. Who were they?
 
ROSANNE BOYLAND, a 34-year-old woman from Georgia. Authorities say she died of a “medical emergency.” Some have said she “may have been trampled accidentally.” But that is speculation. The cause of death remains unclear.
 
KEVIN GREESON, a 55-year-old who had a history of high blood pressure. His wife said, “In the midst of the excitement, he suffered a heart attack."
 
BENJAMIN PHILLIPS, 50 years old. He died of a stroke. But he died outside on the grounds of the Capitol. He never entered the building and there is no evidence he was part of the mob attack.
 
BRIAN SICKNICK, a 42-year-old Capitol police officer. His police union chief announced that he “died of a stroke.” Media reports have stated—falsely—many times, that he was “beaten to death with a fire extinguisher.” But this is simply not true. He was not beaten with a fire extinguisher or anything else.
 
No one knows where this story came from. But it has been repeated over and over by those in media and in politics. For whatever reason, his body was immediately cremated, and his autopsy has been sealed.
 
We hope this clears up a lot of things for people.

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State Representative Phelps Anderson. Votes “No” on Abortion Ban. Quits GOP. NMPJ Interviewed him this Morning. Anderson Appears Sincere, but his Rationale Will no doubt be Seen by many as Troubling.

02/11/2021

Background

On January 27, the House Health and Human Services Committee held a hearing on House Bill 7. The bill is titled “Repeal of Abortion Ban.” It refers to a relatively weak “prohibition” law passed by the New Mexico Legislature in 1969 and signed by moderate Republican Governor Dave Cargo. (* See the explanation of why it is a relatively weak law in the footnotes below.)

The law, of course, is invalid, having been superseded and rendered obsolete by the US Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade four years later.

However, it is important to keep in mind that there are quite a number of existing statutes or even Constitutional provisions, not just in New Mexico, but in all states, that have been made ineffective or of no consequence because of case law that has invalidated those very laws. Sometimes states go through the process of amending or removing the state statutes; sometimes they don’t. There is no imperative to do so.

As an example, for 45 years following passage of the 26th Amendment that lowered the voting age to 18, the New Mexico State Constitution continued to “require” voters to be 21. It also required voters to have resided in the state, county, and precinct for 12 months, 90 days, and 30 days respectively, despite having those requirements struck down by the Supreme Court. (All the all the above were repealed by voters in 2016.)

The point is that state legislative action on “unconstitutional” laws or laws made ineffectual by case law is not mandatory. That cannot be used as a rationale for casting a vote.  

The Committee Vote and Reaction

The committee vote was 8 to 3 in support of repealing the so-called "abortion ban"— New Mexico's law that was passed four years before Roe v. Wade. GOP Representative Phelps Anderson of Roswell joined seven Democrats voting to repeal the ban. Three other Republicans voted “no," to keep the prohibition on the books.

Representative Anderson told us he was very impressed with the testimony at the hearing and that it really had an impact, making him think and reflect on the issue.

The response has been something of a firestorm from Republicans, many of whom have called for Anderson to resign. Anderson represents Chaves, Lea, and Roosevelt Counties, and the GOP chairs for Lea and Roosevelt have asked him to resign.

We asked if he was going to do that. He responded,

“Unless I’m wrong, it’s my call. I am not going to resign. I am not a quitter.”

When we asked if he would run again, Anderson replied:

“I don’t know about that. Filing date is a year away. But if I had to answer right now, I’d say no.’”

Representative Anderson added that the bill was “going to pass anyway.” But of course, that is never a good reason to vote for anything. Tie votes, or one-vote margins are relatively rare in legislative roll calls.

What this means is that 97% of the time, or more, any bill is going to be passed or defeated “anyway” regardless of how one votes.

What constituents expect, and what everyone should do, is vote for what one believes is correct, right, or just. It doesn’t matter if the vote is 8 to 3, 7 to 4, or 10 to 1.  Or for that matter 69 to 1 on the floor of the House.

So, any mention of an ultimate outcome is really irrelevant. One must do the right thing at all times. We can only presume that Representative Anderson did what he thought was right for him.

Abandoning the Republican Party

The reaction was so strong that Anderson surprised everyone in his hometown of Roswell by publicly announcing that he was leaving the Republican Party.

“I decided to re-register as a Decline to State. People ask if I can win a primary, well, that’s not a question that has to be asked because I’m no longer in the Republican Party.”

His decision to re-register was surprising because Anderson has a lifelong pedigree as a prominent member of the Republican Party. His father, the late Robert O. Anderson, had been a pioneer member of the Chaves County GOP, and Phelps followed in his footsteps, serving in the State House of Representatives from 1976 to 1980, then serving the Republican National Committee as New Mexico’s National Committeeman from 1988 to 1996.

We asked why leave the Republican Party. His answers took us by surprise:

"I've been I’ve been very disappointed with the Republican Party. In particular, the events of January 6th were just so disappointing that they led me to consider re-registering as DTS. I’m demoralized by my party. Their defense of January 6th was just so disappointing.”

We found this to be more or less stunning, and pushed back by pointing out that we could find no Republicans who in any way justified the January 6th riots. In fact, we pointed out, every single Republican we have seen or read about has denounced the violence. (In fact, it is the Democrats who have not denounced the widespread violence that has taken place for nearly a year.)

But Anderson pushed back on our pushback:

“I disagree with that. There’s lots of political spin about what happened on January 6th. There’s lots of video imagery. I disagree with what happened on that day and will always disagree with it. Trump encouraged that mob. People were killed inside the building. It just tears me up that that’s my party.”

So, what to think about all of this? Has Anderson, like lots of Americans, Reacted Emotionally to Recent Events

Anderson admitted that he’s always found the abortion question to be a troubling and difficult one, telling us that he’s “always voted pro-life on bills that have come up,” but admitting that he has struggled with the issue in general.

Not openly stated, but certainly broadly hinted, it is likely that Representative Anderson has always been pro-choice at heart. We discussed that matter. He is clearly uncomfortable with the GOP’s pro-life platform, but he has lived with it. Till now.

What pushed him over the edge? It clearly has a lot to do with the riots of January 6th. But in that regard, Rep. Anderson sounds more like the media talking heads than a dispassionate observer. Anderson says, “People were killed inside the building.”

Let’s look at the facts about that. Who was killed?

Five People died on January 6th

None of what happened in the invasion of the Capitol by the mob is in anyway excusable. All those who violated the law should be prosecuted and sentenced to jail. The rioters were, and remain, idiots. There is no way any of that is attributable to the Republican Party.

To do so is an emotion-based, media-inspired reaction.

But was anyone actually killed?

Yes. One person: A Trump supporter, 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt, a military veteran from San Diego. She was unarmed. But she was shot as she tried to crawl through a broken window.

That’s all we know. Authorities have refused to release the name of the man who shot her explain why she was shot. We may never know the answer to why her life was taken from her.

Four Other People Died, but none was “killed.”

Rosanne Boyland, a 34-year-old woman from Georgia. Authorities say she died of a “medical emergency.” Some have said she “may have been trampled accidentally.”

Kevin Greeson, a 55-year-old who had a history of high blood pressure. His wife said “In the midst of the excitement, he suffered a heart attack."

Benjamin Phillips, 50 years old. He died of a stroke. But he apparently died outside on the grounds of the Capitol and never entered the building.

Brian Sicknick, a 42-year-old Capitol police officer. His union chief announced that he “died of a stroke.” Media reports have falsely stated, many times, that he was “beaten to death with a fire extinguisher.” But this is simply not true. He was not beaten with a fire extinguisher or anything else. No one knows where this story came from.

The lie about the beating led to the Democrats having Officer Sicknick lie in state at the Capitol, where Democrats (who are relentless critics of the police, calling them “racist” for the past year) made a histrionic scene of solemnly streaming past his body—used essentially as a prop—to build an emotional case for their impeachment case. They finally found a police officer they could use for political purposes.

But he wasn’t killed by anyone. He died of a stroke. And there was no evidence of any kind of trauma. For whatever reason, he was immediately cremated, and his autopsy has been sealed.

The Bottom Line

Representative Phelps Anderson is a sophisticated, educated, thoughtful person who has wanted to serve in political office and has done so in a conscientious way. He is a gentleman and gregarious, friendly man.

The reality is that, as all human beings’ life experiences change them over time—none of us is static, unchanging, or unaffected by our experiences—Rep. Anderson has probably been, perhaps unconsciously, both culturally and socially disaffected with and alienated from the Republican Party for a number of years.

The committee meeting simply brought clarity to his current thinking. It became a moment of decision and he made that decision.

Life goes on.



*As US abortion prohibition laws go, the New Mexico law is relatively “moderate,” in that it provides for all manner of exceptions—not only in the cases of rape, incest, or life of the woman, but it also contains provisions that permit abortion when the woman or her parent or guardian asserts that the pregnancy is likely to result in “grave impairment of the physical or mental health of the woman” or the child will probably “have a grave physical or mental defect.”

Nonetheless, pro-abortion advocates have long been irritated by the law, and with the election the hard-Left Governor Grisham in 2018, they have been champing at the bit to repeal the law

In other words, the reality is, even if there had never been a ruling in Roe v. Wade, abortion would not really be prohibited in New Mexico. The provisions of the law were such that abortion could not actually be prevented, provided the woman wanted an abortion and is able to obtain written certification from a special hospital board to back up her request.

The New Mexico Statute in Question

30-5-3. Criminal abortion.

Criminal abortion consists of administering to any pregnant woman any medicine, drug or other substance, or using any method or means whereby an untimely termination of her pregnancy is produced, or attempted to be produced, with the intent to destroy the fetus, and the termination is not a justified medical termination.   

Whoever commits criminal abortion is guilty of a fourth degree felony. Whoever commits criminal abortion which results in the death of the woman is guilty of a second degree felony.   

“Justified medical termination" means the intentional ending of the pregnancy of a woman at the request of said woman or if said woman is under the age of eighteen years, then at the request of said woman and her then living parent or guardian, by a physician licensed by the state of New Mexico using acceptable medical procedures in an accredited hospital upon written certification by the members of a special hospital board that:   

(1)     the continuation of the pregnancy, in their opinion, is likely to result in the death of the woman or the grave impairment of the physical or mental health of the woman; or   

(2)     the child probably will have a grave physical or mental defect; or   

(3)     the pregnancy resulted from rape, as defined in Sections 40A-9-2 through 40A-9-4 NMSA 1953. Under this paragraph, to justify a medical termination of the pregnancy, the woman must present to the special hospital board an affidavit that she has been raped and that the rape has been or will be reported to an appropriate law enforcement official; or   

(4)     the pregnancy resulted from incest;   


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“IMPEACHMENT” ARGUMENTS SHOULD BE RESTRICTED to CONSTITUTIONALITY

02/09/2021
Republicans (or any others) would be making a grave mistake if they begin to respond to ANY of the so-called impeachment articles. On the contrary, their only focus should be solely reserved to the legitimacy of the proceeding.
 
If they attempt to answer any of the “charges” leveled by the Leftist majority, they will be playing into their hands. They will be tacitly acquiescing to the notion that the proceeding is valid under the Constitution, when it clearly and obviously is not.
 
WHAT the CONSTITUTION SAYS:
 
Article II, Section 4 provides:
 
“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be REMOVED from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” [Emphasis added]
 
Article I, Section 3, Clauses 6 and 7 provide:
 
“The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present.”
 
“Removal” is impossible. Trump is not in office. If the Leftist majority believed that they have jurisdiction under this provision, they would have the Chief Justice presiding. They know he will not do so, thus the placement of the boorish “kangaroo” Patrick Leahy on the Kangaroo throne.
 
One House Manager has now argued that the Chief Justice is not presiding precisely because “the President is not on trial.”
 
Whoa! That is an admission that the individual they are trying is in fact a private citizen—someone not included in the Constitutional provisions.
 
Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI), at precisely 12:21 PM (MST), said they are NOT trying the President, he said:
 
“As a result the requirement that the Chief Justice preside isn’t triggered.”
 
Look: They are either trying the President (a constitutionally-cited potential target of impeachment) or they are trying a private citizen (an “office” NOT cited in the Constitution). It is one or the other. You cannot (at least Constitutionally) have it both ways.
 
CONVICTION. REMOVAL. DISQUALIFICATION.
 
“Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States...”
 
Note that the only judgments permissible are “removal” and “disqualification.” But, as has been noted by Professors Dershowitz and Turley (both liberal Democrats—perhaps the last two to actually be “liberals”), you have to be able to REMOVE (convict) first, and only then can the additional “and” be added.
 
Most of the time that provision (disqualification) has not been added to the punishment of removal. But NEVER has disqualification been used WITHOUT removal. You cannot disqualify without convicting and removing.
 
A Leftist manager said the Founders were very clear and precise. He is correct. They used the word “removal.” Any user of the English language knows that removal means removal.
 
One can make an hour-long, or 16-hour-long speech, but one cannot get around that word, no matter how long the speech.
 
Finally, it’s important to remember that Belknap was NOT convicted. This was in large part due to the doubts that senators had that the proceeding was in fact unlawful. It was. And replays of it today remain unlawful.

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TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACHIEVED LOWEST POVERTY RATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY

02/08/2021
A report released today by the Census Bureau shows that in 2019, the poverty rate for the United States was 10.5%, the lowest since estimates were first released in 1959.
 
Poverty rates declined between 2018 and 2019 for all major race and Hispanic origin groups.
 
Two of these groups, Blacks and Hispanics, reached historic lows in their poverty rates in 2019. The poverty rate for Blacks was 18.8%; for Hispanics, it was 15.7%.
 
The historically low poverty rates for Blacks and Hispanics in 2019 reflect unprecedented gains for both groups.
 
For Blacks, the poverty rate of 18.8% in 2019 was the lowest rate observed since poverty estimates were first produced for this group for 1959. The previous low for this group was 20.8% in 2018—also under the Trump Administration.
 
Poverty rates in 2019 were also the lowest ever observed for Hispanics (15.7%), compared to the prior low of 17.6% in 2018. (Also under the Trump Administration.) Poverty statistics for Hispanics date back to 1972.
 
The Asian poverty rate of 7.3% was also the lowest on record.
 
The 2019 poverty rate of 7.3% for non-Hispanic Whites (aka “Anglos,” in New Mexico) was not statistically different from the previous low (historically adjusted) of 7.2% in 2000 and 7.3% in 1973.

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Today in GOP History: Remembering Gerald Champion

02/03/2021

73 years ago today, on Tuesday, February 3, 1948, Gerald Champion, Chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, was killed in a plane crash atop a 9,000-foot peak, about 8 miles south ofCloudcroft, New Mexico

The wreck was finally sighted Sunday evening, February 8, on the 5th day of a search that began on the previous Wednesday.

Gerald D. Champion was a prominent Otero County businessman who was chairman of the Otero County Hospital Association at the time of his sudden and unexpected death. The accident occurred during the fund drive for the first hospital building in Alamogordo, New Mexico

The hospital was completed some 18 months after his death and was named Gerald Champion Memorial Hospital.Champion was the mayor of
Tularosa, New Mexico, operated hardware and building supply stores in both Alamogordo and Tularosa, and was active in many civic groups.
 
When a new, vastly larger hospital was completed 50 years later, the name Gerald Champion was retained. Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center is named in his honor.
 
A contemporaneous newspaper account of the plane crash is shown below.
 
From the Albuquerque Journal
 
CHAMPION, DENNEY, FOUND DEAD by WRECKED PLANE
Search for State GOP Chief Ends On Mountain Peak
 
CLOUDCROFT, N. M., Feb. 8 (AP) State Republican Chairman Gerald D. Champion and his brother-in-law H. M. Denney, were found dead today in the wreckage of their light plane.
 
Searchers plowing through waist-deep snow reached the madly smashed ship shortly before noon. It had crashed at the head of Willie White Canyon, atop a 9,000-foot peak in the Sacramento Mountains of southern New Mexico.
 
The discovery ended a five-day search instituted after the two men disappeared on a flight from Carlsbad, New Mexico late last Tuesday. They were en route back to Champion’s home at Tularosa, about 20 miles northwest of here. Denny lived at nearby Alamogordo. Each was 45 years old.
 
The wrecked plane, with both bodies close by, had smacked into a clear ridge about eight miles south of Cloudcroft in the edge of the Lincoln National Forest. Soldiers in a ground party from Biggs Field, at El Paso, Texas, and Kiel Bonnell of Ruidoso, New Mexico, another brother-in-law of Champion, were the first to reach the spot.
 
W. L. Wingfield of Cloudcroft who arrived shortly afterward said it was theorized the plane’s carburetor may have frozen or the craft might have been caught in a sudden down-draft. It was known to have encountered strong headwinds soon after taking off from Carlsbad.
 
“The plane was twisted and torn all to pieces,” Wingfield recounted, “and the engine was driven into the ground.”
THREE-MILE CARRY
 
He and the others struggled three miles through the snow to carry the bodies to the nearest point accessible to the automobiles. From there they were taken to Cloudcroft and thence to Alamogordo. Mayor Eber McKinley of Alamogordo, who was co-owner of the wrecked plane with Champion, said he was informed both men apparently were killed instantly. The bodies were badly mangled.
 
WIFE NEAR COLLAPSE

At Tularosa, Mrs. Champion was said to be near collapse after a five-day vigil during which she maintained close contact with leaders of the search. Ground parties were dispatched to Willie White Canyon early today after wreckage of the plane was located from the air late Saturday by Lt. Donald J. Wirth, P-51 pilot from the Army’s Walker Air Force Base near Roswell.

Champion, a rancher and business man who was born at Roswell, New Mexico in 1903, had been mentioned prominently as a possible candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in this year’s primary. He became state party chairman last September.
 
RPNM NEW CHAIRMAN
 
Under the GOP organization’s state constitution, Lyman Raef of Socorro, New Mexico who has been vice chairman, automatically succeeds Champion, a party spokesman said.
 
Champion leaves his wife, the former Miss Nona Denney, and a year-old daughter, Karen Lou. Other survivors include his parents, Richard D. Champion and Eva Neatherlin Champion. The elder Champion is the president of the Otero County State Bank at Alamogordo. Four sisters also survive. They are Mrs. Joy Bailey, La Luz, N. M.; Mrs. Keil Bonnell, Ruidoso; and Mrs. Dan King and Mrs. Jack Hobson, both of Tularosa.

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Pentecostal, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, Episcopal, LDS, or non-denominational?

01/27/2021

Pentecostal, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, Episcopal, LDS, or non-denominational?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


DESTROY YOUNG GIRLS’ SPORTS, EVERYONE?

01/26/2021

Can one single Biden voter step up and explain his or her vote in this one?

Among the many stupid things America voted for is the absolute destruction of women’s sports. How many young girls are going to have their high school or even college athletic careers ruined by young men pretending to be female? Answer: Lots

 

 

 

 


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Trump Impeachment and Textualism.

01/25/2021

Textualism Again: The Democrats’ Impeachment Scheme Offers an Opportunity to See the Differences between Conservative Jurisprudence and that of the Leftists

The Democrats are now bent on “impeaching” former President Trump.

However, the Constitution is very, very explicit on this. It really isn’t subject to creative interpretation. But creative interpretation—trying to claim that the Constitution or some particular statutes say something they clearly do not is the specialty of the modern Democratic Party and the American Hard Left that it represents.

Here is what the Constitution, in Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 states:

“Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States…”

This is what authorizes the impeachment of a federal officer, which in turn authorizes that officer’s removal from office. It also, as can be seen above, authorizes the possible disqualification from future office. But the latter punishment depends on the wording of the articles of impeachment and the decision by Congress to include or not tack on this additional punishment.

For example, Congress has a sitting member right now whom it impeached and removed from a federal judgeship. His name is Alcee Hastings, a Democrat representing Florida’s 20th Congressional District.

Congress—for whatever reason—chose only to remove him from office, and did not choose to include in the impeachment proceedings the option they had of blocking him from future office.

However, there is no provision for Congress to leap over the impeachment and conviction process and simply bar someone from office. Additionally, without the former act (impeachment and removal) the latter sanction does not—and cannot—apply. You have to take the first step before you can decide to include the second step.

And if a president has not been constitutionally impeached and removed (which someone who is NOT president cannot possibly have happen to him) then the Senate is wholly without any constitutional power to disqualify this non-officeholder from future office.

Why is this a Case of Textualism? (Or possibly also “Original Understanding”?)

The Constitution says that impeachment is about “removal.” How is that term understood?

Merriam-Webster defines “removal” as follows:

  • the act of moving or taking something away from a place
  • the act of making something go away so that it no longer exists
  • the act of forcing someone to leave a job

Which one of these definitions fits former President Trump, who is now a private citizen?

  • How will the Senate move him or take him away from a place?
  • How will the Senate make him go away so that he no longer exists?
  • How will the Senate force him to leave a job?

The answers are, of course, that they cannot do any of those things. He’s already gone.

This is yet another opportunity to clearly see the difference in the way in which Republicans and Democrats view the Constitution—and the law for that matter.

Recent Republican appointees to the courts are said to be “textualists.”

(Democrat appointees on the other hand, such as Sonia Soto-Mayor, and the much-heralded Ruth Bader Ginsburg, believe that the text is simply “incidental” to the greater meaning they may want to impose over and above the text. In other words, whatever the law says is secondary to the meaning they want to give to the law—a “meaning” that allows them to accomplish whatever public policy goal they wish to achieve.)

Textualism, quite simply put, looks to the ordinary meaning of the language of the text in question, or the passage of phrases of the law which is being examined. It is not the same as “originalism,” there are subtle differences, but the two are likely to be considered cousins, likely even first cousins.

Originalism provides for an understanding of a statutory or Constitutional passage that gives it the meaning that its words were understood to bear at the time they were promulgated. This necessarily means that that the text reflects the ordinary meaning of the words used to create the prose.

Roberts will not Preside

We now hear that Chief Justice Roberts will not preside over the upcoming sham “trial.” If this is true, it is correct and proper, for the event is not legitimate. It is best that someone well known to be merely a political hack, such as Senator Patrick Leahy, preside over such a Kangaroo-ish exercise.

If Roberts were to appear, a Senator should make a floor motion that the proceedings be dissolved as unconstitutional. Were such a thing to occur, Roberts would be on the spot.

If he is a textualist, or even an originalist, he would immediately grant the motion. If such a thing occurred and he refused the motion, then he would show himself to be on the same jurisprudential plane as RBG or SS-M.


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THIS JUST IN—BIDEN CURES COVID

01/23/2021
(CNN) Media outlets from all over America are today reporting the latest determination by the Centers for Disease Control and Dr. Fauci that President Joe Biden has brought about a remarkable reversal in the heretofore seemingly insoluble challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
"It has been amazing what has been achieved in just three days," said CNN's own Jim Acosta,"Biden's executive orders have turned the corner on this thing."
 
“He will not only be remembered for ordering an abrupt end to systemic racism, he's almost certainly going to be enshrined as the ‘Jonas Salk’ of presidents."
“As best we can tell—and I'm getting thisfrom all major reporting organizations, NBC,CNBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, Reuters, Axios, the New York Times, and many others—COVID-19 is virtually collapsing in the face of thiscourageous president's grim and firm
determination to solve the problem."
No less an authority than Joy Reid of MSNBC added this:
 
"In his first 3 hours in office, Biden boldlysought out and confronted the virus, and—virtually single-handedly—backed it down. He didn't even think about asking for back-up."
 
The achievement is seen by US media authorities as well as famous non-partisan historians Jon Meacham and Douglas Brinkley as “unprecedented.”
Meacham noted that “infection rates and fatality numbers are collapsing faster than Biden can even read from a TelePrompTer.”
 
"The removal of Trump," said America's leading presidential historian Michael Beschloss, "was clearly the key moment when the disease turned around.
 
“Trump almost single-handedly killed 400,000 Americans through neglect and blissful indifference. Biden, on the other hand, with the grit and dogged determination of a TR, has located a cure and has distributed it to almost every American—and he's done that in about 72 hours. “I have a new book coming out which documents all of it. It's just an amazing feat.Biden has moved to the top tier of presidents, with Lincoln and Washington, in the shortest time in US History."

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The Evolution of Twitter

01/16/2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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INAUGURATION: SHOULD TRUMP ATTEND?

01/15/2021
Guest Editorial, by Editor Emeritus, former State Senator Rod Adair
 
ANSWER: Yes. Of Course. Certainly. All officials should.
 
This is an easy one. The American Experiment is filled with ritual, a wide array of symbolic gestures and public ceremonies carried out by the entire American population. They are among the very few things that serve to unite the population, however divisive certain ongoing public policy debates may be.
 
These rituals include such mundane things as the Pledge of Allegiance (probably overdone, granted, but it's a shared ritual—a cultural and political touchstone) before every Kiwanis or Rotary Club meeting, or at schools and all kinds of community gatherings.
 
They also include the National Anthem (also probably overdone, but see above) before sporting events and scores of civic gatherings every day. *
Perhaps most important, certain political rites are also knitted into the social fabric—ceremonies that serve to cement respect for the arrangements of institutions and conventions that have been agreed upon by Founders and respected by generations that have followed.
 
All these rituals reinforce the timeless and unchanging commitment to the principles on which a government—and a society—is based. Questions of public policy can reach such divisive levels that these rituals may be the only public acts that can bring otherwise harshly opposed groups together.
As is the case with state funerals (the incredible ritual of the JFK funeral comes to mind), inaugurations, and even swearing-in ceremonies are important examples of American political rites of passage and recognition.
 
Just days ago, both Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence swore in new representatives and senators, many of whom have openly manifested the strongest opposition to the presiding officers. Photographs were taken, family members introduced, pleasantries were exchanged.
These ceremonies don't change any of the participants' views on public policy, but they do serve to remind both the participants and the public at large that there are certain aspects of our national polity—our shared corporate experience—that yet exist above and beyond specific disputes that are constantly occurring in a representative democracy.
 
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT and HERBERT HOOVER
 
Perhaps no two presidents hated each other more than FDR and Hoover. Their 1932 campaign was bitter, incendiary. FDR would never get over his hatred. He carried it to extremes, personally intervening to ensure that the monumental achievement of what is today known as "Hoover Dam" would be named "Boulder Dam."
 
He actually got that petty—and got the planned name nixed. So the dam was known as Boulder Dam for about a dozen years. (Only after FDR's death did Congress pass a resolution permanently changing the name to Hoover Dam.)
 
Yet, in the photo shown below, we see Hoover and FDR riding together to the Inauguration. They either did not speak, or said only a couple of words (accounts vary), but that is not the point. They did this for the sake of the American Experiment. So should Trump. So should everyone.
And there should be no "protests" at state capitols either. Yes. I know that 70 members of Congress, led by John Lewis and others, refused to attend the 2017 Inauguration.
 
But is the American goal really supposed to be that of emulating Democrat politicians? Furthering hatred? Copying them by saying ________ (fill in the blank) is not MY president! Are we going to have these "rituals" replace the timeless ones every four years now?
 
Yeah, the Democrats are hypocrites. Don't worry, I get that. They have all forgotten all of their statements made for the past four years. But again, do the Democrats really set the standard for behavior in a political setting? (To ask the question is to answer it.)
We have something above and greater than ourselves to strive for. And we should do that.
 
(And yes, I now the Adamses did what they did. But they were taciturn, stubborn New England Yankee Puritan stock, who pretty much didn't like anybody all that much. I love them both, but I don't believe they did the right thing.)

NOTE: This is one of the myriad reasons why Colin Kaepernick's actions (lauded by dumb, often Republican, virtue signalers) are so inappropriate.

Yes, of course he has "free speech." No one disputes that, but that is also not the question. If we are to have every public ritual in the American Experience invaded and co-opted for personal grievances (especially one so unimportant as a multimillionaire's playing time) then let's not have them at all. After all, no society, no government will ever achieve perfection. There will always be some grievance or fault that someone can point to and say "I'm sitting down." It makes no sense at all—provided one takes the time to reflect, rather than worry about virtue signaling.
 
All 330,000,000 Americans can point to something, some gripe, some airing of grievances, that reflects an identifiable imperfection in the country.
But public civic rituals are not the place for personal lobbying. (Of course, the dumbass virtue signallers will try to assert that Kaepernick "did it for social justice." But this is stupidly ignoring the fact that it never occurred to him to do that till he got benched.)

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IMPEACHMENT? A Few Thoughts...

01/14/2021
Guest Editorial, by Editor Emeritus, Former State Senator Rod Adair
 
Everyone knows I am emphatically not a Trumpista.* But—as should be the case with all Americans—we have to look at the question of impeachment in a very dispassionate manner. Impeachment is an extremely serious act.
 
Regardless of one’s political persuasion, it is palpably obvious that this procedure is being pursued for purely partisan purposes: to try to put both House and Senate Republicans in an extremely difficult position. That may bring a smile to the faces of many Democrats, but is that what this Constitutional provision is for?
 
As Professor Jonathan Turley has noted, there is no reasonable way to make Trump responsible for the acts of a very small, extremely stupid minority (far less than even a fraction of 1%) of the 100,000 people who attended a rally. If this were a serious proceeding, Congress would:
 
??hold hearings, to determine exactly what effect Trump’s words actually had
??take testimony from eyewitnesses, law enforcement, and perpetrators
??look carefully at existing statutes that address the very same charges that are being thrown around, such as “incitement”
??follow a thorough process, as has been followed more than 60 times in impeachment proceedings against federal officials
 
All of this is pure tribalist partisanship. And it is misdirected—there is no need to do this in order to deny Trump another run for the presidency. News Flash: Trump is a spent force. He will never get the Republican nomination again.
 
Additionally, the Senate cannot act on “removal.” Impeachment is for sitting officers only. You can't “remove” someone who isn't there. (Yes, I know Congress did it once before in a fit of pique. But its effect was invalid then and remains so.)
 
IMPLICATIONS for the FUTURE
 
It is indisputable that members of Congress have used vastly more “inciteful” rhetoric than Trump has ever done—and there have been numerous examples of such. This is without even considering the scores of incredibly wild exhortations to murder, assassination, arson, bombings, and other acts of violence offered by celebrities and politicians alike.
 
WHATABOUTISM?
 
One of the favorite techniques taught to Social Justice Warriors is to immediately dismiss the desire for fairness/comparable treatment for both the right and the left as “whataboutism.” They immediately parrot this charge. Ironically, I had a Trump-hating defense attorney whip out the term on me last week.
 
An attorney! Just thoughtlessly parroting away as if making a serious, original argument.
 
How very weird America has become. That even attorneys (very serious professionals) are moved to parrot rather than think.
 
NO. A desire for comparable treatment is NOT the made-up term “whataboutism.” It is something called the 14th Amendment: all Americans are supposed to enjoy “equal protection of the laws.”
 
If this defense attorney were to point out that a client is being prosecuted for something no other New Mexican has been prosecuted for (despite numerous instances of the very same act) would a court respond: “Oh, that's ‘whataboutism.’” One would hope not. We would hope that a serious discussion of “selective prosecution” would follow. Yet outside the courtroom (in today’s tribal environment) even otherwise serious people just parrot slogans rather than reflective thoughts.
 
PREDICTIONS? Hopes?
 
The House will impeach Trump. After all, it is made up of a majority of tribalists, not statesmen. But we can hope that someday a new Congress will use this precedent to impeach some of its own members for having used far more “inciteful” speech than Trump—rhetoric that resulted in and continuously justified the numerous riots, deaths, and destruction of property that took place in 2020.

* And that, furthermore, I very sadly (for 3 years) predicted his quite unnecessary demise IF he did not modulate his rhetoric so that the 4-5% muddled middle of the electorate would be able to concentrate on his accomplishments rather than his personality.


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Apple's Message to America

01/13/2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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WORLD LEADERS SUPPORT ROD ADAIR—There Should be No "Digital Oligarchy" Censoring People

01/12/2021
Just four days after our Guest Editorial by Editor Emeritus Rod Adair, a number of world leaders have come forth to denounce the "digital oligarchy" which is silencing voices with which they disagree while amplifying voices with whom they agree.
 
Parody
 
(AP) Despite criticism from Democrats and lock-step media types four days ago, former State Senator Rod Adair (R-Roswell) has today been joined by unlikely worldwide allies from both the Left and Center, in his years-old assessment of the dangers of having 3 or 4 individuals left in total control of public discourse and debate. Leaders from Germany, France, Australia, and Norway have sided with his analysis.
 
Adair, reached at his home in Roswell, was reserved, if not somewhat diffident, merely commenting:
 
"If you're someone who is pushing left-wing ideology, tactics, power, and control, and word comes back that you've lost Angela Merkel, well, you're just probably on the wrong track. If it takes an East German—for crying out loud—to tell you that you don't stand for freedom, or freedom of speech, well, wow, just wow. Maybe now some people will pay attention. But, all in all, I'm not that optimistic.”
When asked why he still seemed doubtful about the future of American political discourse, Adair responded:
 
“I would estimate that about 95% of Americans are now totally tribal. I can rarely have an intelligent conversation with anyone anymore. I get calls from highly educated—or at least highly credentialed—people, professionals, doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, managers, supervisors, businessmen and businesswomen, and it takes no more than about 30 seconds for them to go tribal. Trying to reason, or talk sense with folks, well, it’s not a good look right now.”
Reuters, commenting on Merkel’s denouncing Facebook, Twitter, and social media, noted that:
 
“Germans are wary of infringements of free speech, partly thanks to memories of the Communists and of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis, totalitarian regimes that ruled on German soil during the 20th century, both of which used violence and censorship to seize and hold power.”
 
Merkel got her start in East German politics before forging a highly successful career in the West.
 
Asked if he felt "vindicated," Adair replied:
 
"Nah, not really, a prophet is without honor in his own country. Someone said that once. I forget who.

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COMPARISON of the "OUTRAGE" at VIOLENCE DURING THE PAST YEAR

01/11/2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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SOCIAL MEDIA: THE COMMON CARRIER CONCEPT.

01/08/2021
Guest Editorial by Editor Emeritus, Former State Senator Rod Adair
 
I wonder if all the libertarians are still inclined to criticize me on this issue?
 
Five years ago, I asserted that social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and all others, should be classified as "common carriers," much like companies in the transportation business, or utilities and telecommunications companies.
 
In other words, those entities provide services to the general public, and cannot discriminate based on whims of the owners: If United Airlines says it has a scheduled flight from Albuquerque to Los Angeles at 10:05 AM, the owners can't stand at the gate and say, "Okay, you can board this flight because we like you, but this other person cannot—because we DON'T like him."
 
Similar regulations apply to companies that provide your basic needs: electricity, gas, telephone, cable TV, et cetera.
When I said this, I was attacked by "libertarians" for being a "big-government Republican."
 
They said that private companies need to remain, uh, private, unregulated, based solely on the free market. Uh-huh.
 
Well, what do you think now, b--ches? Social media has become gigantic and ubiquitous, almost viewed as a necessity, like your local utilities. So huge that they have an enormous impact on not only public discourse, but public opinion, and even the conduct of political campaigns, affecting even the outcome of elections.
 
And the companies controlling them decide who can and cannot communicate in the public arena. And so, how do you like them apples right about now?
 
You see, this is what separates orthodox conservative Republicans (like me) from those (on both the Left and certain elements of the right) who call us names. The difference: common-sense conservatism (orthodox conservative Republicanism) sees a role for regulation and for government, properly applied. We are not the enemy. We are the hope. At this precipitous and depressing moment in our history, we are the only hope.

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BIDEN IS 100% CORRECT: About BLM and Antifa

01/07/2021
President-Elect Biden says that BLM and Antifa would have been treated very differently from the Chowderhead rioters on Wednesday. He is correct.
 
As proven throughout 2020, the police would NOT have stopped the riot if it had been carried out by BLM or Antifa. They would have stood by and let the public buildings be vandalized.
 
How do we know this? We saw it all take place for seven months, from May to November all over the country.
 
China Joe got this one right.

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Use of the expression: “SUBVERTING DEMOCRACY.” Why it is Being Employed Incorrectly.

01/05/2021
Guest Editorial by Editor Emeritus, Former State Senator Rod Adair
 
Both of the “tribes” involved in the ongoing electoral “crisis” are discussing the issues with incorrect terminology or are setting forth just plain wrong-headed ideas. But perhaps the very worst is coming from the folks in the mainstream media who sound as if they are clones of each other.
 
Complaints that are being raised and the apparent planned objections for 6 January are NOT attempts to “subvert democracy.”
 
A rule of thumb: if someone is invoking a constitutional or statutory provision regarding a particular component of government, be it criminal law, civil law, or elections law—regardless of whether it is a bad idea to do so, or whether or not it is unlikely to succeed—it cannot possibly be something that is “subverting” democracy. On the contrary, they are using the structure and procedures derived from the democratic process.
 
When I was an elector in 2004 and Barbara Boxer, on January 6, 2005, decided to challenge the votes cast in Ohio, it never even occurred to me to think that she was “subverting democracy.” Had I thought that, well, that would have made me stupid—or at least dumber than I already was.No one in the Senate went along with her, but they could have. And had they done so it would not have “subverted” democracy.
 
Today, everyone in the mainstream media uses these expressions a dozen times an hour, 24 hours a day. They also raise fake issues of a “military coup” or “intervention.” (Trying to frighten the American people in such a ridiculous and insidious way is actually vastly closer to subversion than anything that is going on.)
 
With the mainstream media controlling at least 80% of what voters see, hear, and read, you cannot tell me this has not had a profound effect on an increasingly dumber electorate.

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KKK Changes its Name—Inspired by Antifa

01/03/2021
This Just In: KKK Changes its Name
 
To show solidarity with ANTIFA, the Ku Klux Klan today announced that it has “rebranded” itself. From now on it will be known as “Anti-KKK.”

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Can there be a RECALL of NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR GRISHAM? We respond to questions from our Readers.

12/28/2020
Response by Editor Emeritus Rod Adair
 
This is not possible. People should stop circulating “petitions” and stop wasting people’s time.
 
We have received several inquiries about petitions to “recall” Michelle Lujan Grisham. We have even seen online petitions purporting to represent a valid, legal effort to remove her.
 
This is all a waste of everyone’s time. We are not saying that Grisham deserves to remain as governor. On the contrary, she is obviously incompetent and should be a ripe target for defeat in 2022—a year that should be great for the GOP.
 
New Mexico does NOT have provisions for the recall of the Governor, statewide elected officials, or legislators.
 
Recall, Initiative (Prop 123, etc.), Primary Elections, and Referendum are all products of the Progressive Era (circa 1900-1925). The 1910 New Mexico Constitutional Convention was largely hostile to all of those ideas. New Mexico political leaders of that era were not at all similar to those of California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Oregon, where people were much more sympathetic to such ideas.*
 
Years later, New Mexico adopted the political primary, and then much much later extremely limited recall provisions—but they only apply to county officials, school board, and municipal officers. And even then they apply only on the condition of malfeasance—not “for any reason or no reason at all” as they do in, say, California.
 
All state officials are subject to impeachment by the state house and removal by the state senate. But again, that’s a very tough row to hoe.
 
Bottom line: Elections mean things. If a majority of voters does not take electoral choices seriously, too bad. They are stuck with the decisions they make at the polls.

*There was never a movement for the Initiative. And we have “bill-approval/disapproval” referendum only under the most stringent conditions—which are very difficult to meet.

We do have a requirement that Constitutional Amendments must be approved by the voters. That’s about the only feature of direct democracy we have—and it is not actually direct democracy in that representative government must first approve such proposed amendments, then send them to the voters for approval.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

COVID RELIEF PACKAGE PASSES

12/21/2020
WeI know millions of people and thousands of businesses are hurting, but part of us believes the Republicans should not have continued to work to pass it.
 
Democrats blocked it for 6 months—only because they thought it would help the economy and therefore help Trump’s re-election. The only reason they changed their minds is that they see it will now help Biden.
 
Republicans were always doing the right thing—and still did the right thing this month—while the Democrats had viewed the package as only something that would hurt Trump. They didn’t give a damn about the country, people, or business.
 
They “compromised” only on the basis of helping the incoming administration. Had Trump been re-elected, they would still have opposed COVID relief because they don’t want to help Trump.
 
We have people in charge now who don’t give a hoot in hell about anything other than the acquisition and maintenance of power.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 
 

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE — my alma mater — MET TODAY.

12/14/2020

Guest Editorial by Editor Emeritus, Former State Senator Rod Adair (R-Lincoln & Chaves Counties)

(Okay, it’s not really one "college," but 50 separate meetings.)
 
It appears that there is no news of any "faithless electors" this time around. In 2016, there were 7 faithless electors—5 faithless to Clinton and 2 faithless to Trump—an all-time record.
 
The absence of a single "faithless" vote being cast is no doubt at least somewhat attributable to a LANDMARK Supreme Court ruling five months ago.
 
On July 6, the court—finally addressing this issue for the very first time—upheld those individual states' statutes that provide sanctions for electors who vote outside the guidelines set by their legislatures.
 
There are 32 states whose legislatures have enacted laws requiring their electors to vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged.However, 15 of those 32 states that provide instructions still do not provide any penalty for deviating from those instructions, nor do they attempt to disqualify the ballots—so, those electors’ votes are counted in the manner they are cast.
 
In 5 of the 32 states that provide instructions, including New Mexico, the legislature has made it either a misdemeanor or felony to deviate—and two of those five also immediately cancel the votes and replace the electors.
 
12 of the 32 states cancel the votes of any elector who deviates, immediately replacing that elector. However, they provide no further penalty.
 
In the 18 remaining states, electors are, in essence, completely free agents—as they have been for 231 years. They may vote as they please, with no additional instruction and no sanctions provided.
 
In practice, this has seldom been a big deal. This is because electors are (or are supposed to be) party stalwarts: Democrat electors vote for the Democrat nominee; Republican electors vote for the Republican.
 
What is brand new in 2020, is that for those states who have enacted laws that provide for sanctions—penalties, fines, and replacements—the Supreme Court declared such laws to be constitutional on July 6, 2020, in the case of Chiafalo v. Washington.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

New Mexico Republican Party State Central Committee Meeting Ends in Fiasco

12/08/2020

Just when you think things can’t get worse for a political party, last night the Republican Party of New Mexico said: "Hold my beer!" 

First of all, with only a handful of voters even eligible to participate, the RPNM felt it had to “contract” with an out-of-state vote-counting company. How complex is it to count 180 ballots or so? Apparently, it’s beyond the RPNM capability. How much was spent on this completely unnecessary project is not known, but—whatever it was—it was a waste of money.

Not only that, the task was beyond the capability of the company they hired, TEXT2VOTE. They blew the count. They got it wrong. So much for TEXT2VOTE.

When the totals were announced—after more than an hour of waiting (the votes could have easily been tallied by hand in less than half the time)—Pearce had won by 1 vote, beating Eddy Aragon and Geoffrey Snider 55 to 54 to 53. Eric Lucero got the other 8 votes.

But wait, more than an hour later the vaunted TEXT2VOTE company came back and said they had miscounted. The new totals were Pearce 76, Aragon 47, and Snider 41. (Lucero still had 8, so TEXT2VOTE at least had that figure nailed down.)

Tone-Deaf Much?

It’s one thing to be tone-deaf to what is going on in the world, or in the country. It’s a step beyond that to be tone-deaf to your own personal rhetoric. In other words, with Pearce joining in the criticism (and rightfully so) of the irregularities and lack of openness in election administration around the country, he should have had the self-awareness to realize the same kind of requirements must—most especially—apply to him too.

In other words, he had to realize that in an election for his own position he must provide maximum transparency and competency. A prudent, thinking chairman and executive director would have provided paper ballots, to be counted by a team that included observers from every single candidate who wanted to watch.

It was a no-brainer.

However, none of that took place.

Here’s what happened:

The RPNM sent out a list of 180 eligible voters. And they allegedly had strict rules for who could “participate.” Despite that, quite a number of State Central Committee (SCC) members who did not register on time were allowed to sit in on the Zoom meeting. Two or three of those turned out to be “tech team” members who ran the meeting and the voting process.

Additionally, Pearce crony (and a failed state chairman in his own time) John Billingsley came up with a total number of 184 eligible voters, four more than the number of eligibles.

After much squabbling and back and forth dialog with a number of SCC members trying to get the voting system to work, the voting “ended” sometime around 7:50 PM. And it was well beyond an hour’s wait after that (and long after they had said “We’ll have the results in about 5 minutes”) before they got the results—which were wrong!

This begs the question: Is TEXT2VOTE automated at all? It appears that the company is nothing more than a few people sitting around counting votes by hand, and pretending to be some sort of “high-tech” service. It would be hilarious if it were not so serious.

Besides All That, There Were Other Hilarious, Tone-Deaf Moments

Each candidate was allotted 2 minutes to speak to the entire Zoom crowd. And for most candidates it was strictly enforced.

However, after all the campaigning was over and while the voting was taking place, Executive Director Anissa Galassini Ford Tinnin (famous for turning state’s evidence in the notorious stolen email case that sent her co-conspirator to federal prison for 9 months*) invited her boss, Pearce to speak again!

Pearce seized the opportunity to drone on for 20 minutes about his claimed accomplishments WHILE THE MEMBERS WERE STILL VOTING! You cannot make this kind of stuff up!

One thing about the Pearce-Tinnin team: the rules are for amateurs. They will do what they will do. The rules be damned.

The public and the media will all have a field day with this. How dumb was this entire exercise? What kind of credibility will Pearce have in going after Democrats over election integrity issues?

Furthermore, how can Pearce present himself as a candidate for statewide office yet again? When he could not get even one-third of the votes of his own party on the initial count? And could only get 44% of the Central Committee on the revised, highly favorable relook?

You have to remember that a huge number of these 180 people have been either chosen directly or had their selection to the committee heavily influenced by Pearce (with Pearce taking over county meetings to do so). And yet, he could not come close to mustering a simple majority of this group.

It seems clear that if the Republican Party had enforced its previous rules that require a majority, Pearce would not have been returned to this office.

So, while 2022 probably looks like a great year for the GOP, the New Mexico GOP is clearly suffering.


* The Federal Judge in the sentencing portion of the criminal proceedings also noted the incident in which Anissa and Jamie Estrada, under false pretenses,  surreptitiously accessed the files and information in the Doña Ana Republican Party Headquarters to obtain information to use against the Republican candidate who was running for District Attorney, against Jamie and Anissa's Democrat client, the Democrat candidate for District Attorney, District 3.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


New Mexico Republicans to Pick a State Chair Today: On the Horns of a Dilemma; What to Do? Is the State Chair Position Even Worth Worrying About? Who all is Running? Pearce is Making Noise About Another Run for Governor—We Explain Why That is a Disaster.

12/07/2020

The Republican Party of New Mexico has just come through its third straight disastrous cycle—all of which have been under either the direct personal leadership or the direct influence of former Congressman Steve Pearce. Now Pearce, who is 73, is running yet again for state party chair, seeking to be the "man behind the curtain" for the fourth consecutive cycle. 

GOP State Central Committee members meet tonight—Monday night at 7:00 PM—via Zoom, to decide who will chair the party for the next two years. The Pearce organization has the upper hand, precisely for the same factors that affect everything during the "Pandemic Era" — inertia. 

COVID-19 is the go-to excuse for non-action, for keeping things the same, for eliminating actual discussion, for grotesquely affecting the dynamic badly needed in so many different aspects of life. In the case of a political party meeting, the current situation favors the existing structure, no matter what the subject matter is.

It was the Pearce organization who got the RPNM on this rushed-up schedule, just a month after the election. In our view, this is a terrible idea: It needless hurries the process for picking new party leadership just a few days after the previous election has been certified. In reality, political parties need time to sit back and fully assess what has just transpired. Rushing to set up a new structure in the middle of the Thanksgiving-Christmas season is a ridiculous rule. It should be abolished, and the chairmanship election should be set in April of each odd year.

So, is the Chairmanship even Worth Worrying About?

Probably it is. After all, lightning can strike. Biden has the potential to be such an amazing disaster that he could turn thousands of traditional Democrats against the party of their birth. Who knows? It certainly appears that 2022 could be a great year for Republicans, across the nation, and in New Mexico.

The state chair has traditionally had to be someone with the ability to raise money—to have money himself or herself and the ability to tap into wealthy donors through connections they have both in-state as well as through a nationwide network of political connections.

Pearce, though disastrous as the “leader” (whether de facto or de jure), appears, on paper at least, to likely be the only candidate with those kinds of possible connections. However, that is only in "theory." In practice, Pearce’s actual fundraising has been desultory and lots of legislative candidates got very little or no help from the oil and gas interests that he was supposed to bring to the table. 

The big money that did reach the party was from national sources that would send money to the state party regardless of who occupies the state chair. 

Nonetheless, Pearce understands fundraising and certainly appears to most likely be more capable in that regard than the other candidates. So that favors him. Additionally, Pearce—as he has bragged—has the personal organization around the state.

Of course, that personal organization has had no success in winning elections around the state, but it is extremely useful in capturing and holding the chairmanship itself.

The most alarming thing about the Pearce candidacy is the insistence among those in the know that he is once again using the position or the control of the party apparatus to advance his own plans to—once again—run for governor. It would be his fourth effort to win a statewide race. The three previous efforts have ended in catastrophic landslide defeats.

Who Else is Running?

The other candidates are  Eddy Aragon, Eric Lucero, and Geoffrey Snider.

  • Eric Lucero is a popular, likable, 63-year-old (who looks much much younger), well-meaning frequent volunteer worker, but as far as we know has no experience in running a major organization, and appears to have only a limited ability to raise funds. At least he has been a Republican for a long time, and, also unlike Aragon, he's voted in every single election, 15 straight, general, primary, and municipal. 
  • Eddy Aragon is a 45-year-old broadcaster. Oddly, he's only been a Republican for less than a year, which, not surprisingly, means he's only voted in one primary in the past decade. As usual, he appears to be using this opportunity for cheap publicity, to prompt more attention and business for his radio station. His radio show has (at best) an “extremely modest” audience that doesn’t actually know who he is. Those who are close to campaign organizations know that he tries to “sell” interviews to candidates, something that is not done by legitimate media organizations.

Plus, Aragon, as previously noted, has been all over the political spectrum—repeatedly threatening to run as an independent for the US Senate in 2019 and 2020, while at one time or another attacking every single Republican hopeful: Elisa Martinez, Mick Rich, Gavin Clarkson, and Mark Ronchetti, calling all of them “worthless.”

Clarkson took the hint towards the end of the primary campaign, purchased some air time, and suddenly became—in Eddy's view—a much more "worthy" candidate. Pearce himself has made arrangements with Aragon, and according to sources, has paid him quite a bit to air Pearce's own radio shows, as well as those of his protégés. (It would be interesting to see state party records to verify how much has been paid to Aragon.)

Eddy—at least in the image of his most recent version of himself (which is ever-changing)—now regularly attempts to identify with the most aggressive positions possible. His history, however, indicates that such positions are far from stable, let alone permanent.

He is related to Raymond and Michael Sanchez, and has worked for prominent Democrats, including Tom Udall and General Wesley Clark. He also brags about having been married to a “coyota” — a woman who helped illegals cross the border.

He also had an abortive run for Mayor of Albuquerque, but quit after collecting 5-dollar contributions, which he neither filed, accounted for, or returned to donors. Aragon is also advocating for equal funding of all candidates, without regard for the winnability of particular races. This of course is a naive and highly wasteful approach and one that can only end up in lots of money being directed to districts that are impossible to win, while underfunding those candidates who can win. So all that is extremely problematic.

  • This leaves 43-year-old Geoffrey Snider. We don’t know if he can raise money, but he says he can, and he has definitely written the best letters to the central committee. He owns his own business, FOAC, LLC, and, again unlike Aragon, he has voted in every single election of all kinds for the past decade.

Snider has recently been serving as the Executive Director of the Bernalillo County Republican Party, where he says the party has set an all-time record in fundraising. His letters discuss his ideas about ways to redirect and reorganize and focus the state part

It appears that Snider is far and away the best choice at this juncture.

To Recap the Last 8 Years:

  • In 2014, a Susana Martinez-led coordinated effort captured the statehouse for the first time in 60 years. When the dust had settled, Republicans held a 37-33 advantage in the State House.
  • In 2016, a Pearce-led effort persuaded House Republicans to abandon Martinez’s successful strategy, with the result being the loss of 5 seats—and the majority it had taken six decades to achieve.
  • For 2018, as Pearce gave up his safe CD 2 seat to run for governor, he secured the chairmanship for his acolyte (and fellow Martinez hater) Ryan Cangiolosi, resulting in the most disastrous cycle for the Republican Party in 106 years of statehood: Republicans lost an additional 8 House seats, making a net loss of a whopping 13 seats in just two years. Democrats held a 46-24 advantage. The GOP lost all twelve statewide races plus all four federal contests, for an astounding 0 for 16 result—something that had never happened before.

As part of the catastrophe, Pearce’s hand-picked replacement ran a weak race and actually managed to lose CD 2, which is designed to be a Republican seat.

  • As for 2020, just a month after his 2018 debacle, Pearce got himself installed as Chair for the 2020 cycle, by bragging about losing the governor's race by 100,000 votes (we are not making this up) and promising “a new vision.”

In Pearce’s 2018 Letter, He Made a Number of Promises

Here is what Pearce stated:

“I know there are others who will want to run for leadership of the party but the big question is, how long will it take for them to develop the people and talent in every county?”

“I have been constantly "on the ground"…for the last 16 years and have personally established a network of supporters…We have built a great organization and, yes—we are going to keep it going…This provides me with a strong base of "new friends" that I can build on for the party.

COMMENT: The problem appears to have been his continuous references to what he personally had established for himself—to win election to state chairmanship, to arrange to win primaries for candidates who belong to “HIS” organization, as opposed to the state party itself.

He claimed to have “invested $5 million” in developing what he called “a base message that the State GOP can build on even further for 2020.”

He went further, stating that:

“I am a seasoned communicator. I  know all the key people in the TV stations, all the radio stations across the state and am well acquainted with those in the print media…No one else in the party…has a skillset of campaign and business experience, the grit, the network of committed volunteers that I have assembled…No one…has been to more towns and villages that I have been in, or developed the relationships in every county that I have…

He went on:

“I have personally talked and listened to over 10,000 people…and have gone to every county and over 100 small and large towns, to reservations and chapter houses…I know and work well with leaders in all cultures; Hispanic, Native American, African-American, Asian and Middle Eastern. Anyone else who might be elected as State Party Chair will start at ground zero and need years to travel to the places that I have been and organized over the last 16 years.

Of course, these claims tended to beg the question: If Pearce has everything in the world going for him, how come it doesn’t result in a victory—of some kind? Or, possibly this question: How does all that result in getting beat by 100,000 votes? But we digress.

Pearce went on:

“We are going to recruit more [millennials] …and put them in key positions in the party as we move forward…We are going to recruit new, younger, and talented people. “We will create a strong social media presence…Speed and commitment are essential. Our leaders must hit the ground running in January 2019 to prepare for 2020-with new energy, new commitment and new turnout targets for winning each and every election when called upon.

"We will also establish a statewide policy coordinating committee to hold elected officials accountable for their actions, and I believe we must also have our own independent polling operation.

“The renewed Republican party will function like a growing business…

He promised to “act boldly…be more strategic…inclusive, and united, to build coalitions,

So, did Any of that Take Place? As Best We Can Tell, NONE of That Actually Happened

So, what really did happen?

Pearce spent his entire two years engaging in divisive, grudge-holding maneuvers, making sure that the first Hispanic female governor in the history of the country—and by all measures, the most successful—was not invited to conventions, and was never used as an example of what can be done.

Pearce again used divisive tactics in primaries—inserting himself and state party assets into intra-party contests.

The result was—again—the loss of every single statewide race—all five of them! Republicans did regain CD2, which should never have been lost in the first place, because of the design of the district. Republicans also picked up one (1) of the 13 state House seats the Pearce team had lost over the previous two cycles.  But they lost a seat in the Senate. When all was said and done, the Pearce-led coalition of “Republican leaders” have gone from a 37-33 Republican House and 18 Senate Republicans to a 25-45 House deficit, with only 15 Republican Senators left.

Additionally, Trump lost the state in a landslide, despite Pearce’s promises. The one bright spot was the showing of Senate candidate Mark Ronchetti, who was ignored by Pearce, mainly because Pearce “sees him as somehow an ally of former Governor Martinez.” Some leadership. 

So' Pearce Declares “Victory” and Boldly Announces He Needs Another Term as Chairman

Just a few days ago, Pearce sent out a bizarre letter to the GOP State Central Committee. In it, he makes claims that no one can even understand, much less believe. Here are some of them:

“During the past two years, RPNM has made history in our great state, reaching remarkable milestones and surpassing many of its goals. I would be honored to serve another two years to further play a vital role in its continuing success.”

What? When and where did any of this happen?

 “The Republican Party has become dynamic, truly diverse and extremely driven. RPNM has received national acclaim during this recent election, and many more New Mexicans have eagerly embraced the Party’s message and mission.”

Comment: Republicans may properly respond that they wish all of this, or any of this, were true. But it is painfully obvious that it’s not.

Pearce went on:

“As your Chairman for the last year, I have witnessed extraordinary achievements by our staff and supporters…In short…RPNM has become stronger and more influential. It is for these reasons that I plan on running for another term as your Chairman.”

The New Mexico Republicans’ Dilemma

The Republican Party is in tatters in New Mexico. However, the likelihood is that a President Biden will create a national mood which will probably be very favorable to the GOP in 2022. So, given a strong candidate (not Pearce) there should be a reasonably good chance that Republicans could capture the governorship, and perhaps (again with strong candidates) a decent chance at other statewide races.

Unfortunately, the favorable environment will almost certainly not help in the legislature. The Pearce team has left the GOP without a seat at the table for the most important factor of all: redistricting.

In 2001 and 2011, the legislative Republicans had Gary Johnson and Susana Martinez to veto the gerrymandered bills put forward by the Democrats—forcing the whole question of redistricting into court.

But for 2021, the GOP has neither house in the legislature, plus Pearce lost the governorship in a landslide, leaving the Republicans with no seat at the table. Brian Egolf has already signaled that he and the Democrats will run roughshod over the Republicans—including (as Egolf stated) taking away the Second Congressional District by means of a partisan gerrymander.

The choice of state chair may or may not have any effect at all. But New Mexico Republicans cannot be blamed if they choose not to go down the Pearce road yet again. 


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


TRUMP-BIDEN: The Electoral College, Online Shysters, Internet Wizards, and Google Geniuses; What is True and False?

11/15/2020

A Guest Editorial by former State Senator Rod Adair (R-Chaves & Lincoln Counties) and former member of the Electoral College (2004)

Perhaps many of you have seen the gentleman, named Shane Vaughn, shown at left. His photo and accompanying video about the current presidential election have been sent to me scores of times, along with questions asking “Is this true?”

The answer, for the most part, is “No, it isn’t.” He gets a few facts correct as many Googlemeister-internet surfers do, but he misses the mark on most things. This is to be expected. *

So I watched this man’s video. He starts out by boldly stating he’s going hold a “class” on “history and law” and that he’s going to “teach.” Then he says that this election (2020) in which a candidate has not “conceded” has “occurred twice before in 1800 and 1824.” And that it’s because the popular vote margin was “less than 1%.”

This is patent nonsense. In 1800, there was no actual popular vote at all. In 1824, most states had popular votes recorded, but several states still had no popular vote at all. And the margin of that which was recorded was fairly wide, not close at all.

But all of this discussion is irrelevant. Those two elections went to the House of Representatives because in each instance the Electoral College did not produce a majority. Those events had nothing at all to do with “concession speeches” or popular vote margins.

He goes on to say there are 475 members of the House of Representatives. (There are actually 435.) And he says that if there were to be “no certification” of the election results (though it’s clear he doesn’t know what that means exactly) then the election goes to the House of Representatives.

What is true is: if there is no presidential candidate with a majority of the Electoral Votes then that election would go to the House, where delegations vote by state, not by individual member.

Mr. Vaughn goes on to make the startling claim that Republicans control 37 of the 50 state delegations. The actual situation is that they currently control 26, with the Democrats holding majorities in 20, and four states are either tied or in doubt. (A Republican candidate has a 48-vote lead in one Iowa congressional district—if she holds that lead in a recount, then the GOP would have a 27 to 20 advantage, with Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania all evenly split, 4-4, 7-7, and 9-9 respectively.)

Misunderstanding Electors and Misunderstanding the Method of Presidential Elections

The problem with much of what is on the internet right now is that it ignores what has already transpired. Yes, it is true that under the US Constitution the individual state legislatures are empowered to determine the manner of each state’s electoral votes. But they have already done that. They are not waiting till the December 14th meeting of the Electoral College to make that determination. They have long-since put the manner of choosing electors into their state statutes.

The chief elections officers of every state (usually, but not always, the secretary of state) have had the names of the electors, their addresses, phone numbers, and all pertinent information, on file for several months. The reality is that on November 3rd, Americans were voting for ELECTORS, not directly for Biden or Trump. (Even the so-called popular vote is the cumulative total of votes cast for electors—not for the candidates themselves. In fact, the electors ARE the candidates.)

For example, in New Mexico, if a voter filled in the oval next to a presidential candidate, he or she was actually, legally and constitutionally, casting his or her vote for five electors, not Biden or Trump. This is the same thing that took place in all 50 states. (See an example of how an actual presidential election result looks like in the attached photo.)

The five winning candidates for elector in New Mexico (or the 38 winning candidates in Texas, or the 29 in Florida) will go to their respective state capitals (not to Washington, DC, as Mr. Vaughn asserts) on December 14 and cast electoral votes. They do so because they have won their elections for the office of elector.

People have a very hard time understanding this process. The states have already elected the electors.

So, as Mark Levin asserts (and he is only one among several doing so): Can the legislatures overrule the elections that have already taken place to elect the electors?

The answer is: They possibly could. But it would not be very easy. They would have to be drawing up plans right now for special sessions of their legislatures. Why? Because they would have to go into session and repeal their current statutes which currently specify the manner in which their electors are to be chosen.

They would also have to, somehow, nullify their own states' 2020 election results and that probably would mean nullifying ALL the election results in their states, including those that just elected or defeated these same legislators themselves.

Final, official canvassing is about to take place all over the country. (New Mexico's is in nine days.)

Can they repeal their own results after they have been declared final and official? It seems doubtful. So if anyone intends to do this, they better get cracking.

Let's say they go through with that, what next? After repealing the current method of choosing electors by popular vote of the people (after they just had an election to choose them, mind you) they would then have to arrogate the choice of the electors solely to themselves—the state legislators.

Any state that did this would be reverting to a method that has not been used since 1860, when South Carolina was the last state which made the choice of the electors to be determined solely by a vote of the legislature. All other states had already adopted the system currently in place (and South Carolina did too after it was readmitted to the Union) which has the people choose electors by popular vote on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

I am not saying that the election is over, or that the outcome has been decided. The Electoral College does not meet for another 29 days. Trump has some serious allegations, and there appears to be evidence of a number of problems involving elections integrity. I have no idea how these claims will be adjudicated, nor does anyone else.

All I am saying is that many of the things posted on the internet are false, or at best highly misleading.


EDITOR’S NOTE: Let us know what you think, or send us any questions you may have, by emailing us at: Editor@NewMexicoPoliticalJournal.com


* Some three centuries ago, Alexander Pope noted that “A little learning is a dangerous thing.” He wisely noted that “shallow draughts intoxicate the brain” and “short views we take, nor see the lengths behind…”

Today’s youngest generations are intoxicated by the belief that formal educational traditions, study, research, and reflection are completely obsolete, and made so by “search engines.” Many times I’ve heard people say, “I don’t need to study anything or read any books, I can just Google whatever I want to find out.”

The problem is that relying solely on search engines too often end up with the searcher getting a modicum of information, but no context, no understanding of the antecedents, or many other variables that are part of the historical framework. Mr. Vaughn is but one of hundreds on the internet who offer their expertise, obviously based on incomplete and hastily completed Google searches. (To be fair, the man in the photo is not a millennial, maybe not even a Gen X, but the same mental disease—not wanting to drink deep from the Pierian spring”—affects millions (Gen Z and Boomers alike) in the 21st Century.)


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


2020 Post Mortem , Part 1 (of 5, maybe): Ronchetti Appears as the Rising Star—Outruns Trump, by A Lot, Helps Herrell Tremendously, Carries 19 Counties; Vote Totals Reminiscent of Another Italian-Surnamed Albuquerque Republican from New Mexico's Past.

11/09/2020

In reviewing the fallout from Decision 2020, and while we wait for a few developments on the national scene, we will dive into the New Mexico results this week. First things first, the federal races in the Land of Enchantment.

Ronchetti Emerges as the Statewide Star

New Mexico Republicans have a rising star in Mark Ronchetti and, in our view, they would be well-advised to get behind him moving forward.

Ronchetti did not win his race, nor did we expect him to, considering the atmosphere and New Mexico's apparent continual drift to the Left. But he exceeded all expectations and even outran President Trump by almost 5 percentage points, beating the president by an astounding net total of 43,500 votes.

This is by itself a remarkable accomplishment for a Republican Senate candidate in 2020, with perhaps only one GOP senatorial candidate in the entire country running farther ahead of the President.  

Ronchetti also ran ahead of all the GOP congressional nominees by a combined net total of nearly 32,000 votes. 

Democrat Spending Wildly to Save the Udall Seat

Ronchetti did all of this while getting outspent by millions of dollars and receiving no outside help. In his post-election video, Ronchetti noted that his campaign had over 15,000 small-dollar donors that helped him combat all of the outside money spent for Lujan. That’s the kind of army of grassroots supporters that New Mexico Republicans have not been able to put together in years.

Yvette Herrell Helped Enormously by Ronchetti

We strongly endorsed Yvette Herrell (as we did in the 2018 General Election as well) and we predicted she would win. She ran an excellent campaign—much-improved over last time—and was greatly aided by Ronchetti who was far and away the strongest-performing candidate in the district.

Of course, Herrell received over $10 million in outside help—something unavailable to Ronchetti, making his showing even more impressive.

In New Mexico's CD2, Mark Ronchetti took a whopping 57% of the two-party vote and ran a net 15,536 votes ahead of Herrell in her district, outperforming her by a net 6.25  percentage points. Ronchetti's margin of victory was 13.68 points, compared to Herrell's 7.43, meaning he ran a net 84% better in precinct after precinct.

This is even more remarkable when you consider that Ronchetti was unknown in much of the district before he entered this race.

Ronchetti outperformed candidates in other districts by even greater margins. This is not to criticize any other candidates, especially not Herrell, who recovered from 2018 to run a very strong race. Rather, it is merely a black and white evaluation of the vote totals.

Going Forward

We have no idea what Ronchetti's future plans are, whether he is a "one-and-done" candidate, who may go back to the private sector, or if he would be willing to put himself and his family through another grueling race. We plan to reach out to him at some point in future, but have not done so to date.

For New Mexico voters, however, Ronchetti is clearly the de facto leading Republican in the state. In our view, the GOP should begin now to get behind him in the race for Governor in 2022, or for Mayor of Albuquerque in 2021, or for US Senator in 2024, or for whatever race he chooses.

Again, however, we don't know that he will choose to run for any other office. We are just recognizing the strength of his campaign, and his appeal.

Remembering another Italian-surnamed Republican from Albuquerque

Ronchetti's run reminded us of another Albuquerque Republican who also happened to have an Italian last name, and who ran a strong statewide race 50 years ago. Pete Domenici ran hard in 1970 for an open gubernatorial seat. But he was running against the popular Speaker of the New Mexico House, Bruce King.

The results were remarkably similar to this year's US Senate contest, with King prevailing, roughly 51-46, almost identical to the Lujan-Ronchetti result. One major difference is that Domenici carried only 7 counties in 1970, while Ronchetti prevailed in 19 of New Mexico's 33 counties.

Domenici came back two years later as the leading contender for the open US Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Clinton P. Anderson. Domenici won that second statewide race, defeating Democrat Jack Daniels, and went on to serve six terms, from 1972 to 2008.

New Mexico in the Years Ahead

No one knows what the future holds for New Mexico elections. Nor can we even begin to predict how (what appears to be) a Biden Administration will fare. Many suspect that Democrats will not allow Biden to serve out his term, and will instead work to invoke the 25th Amendment at some point.

We aren't convinced of that, but we can see that the national scene is highly volatile. It is not unreasonable to assume that the national mood in 2022 will be highly favorable to Republicans, just as 2010 and 2014 were. In fact, we predict it will be a highly favorable cycle for the GOP.

We can say that if that kind of favorable year appears to be shaping up, New Mexico Republicans certainly appear to have a candidate who can win and who can start a great GOP comeback in the state. In that eventuality, it would be unwise for the GOP not to seize the opportunity to rally around Ronchetti.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Decision 2020 in New Mexico: As we Predicted, CD 2 Looks Good for the GOP. What About the Rest of the Scene? Pearce Has Promised a Huge Victory.

11/02/2020

As New Mexicans look ahead to tomorrow, and perhaps for the next few days (at least on the national scene), Republicans especially are encouraged by the promises offered up by their state chairman, Steve Pearce. Pearce has promised that Trump will win the state and that Republicans will win at least one legislative chamber. 

The respected Albuquerque Journal poll, conducted by pollster Brian Sanderoff had some good news for the GOP. Sanderoff forecasts a victory for Republican challenger Yvette Herrell in Congressional District 2. Sanderoff sees her defeating incumbent Xochitl Torres Small. This is a seat Republicans never should have lost, as Congressional District 2 is solidly Republican (it’s actually as Republican as the state of Texas, to give readers an idea). And the national Republicans have poured tens of millions of dollars into the race—a tactic that appears to be working. 

With the amount of money national Republicans are spending in the district and with Trump expected to carry the district, Republicans should definitely pick up legislative seats in southern New Mexico, such as the John Arthur Smith senate seat, the Howie Morales seat, and even Candy Sweetser’s house seat in Deming, as examples. This will simply be the result of Republican legislative candidates benefiting from the national environment. 

Similarly, Republicans should retain all the seats in the region where the Democrats are giving it an all-out effort (and an illegal effort, frankly) to knock off sitting Republicans. In this category, House District 38 comes to mind, in which Republican Rebecca Dow is facing the nastiest campaign from Democrat Karen Whitlock—though, oddly enough, Whitlock is not running or paying for her campaign. Even though her negative mail says it's paid for by her, in reality, it is being furnished entirely by House Speaker Brian Egolf.

Egolf is classifying all of his expenditures—hundreds of thousands of dollars for some thirty Democrat candidates—as "in-kind" contributions. But in reality, he is raising all the money and purchasing all the ads, mail, and nastiness directly. He's doing that because the Democrats created a special provision allowing him to raise unlimited amounts of money, while individual legislators are capped.

The challenge for Republicans will be in the Albuquerque area where Democrats are expecting a Biden wave to wash away many legislative Republicans. Pearce has allowed Republicans to be heavily outspent by the Democrats, but he apparently believes his grassroots and the billboard campaigns of "Respect New Mexico" will win the day. 

PEARCE'S PROMISES: ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE GOP RANK AND FILE

Again, Pearce has promised two big things: 1) Trump will carry New Mexico; 2) Republicans will win one of the two legislative chambers. We certainly hope he is correct, but we are concerned.

Given his announcements about what the Republican Party of New Mexico has supposedly done, the GOP should prevail. Here are the tasks that Pearce says he has completed: 

  • More than 3,000,000 contacts—which represents well over three contacts for every voter who will vote in the general election
  • More than 100,000 doors knocked just during the week of October 22-28
  • 1,300 volunteers have knocked on more than 900,000 doors and placed more than 2,100,000 phone calls in New Mexico.

According to Pearce, all of this represents "the biggest GOP infrastructure, the most manpower, and the most volunteers in New Mexico election history."

These are incredibly impressive numbers. Given that there are only 780,212 households in the entire state, Pearce's team has personally contacted every single voter's home, they've also spoken with everyone—as New Mexico's population is estimated at exactly 2,100,000. These figures, if accurate and true, are nothing short of astonishing. And they should also do the trick.

Pearce insists they are true and accurate, adding:

"These impressive numbers demonstrate not only the commitment and excitement of the Trump Campaign to turn New Mexico red, but the drive and fortitude of our staff and volunteers...We feel the tide turning here, and more and more New Mexicans will be casting their vote for President Trump and Republicans down ballot to turn the state red. New Mexicans know the President stands for law and order, has created a strong economy and will protect our freedoms and family values.”

Given what a disaster a Biden victory would mean for America, and how poorly New Mexico will be represented if Torres Small returns to the House, and Ben Ray Lujan reaches the Senate, we certainly hope that Pearce is telling the truth. And we hope he has overcome his divisiveness by having had his volunteers work for Mark Ronchetti just as hard as the state party worked for Herrell all during this past year.

The results will tell.


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UNDERSTANDING MODERN JUDGES and JUSTICES: The CONSERVATIVE v. LEFTIST Disconnect and Disagreement

10/28/2020

Why Amy Coney Barrett is NOT the Kind of Justice the Democrats Want

There is so much incorrect terminology thrown around and so much careless discussion taking place in the media and among politicians that, in our view, probably fewer than 5% of voters even understand what the role of judges actually is.

Phrases are thrown around like: "they want a judge who is 'pro-life,' or 'pro-oil & gas,' or 'pro-environment,' or 'anti-[this or that[, or who 'supports' some policy or another. This is the language of the Left—indicating that judges have a distinct legislative role. It is not the language of the right, even though many right-of-center people employ, incorrectly, those same phrases. 

In the view of conservatives, while judges may have personal political views, they cannot be "pro" or "anti" anything at all in their role as a judge.

Unlike legislators, judges and justices are not presented with campaign-related issues: Shall we abolish the death penalty? Shall we restrict the manner in which abortion services can be offered? Should voters be required to show an ID?

Those are all questions that come before legislative bodies. Judges only entertain specific cases with specific facts and the specific points of law being argued about the facts of a given dispute or circumstance that gave rise to the case—the situation that caused the case to be filed.

Applying the Law that is on the Books v. Making up a New Law to "Make Things Better" 

Amy Coney Barrett is not the kind of justice the Democrat Party wants precisely because she "applies" the law, reading statutes, or passages in Constitutions as they are written, in plain English. The Left wants jurists who look at laws only as suggestions, or perhaps just as incidental starting points for public policy debate or discussion.

The two approaches clash all the time.

Recent Elections Law Cases Provide Excellent Exhibits. For Example:

A statute may read (as in New Mexico) that: 

Absentee ballots "shall be accepted until 7:00 PM on election day. Any...envelope received after that time shall not be qualified or opened..."

An entity, such as the Democratic Party (or Libertarian or Republican Party) in New Mexico (or in Wisconsin or Pennsylvania) may bring suit, demanding that the deadline adopted by the legislature be extended for any number of days—say, for example, six more days. The plaintiff or petitioner may claim that the statute is somehow “unfair” or “unreasonable,” or may come up with any number of reasons to set the statute aside.

A typical judge or justice, coming from the last couple of generations of law school, and certainly ALL judges and lawyers of the current American Left, including many, perhaps most, Democrat appointees (though to be fair, not all) will look at the case and the law and say:              

"Hmmm. I don’t much care for this statute. I’m not sure the legislature thought this through as well as I can by myself. I think I’ll rule that there shall be six more days added on to the deadline.”

A different Democrat court, looking at the same case, may say: “No. We think the deadline should be extended only three more days."

And yet another activist judge or three-member panel might rule that:

"No, we know best of all—the deadline should be extended for 30 days. Elections officials should count all votes received not later than 30 days after the deadline identified in statute.”

All of them will conclude in their own minds: “There. That’s what I call fair and just. I am a judge and I know best what should be done. The legislators simply don’t have as good a handle on fairness and justice as a trained lawyer and judge does.”

However, a justice or judge like Amy Coney Barrett will read the statute and conclude:

1) the law is clearly stated and understandable

2) there is nothing “unconstitutional” about the legislature making rules and establishing deadlines for the conduct and administration of elections

3) in a republic, it is the legislature that represents the people’s will (right or wrong, regardless of how we “feel” about the law) through the process of free and open elections

4) a court is not a legislature, did not participate in the debate, and has no role in writing bills, voting on their passage, or signing them into law

Court cases are not supposed to be about some judge's "druthers" or how they "wish" the law was written, or what "outcome" the judge prefers.

Personally, a judge might prefer some other deadline, or see ways in which she would write the law differently and “better,” but she recognizes that that is not her role as a judge.

This kind of thinking is anathema to Leftists. They want judges who will use their positions to hand down rulings that conform to the Left’s desired outcomes in a huge array of cases that can be brought. The Left finds entities that will file suits for the purpose of getting a judge to simply "enact" a law that is nowhere on the books, or that could not be passed in a legislative body. 

For example: “We want six more days added to the deadline. And a judge responds ‘Okay, you got it, six more days it is.’”

That is essentially what Supreme Court Justices Kagan and Sotomayor do on a regular basis. (Justice Stephen Breyer responds less “automatically” in this manner.) And Ruth Bader Ginsburg did the same as Sotomayor and Kagan.

for the American Left, Amy Coney Barrett is a terrible reminder to the people that the role of the judiciary and the role of the legislative branch are separate and distinct. She essentially is an exhibit that says: "Judges should stay in their own lane."

That's what the US Constitution says, and that's what all state constitutions say. If you want to change the structure of American government you should amend the Constitution. If you want to change state or federal laws, then go to your legislature or to congress.

Judges should not just make stuff up on the bench. That approach represents an enormous threat to the American Experiment.


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HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU THAT THIS WILL BE A FAIR ELECTION?

10/27/2020
The New Mexico Justice Project recently released this statement
 
The following is the kind of inquiry we frequently receive:
"People are criticizing the all-mail balloting that a number of states have suddenly adopted. They're claiming it will be a mess, and that it raises serious issues involving election integrity and honesty."
HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU THAT THIS WILL BE A FAIR ELECTION?
 
ANSWER: Very concerned. Let us explain.
 
Elections are conducted by states. There are major differences in the ways each state administers elections. Yes, there has been great controversy about "mail" ballots and whether or not "voting by mail" is okay. In that talk, there has been a lot of obfuscation, and (in our view) deliberate misrepresentation. For example, the media have said about a hundred times that "Trump votes by mail."
 
What they are implying is that an "all-mail election" is the same as the way Trump, and many thousands of other Americans as well, have been voting since the Civil War. But that is not true. Trump has voted by absentee ballot: requesting his ballot, providing his verifiable personal information—the same as all absentee voters.
 
That process—the absentee ballot—is NOT the same as an "all-mail-ballot-election." Not even close. And we have seen many, many talking heads, reporters, and politicians who have appeared (to us at least) to be deliberately trying to deceive the public about the system. More on that below, but first things first:
 
1) What is most important is whether or not a state has done a good job of maintaining its voter list. Most states do not do this well. Among the 160 million or so registered voters in the country, there are millions of addresses that are incorrect, with people having moved or died, and their addresses never being updated or corrected.
 
2) Another big consideration is whether a state is conducting a regular, normal election, or is conducting an "all-mail-election"—which is a shotgun mail-out to everyone on its statewide list. In the all-mail-ballot election, every single listed voter is mailed a general election ballot, ready to be voted. This is done without a request from the voter, and without any verification that the address where the ballot is being sent is accurate.
 
3) Important facts to consider are that: A) 31 million Americans move each year; B) 20 million students are away from home in college; C) 1½ million adults are in nursing homes; D) a million are in assisted living facilities; E) 55 million live in apartment buildings (that frequently incorrectly show the same address for each resident). That's a total of 108 million Americans whose addresses and locations present huge opportunities for missing the actual, intended voter.
 
The reality is that states that simply send out ballots to every listed address in their file are INEVITABLY (there is no debate or question about this) going to end up with lots of ballots arriving at homes, dormitories, apartments, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and in post office boxes where the voter in question does not live, or does not currently get his or her mail.
 
Blanket mailings of ballots, sent without being requested, have the same error rate as tons of junk mail sent out every day that often say “to the current resident” or “household.” This leaves a tremendous opportunity for unclaimed ballots lying around all these venues.
 
We live in very divisive times, with the American people facing an election that so many are beyond passionate about. It seems highly likely that any number of misdirected ballots will fall into the wrong hands and be voted by someone else.
 
Bottom Line: There is actual cause for a great deal of concern. And this is without even beginning to address the logistical problems involved in many states who are, for the very first time, receiving millions of "all-mail" ballots, struggling to have the time to verify that they are from the intended voter, and processing them in any reasonably timely manner.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Herrell wins Debate. Hands Down. NMPJ Enthusiastically endorses Yvette Herrell for CD2

09/30/2020

We watched Sunday's debate between incumbent Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small, a Democrat from Las Cruces, and her Republican challenger Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo. We ended up pleasantly surprised.

Herrell's refusal to debate in 2018 was, to a number of pundits' thinking at least, a contributory cause of her defeat in the Republican-leaning district. It was perceived that she "must have recognized" that she couldn't really stand toe to toe with Small.

After the one-hour debate, sponsored by KOAT-TV, Channel 7 in Albuquerque, we were left wondering what she—or more likely her campaign team—was worried about two years ago.

Herrell easily won the debate.

Xochitl Torres Small

Small apparently came into the debate believing that a machine-gun-like delivery along with a "word salad" approach to all the questions is "the ticket" in any debate. At least that's what she did. Small delivered many of her answers at speeds hitting an astounding 220 words per minute, some 45 to 50% faster than a normal person talks in normal conversation.

And a review of "what" she said is shocking: Word Salad City. Small essentially repeated almost every single question and then went into laborious detail in describing to the audience the meaning of the question and why it was important—something the questioners already knew, as did, presumably, the listening audience. 

The audience definitely knew it when the questioner was Kent Walz. The Albuquerque Journal's senior editor asked questions that were longer than the time allotted to answer them. And they usually included four or five different sub-topics. The candidates needed a scribe to make sure they got to all of them.

But Small's objective was recognizable: eat up time with repetition and non-answers, and make it appear you're being responsive.

In any case, Torres Small just substituted a rapid-fire series of disconnected phrases—very fluently and mellifluously, make no mistake, she's not a verbal bumbler—in place of giving real answers that addressed the actual topics being discussed.

Another flaw in the process, of course, could not be avoided: the pandemic-induced "Zoomery." Forums like these permit all kinds of behind the scenes direction and answer-feeding that the public would be able to see if the debate were live and being held in some sort of normal setting.

As a result, Small got a second shot at the question Herrell posed: "Are you going to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket?"

In her original response or rather non-response to Herrell's question, Small just went directly to her automatic-rifle-speed chatter, and ended up never responding at all to the question. Then, some 10-15 minutes later, Small worked in a response that indicated she will be voting for Biden

This late recovery, so to speak, was almost certainly as a result of a handler either approaching Small, or holding up a cue card—something that simply could not have occurred if the debate had been held under normal conditions. No one would do that in full view of the audience. 

Yvette Herrell
For her part, Yvette Herrell was well prepared and delivered her responses clearly and articulately. What came across was a candidate who established a contrast with the left-leaning incumbent in the right-leaning Second Congressional District.

If there is a criticism of Herrell, it is that she simply did not drive home that contrast anywhere near as strongly as she might have.

Small and her team are obviously banking on winning the election in the same way they won in 2018: based purely on imagery. 

If it's a contest about that—which candidate is going to appear more often with a shotgun, with camouflage outfits, with "conservative-looking" backgrounds and themes, well, Small and her team have all that stuff down pat. They believe that is enough—since they have tremendous amounts of out-of-state money from Pelosi as well as lefty special interest groups. 

Small and special interest groups are spending enough to keep the TV stations afloat for another year.

All the more reason that Herrell should have driven home the stark contrasts and the reality that lie behind the images. If there is one regret for her team, it's probably that she didn't really hammer that home enough. 

Still, Herrell clearly won. Southern New Mexico—whether it's the southeastern counties, or the western counties of Sierra, Luna, Hidalgo, and Catron—is simply not southern California, where Small would be much more at home. So Herrell did enough for the reasonable observer to get the message: Herrell represents your values. Small does not.

Trump Doing Well in CD2

We conclude that polls must be showing the Herrell team that Trump is set to carry the district in November. Thus the question posed by Herrell: "Who you gonna vote for, Xoch?"

If Trump isn't winning CD2, then the question, and making an issue of that question, makes a lot less sense. We think the question does make sense.

Endorsement

The choice in this congressional race is hardly a difficult one. It's hands-down for Herrell, as it was in 2018.

Whether it is the Second Amendment, national defense issues, positions on taxation, re-opening the economy, various aspects of the entire personal liberty issue, or the rampant out-of-control rioting, looting, and mayhem perpetrated by Democrat front groups Antifa and Black Lives Matter, Herrell is on the correct side each time, and Small is hardly more than a Nancy Pelosi look-alike. 

Again, this is the reason that Small is "all-image-all-the-time." Substance is simply not her scene.

We hope Herrell can overcome the shenanigans led by her mentor Steve Pearce and the divisiveness he has brought to her primary battles are not too much to overcome. 

We strongly and heartily urge readers to support Yvette Herrell for CD 2.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Poll Shows Republicans May Pick up State Senate District 28; State Senate Watch: New Mexico Democrats May Face Losses due to their Vicious Primary Battles; (This is the first of a planned Series we will do on Competitive Legislative Races this Fall.)

09/10/2020

Democrats ousted five of their incumbent state senators in their June primary. We predicted three of those. "Assuming the challengers' campaigns are competently managed," we expected that Senators John Arthur Smith, Clemente Sanchez, and Gabriel J. Ramos would be defeated.  They were. We were sort of neutral on Mary Kay Papen and Richard Martinez's chances, but kind of expected them to survive. They didn't.

Senate District 28, Background

Several of the Democrat challenger campaigns were indeed run by highly competent, proven winners. The SD 28 race, encompassing all of Grant and Catron Counties, as well as almost all of Socorro County, saw incumbent Gabe Ramos easily dispatched by Democrat Siah Correa Hemphill. And Hemphill's guiding light was one of the Democrats' most experienced and most successful advisers to the Hard Left of the party, none other than the notorious Neri Holguin.

We note this with the greatest of respect—if you are a Democrat, and you have voted more than once or twice in a manner that, say, Rachel Maddow, would not approve of, well...you'd better hold your breath to see if you get a challenger. If you do, and it's a hard-Lefty...and if he or she hires Holguin, well...get ready to clean out your office. 

Here's the thing: the parties are more polarized than ever—and primaries bring out the most polarized voters. The majority of Democrat primary voters generally hang on every word uttered by Maddow or anyone at MSNBC or CNN.

And Ramos, who had never faced the voters, had been appointed to replace former Senator Howie Morales who had just been sworn in as lieutenant governor. All three county commissions sent up Ramos' name, much to the vocal displeasure of Governor Grisham and her fellow "progressives." In short, Ramos found himself out of step with the Democrat base.

All the enthusiasm in the Democrat Party, including in New Mexico, is on the far Left. Just look at the result in SD 28: 4,809 to 2,970, a 62-38 crushing defeat for Ramos. Hemphill raised almost $127,000, spent about 95 grand of that, while Ramos spent almost the same amount, about $96K, after raising about $112,000. 

Funding was not the issue. It was messaging. And once it was established that Hemphill was part of the Bernie Sanders-AOC-Green New Deal-anti-Second Amendment-Abortion on Demand coalition, Ramos and his advisers could simply not match the Holguin-Hemphill team. You're either in lockstep with the modern Democrat Party, or you're not. And if you're not, well, sayonara!

While most observers are zeroing in on the JOhn Arthur Smith district (SD 35), there are a total of five seats that should be followed closely. In addition to SD 28, and SD 35, there is the Clemente Sanchez seat (SD 30), the William Tallman seat (SD 18), and the John Sapien seat (SD 9). All of those should be won by the Republican candidates PROVIDED there are competent campaigns and sufficient funding. 

Senate District 28 Poll and General Election Outlook

In Senate District 28, the Republicans have nominated James "Jimbo" Williams to face the Democrat nominee Siah Correa Hemphill. Here is a poll we have come across from less than two weeks ago. It was conducted by Remington Research Group out of Kansas City. It is a nationally reputable polling firm, which, incidentally, was the earliest to predict that Trump would win Ohio in 2016.

The poll surveyed 422 likely general election voters in Senate District 28.

Q1: What is your opinion of Michelle Lujan Grisham?

Favorable: 50%  Unfavorable: 38%  No opinion: 12%

Q2: What is your opinion of James Williams?

Favorable: 23%  Unfavorable: 15%  No opinion: 62%

Q3: What is your opinion of Siah Correa Hemphill?

Favorable: 31%  Unfavorable: 26%  No opinion: 43%

Q4: For whom would you vote for President if the election were held today?

Donald Trump: 42%  Joe Biden: 52%  Undecided: 6%

Q5: In Senate District 28, the candidates are Republican James Williams and Democrat Siah Correa Hemphill. If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?

James Williams: 42%  Siah Correa Hemphill: 42%   Undecided: 16%


The survey was conducted from August 26 through August 28, 2020. 422 likely General Election voters participated in the survey. Survey weighted to match the expected turnout universe for the 2020 General Election. The Margin of Error is +/-4.9% with the normal 95% level of confidence.


This was the initial baseline poll. It was not a "push poll," or one in which descriptions of the candidates were used to influence the voters' responses. Those facts being the case, the results show that Hemphill is surprisingly weak, running a net 10 points behind Biden. 

Hemphill does have the advantage of being from Silver City, so she's a resident of Grant County, which has 61% of the voting power in the district. Williams has a disadvantage, at least on paper, of being from a much smaller community. He is from Quemado (population 228) which is in Catron County, which has only 10% of the voters in the district.

Still, Hemphill is on the extreme Left of both the Democrat Party. She identifies with entities like Antifa and Black Lives Matter that are the engines of the nationwide riot and looting culture. She has changed her tune in the wake of the primary—with the addition of both independent and Republican voters now in the general election mix.

With Ramos out of the way, Hemphill has removed all of the hard Left rhetoric from her personal appearances, campaign literature, and social media postings. She is going to try to win the general election as a "moderate," something she is decidedly not.

How much the traditional New Mexico Democrats will be put off by her actual political leanings is unknown. But there could be considerable resentment of the kind of campaign she ran in the primary. And the traditional moderate base of the New Mexico Democrat Party, which has been largely Hispanic, may harbor some resentment toward yet another outsider largely supported by outsiders in Silver City (people who have moved in from California and elsewhere over the past 15 years or so) trying to take over the party.

In any case, the results of the poll should be very encouraging for the GOP.


 

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MAKE HISTORY THIS NOVEMBER

08/20/2020

A guest op-ed by Former New Mexico Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez

On a picturesque summer day in July, I stood alongside President Trump as he signed the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative. The Executive Order is particularly important to me. I have had the good fortune of living the American Dream and now, thanks to President Trump’s leadership, future generations will have an opportunity to accomplish whatever they set their minds to.

Prosperity has been the bedrock of the Trump Administration and the results were clear at the start of the year and as we approach the next phase of the Great American Comeback. In June alone, New Mexico added 26,300 new jobs. Before the Coronavirus Pandemic, New Mexico saw an addition of 40,000 new jobs, 9,600 construction jobs, and 3,000 manufacturing jobs as a result of the Trump administration.

Now, compare this with the track record of the Obama-Biden Administration and the campaign promises of a Biden-Harris ticket. Under the economic direction of the Obama-Biden Administration, New Mexico lost 8,500 construction jobs and 5,700 manufacturing jobs. The average unemployment rate in the state during the Obama-Biden Administration was 7.1 percent.

So, despite our legislative efforts and accomplishments, we found ourselves beholden and subject to the big government model preferred by Democrats in Washington.

New Mexico is now a top 10 energy producer in America thanks to President Trump’s deregulatory agenda. Fossil fuels support over 90,000 jobs in our state, contributing about $13 billion to our economy over the past four years. Our oil and natural gas boom have revived our state’s budget, too. Schools benefited from the record $2.2 billion in oil and natural gas tax revenues.

(It must also be noted that this is, in large part, thanks to the administration of former Governor Susana Martinez, in which Sanchez served as lieutenant governor.)

Joe Biden—Despite his Record—is Still Peddling Bad Public Policy

Even with an abhorrent track record in Washington, Joe Biden is trying to pitch New Mexicans again this November. What’s worse is that he’s adopted policies that are popular among social circles in San Francisco and New York City but have no place in the actual livelihoods of New Mexicans. Biden and Harris want to repeal President Trump’s tax cuts; making New Mexicans return the $1,391 they were able to pocket thanks to tax reform.

And Joe Biden has locked arms with an unfeasible energy agenda. Banning fracking would cost New Mexico 142,000 jobs and $86 billion in economic activity by 2025. Outside the energy industry, New Mexico households would also feel the sting of a Biden-Harris energy plan. Cost of living would increase by $5,790 per person while household incomes would drop due to a burdensome government. The ramifications of a liberal agenda would have very real, and very detrimental, consequences throughout the state.

Upward mobility is a cornerstone of America’s promise. As a young boy who grew up in abject poverty, I understand the challenges facing all families, especially Hispanic families in this country. Our household of eight children was held together by my mother — a single mother. Her leadership, devotion, and sacrifice toward our personal improvement made me the man I am. It’s also what makes me so passionate about working with President Trump to improve the lives and wellbeing of New Mexicans.


John Sanchez served as the 29th Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico from 2011-2019. He serves as a commissioner on President Trump’s Hispanic Prosperity Initiative.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


First Shoe Drops in ObamaGate: FBI Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Documents for Obama-Biden Administration

08/19/2020

Ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith pleads guilty in Durham investigation

by Jerry Dunleavy, Justice Department Reporter | Washington Examiner
 
 August 19, 2020 01:40 PM

The former FBI lawyer charged in U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation of the investigators pleaded guilty Wednesday to a false statements charge for fraudulently altering a CIA email to obtain surveillance against a former Trump campaign associate.

Clinesmith, who worked on the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server as well as on the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane inquiry and special counsel Robert Mueller’s team during the Trump-Russia inquiry, admitted that he falsified a document during the bureau’s efforts to renew Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act authority to wiretap Carter Page, who had been a foreign policy adviser to now-President Trump's 2016 campaign.

Judge James Boasberg, the presiding judge in the criminal case against Clinesmith (and also the presiding judge for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), accepted the plea during the hearing conducted by phone before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Clinesmith, 38, claimed in early 2017 that Page was "not a source" for the CIA when the CIA had actually told the bureau on multiple occasions that Page was indeed an operational contact for them. U.S. Attorney John Durham submitted a five-page filing to the federal court on Friday, noting Clinesmith was being charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3) for “False Statements.”

“On or about June 19, 2017, within the District of Columbia, the defendant, Kevin Clinesmith, did willfully and knowingly make and use a false wiring and document, knowing the same to contain a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and entry in a matter before the jurisdiction of the executive branch and judicial branch of the Government of the United States,” Durham told the court.

"He will be pleading guilty," Emily Damrau, an attorney for Clinesmith, told the Washington Examiner on Monday.

“Kevin deeply regrets having altered the email,” Clinesmith's lawyer said Friday. “It was never his intent to mislead the court or his colleagues as he believed the information he relayed was accurate. But Kevin understands what he did was wrong and accepts responsibility.”

Andrew Weissmann, the Mueller “pit bull” who has been critical of Durham and U.S. Attorney General William Barr and who misrepresented an element of the special counsel’s congressional testimony during an appearance on MSNBC this week, had fired off multiple Twitter threads seeking to undermine the possible plea deal, but to no avail.

Judge Rosemary Collyer, then the presiding judge over the FISA court, ordered an FBI review of every FISA filing that Clinesmith had ever touched following the release of DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s December report on the FBI's Russia investigation. The FISA court criticized the FBI's handling of the Page applications as "antithetical to the heightened duty of candor described above" and demanded corrective action from the bureau.

Clinesmith, an assistant general counsel in the National Security and Cyber Law Branch of the FBI’s Office of General Counsel from July 12, 2015, through Sept. 21, 2019, is not named in Horowitz's report, but it is clear he is the "Office of General Counsel attorney" who had been acting in response to a question by an FBI agent who was part of the team investigating the Trump campaign.

A supervisory agent, dubbed "SSA 2" who swore in an affidavit for all three FISA renewals against Page in 2017, told Horowitz's investigators that on the third renewal, he wanted "a definitive answer to whether Page had ever been a source for another U.S. government agency before he signed the final renewal application." While in contact with what was reportedly the CIA's liaison, Clinesmith was reminded that in August 2016, predating the first Page warrant application in October 2016, the other agency informed the FBI that Page "did, in fact, have a prior relationship with that other agency."

An email from the other government agency's liaison was also sent to Clinesmith in 2017, who then "altered the liaison's email by inserting the words 'not a source' into it, thus making it appear that the liaison had said that Page was 'not a source' for the other agency" and sent it to "Supervisory Special Agent 2," Horowitz found.

"Relying upon this altered email, SSA 2 signed the third renewal application that again failed to disclose Page's past relationship with the other agency," the inspector general wrote.

Horowitz’s report criticized the Justice Department and the FBI for at least 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to the FISA warrants against Page and for the bureau's reliance on the Democrat-funded discredited dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele. Declassified footnotes from Horowitz’s report indicate that the bureau became aware that Steele’s dossier may have been compromised by Russian disinformation, and FBI interviews show Steele’s primary subsource undercut the credibility of the dossier.

In January, the Justice Department determined that the final two of the four Page FISA warrants “were not valid." The FBI told the court it was working to "sequester" all the information from the Page wiretaps, and FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to Congress that he was working to "claw back" that intelligence. The FBI director also testified that the bureau likely illegally surveilled Page.

In a scathing July 2018 inspector general report on the FBI's Clinton emails investigation, Clinesmith was mentioned (again not by name) numerous times as being one of the FBI officials who conveyed a possible bias against Trump.

In a lengthy instant message exchange between Clinesmith and another FBI employee on Nov. 9, 2016, the day after Trump’s presidential victory, he lamented: “My god damned name is all over the legal documents investigating his staff,” Clinesmith said, adding, “So, who knows if that breaks to him what he is going to do?”

Other messages showed Clinesmith, listed in Horowitz's report as "FBI Attorney 2," expressed favor toward Clinton and said “Viva le resistance" in the weeks after Trump's win.


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Beware of Democrats Celebrating the 19th Amendment! Hint: They're Lying—Yet Again!

08/18/2020

Democrats are at it again—and especially the increasingly aggressively phony Democrat women "spokespersons"— who drone on about how much they now "hate" all Republicans, all conservatives, everyone who doesn't accept Black Lives Matter, Antifa, or Joe Biden. They are all at it again today—lying their butts off. 

This time it's about the 19th Amendment, the constitutional change ratified 100 years ago today that guaranteed women the right to vote everywhere in America. (At least 19 states already had some form of women's suffrage, and about a dozen states provided full suffrage for women.)

Why are they Lying to You? Because Democrats OPPOSED it!

That's right, if it were up to the Democratic Party, women would not have won the right to vote everywhere. It would have been left to the states. Before the states could begin ratifying the proposed amendment, it had to pass both the US House and the US Senate by two-thirds majorities in each.

The House vote in May of 2019, was 304 to 89. But by party it was like this: Republicans voted  200 to 19 to pass the amendment, or 91% in favor. Democrats voted 102 to 70, meaning that if it had been solely up to the Democrats the amendment would have received only 59% support, well below the nearly 67% required for passage.

In the US Senate, the Democrats did even worse. They voted "in favor" of the resolution by only a 19 to 18 vote. The Republican support was overwhelming 37 to 7. When both parties' votes were combined, the result was a 56-25 victory for women's suffrage, over two percentage points more than required to send the proposal to the states.

But it was no thanks to the Democrat Party. 

Just FYI. Don't let them fool you. 


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Black Lives Matter Hired Miscreants Still Disruptive in Albuquerque

07/23/2020

Photos and story by Gerald A. Loeb, Freelance Journalist. (Facebook: Jerry Loeb)

In Albuquerque this past Sunday, forty hired thugs from the Black Lives Matter Movement verbally bullied and attacked legitimate peaceful counter-protestors who were merely waving American flags at a contentious demonstration at the Downtown Civic Plaza.

BLM slogans were scrawled  on the Plaza with different colored chalk, producing such gems as,

“Mask it or Casket,” “If you don’t wear a mask, you are the virus,” and “If all  lives matter, put on your mask.”

“We are here to show that we are not afraid of the fascist cops,” screamed one BLM speaker, who was virtually incoherent behind her mask.

At the same time, less than two dozen peaceful protestors for the Unmaskers waved a few American flags and talked quietly among themselves. They were on the northeast side of the Plaza, and well distant from the BLM crowd.

I interviewed some of them. One of the Unmaskers, Matt K., stated:

“I think that people with medical conditions such as asthma or PTSD should not wear masks. It simply deprives people of oxygen.”

Another Unmasker, Vanessa Q, said:

“I’m here at the risk of losing my job. The hospitality industry may never recover from this crisis.” 

 U.S. Army veteran Teil Plont was succinct on his attendance as an Unmasker:

“Look at the Bible in Luke 10, 1-11. I choose the Lord over men.”

The Unmaskers were briefed by a police sergeant who told them a City Ordinance ordered by Mayor Tim Keller prohibited guns in a designated “demonstration area,” and violators would be cited.

Approximately twenty minutes after the Unmaskers arrived, the BLM protestors wheeled their group west to deliberately and verbally attack the Unmaskers. Albuquerque Police Officers enforced the law and stood between two groups.

“Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter,” chanted some of the more frenzied BLM operatives.

“All Lives Matter. All Lives Matter,” responded the Unmaskers.

“Maybe you are in the wrong place,” shouted one BLM protestor at one Unmasker, adding “Maybe I should kick your ass.”

“Maybe you’ll wind up on Youtube. Or in jail,” came the response.

The cops, apparently choosing sides, then firmly asked the Unmaskers leave and move two blocks north, which they did. That did not stop the bellowing BLM from taking a position at the end of the Plaza and screaming epithets like spoiled children.

One female BLM swung her fist at an older man waving an American flag. The police quickly moved in and tear-gassed her into a stupor, but she was not arrested or cited.

(According to a later Tweet sent by the Albuquerque Police Department, “Three armed individuals—one from the protesting group and two from the opposing group – were briefly detained after they refused to disarm. Guns are banned at Civic Plaza.”)

One person I interviewed, an Unmasker who was one of the ones cited, said he was legally carrying his pistol in a holster while at the edge of the Plaza when he was apprehended by APD and led away from the scene. The officers told him he would be cited for a misdemeanor and gave him a paper-sized citation.

The scene was best summed up by Kim F., who said of the Black Lives Matter miscreants:

“I kinda felt like they really didn’t care. We have to be (normal) people and just live okay, but they (the Left) are coming after everything.”


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


LUJAN GRISHAM BREAKS the LAW to ENFORCE her EDICTS

07/21/2020

The Pizza Inn in Carlsbad has refused to commit financial suicide by shutting down. So in retaliation, Grisham has her Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions issue an edict:

”New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions Extends Unemployment to all Pizza Inn Employees in Hobbs and Carlsbad Who Leave Employment Due to Safety Concerns.”

As a result, all employees of Pizza Inn restaurants in Hobbs and Carlsbad will be able to qualify for Unemployment benefits if they voluntarily leave their jobs over the next two weeks.

This of course violates existing New Mexico law which prevents workers from simply walking away from employment in order to get unemployment pay. All these workers have to do is go online or call the toll-free number, and say ”Bill McCamley sent me.”

McCamley, of course, is the unemployed guy from Las Cruces whom Grisham appointed cabinet Secretary for the unemployed.

What do you think?



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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 


What Would a Biden Administration Look Like? The St. Louis City Prosecutor is a harbinger of things to come.

07/20/2020

A Biden Administration? The St. Louis City Prosecutor is a harbinger of things to come.

If you wonder how life will change in a Biden Administration, the actions of the prosecutor in the City of St. Louis, Missouri serve as a great example: Rioters, or a mob—provided it is rioting or looting on behalf of a leftist cause, Democrats, BLM, Antifa—will have protection. Meanwhile, homeowners who seek to protect their own lives or property will be prosecuted.



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"Stand with Survivors"? #MeToo? #Hypocrisy? — Will all the Signers of a Famous New Mexico Letter Now Disavow Bill Richardson? Or Step Down from Their Elective Offices?

07/10/2020

On Tuesday, September 25, 2018, a group of wannabe #MeToo-ers, who wrote styling their prose as being "by New Mexico Democrats," published a scathing attack on Supreme Court nominee and on then-US Senate nominee, Republican Mick Rich.

They titled their condescending missive as "Mick Rich's Comments on Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford Show a Callous Disregard for Sexual Assault Survivors Everywhere."

Of course now we know that there is not a single shred of evidence to support a single allegation by Blasey Ford. She did put on a show, initially winning over lots of people with her testimony in which she adopted the voice and sound of a 6-year-old girl, not to mention all kinds of cheap and poorly performed histrionics that led one to believe she was waiting to be told when to do what by some off-stage parent or guardian.

But it has all fallen apart as not a single person—including close friends and even her own father—has been willing to back up anything she has said. In short, it was a repeat performance of the Anita Hill travesty in that it was orchestrated by Democrats and special interest groups willing to go to any lengths at all to stop a textualist (actually just someone who just reads the law rather than makes up stuff) from becoming a supreme court justice. 

Here is What the 65 Democrats Said Two Years Ago

"The reality is that our culture of rejecting sexual assault claims will continue as long as people who are in positions of power use their perches to first blame survivors, cast aspersions on their credibility and character, and minimize the trauma they have experienced.

"That’s why we take Rich’s comments as more than just hurtful and wrong. He used his platform to undermine survivors everywhere, and to remind those who have committed these acts that there are any number of excuses they can use to explain why their actions don’t count, and their crimes don’t matter.

"We ask that Mick Rich not just issue an apology, but to articulate that he understands the severity of his words, and that in the future he will support survivors rather than contributing to their silence. We believe that anything short of this disqualifies Mick Rich from representing the people of New Mexico."

We certainly hope Mr. Rich did not apologize. To our knowledge, he said nothing wrong. And nothing has ever come to light that even begins to corroborate any of Blasey Ford's statements, let alone support her evil and conscienceless accusations of an innocent man, motivated purely by the most cynical and amoral political prejudice.

So Here's Our Question

So now that public legal records reveal that Virginia Giuffre has testified that both the late Jeffrey Epstein and his socialite accomplice, the now-jailed Ghislaine Maxwell, directed her to have sex with former New Mexico Governor, and celebrity Democrat, Bill Richardson, here is our question:

Will the same 65 New Mexico Democrats sign a similar letter condemning Richardson? 

After all, the existing evidence regarding Richardson is obviously infinitely more compelling than the zero-evidence egg laid by wannabe 6-year-old Blasey Ford—who promptly went back to talking in a normal tone of voice when her "show" was over.

Here are the 65 New Mexico Democrat Wizards, Rocket Scientists, Masterminds, and Mental Giants 

This is how they signed their "sincere" letter concerning Kavanaugh and Mick Rich:

Signed by

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Democratic candidate for Governor
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver
Speaker Brian Egolf
Senate Majority Whip Mimi Stewart
Senator Howie Morales
Rep. Debbie Armstrong
Rep. Gail Chasey
Rep. Liz Thomson
Rep. Nathan Small
Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero
Rep. Javier Martinez
Rep. Angelica Rubio
Rep. Matthew McQueen
Bernalillo County Assessor Tanya Giddings
Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller
Former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid
Deb Haaland, Candidate N.M. Congressional District 1
Xochitl Torres Small, Candidate N.M. Congressional District 2
Brian Colon, Candidate for State Auditor
Joy Garratt, Candidate N.M. House 29
Abbas Ahkil, Candidate N.M. House 20
Andrea Romero, Candidate N.M. House 46
Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, Democratic candidate for Land Commissioner
Former U.S. Senator Fred Harris
Marg Elliston, Chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico
Joe Kabourek, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico
Dr. Ellen Bernstein, President, Albuquerque Teachers Federation
Kathy Chavez, AFT National Vice President; AFT NM Executive Vice President; President, Albuquerque Educational Assistants & Transportation Workers Association
Stephanie Ly, President, AFT New Mexico
Neri Holguin
Caroline Buerkle
Natasha Ning
Drew Setter
James Jimenez
Alicia Manzano
Felicia Salazar
Justine Freeman
Sharon Miner
Jessie Lane Hunt
Heather Brewer
Melanie Aranda
Rachael Lorenzo
Joan Lamunyon Sanford
Theresa Trujeque
Deanna Archuleta
Jennifer Ford
Oriana Sandoval
Amber Walin
Sarita Nair
Reena Szczepanski
Garrett VeneKlasen
Marsha Garcia
Anathea Chino
Marianna Anaya
Pamelya Herndon
Indigenous Women Rising
Southwest Women’s Law Center

AFSCME Council 18
Equality New Mexico
Brava Media New Mexico
New Mexico Asian Family Center
University of New Mexico College Democrats
New Mexico Federation of Labor


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


State Police Officers Stopping all Vehicles with Texas License Plates at Brantley Lake State Park. What is Going On in New Mexico?

07/07/2020

Over the 4th of July weekend, five New Mexico State Police officers were patrolling Brantley Lake State Park. The state park is located 12 miles north of Carlsbad.

Were they looking for suspects in recent crimes committed in Carlsbad or Eddy County?

All boating traffic was being stopped and inspected by state park personnel, but state police were taking extra measures.

All vehicles with Texas license plates (or any other of state license plate) were told they could not put their boat in the lake and were told to leave.

If by chance the driver had a New Mexico driver's license to show that he or she was a resident, that person may have been allowed to go into the lake.

One oilfield worker who has been living in Carlsbad since last year argued with the police, saying he had come to this lake nearly every week since March. After a long, somewhat heated argument, he was turned away, told he had to leave the park.

Several people went to nearby Champion Bay, which is part of the extended lake area, but not a part of the state park. However, New Mexico State Police officers or State Park Service personnel got on jet skis, and motored over to that part of the lake and made those folks leave too.

The governor's order requires 14-days of "quarantine" if you cross state lines. We are not sure if Governor Grisham, in her home in Santa Fe, is even remotely aware of how many people live on the Texas-New Mexico border and work in the oil fields on the New Mexico side. 

Is this good policy? We don't know, but we are just making you aware of what is going on.


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Shots Fired at the Oñate Statue in Albuquerque. We Show You the Video that the Mainstream Media Refuse to Show. BLM, Antifa, and Anti-Hispanic Vandals attack Innocent Man.

06/28/2020

What really happened at the statue of Juan de Oñate in the early evening of Monday, June 15?

The answer is that an innocent, lone man named Steven Baca was repeatedly assaulted, threatened, surrounded, and attacked by an out-of-control, violent mob of Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and rabid anti-Hispanic Heritage vandals. 

The mainstream media, including the New York Times (which showed an edited, false video) and even local Albuquerque media refuse to show what really happened. We will show you. Right here: https://youtu.be/Ufg46i4wTDc

The crowd consisted of between 75 and 100 rioters. Surrounding an attacking ONE man.

Finally, after they had shoved him to the ground and beaten him, one of them (possibly more) pulled a knife and lunged forward at Baca.

The crowd can clearly be heard shouting:

"He's a cop. (He isn't.) Get his license plate. Get the fuck out. Kill him. We'll fucking kill you."

Baca fired in self-defense, as is backed up by the police report written by the Albuquerque Police Department.

One of the bragging leaders of this wildness, and someone who claims credit for inciting young, immature youths, is none other than Moisés Gonzales, whom the University of New Mexico has apparently hired to be its representative "scholar."

Gonzales, who now styles himself "Moisés Brady," is a well-known cyberbully, who regularly doxes anyone who disagrees with him. One observer noted:

"The state police should investigate UNM associate professor Moises Gonzales and what he did to incite today’s violence over the Oñate statue. He has been stirring up young, impressionable kids & should be held responsible for the part he played in today’s altercation."

 

Mainstream Media, the Democrat Party, and Many Virtue-Signalling Airheads

Will Tell you the Shooting was NOT Justified. 

Yes, we have reached a level of lunacy in our nation right now. Over the past month, otherwise normal and previously intelligent people on social media are increasingly bragging about donating to Black Lives Matter and other domestic terrorist groups. 

The Democratic Party of New Mexico and all of their New Mexico elected officials are caught up in the "rage" and the lawlessness, justifying vandalism and riot at every turn.

Mayor Keller was reported to be "furious" with the contents of the APD report on the shooting and wanted the investigation turned over to the New Mexico State Police, supposedly because he believes they are "under the thumb" of Governor Lujan-Grisham, who is a strong advocate for both BLM, and Antifa.

It is unclear how the NMSP can "undo" the existing police report, however.

New Mexico Democrats are "Vendidos"

Grisham is what the Hispanic community calls a "vendido" (or in her case, "vendida") meaning she has sold out her heritage for the "30 pieces of silver" temptations and political rewards provided by the "progressives" and outsiders, mainly from the east and west coasts, who now dominate the Democratic Party of New Mexico.

They nominated her for governor. They persuaded a large majority of New Mexicans to elect her. Meanwhile the state is filled with "mansos."

Dozens of Hispanic elected officials are vendidos. And the overwhelming majority of those in the state legislature are complete sell-outs.

Outsider Democrats have taken over entire cities and locales—most famously the City of Santa Fe, which is now dominated by an adult migrant Anglo population, mainly from the east and west coasts. They have transformed almost every aspect of the life and culture of the city.

They elected an outsider mayor, Alan Webber, who has no regard for the state's history and is especially disdainful of the city and state's Hispanic heritage. Two years ago, he pressured a meek and cowed group of "Hispanic leaders" into abandoning century-old traditions surrounding the annual Fiestas de Santa Fe.

We don't really know which is more shameful, Webber's grotesque ignorance and condescending demands to discourage any celebration of Hispanic heritage or the so-called Hispanic community leaders' meek and child-like acquiescence to his pressure.

Neither they nor Webber will ever earn any kind of recognition similar to a "profile in courage."

Webber is now totally emboldened. He is essentially just like rioters and looters around the nation who are merely "watched" by the police. They can do as they please. And Webber can do as he pleases. 

Last week, he had the statue of Don Diego de Vargas hauled out of the Plaza. We expect all statuary to any Hispanic settler or leader to be gone soon. Perhaps he will bulldoze the Plaza. After all, the Spanish built it. Maybe he will stop the selling of "Indian jewelry." After all, the Indians learned the art of silversmithing from the Spanish.

Keller, who is only nominally New Mexican is also a leading vendido. He is following the same approach as Webber: If the populace is meek, ignorant, compliant, and shows no resistance to their new personally-imposed "culture," then both he and Webber and Grisham will transform the state into a BLM, Antifa paradise.

If New Mexicans remain complacent, the will wake up someday soon and our state will be completely California-ized. We can expect human feces on our streets and sidewalks.

And our community values will make us look like Massachusetts-West. If that is what the majority wants, well, then we deserve it.

But be forewarned. Realize that the recent assaults on religious liberty and the highly selective prosecutions of stores, gun shops, and only certain specifically picked-out, targeted restaurants and businesses will become the norm.

And New Mexicans will have allowed it to happen to themselves.

People are Showing Support for Steven Baca

We don't know Steven Baca. But we do believe in the right of self-defense. With Mayor Keller and Governor Grisham hyped up on BLM amphetamines, it is likely they will try to pressure authorities to harass him with some sort of trumped-up charges.

We have learned that a site has been set up to donate to his cause. It can be found here: https://fundly.com/stand-with-steven-baca


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 


Moises Gonzales, Fierce Opponent of Hispanics, Claims to be Native American, But he Isn't. He's Hispanic Himself. We live in Strange Times.

06/26/2020

On December 29, 2016, on the program, All Things Considered, Moises Gonzales told the National Public Radio audience that "The Spanish fantasy is a myth." What he forgot to tell his audience was that he, himself, is largely a myth.

UNM professor Moises Gonzales is the man leading the charge against any and all vestiges of Spanish or Mexican influence in New Mexico. He has allied himself with such entities as Black Lives Matter and Antifa. Whether, like them, he has actively encouraged violence against peaceful protesters we will address at another time. 

For now, we will just deal with his schtick—his claims to be all Native American, and to share the struggle with his fellow Indians, against the European oppressors. 

But Gonzales forgot to take down his Facebook posts from a few years back. In one of them, he posted this: A graphic showing that he is some 65% European. To be specific, he is 57% Western European and 8% Sephardic Diaspora, which is synonymous with Iberia, or Spain and Portugal. 

His "New World" roots—in DNA from North American natives—represent only 25% of his ancestry. 

He went on to ignore most of the information provided by whatever service he used. 

 

It's What You "Identify" As

Gonzales is playing the modern game of "identification." It goes something like this:

"Okay, I'm not a biological woman, but I IDENTIFY as a woman, and want to dress like a woman, and live and interact in society as a woman."

Instead of identifying based on gender, Gonzales is "identifying" based on ethnicity. But it doesn't make it so. 

A few years ago, we published a story of the 36-year old California man who "identified" as a 6-year old. He famously led his T-ball team to the league championship. 

The story was comical in that his teammates attempted to hoist him up on their shoulders in celebration after the championship game, but were unable to pick up the large 230-pound man. Along the way, the "self-identified" six-year-old absolutely shattered every league record.

With a 1.000 batting average, 52 home runs, and an incredible showing at first base, second base, shortstop, third base, and pitcher, the man is being called an inspiration to other six-year-olds everywhere.

He even enjoyed an orange slice and juice box with his teammates after the championship. 

The story, of course, is absurd. And complete fiction. Just like Gonzales' "identity."


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


For People Tempted to Virtue-Signal: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT 60-SECOND VIDEO: For Normally Intelligent People Who End up Giving Money to Black Lives Matter

06/25/2020

Because of the invisible social pressures of social media, we have a number of people, who clinically present as conservatives or even Republicans, who are, sadly, caught up in virtue-signaling—and end up actually advertising about supporting BLM, or even donating to BLM, or other groups.

Video: https://bit.ly/30BwFBk

This reflects their transition into “people” rather than remaining a “person.” It is indicative of a lack of confidence in their own capacity for discernment. But worse, it’s a plea for others to see them in a certain light—a light they believe (because of the strong influence of both media and social media) to be reflective of some higher virtue that they want others to perceive in them. But it isn’t true.

They have ceased to be individual persons, reasoning through what is logical, illogical, factual, and false, and trying to come to a common-sense conclusion. Instead, they have transitioned into “people” and are being swept along by what is essentially a “virtual” mob.

We live in strange times. God save America!


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Black Lives Matter Vandalizes Statue of the Founder of the Democratic Party; We find Ourselves Torn on this Issue

06/24/2020

Guest Editorial Column by the Editor Emeritus, Former State Senator Rod Adair

So Black Lives Matter has decided to attack a statue of the very Founder of the Democratic Party, Andrew Jackson. In a certain sense, it is somewhat comically ironic. Ironic in that the very political party that supports BLM and ANTIFA might have its founder attacked, with attempts to pull down the monument, à la US forces v. Sadam Hussein, circa 2003.

Yes, of course, they are ignorant. We know that. Otherwise, they would not be trying to destroy the country by means of riot, violence, and vandalism. What is puzzling is why a major US political party sides with them. Especially the party whose Founder their allied groups are trying to wipe out of history. 

These are amazing times. And it is not just the Democrats who puzzle us. Every day we read posts by formerly intelligent people, independents and even Republicans, proudly announcing their support—even bragging about giving money to Black Lives Matter. 

This is what even the lefty pundit Andrew Sullivan makes fun of, saying:

"These white liberals are in a WOKE-OFF to prove their own virtue, an intra-elite competition to impress their peers." 

Exactly. Only it isn't only "liberals." Largely, we believe, because of Facebook many conservatives or people who have at least considered themselves conservatives (some even libertarians) are engaged in barefaced Woke-off contests, trying to prove to their neighbors, friends, and followers just how concerned they are about "justice."

They appear to be very very unsure of their actual virtue, because they feel they have to "prove" it by uttering inanities about BLM, bragging about donations to them, and advancing all kinds of incongruent arguments.

"A PERSON IS SMART, BUT PEOPLE ARE DUMB" — The Social Media Connection

About a decade ago in the popular movie Men in Black, the lead character told his assistant he was training, "A person is smart, but people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

What does this mean? It means that if left alone, to think, to reflect, to truly contemplate what is right, wrong, true, false, what makes sense, and what is illogical, most individual persons—without interference from the news media, or especially now, from SOCIAL MEDIA—will stumble through the reasoning process (as we all do from time to time) and get it right.

But that's not the society we live in any longer. 

With the advance, takeover really, of social media, perhaps especially with Facebook (though Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and other platforms have their influence), the "person" is almost disappearing. We are a nation now not of persons, but of people.

In an atmosphere in which an individual—formerly perhaps an independent thinker—is surrounded by hordes of people, he or she increasingly loses himself or herself. The individual, personally-developed thought process tends to give way to the expectations of "people."

In our view, it is almost certainly unconscious, perhaps subconscious, and certainly not—at least not initially—willful. One begins to "perform" for the people by emoting, rather than consciously trying to hew to an intellectually grounded approach to social discourse and political or societal intercourse.

Admittedly, intellects may vary. But it really doesn't matter. Even persons of modest ability will do much better left to their own reasoning than they will do when they become aware of the social pressures of saying the "right thing," or reflecting what they believe the people believe or want to hear.

Then comes the feedback, and the piggybacking of comments to assure someone that a reader of their posts is just as "caring" or, nowadays, unfortunately, "woke" —which has seized the initiative in the current era. 

In Any Case, We Are Torn—Andrew Jackson?

Sure part of us says, "Okay, take it down, you morons, you have no idea that you're tearing down the Founder of the Party that is your only hope in American elections.

Until the late 1930s, the Democrats' principal fundraising tool was called the "Jackson Day Dinner." It was the counterpart of the Lincoln Day Dinner Republicans have long used to raise campaign funds. 

In the late 30s, Franklin Roosevelt made a concerted effort to claim Thomas Jefferson as the founder of the Democrat Party. It isn't correct, but he had probably become disenchanted with Jackson's image. Who knows? In any case, since then the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner has become the staple of the various state and local Democratic Party fundraising efforts. Just as the Lincoln Days remain for the GOP.

So as much as it is tempting to laugh at the foolishness and not object, it probably isn't wise. History is there for us to learn from. It isn't for us to erase. In reality, that is what Stalin did. That is what George Orwell wrote about. His book, 1984, is replete with ministries in the central government of the story that do little else other than change "history," in fact simply eliminating entire historical figures as well as erasing everything about entire epochs that the central government doesn't want to be known. 

This is where we are. We can't really support the iconoclasm of the modern Left. We just can't. But well-meaning people, caught up in the pressures of Facebook and social media PC should really think twice about "supporting" BLM or ANTIFA, let alone donating to them, so as to appear "woke."


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


BUBBA WALLACE “NOOSE” = TOTAL HOAX; NASCAR DRIVERS, OFFICIALS, and MANY OTHERS MAKE TOTAL FOOLS of THEMSELVES

06/23/2020

The initial Bubba Wallace "noose" story broke Sunday night, June 21st, with multiple reports describing a noose as having been found in the racing garage stall of Wallace and Richard Petty Motorsports. 

Everyone went wild, with no one actually taking a photo of the alleged "noose" or following up for any corroboration. NASCAR went wild, reporting the "incident" as a "hate crime."

Fellow race car drivers flooded the area, trying to out-woke each other with concern over the incredible depth of "racism" in America. 

THE FBI ARRIVES on the SCENE—with FIFTEEN (15) AGENTS

  • In no time at all, they found the "noose." It turned out to be approximately one inch in diameter with a length of about two inches. It would be a struggle to get a mouse's head inside this alleged noose.
Think about it, there are scores of riots and vandalism attacks being carried out all over the country by Black Lives Matter and Antifa. Police and the FBI are standing by and watching, allowing wanton destruction of private and public property.
 
Yet the FBI sends 15 agents to Talladega, Alabama, to look at a "noose" the size of a walnut. And people wonder why the American people have lost faith in the FBI. It isn't just the lying about "Russia," and all of the scandalous crimes conducted by the upper echelons of the FBI (which will hopefully be exposed in an upcoming report), it is about sheer unadulterated unwillingness to fight actual crime in America. 
 
It is about incompetence, combined with corruption. 
 
MUCH ADO ABOUT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
 
Yesterday’s FBI report ended the federal investigation and concluded the rope in question served a "functional purpose." Yeah, like the kind of loop you find at the end of millions of small ropes on millions of garage doors all over the country. They also found that it was not put in place last weekend as a hate crime or as a threat to Wallace’s safety in the wake of the nation’s ongoing racial strife.
 
Images indicate the same rope was in place, serving the same purpose last year.
 
HOAX AFTER HOAX AFTER HOAX BY THE AMERICAN LEFT
 
By our count this latest scam is something like the 1,287th time America has been treated to a hoax that is aimed at attacking Republicans or conservatives, trying to damage them with voters.

Between 2015 and 2018, there were six extremely high-profile “hate crimes” involving nooses. Every single one of them turned out to be a hoax. But not before every single morning show and every single news media outlet went crazy—as celebrities and pundits fell all over themselves in efforts to appear to be “woke.” This is yet another—and this doesn’t even count the ultra-absurd Jussie Smollet incident.

With the NASCAR thing, we suspected hoax from the very beginning, as the story didn’t seem to add up. Nonetheless, drivers and retired drivers and all kinds of folks made total fools of themselves in overt efforts to show their “wokeness.”

KEEP YOUR EYE on SANTA FE

On that note, the latest Santa Fe, New Mexico story, the attack on the India Palace restaurant—which was unquestionably a senseless act of vandalism, was probably done by Leftists in an effort to harm Republicans. (After all, this is what they’ve done over and over again.)

Let’s wait and see how good a job the Santa Fe Police Department does with this, but our money is on it having been carried out as a stupidly misguided effort by the “Woke” crowd to try to disparage Republicans. We could be totally wrong, but that’s where our wager lies.

Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace looks an awful lot like Jussie Smollet. Not nearly as bad, but it looks as though he was trying to play a similar game.


Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions, and ideas.


Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


The CHINA Question: BIDEN v. TRUMP — A Vast Difference

06/21/2020

Which Candidate Should Earn Your Vote?

On China, Biden represents the Obama “Devil May Care” approach which won him support on Wall Street and at major universities. Trump is the first president not only to recognize the long-term threat, but to be willing to buck big business and big academia.

The Chinese recognize that America leads the world because—among other reasons—we have led in advancements in technology. China wants to be the new leader of the world. So they have engaged in a massive, comprehensive program of intellectual and technological theft—stealing our secrets with impunity.

The American business community as well as the American Academy have been complicit in the theft of US intellectual property for short-term gains in financing, endowments, and grants.

These are not the business leaders and university leaders of the World War II generation, who looked to the long-term future of their grandchildren and beyond. But rather, as Democrats show everyday, they are part of a series of generations that believe that patriotism is a joke. They wash their hands of any kind of long-term thinking and concern for where we may stand in the world 15-20 years from now.

This is not just about weapons systems that will be vital to national security, it is also about agriculture, medicine, robotics, and the full gamut of technological innovation—all of which are also vital.

THE DECISION

If you believe that China should be allowed to continue to steal from America, then your choice must be Biden. That is a continuation of the policies of Obama—of greedy CEO’s and money managers focused only on short-term share prices. And also of academic leaders looking only for research dollars—not caring that the research is to benefit China.

But if you are in any way concerned about China’s thefts and their determination to overtake the West, both technologically and militarily, then your vote must go to Trump. He’s the only candidate to even admit the threat exists and he’s definitely the only one committed to fight it.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


They Shouted "We're Gonna Kill You! And "Kill Him!" At One Peaceful Protester, Surrounded by 75 Thugs. The Shooting (entirely in Self-defense) in Response to Violent Antifa, BLM, and Anti-Hispanic Heritage Rioters and Thugs. Young, Impressionable Protesters Egged on by Moisés Gonzales of UNM? It has been Reported that That is the Case.

06/20/2020

Local media, the New York Times, and other national media, will not report the truth about the violence at the Oñate statue on Monday, June 15. We will. Other media have edited or refused to show the actual moments leading up to the shooting. It doesn't fit their agenda. We will show it.

Here: https://youtu.be/Ufg46i4wTDc

We are showing all the video of the attack on a lone, innocent man, Steven Baca. Baca showed up at the statue of Don Juan de Oñate, with perhaps only one other pro-Hispanic Heritage attendee, praying quietly.

In the course of events, Baca was surrounded by thugs, was continuously assaulted and threatened by a violent mob of Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and anti-Hispanic Heritage rioters and vandals. 

The man continuously bragging about organizing and inciting innocent young minds is Moisés Gonzales who supposedly is some kind of professor at the University of New Mexico.

While the Mayor of Albuquerque, Tim Keller, had his police do nothing to protect innocent people—they were all "holed up" a long way from the site, either unwilling or unable (reports vary) to do anything.

The mayor was shamelessly plotting his own personally-engendered plans for official vandalism—the tearing down and removing of a work of art with no legal basis, no authorization by any public body, and no vote and no voice for the people.

The crowd is heard shouting:

"He's a cop. Get him. Get his license plate. Get the fuck out. We're gonna fucking kill you. Kill him."

They attack him, start beating him while he's on the ground. Then one of the thugs comes at him with a knife.

The mainstream media, and the Democrat Party, and many other people caught up in the practice of thoughtless, mindless attantion-seeking and virtue-signaling, will tell you that an innocent peaceful demonstrator was shot for no reason. They will post messages about donating to Black Lives Matter to show that they are "woke."

New Mexico Political Journal will not go along with the crowd, or with the mob. 

America, New Mexico, Albuquerque, and our communities have had enough of this. Political leaders thus far have lacked the courage or the will to do anything. Albuquerque Mayor Keller and Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber are part of the problem. Not the solution.

They are, in essence, BLM, Antifa, and anti-Hispanic Heritage mobsters themselves. 

Webber has had the statue of Don Diego de Vargas removed from the Plaza. This, after he pressured local Hispanic leaders to put an end to a century-old tradition of the Entrada, and curtail the Fiesta. We don't know which is more shameful, his ignorant, outsider, condescending attitude toward New Mexico's Hispanic community and their history, or the acquiescence of Hispanic community leaders in meekly surrendering to his pressure.

Neither is worthy of a "profile in courage."

As has been prophesied, all of this will continue as long as these domestic terrorists remain unopposed and the people take no stand. As long as the rioters, looters, and vandals are rewarded they will continue to up the ante, tearing down more and more of our cities and streets. 

If our state lets this happen—and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is a certified Kellerista and Webberista, so she is also in league with domestic terrorists—we will wake up someday and find ourselves the cultural and community values equivalent of California or Massachusetts-West. 

Next, our cities will be covered in human feces. Shootings and lootings will be the norm. And, who knows? Maybe these thugs will take over part of Albuquerque and we can have our own little Seattle-inspired separate "no-go zone."

God Save New Mexico and the United States of America!


 

 

 

 

 


A State Senator Rats Out his Constituents. Has New Mexico Government Created a Political Climate in Which the Expected Norm Will Have Neighbors "Surveilling" Each Other? Has Lujan-Grisham Created a Snitch Culture? Jealous Businesses Encouraged to Report Competitors to "The Authorities"

06/14/2020

It's one thing for a business owner to try to direct state government agencies to come down hard on a competitor, but for elected officials to sic the dogs on constituents? Well, that seems pretty intense.

Nonetheless, that's what State Senator Bill Soules of Las Cruces is doing to his voters. And he's not only ratting out businesses in his hometown, he's doing it to folks in his own senate district. Soules really has it in for guns, gun owners, and gun shops in particular.

Here's the email he sent to Teasha Roybal of the Department of Public Safety:

"Miller Guns and Ammo on North Telshor in Las Cruces appears to be in open violation of the state orders. There are cars there every day...Gun stores are not deemed to be essential..."

This is not surprising in that Soules either does not respond to questionnaires from groups like the National Rifle Association, or when he does he gets fairly low ratings.

Soules has also ranks number one (or at least tied for #1) in the State Senate in contributions from groups that are either anti-gun or pro-gun control.

He supports all Red Flag legislation, background checks, even for individual sales to family members, and essentially all restrictions that are proposed.

Of Course, That's NOT Really the Point

Certainly, Senator Soules has every right to vote his conscience and his philosophy. That's not what we are picking up on. 

More important in this environment of state-encouraged snitchery and ratting out, what catches our eye are the choices that citizens make—and the organizations that politicians decide to report.

In other words, there are hundreds of businesses in Las Cruces and Doña Ana County. And there are scores and scores that were not precisely complying with the governor's orders.

But how many did Senator Soules turn in? And which one did he pick on? Was it health-related? Food-related? Did any of the social distancing violations that other people spied catch Soules' eye? Did he care?

Apparently not. Just the gun store.

What does that say about the uniform and non-discriminatory application of the law? Do we just attack those businesses that annoy us? While all others doing the same thing don't bother New Mexico state government officials?

Those are questions worth asking.

Are the Governor's Agents Really Applying her Orders Fairly?

Or in an Unconstitutional, Arbitrary, and Capricious Manner?

We have noticed that some entities have been cited for violations. But others have been levied staggering fines. While others—such as the Lujan-Grisham's own jewelry store—have been caught red-handed in violation of the orders, but received no notice whatsoever.

In at least a couple of cases where the state has come down hard, the entities being fined and threatened with having their licenses revoked, happen to be businesses whose owners criticized the orders and criticized the capricious manner in which they were being enforced.

Is this what we really need a state government to do? Are Lujan-Grisham and Senator Soules about equal protection of the laws? Or are they about using the coercive power of government to zero in on those whose political views they dislike?

Think about it.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Governor Grisham Appoints Avowed Racist to Advise her on Racism. It's the "Ugly Truth" says Lujan-Grisham. We Agree: The Governor Herself is Doing the Racial Profiling. Media invokes New Mexico's 2009 "Racial Profiling" Act.

06/06/2020

New Mexico's mercurial Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, has announced that she wants to address the “ugly truth” of racism, that she claims is embedded in core institutions. 

So she says she is going to create something called a "Racial Justice Czar." This czar will supervise a "Racial Justice Council" and that panel will identify "potential policy changes." (Most people are probably left betting that those will be doozies.)

So who does Grisham turn to—to fix New Mexico's alleged "racial" problems? None other than perhaps the most famous racist in New Mexico—State Representative Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Albuquerque). 

News reports indicated, "the council's make-up is still being finalized," but one thing for certain is that among its members will be the, apparently indispensable, House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton, D-Albuquerque.

With the choice of Stapleton, it's pretty clear that Grisham herself is engaged in racial profiling. After all, she's certainly not choosing her because of her intellect or character, but only because she's black.

Stapleton and "The "Mexican on the Fourth Floor"

In late 2011, Representative Stapleton got really steamed at Republican State Rep. Nora Espinoza, R-Roswell, who questioned Stapleton's double-dipping. Stapleton was (and still is) being paid legislative per diem while in Santa Fe AND simultaneously being paid by Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) for working on exactly the same days. 

APS has long been a famous bastion of flakiness on myriad levels, with its top-heavy administration, scores of extra staff, hired lobbyists, and public relations and media spokespersons ALL on the payroll for education.

So to compound things, under then-superintendent Winston Brooks, APS actually made it approved "policy" for Stapleton to double-dip. (And you wonder why people have chosen so many charter schools and private schools in Albuquerque?)

In any case, Stapleton flew into a rage and hollered at Espinoza at least three times for everyone to hear:

"You’re carrying the water for the Mexican on the Fourth Floor!"

Stapleton was referring to then-Governor Susana Martinez, who had acknowledged that her parents were Mexican-American. 

Stapleton was widely criticized for the racist outburst, and the House Democrats subsequently deposed her as Majority Whip, replacing her with Albuquerque Representative Antonio Moe Maestas.

(Though it has to be said that the semi-tone-deaf Democrat Caucus allowed Stapleton to make a roaring comeback and installed her as Majority Whip once again in 2017.)

As a comical aside in the entire furor, both Stapleton and her then-sidekick, State Rep. Mimi Stewart both pled innocent to the very idea that angrily referring to Governor Martinez as "that Mexican on the fourth floor" was anything other than polite routine speech.

And both Stewart and Stapleton comically (though almost certainly insincerely) invoked what might be called the George Costanza* defense:

"Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I tell you, I gotta plead ignorance on this thing, because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing is frowned upon... you know, cause I've worked in a lot of offices, and I tell you, people do that all the time."

Stapleton at First Claimed She "Had no Idea" She had Made a Derogatory Comment

Stapleton's "Costanza" approach consisted of saying she "did not mean the remark in a derogatory way or as an ethnic slur." Going on to say "I would never say anything derogatory,” as she apologized "If I offended anyone." (Using the modern-day "apology" style of putting the burden on the offended, rather than having the offender (Stapleton) take responsibility.)

Stapleton then went the extra mile, so to speak, by making the bizarre, Elizabeth Warren-like claim, that she considers herself "at least partly Latina." [NOTE: She is actually from the US Virgin Islands and speaks a kind of broken Spanish, which she sometimes invokes as she insists on shrieking off-key renditions of birthday songs on the floor of the House, which both horrifies and victimizes her colleagues in both parties.]

Later, Stewart weighed in—speaking as someone who was also simultaneously in a teaching position while attending legislative sessions. Stewart, who is from Massachusetts, said she "did not think Stapleton meant the remark about the governor to be an ethnic slur."

Both Stewart and Stapleton are said to be huge fans of George Costanza.

Stapleton Apology Seems to Contradict both Herself and Mimi "Costanza" Stewart

But later, Stapleton admitted she was lying when she had previously claimed that she had no idea she had said anything in an offensive way. Admitting, as her voice began to break:

"I lost it, ladies and gentlemen. I expect more of myself. This is not my character."

As Stapleton's remarks were reverberating throughout this Hispanic-plurality state, she followed up with a more thorough apology:

“I am publicly making an apology to the governor of the state of New Mexico, I am publicly making an apology to my district and I am publicly making an apology to the people of New Mexico as an elected official."

This, of course, left her buddy Mimi Stewart alone by herself, twisting slowly in the wind, in the embarrassing position of continuing to own the obviously false claim (as long as Stapleton claimed it) that there was no offense at all, all in good fun, nothing to see here.

Stewart was not warned by Stapleton that she was about to leave her alone, claiming the ridiculous.

Grisham Obviously Used Racial Profiling in Selecting Stapleton

Stapleton made the excuse that "I was under extreme stress." 

Well, maybe so. But this raises the question: Can the governor find no one else in the entire state for this expert panel who does not fold under pressure and stress and whose first instincts when excited or stressed is to blurt out ethnic or racial slurs? 

After all, this panel of authorities will be charged with defining, finding, identifying, and rooting out racism. It appears that Grisham is using the lamest approach, effectively telling New Mexicans: "I chose Sheryl because it takes one to know one."

And of course, all of this begs the embarrassing question: Just how many black leaders does the governor know? Apparently, very, very few. Almost none. A few political cronies. No one else. For panels like this, shouldn't she be looking for leaders? People of unimpeachable character? The right stuff? 

And the Governor's answer to all these questions is Stapleton? 

All this while the governor goes on to intone:

"We have a tendency to wrap ourselves in that particular cloak and pretend sometimes that we don’t have the kind of inequalities, institutional racism and hatred that exists.” 

“We have institutional racism embedded in every construct in American society. The fact you might not see it every day means you’re not looking for it every day. It exists.”

We can argue about whether any of that is true or not (neither the governor nor anyone else gave any examples for New Mexico) but just saying those things with a straight face, while simultaneously deciding that Stapleton is the judge and jury on these questions is nothing short of bizarre.

What this means is that Grisham used the most barefaced and obvious racial profiling, completely ignoring character, intellect, and articulation of issues, and shamelessly choosing based on race alone. The very thing she claims to oppose.

2009 Bill Prohibition of Profiling Act

New Mexico already has a 2009 law that allegedly bans "racial profiling." This bill purported to prohibit the used of certain information in the identification of criminal suspects based on descriptions that might include race, ethnicity, color, national origin, language, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religion, physical or mental disability or serious medical condition

That bill passed the New Mexico House of Representatives, without a whimper, by a vote of 62-0. But when it arrived in the State Senate, its sponsors faced some questions from senators, including then-Senator Rod Adair (R-Roswell):

Is it racial profiling to identify suspects or subjects of investigations based on testimony from witnesses or cameras, which might include descriptions of skin color, or guessed ethnicity, or gender, or if someone might have been on crutches, or had spoken a foreign language?

The sponsors couldn't answer.

Are there any data or studies of any kind to show that new Mexico law enforcement are engaged in racial profiling?

The sponsors had neither.

What if a Hispanic state police officer from Albuquerque tells a Hispanic deputy sheriff in Deming that he believes a suspect is Hispanic, female, about 5' 4" tall, 125 lbs, and that she had black/brown hair and brown eyes? Is that profiling?

Confused answers. Much debate and arguing ensued. 

Are we just copying some things being done in other states right now, especially back East?

Sponsors admitted that other states were passing similar bills.

The bill ended up passing the Senate, 32-10. In addition to having Adair vote "No," others voting No included Vernon Asbill of Carlsbad, Sue Wilson Beffort, Mark Boitano, Kent Cravens, William Payne, and John Ryan, all from Albuquerque, Dianna Duran from Tularosa, Stuart Ingle of Portales, and William Sharer of Farmington. 

The remaining five Republicans joined 27 Democrats in voting in favor of the bill.

Governor Grisham Statements and Nationwide Hysteria Aren't Justified by Actual Data

Grisham expressed regret this past week for having taken an aggressive approach to combating violent crime, particularly when she decided to send 50 State Police officers to patrol certain areas of Albuquerque last year.

The two-month “Metro Surge Operation” cost about $1 million. It resulted in 14,674 traffic stops and netted 738 arrests—the majority of which were for felony or misdemeanor warrants. The governor said Thursday that such decisions would be viewed through a different lens going forward.

“It is a public health emergency and New Mexico will treat it as such,” Lujan Grisham said.

But the data don't support all this regret and Nationwide Angst 

Statistics compiled by Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute reveal the following:

  • In 2019 police officers fatally shot 1,004 people, most of whom were armed or otherwise dangerous. African-Americans were about a quarter of those killed by cops last year (235), a ratio that has remained stable since 2015.
  • That share of black victims is less than what the black crime rate would predict, since police shootings are a function of how often officers encounter armed and violent suspects.
  • In 2018, the latest year for which such data have been published, African-Americans made up 53% of known homicide offenders in the U.S. and commit about 60% of robberies, though they are 13% of the population. 
  • The police fatally shot nine unarmed blacks and 19 unarmed whites in 2019, according to a Washington Post database, down from 38 and 32, respectively, in 2015. (It must be noted that the Post defines “unarmed” broadly and loosely, counting as "unarmed" a suspect in Newark, NJ, who had a loaded handgun in his car during a police chase.)
  • In 2018 there were 7,407 black homicide victims. Assuming a comparable number of victims last year, those nine unarmed black victims of police shootings represent 0.1% of all African-Americans killed in 2019.
  • By contrast, a police officer is 18½ times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is to be killed by a police officer. 
  • On Memorial Day weekend in Chicago alone, 10 African-Americans were killed in drive-by shootings.
  • Such routine violence has continued—a 72-year-old black Chicago man shot in the face on May 29 by a gunman who fired about a dozen shots into a residence
  • Two black 19-year-old women on the South Side shot to death as they sat in a parked car a few hours earlier
  • A black 16-year-old boy fatally stabbed with his own knife that same day.
  • This past weekend, 80 Chicagoans were shot in drive-by shootings, 21 fatally, the victims overwhelmingly black.
  • Police shootings are not the reason that blacks die of homicide at eight times the rate of whites and Hispanics combined; criminal violence is. 

MacDonald went on to note:

The latest in a series of studies undercutting the claim of systemic police bias was published in August 2019 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers found that the more frequently officers encounter violent suspects from any given racial group, the greater the chance that a member of that group will be fatally shot by a police officer.

There is “no significant evidence of anti-black disparity in the likelihood of being fatally shot by police,” they concluded. 

A 2015 Justice Department analysis of the Philadelphia Police Department found that white police officers were less likely than black or Hispanic officers to shoot unarmed black suspects. Research by Harvard economist Roland G. Fryer Jr. also found no evidence of racial discrimination in shootings. Any evidence to the contrary fails to take into account crime rates and civilian behavior before and during interactions with police.

The false narrative of systemic police bias resulted in targeted killings of officers during the Obama presidency. The pattern may be repeating itself. Officers are being assaulted and shot at while they try to arrest gun suspects or respond to the growing riots.

Police precincts and courthouses have been destroyed with impunity, which will encourage more civilization-destroying violence. If the Ferguson effect of officers backing off law enforcement in minority neighborhoods is reborn as the Minneapolis effect, the thousands of law-abiding African-Americans who depend on the police for basic safety will once again be the victims. 

The Minneapolis officers who arrested George Floyd must be held accountable for their excessive use of force and callous indifference to his distress. Police training needs to double down on de-escalation tactics. But Floyd’s death should not undermine the legitimacy of American law enforcement, without which we will continue on a path toward chaos. 


*Costanza is a character on TV's Seinfeld. He used this "defense" while in the process of being fired by his boss for having had sexual intercourse with the cleaning woman on the desk in his office. 


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


ALONE AGAIN, NATURALLY... (apologies to Gilbert O'Sullivan) Drew Brees' Brains Beaten out. All remaining matter caves in.

06/04/2020
A guest editorial by the Editor Emeritus, former State Senator Rod Adair
 
As I survey the unanimous opinion of the American people, I once again find myself, apparently, all alone. Everyone else apparently agrees that Brees' views of the now four-year-old "Kaepernick incident" were "racist" or somehow "wrong." Yet here I am reading Brees' words, and finding them, at the very worst innocuous, and at best actually commendable and accurate.
 
However, the state of our nation is such today, that an absurdly opinionated and extremely aggressive "news" media, accompanied by a range of athletes, celebrities, and virtue-signaling commentators, can absolutely bully the living hell out of anyone into submission. To cave in—to the designated, required point of view. There is an element of social and rhetorical fascism in all of this: Conform—or we will destroy you. The fact that this mob mentality-driven "thought coercion" scares no one, scares me to some extent.
 
EVEN INTELLIGENT AMERICANS HAVE FALLEN FOR THIS
(Almost certainly due to unconscious pressures to signal virtue.)
 
It is lost on everyone that those who argue (somewhat ignorantly) that Kaepernickism is "free speech" (like, who on earth doesn't know that already?) completely ignore the obvious fact that Drew Brees has the same right. (But it isn't a matter of "free speech" at all—everyone knows everyone has that right.)
 
Lost (on even intelligent Americans) is that we are moving into forced beliefs—viewpoints and opinions with which you MUST agree, or else. How can people not see the danger in this?
 
So all of this leaves me feeling like the guy in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Except I'm not surrounded alien creatures from outer space, but by fellow Americans who have no concept, or do perhaps have an alien concept, of what our nation is about. I'm surrounded by mindless conforming, cowed, forced virtue-signallers everywhere. Most aren't even reflective enough to think about what they are conforming to. It is very discouraging.
 
NEWS FLASH: Kaepernick did NOT do something 3½ years ago which was somehow "profound" or "thought-provoking" or somehow "deep" and "moving." And he didn't do anything inspired by deep feelings about civil rights, or black lives.
 
Here's what he did:
  • He sat down during a civic ritual—the National Anthem
  • He had never done this BEFORE he was benched and not playing, and becoming very unhappy as a 49er. Never.
  • True, he said it was for deep "civil rights" convictions/beliefs
  • Again, he had never uttered such things before
  • He's gone on to object to the flag because he says it represents "slavery" (this is also a recent discovery on his part)
Millions of Americans swooned. Oh my gosh, let's interrupt all ball games or ceremonies so that "Black Lives Matter" can have their two minutes of hate. Riots, looting, assault, are not enough. We must invade and take over public rituals.
 
How stupid are the American people? How conforming are they becoming? How gullible are they?
 
IF It's MERELY A CIVIC RITUAL that MEANS NOTHING? LET'S GET RID of IT.
 
The National Anthem is only 89 years old. It's not like George Washingon invented it or anything (and if he had, the Kaepernick-influenced Americans would tell us to junk it because GW had slaves). The Pledge of Allegiance is only 78 years old.
 
These are only two of a number of events that are essentially merely rituals that—for whatever reason—many Americans feel are important. It is absurd to present the idea that the National Anthem authoritatively asserts, forthrightly states, gingerly signals, or even somehow remotely implies that the United States of America has achieved perfection or nirvana in our public policy or social interaction.
 
The notion that we must kneel rather than stand and salute because we aren't perfect is a ridiculous idea. But it is a measure of our massive national ignorance that this concept is embraced.
 
These ceremonies aren't "required" and we don't have to have them. And if most Americans who have made a profession of faith in the new religion called Kaepernickism believe those moments of civic unity should be invaded and co-opted every time they are observed, so that individuals—whether disgruntled athletes, or anyone else with a personal grievance—can make a self-centered show of "what's-in-this-event-for me," then we really do need to scrap all of these events.
 
If the majority of Americans believe, like Kaepernick and his millions of fans—that he has a point: That NO ONE should stand until all injustice is erased from the continent, then we must get rid of these civic rituals. Entirely. This is because our civic ceremonies—rituals that are supposed to unite our people behind the American Experiment, which is a quest for the very best we can achieve—will never ever be affirmations of perfection.
 
Yes, there will always be some injustice somewhere. And if Kaepernicksim is truly a public good, and is right in its cause, and is correct in its invocation, then we should do Kaepernickism every single time we get together
 
If it is right, and good, and correct, we shouldn't just do it for one person, or for one person's personal grievances. We have to commit our nation to interrupt or deface or defile every single ritual. Otherwise, we aren't being consistent. We are recognizing only some grievances but not all, and that would not be "fair."
 
If it is right and good and correct, it should be promoted and carried on in every Middlesex village and farm.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


The PRESIDENT, the DEMOCRATS, and the ARMY. What is true?

06/02/2020

[A guest editorial, by Editor Emeritus, former State Senator Rod Adair]

A few observations:

Can the President use the Army to enforce the law and to quell riot and violence, and to protect lives and property?

Answer: YES. This is not even remotely debatable. (The Democrats and media are lying about this.)

Do the Democrats have a history of disobeying the law and of either encouraging lawlessness and riot, or praising it when it happens?

Answer. YES. Not only do they have that record, it is a long, ugly, and infamous record—which history will never erase—to the permanent, indelible shame of the Democrat Party.

It's Not Just About History—they Still do it Today—Though it is Also about Their History

It is not just a case of the Democrats’ notorious invention of and embrace of and support of and use of the Ku Klux Klan in the period from 1865 to 1925, though all of that shame belongs to that party. Forever.

It goes well beyond that. Even in my lifetime, Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower had to call in the United States Army to protect life and property and the lives of little black children who were being threatened by a Democrat governor in Arkansas.

Similar use of military force had to be applied to Democrat governors repeatedly throughout the 1960s.

The Democrats have never really abandoned these approaches to picking and choosing who will be protected and who will not. Just in the last couple of years, several Democrat mayors—most infamously perhaps????, the mayor of Portland, Oregon—ordered police not to protect Republican or conservative demonstrators who were were being beaten senseless by Democrat, Antifa, and BLM rioters, and thugs.

Trump has enormous numbers of flaws including inarticulateness. We cannot dispute that. However the Democrats have greater flaws in their selective application of the law and the refusal to have everyone enjoy the equal protection of the law.

If you stop and think about it, the selective enforcement of the law—which is what the Democrats advocate—is something which thoroughly undermines our entire system of government. It is vastly more dangerous than anything Trump has ever said or done. There is no comparison.?

The Democrats have never embraced the 14th amendment, which they unanimously opposed in 1868, and which they still oppose today.



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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Republican Senate Primary Has Turned Ultra Interesting: RPNM Elites Appear to Pour it On for Elisa Martinez and Clarkson

06/01/2020

The three-way Republican US Senate primary promises to be an interesting race to watch Tuesday night.  Supporters of Gavin Clarkson and Elisa Martinez are claiming that the race is very tight and say it will provide the surprise of the night. 

We don’t necessarily agree with that analysis, but we can't help but notice that there have been developments worth reporting.

In early April, Mark Ronchetti released a survey, which we wrote about, that showed him with a strong lead over the other candidates. However, on April 27th, a video surfaced in which Ronchetti was shown jokingly referring to President Trump as "the orange one.” This video was from some time back when he was still working for KRQE-TV, where he served as its chief meteorologist for many years.

Ronchetti's opponents pounced. Gavin Clarkson notified this publication and had a YouTube video up within hours, followed by TV ads.  

Ronchetti Situation became Similar to the Herrell-Chase Argument: Who Likes Trump? 

Clarkson was the first to put a television attack ad together on the subject, and then Martinez followed suit. With the Ronchetti video surfacing five full weeks ago, Ronchetti's opponents have had tons of time to drive home their negative message. And they have.

To be fair to Ronchetti, since he entered the senate race, he has consistently stated that he supports President Trump and his policies, but that did little to stave off the attacks. Clarkson and Martinez had picked up on lessons from the Herrell-Chase contest and had decided that—all other issues be damned—voters needed to decide the nominee on the basis of the purest and longest-lasting Trump love.

We have covered this same ridiculous "debate" before in our analysis of the CD2 GOP primary.

Readers of NMPJ know how we feel about this completely anti-intellectual, philistine, 100% lowbrow approach to political discussion and debate: We absolutely hate it. We think it is beyond ignorant and is totally demeaning to the voting public.

This is for a number of reasons. Perhaps most ironic of all—and to be fair, irony is lost on thousands of voters—Trump himself has hired his most vocal critics, including his current press secretary, who was brutal to him. At least Trump apparently recognizes that you need people of ability, even if they've made fun of you before. But what do we know?

In any case, we must ask: "Is Ronchetti strong enough to weather the storm?" His supporters think so and argue he is the strongest candidate with the most compelling message. 

Anti-Ronchetti Forces in Full Attack Mode

In fairness, the anti-Ronchetti forces have been in full attack mode since he entered the race in January and long before any video surfaced. Many chalk that opposition up to jealousy on the part of Republican Party elites and insiders who felt entitled to choose the Republican nominee themselves. They were apparently very offended by the entry of an outsider like Ronchetti stealing their thunder.

Albuquerque radio talk show host Eddy Aragon (at left) began attacking Ronchetti immediately and has only grown more venomous over the past few weeks. To be fair to Aragon, last fall he said that NONE of the Republican candidates were any good—he dismissed not only Clarkson and Martinez, but also then-candidates Mick Rich and Louie Sanchez as simply not measuring up to the stature required to beat the former casino dealer Ben Ray Lujan.

And who did measure up? Well, Eddy thought it was Eddy himself. In dismissing all of the Republican candidates, he said he would actually enter the race, as his ability to articulate the issues is essentially unparalleled. However, after that announcement didn't go over that big, Aragon announced he would run as an independent.

Then that didn't go over so well either. Ultimately, he failed to file for the office in February and in a reappraisal of the situation ended up declaring that Elisa Martinez was "the one" after all, and that he was "all-in" for her. 

In any case, Aragon has been attacking Ronchetti, saying he doesn't believe he is sufficiently Republican. (We know, this sounds weird coming from someone who has been, and remains, all over the map every single year, dancing from one political position to the next as often as seasons change, but we digress.)
 
 

UPDATE on Eddy: Aragon switched his endorsement from Elisa Martinez to Gavin Clarkson in May, noting that Clarkson had raised the most money and complaining that Martinez had "texted, rather than called," the one donor Aragon is influential with to ask for a contribution. We presume Eddy considered that to be "dissing" his donor, and that was just too much for him to take.

Since then, Aragon has spent the better part of this month relentlessly attacking Ronchetti on his radio show and in social media. Many dismiss Aragon as having a tiny audience, but Aragon claims to possess a megaphone capable of flipping races. He has told numerous people that he has a daily audience of many thousands. 

In any case, we’ll soon find out if Aragon is as powerful with Republican primary voters as he claims, or if his megaphone is really that of a carnival barker, with an actual audience of about 150, with him going unheard by the overwhelming majority of Republican voters.

Social Media Warriors: Crusaders or Trolls?

Meanwhile, former Democrat intern and campaign volunteer John Block has emerged over the months, continuously and mercilessly attacking Ronchetti on social media. The irony of a former Martin Heinrich intern and volunteer for Mayor Tim Keller's campaign awarding himself the position of judge and jury of the conservative Republican purity test has been noted by many.

Yet, Block (shown while working on the Keller mayoral campaign) is oblivious and, with a straight face, claims to be channeling the feelings of Republican primary voters and Trump supporters.  Block has gone so far as to expend funds on Facebook ads asking voters to vote against Ronchetti (this spending might raise a few eyebrows over at the Federal Elections Commission, but that’s a different subject). Again, we will find out on Tuesday if John Block is the shepherd of Trump voters like he claims.  

The Money Race

To his credit, Gavin Clarkson has surprised us, raising and spending the most money of anyone in the campaign, which refutes the narrative that we had actually believed, which was that Ronchetti probably led in fundraising. Clarkson correctly pointed that out to us recently. Clarkson's latest report showed $1,088,918 raised. 

Mark Ronchetti did raise an eye-popping $675,000 in his first quarter of fundraising and has continued to receive strong financial support even after the COVID-19 economic shutdown slowed fundraising for all candidates. Ronchetti’s campaign says his fundraising has been driven by thousands of small-dollar contributors who are looking for a conservative outsider. His most recent filing, however, has him at $850,343, lagging behind Clarkson by some $238,000.

As far as being outspent, the Ronchetti campaign says it is unconcerned and asserts it has been far and away the most efficient with its resources, avoiding the pitfalls that waste hudreds of thousands of dollars on consultants and vendor projects that do little to move voters. 

While Elisa Martinez had been lagging behind her competitors in overall fundraising, she has received a notable boost down the stretch with the help of a maximum contribution from the husband of State Republican Party Executive Director Anissa Galassini Tinnin and a handful of other party insiders, including Mark Murphy of Roswell.

Given that infusion, we can only conclude that her recent surge is extremely strong, as she has a vastly greater statewide TV presence than either Clarkson or Ronchetti. That being the case, we would presume that her $418,554 on her last report is not reflective of how the donations will have been in May, which have to have pushed her into something on par with Ronchetti now, and possibly even close to the fundraising frontrunner Clarkson.

It is clear that the establishment elite has tried to coalesce financial support behind Martinez in the closing weeks. This has allowed Martinez to come with a huge broadcast television buy down the stretch, which as we noted earlier, attacks Ronchetti for his “orange one” joke. 

This must bode ill for Ronchetti. The simple reason for that is that it would be bizarre and counter-productive for Republican Party leaders to fund an attack ad like Martinez's against someone who had increasingly been seen as the presumptive Republican nominee, UNLESS they sincerely believe the race is neck and neck and that such an ad could pull it out for Martinez.

We would further note that if that is not the case, then it would raise some extremely serious questions about their judgment and about their commitment to Republicans winning the seat in November. 

Insiders Coming on Board for Martinez

House Minority Leader James Townsend

Along a similar vein, Martinez has also earned the endorsements of many political insiders, including Republican House leader James Townsend. It begs the question again why Townsend would wade into this race at this late stage, unless he believed his endorsement would sway the electorate.

Either he believes that very strongly, or he will have quite a bit of egg on his face on Tuesday. This is especially true since he is the Trump campaign chair in the state. Having the position of Trump Campaign Chair would cause most thoughtful and knowledgeable political leaders to remain strictly neutral during a primary season—in every single race—so as not to offend Republicans whose unified support they will need, and so as not to embarrass the President.

But Townsend is defying that norm, running all over the state, involving himself in every primary he can weigh in on. Of course, this is the same Townsend who is one of the architects of the devastating and historic loss, in 2018, of over one-fourth of his own caucus, while he was spending all of his time playing in a congressional race (CD2) that he also lost. So who knows?

Former Senate candidate Louie Sanchez

Another very curious development is the new role taken on by former senate candidate Louie Sanchez, who has become a very vocal supporter of Martinez and a rabid critic of Ronchetti. This has occurred since mid-March, when Sanchez dropped out of the race after he was unable to secure 20% support at the GOP state nominating convention, and after he had raised only about $50,000, while spending over $100,000 and ending up in debt.

We say this is curious for him to suddenly claim to be the voice of the Republican grassroots because Sanchez has had no involvement at all in Republican politics prior to his short-lived Senate campaign. In fact, Sanchez had never even voted in a Republican primary. So, it is very strange for him to act as though he’s been working tirelessly in the Republican trenches for decades.

Nonetheless, this hasn’t stopped Sanchez from posting shrill attacks on Facebook against Ronchetti about the need to elect “true” Republicans. Some claim this is all driven by Sanchez’s consultants who are trying to set Sanchez up to run for Governor in two years. 

We see that as a plausible rationale for his advisors and handlers, however, we question the wisdom of this strategy. Rather than make a great name for Sanchez, this "strategy" seems more likely to mark Sanchez as some sort of troll and to increase the number of Sanchez detractors. In other words, his inexplicable vitriol and divisiveness could ultimately lead to a Sanchez campaign for governor being as short-lived as his ill-fated Senate bid. 

Nevertheless, Sanchez is all-in with Elisa Martinez and—along with Aragon, Townsend, and other state party leaders—we’ll find out how persuasive he is with Republican voters on Tuesday, or if he’s shot himself in his other foot. 

What About the Ronchetti Campaign?

For his part, as best we can tell, Ronchetti appears undaunted by the attacks and has stayed largely focused on taking his message directly to Republican voters via social media and advertising. His television and radio ads have remained positive and they have driven a conservative message with a notably and relentlessly optimistic bent.

Those positive ads stand out on airwaves that have been flooded with negativity the past few weeks. It seems to us that Ronchetti is seeking to appeal to Republican primary voters in a specific and unique way that he hopes will also attract independents and conservative Democrats. 

To us, his approach has been one of textbook image-making, a candidate who is giving a positive, conservative message, while holding out the possibility of winning over voters in the fall. It's the same approach used by extremely "likable" candidates in campaigns past. Ronald Reagan comes to mind. It’s why so many Ronchetti supporters believe he is the only one capable of defeating Ben Ray Lujan in November.

It has to be said, however, that Ronchetti hasn't completely ignored his opponents. He has responded to the attacks against him in direct mail. We sift through post office trash, and we've found mail pieces in which he is pointing out that Elisa Martinez failed to pay her 2010 state income taxes for 8 years and previously worked for a liberal immigration group called the “Libre Initiative.”  That group openly supported amnesty for illegal aliens.

We've also seen mail in which Ronchetti has responded to Clarkson’s attacks by pointing out how Clarkson has supported liberal candidates and causes, including attending a pipeline protest in North Dakota in 2016 with a leftwing "environmental" group.

These mailers probably represent a very small part of the Ronchetti advertising campaign, but they are great uses of resources. He is able to target likely voters with the kinds of messages they need to see about both his opponents.

Meanwhile, the overwhelming bulk of his messaging has been conducted on television, where all voters, including Democrats and independents, are watching and where everyone can get a feel for his vision. Significantly, Ronchetti doesn't even mention his opponents at all on the TV screen.

We have to admire this approach in which his negative messaging is targeted via direct mail to likely primary voters, while his TV is all positive.

But will the Ronchetti strategy of remaining positive on TV work? Or will the negative attacks of his opponents—funded and supported by party elites—seal this outsider’s fate? 

We’ll find out on Tuesday evening, most likely by around 9 PM. Although, with this COVID-19 effect, the tabulating of absentee ballots may push that timeframe to 10 or even 11 PM. Who knows?


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Secretary of State Unlawfully Changes Absentee Ballot Application Forms. We Explain why it's Bad News for Elections Integrity in New Mexico. Also: The terms "Vote by Mail" and "All-Mail Elections" are Still Not Understood by Virtually any Voters or even Politicians

05/31/2020

A Key Issue that—If Left Unchallenged—Will Adversely Impact the 2020 New Mexico General Election

Last month, the Democrats filed suit to try to get the Supreme Court to implement an “ALL mail-in” election for 2020. 

The New Mexico Supreme Court denied the Democrats' all mail-in election idea, but instead ordered the Secretary of State (SOS) and the county clerks to mail to all “registered” voters an absentee ballot application. (Many people erroneously still believe we are having an all-mail primary, but we are not.)

The Significance of an All-Mail Election (Which Most People Still Don't Have Straight in the Minds)

If the Democrats had had their way with the Supreme Court, then every Democrat, Republican, and Libertarian would have been mailed an actual ballot—ready-to-vote—in early May.  Or at least that would have been the idea. The reality, however, is that a ballot would have been mailed to every mailing address listed in the voter file.

In other words, there are no real means of ensuring that individual registered voters are actually having a ballot delivered to them. The only thing that can happen is that ballots are mailed to either a residential address where a voter says he or she gets mail, or to a Post Office box, if a voter has indicated that preference for mail delivery.

An all-mail election is particularly problematic for New Mexico because the statewide voter file is not maintained. For just one example of the bloated condition of the voter file, a recent Bernalillo County School Board election that was "all mail-in" resulted in more than 30% of the ballots being undeliverable. 

All that mail was "undeliverable" because the registered voters had long since moved. And while a number of those moves may have taken place only a couple of years earlier, many of them had taken place 7 or 8 years ago, or possibly as long ago as a decade. That's how terribly inaccurate the voter file is.

We Have a Primary in Which all Eligible Voters Have Been Sent an Absentee Ballot Application

Instead of an actual votable ballot, which the Supreme Court would not allow the Democrats to mail—because the law says the SOS/Clerks cannot do that—the SOS was limited to sending out applications for a ballot. So individual voters have to decide if they want a ballot sent their way or not.

HOWEVER, MOST SIGNIFICANTLY, though she was denied the “all-mail election,” the SOS decided to seize the opportunity to unilaterally change the absentee ballot application form. On these new absentee ballot applications which you have been sent, the SOS has:

1) pre-populated every voter’s name—even though that is information which is supposed to be provided only by the voter

2) printed each voter’s unique random identification number—something no voter even knows exists, and which is also not allowed by law to be printed on the application

3) provided a bar code, so the county clerks can scan the applications when they come back in—which is also not permitted by law to be printed on an application, much less a ballot

Our Election Code very clearly provides that an application shall be designed so that spaces are provided in which the name, registration address, and the year of birth can be filled in. However, it is also clear that all of that information is "to be supplied by the applicant." (§ 1-6-4 (B))

What Can be done with this Unauthorized Information on the (previously blank) Form?

Anyone—any candidate, individual, party organization, or special interest group—who can purchase a statewide voter file, can simply filter the unique voter identification numbers provided by the SOS and immediately have the means of filling in the registration address and year of birth—to go with the voter’s pre-printed name, which the SOS has furnished.

At that point, anyone in possession of these applications has had the ability to send in a perfectly valid request for an absentee ballot. And the additional bar code will make for immediate processing. In fact, the bar codes—now supplied on ballot outer envelopes as well—actually encourage the elimination of any kind of manual verification of data. 

Danger Lies Ahead

While the implications for the primary are relatively insignificant (after all it’s only D v. D and R v. R), the groundwork is clearly being laid for this same process to be used in the General Election. And the potential for misuse/fraud in absentee balloting is very clear: with some 30% of our statewide voter file completely out of date, hundreds of thousands, perhaps 350,000-400,000 of our 1.3 million registered voters, will not be at the address to which these applications will be delivered.

The presence of upwards of 400,000 absentee ballot applications with names already printed on them, with unique identifiers on them, and with bar codes for easy processing on them presents an enormous opportunity for the mail-in of thousands of completed applications that may be completed by someone other than the actual voter who is supposed to cast the vote. 

Groups with questionable reputations, like the infamous ACORN (now disbanded) and its successor organizations like OLÉ (which is very active in New Mexico), are specially positioned and suited—due to their experience and practice (discussed below)—to take enormous advantage of the information provided in the new unlawful absentee ballot applications.

In other words, ballot harvesting has just been made vastly simpler and less time-consuming for any group willing to participate. And in New Mexico, those groups are more than willing to participate.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

 


Albuquerque libertarian "think tank," the Rio Grande Foundation, a "Charitable 'non-profit," Begins Meddling in Republican Primary Races. The "Tax-Exempt" Group Tries to Lure Republicans Away from Conservatism to Embrace "Libertarian Ideology." But unlike libertarianism, conservatism is NOT an Ideology.

05/30/2020

Many people are calling us, telling us their views that the Rio Grande Foundation, a tax-exempt, so-called "non-profit" organization, which styles itself as a "think tank," has begun to get way out over its skis. One caller told us she had just "un-liked" the RGF Facebook page over its extreme meddling in Republican primaries, as well as its gross misrepresentation of issues to the voters.

We have to say that we can see where the RGF's lecturing to conservatives about "just how the cow eats the cabbage" can become not only tiresome, but downright irritating. This is especially true for those voters who really understand conservatism and the myriad differences between conservatism (which is not an ideology) and libertarianism (which is an ideology). 

One thing Republican voters, especially conservative Republican primary voters—everywhere, not just in New Mexico—must keep in mind, is that the Rio Grande Foundation is NOT a conservative organization—not by a long shot. Not even close. It has always been oriented toward libertarian politics, featuring programs and guest speakers who promote the thinking of the famous Ayn Rand. Rand, unlike conservatives, was an avowed atheist.

As for its recent activities in New Mexico Republican primaries, "weighing in" is what the group calls it. It's their euphemism for "taking sides." And that's a risky thing for an organization that lives off its tax-exempt, special protections that most Americans do not enjoy.

Libertarians (Rio Grande Foundation) v. Conservatives: What are the Differences?

It is true that there are some similarities between conservatives and libertarians. They both believe strongly in individual liberty, limited government, and free markets. So many times those shared views can lead to cooperation on a number of public policy issues.

However, there are also stark differences on matters such as national defense, the armed forces, foreign policy, immigration—including illegal immigration—the death penalty, drugs (and across the board drug legalization), surveillance, marriage and the family, and the ability of individuals to express their faith, including the recognition of the role of religion in our nation's history, as well as its influence on public policy.

Here are just a few of the issues of the day, and where libertarians and conservatives line up on each:

Issue                                     libertarians                                                               conservatives

Taxation                                  Oppose increased taxes                                           Oppose increased taxes

Immigration                            Oppose Restrictions                                                  Believe in Restrictions and limits

Illegal Immigration                  Support Open Borders (liberty)                                 Strongly Oppose, must have control of borders

Abortion                                  Support, without limits                                               Oppose, or oppose except in certain circumstances

Legalization of hard drugs      Support legalization of practically all drugs (liberty)  Oppose

Recreational Marijuana          Support                                                                      Many conservatives support, many oppose

Medical marijuana                  Support                                                                     Most support, minority opposed

Death Penalty                         Oppose (they believe it comes from "religion"         Support (though not all conservatives do)

Marriage                                 Support for any persons who "love" each other       Tend to support "traditional" marriage

Gun Rights                             Support the Second Amendment                             Support the Second Amendment

Religious Expression              Emphasize the "establishment" clause                    Emphasize both "establishment" and

                                                                                                                                "free exercise" clauses

Gender                                   Support "liberty" ("however many there are")           Believe in two basic, biological sexes

 

Libertarianism shares a number of public policy positions that are supported by traditional conservatives. But these tend to be related to economics and taxation. With regard to social and cultural issues, libertarians tend to be much more aligned with liberals and the modern Left.

Libertarianism sees itself as being a political ideology that asserts the natural order of things is total liberty. As one example of this ideology, it embraces the view that a woman, for example, has "total control" of her own body and therefore can do whatever she wants with a fetus, up to and including the ultimate stage of birth.

Conservatives, on the other hand, would argue that a fetus is not merely an organic "part" of a woman's body—much like a kidney, gall bladder, or spleen—which can and should be dispensed with in whatever manner she chooses. Rather, they would argue that a fetus is a separate, living entity, and not merely an incidental body part.

Libertarian RGF Butts in on the Senate District 41 Race: David Gallegos v. Gregg Fulfer

Yesterday, the Rio Grande Foundation butted in to the campaign for State Senate District 41, by siding with current Representative David Gallegos. 

Gallegos, with or without the active assistance and encouragement of the RGF (and that is unclear) has weaponized a so-called "Freedom Index" published by the RGF. Gallegos touts his "rating" on this index as some sort of proof of his suitability to represent a very conservative district in Lea and Eddy Counties. 

However, as discussed above, the question arises: Are folks in southeastern New Mexico really libertarians? Or are they traditional conservatives? What is the relative level of church attendance there compared with Albuquerque? Or with Santa Fe—which is now dominated by recent arrived ultra-secular Anglos from the East and West Coasts.

Do folks in Lea County really want to see their political views judged by a marker established by the atheist Ayn Rand? We sort of doubt that.

For the more educated and informed Republican primary voters, Gallegos's desire to be judged "libertarian" as opposed to conservative, seems to very much put him at odds with the overwhelming philosophical majority of the district.

The Most Conservative Senators and Representatives have very little Respect for the RGF

The most conservative senators and state reps in New Mexico have been highly critical of the Rio Grande Foundation indexes, calling them, among an array of negative descriptions, "flaky," and "just so much bullsh-t." A group of a half dozen senators interviewed during the most recent legislative session said that there's "no comparison" between the highly respected American Conservative Union (ACU) ratings and the RGF ratings.

Here are some of their opinions:

"You've got be kidding me. The Rio Grande Foundation can't even decide from one minute to the next what its "important votes" are.

"They change the criteria three times during a session, publishing updated and altered issues."

"Then they 'weight' certain issues, arbitrarily assigning 2 points, 6 points, or 8 points  here and there, then raising or lowering them after they've published their criteria."

"It's very flaky."

"It's they may be trying to get a certain end result for some senators, and they have to go back and tinker with their ratings to make sure that result is what they get."

"You can't trust it." 

"Besides, they're libertarian, not conservative."

Yesterday, we presented those criticisms to Rio Grande Foundation President Paul Gessing, and much to our surprise, he very forthrightly and straightforwardly owned them and confirmed them.

"Yeah, it is a valid concern or criticism. During the session, yeah, we had to, we have somebody managing the site, it's a fast-moving process, and yeah, the initial weight during the session is not always where it ends up.

As much as RGF is to be commended for being honest about its flakiness in the ratings, it nonetheless reconfirms the near uselessness of constantly changing and arbitrarily assigned "importance" and "points" that don't get decided until AFTER all the votes are lined up.

The charge that the "index" is being manipulated to conform to pre-determined desired outcomes has to be taken seriously.

Then there's the fact that none of the conservatives even want to be considered a "libertarian" anyway.

For the well-read, thoughtful conservative Republican, especially those who have at least some belief in God—and very much so for the serious Evangelical or Roman Catholic—the "libertarian" road is not one they want to travel. And they vastly prefer a conservative to represent them.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

Southeastern New Mexico State Senate Republican Primary Turns Nasty: "The Most Negative and Dirtiest We've Ever Seen" say some observers. Now a PAC that has Joined forces with Democrats is Smearing Republican Senator Gregg Fulfer.

05/28/2020

All around the state, dark money operatives are going overboard to win elections, breaking all precedent in terms of outrageous claims and slanders against their targeted enemies—and those "enemies" always turn out to be the most conservative, common-sense candidates in the contests.

Senate District 41 in the far southeast corner of the state is no exception. In a district that consists of the southern halves of both Eddy and Lea Counties, incumbent Republican State Representative David Gallegos is challenging incumbent Republican State Senator Gregg Fulfer.

Gallegos has come under some criticism for making the race, considering that Republicans hold precious few seats in either house, and that many rank-and-file Republicans believe precious and scarce campaign funds should be directed at unseating Democrats rather than spent to merely satisfy personal ambitions about moving to the upper house.

Gallegos Announces His Motives—And they Aren't Pretty

On March 1st in the Hobbs News-Sun, Gallegos began his campaign by telling voters that he was motivated by anger at not being chosen to replace retiring Senator Carroll Leavell, 17 months ago. In his full-page ad, Gallegos 
described the Lea and Eddy County Commissioners as criminals for not selecting him, accusing them of violating the law, engaging in backroom deals and dishonest, secret plots. 

What was the reason for those charges? Gallegos had been sending out emails for several months, essentially telling anyone who would listen that it was time for Senator Leavell to step down. And in those same emails, Gallegos was lobbying hard to have himself appointed to replace the 82-year-old senator. 

So when the Eddy and Lea County Commissions voted, 3 to 2 and 4 to 1 respectively, to appoint Gregg Fulfer, the only thing Gallegos could conclude was that the county commissioners must have committed some sort of criminal act. At least that's what his allegations amount to.

In addition to these reasons for being motivated to run, Gallegos also said on Facebook that he wanted to have "a four-year term rather than just a two-year term."

As far as we know, none of the commissioners Gallegos has accused of crimes has turned out to be enthusiastic about his candidacy.

Unprecedented Tactics

Fulfer ran a very positive campaign throughout April and early May, with very little being heard from Gallegos. Then Gallegos suddenly struck on radio, in mail pieces, and in newspapers, attacking Fulfer in very vicious terms, accusing him of being every possible negative descriptive they can invent. 

Gallegos has repeatedly attacked Fulfer for being a "lifelong Democrat" who supposedly changed his party affiliation "just before" his appointment. This is weird because both Gallegos and Fulfer have been Democrats most of their lives. Gallegos changed his registration a few years ago and Fulfer changed five years ago—long before his appointment. 

A Federal PAC is Now Smearing Fulfer—And it's a PAC that has Joined Forces with Democrats

In recent days, a PAC headed up by a pro-abortion political operative who has strongly supported Democrats in the past, has jumped into the race with a smear campaign against Fulfer. The same organization, using radio and TV ads produced by a couple of anti-conservative Republican operatives in Austin, Texas, has been deeply involved in smear campaigns against conservative Republicans in the past. 

Even though Fulfer is the only candidate in the race who has opposed Governor Lujan Grisham on all of her extreme issues, this PAC accuses Fulfer of being an ally of Grisham.  

According to one observer, "one dead giveaway in the ad is that John Billingsley is the only person we know who would spell oil with two Ls."

Ironically, considering their smears against Fulfer, this same PAC is working alongside the progressive Democrat PAC, Patriot Majority, as both of them are engaged in smearing Republican Claire Chase on behalf of Yvette Herrell—trying to persuade Republicans to nominate the weakest candidate, so that the Democrat can prevail in the general election.

Though this PAC which is now attacking Fulfer has nothing to do with Trump, and in fact goes against Trump ideas, the men behind the group chose to disguise their goals by naming themselves "Make NM Great PAC." The PAC is not registered in New Mexico, even though New Mexico law explicitly states that it must do so:

"If a political committee is located in New Mexico, and is required to register as a political committee under this rule, the political committee must register with the secretary of state even if it is also registered with the FEC."

—New Mexico Administrative Rule 1.10.13.10 (A) (4)

So in addition to blatantly false attacks on Fulfer, this deep-secret PAC is also violating New Mexico law in that it is not registered at all and is not filing campaign finance reports of contributions and expenditures.

Gallegos Using Campaign Funds Inappropriately

A New Mexico registered campaign committee called "Committee to Drain the Swamp" is running radio ads and sending out mail exposing Gallegos' use of his campaign donations. Gallegos has filed campaign finance reports using such terms as "reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses." Such line items are not allowed under New Mexico law.

Gallegos has apparently "reimbursed" himself or his wife for "expenses" by paying off credit card charges.

Some of the entries state they that the "reimbursements" are for "campaign expenses" (which are not itemized or described) while some claim to be reimbursements for such things as "signs" or "materials."

In any case, even if all the entries happened to be truthful or accurate, such accounting is not allowable under New Mexico law.

Altogether, Gallegos has used some $38,000 of campaign funds in this manner.

 


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


NM Congressional and Senate Republican Primaries Descend into Dumbassery. Is it even possible to formulate a dumber question on which to base an election? So Democrats Pounce: Brazenly Announcing that THEY will Determine the Outcomes. It's an Amazing Story. Will Republican Primary Voters be as Stupid and Manipulable as those in Nevada or Missouri have Been in the Past?

05/25/2020

What has become the most important issue for Republican primary candidates running in Congressional District 2 or in the US Senate Primary?

If you're thinking how to deal with the COVID-19 plague, you're wrong. If you think it has anything at all to do with rebuilding the economy you're also wrong. You're also wrong if you think the top issue is healthcare, or international trade deals, or China, or Russia, or border security, or the Middle East, or most anything else you're likely to think up.

No. Believe it or not, the top issue is "When did you first love Trump?" 

Or on what date can a forensic investigation determine when you first said something negative about Trump?

And then at what point can detectives determine when you subsequently had your "conversion experience" that was sufficiently satisfactory to prove to investigators that you are now in the Trump fold?

How many professions of faith in Trump can dance on the head of a pin? 

We are not making this up. For CD 2, it's all about whether Claire Chase or Yvette Herrell supported other presidential candidates in 2015 and 2016—and what was their attitude toward Donald J. Trump four to five years ago.

For US Senate hopefuls Elisa Martinez and Gavin Clarkson, it's their whole campaign: Did Mark Ronchetti make a joke about being anti-Trump?

Yeah, he did. Like millions of Republicans—even millions of Republicans who voted for him and who are going to vote for him again.

NEWS BULLETIN: Millions of Republicans—including Republicans who are his strongest supporters—make fun of Trump every single day!

As Seinfeld's Frank Costanza would say: "What the hell does that mean?" Answer: Not a damn thing.

How Logical is This? (Spoiler Alert: Zero—the "Logic Quotient" for this Issue is 0 — Zilch, Nada)

Five years ago, Kayleigh McEnany called Trump a "racist" and a "showman" who was an embarrassment and "not a serious candidate." Today, she is his press secretary, the spokesperson FOR TRUMP himself! 

This is proof positive that the Trump Administration is not following the Elisa-Gavin-Yvette-Claire logic, but instead is using the following kind of logic:

It's not what you thought of Trump five years ago, it's whether or not you support his policies today or believe that his administration has been successful.

But getting back to New Mexico. How's the Trump Administration logic playing in the Land of Enchantment?

Answer: It isn't playing at all. It hasn't cracked the Billboard top 100. Nobody is listening to it.

Yvette Herrell and Claire Chase are beating each other senseless over which one of them made a profession of faith in Trump the earliest.

Why does Trump himself and why do his handlers understand that the New Mexico "logic" makes no Sense?

Because if you actually believe the allegations made and the questions posed by the New Mexico candidates you have to disqualify far more than half of the Americans who ended up voting for Trump over Hillary Clinton. That's right, after all was said and done in the GOP nominating process in 2016, more than 55% of Republicans wanted someone other than Trump.

Does that mean that Trump needs to rail against them, holding a grudge over that? Or are the Trump advisors smart enough to realize that what is important is that the voters who supported Cruz, Rubio, Kasich, Ben Carson, and a dozen other Republicans turned around and voted for Trump in the general election?

We think they get that. Otherwise, Hillary Clinton would be president. And if they didn't get it, they'd be headed for certain defeat this November.

But do GOP candidates in New Mexico get it? And more important, do New Mexico Republican voters get it? Answer: We won't know until about 10 PM on Tuesday, June 2nd. 

But Wait, HERE COME THE DEMOCRATS

One group of people who are loving all of this is the Democrat Party brain trust, laughing their butts off at the nonsense. It's so damn funny to them that they have begun running ads on behalf of Yvette Herrell.

They are openly reinforcing the message offered by Herrell, which is: 1) do NOT vote based on each candidate's position on crucial issues, or 2) each candidate's ability to appeal to the general election, or 3) a candidate's ability to stand and deliver in debate, or 4) articulate the conservative argument, or 5) make the case for something better than Xochitl Torres Small, or 6) raise money, or 7) broaden the appeal of the Republican message, or 8) who has the greater winnability quotient?

No. None of that. The Democrats are copying the exact message of Herrell (and Clarkson and Elisa Martinez): any Republican who has not been continuously in love with Trump for five years is a bad candidate.

Think about it. If the Democrats are pushing that same "reasoning" process, how smart is it really? 

Will Republicans get it? As our previous article showed, they have a habit of not getting it. 


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

 


Democrats Now Weighing in FOR HERRELL. Stay tuned. It's NOT that Weird. They have a History of Doing This. (And it's a Successful History. For Democrats.)

05/23/2020

Pulling a familiar trick out of the Democrat Party playbook, a Leftist/liberal SuperPAC has now jumped into the middle of the Republican primary in New Mexico’s Second Congressional District.

Patriot Majority PAC, which is famous for supporting Barack Obama, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Harry Reid, began airing television commercials today (Saturday, May 23rd) attacking Republican Claire Chase, while praising former Republican state representative Yvette Herrell.

This is exactly the tactic Democrats have used successfully in recent years. Here are two examples:

Nevada, 2010, Senate Race

  • Then-Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid was losing very badly in head-to-head polling against Republican Sue Lowden. And his campaign wasn’t making any headway either.
  • So he came up with the plan of promoting the weakest Republican, a former state representative* by the name of Sharron Angle, who, unfortunately for Republicans, couldn’t string two sentences together.
  • By wildly exaggerating Angle’s abilities and “conservative” bona fides, Reid and Patriot Majority PAC easily fooled all the Tea Party types in Nevada and also sparked the interest of Club for Growth, which weighed in enthusiastically (though cluelessly) for Angle. ?
  • At the same time, Patriot Majority relentlessly attacked Lowden, making her out to be a “liberal,” thus doubly deceiving the Tea Party faithful.

Angle won the primary. And Reid had successfully secured the Republican opponent of his choice. With Angle unable to debate, or form coherent sentences, her staff spent the last two months of the campaign shuffling her through airports and other public areas—keeping reporters and news cameras at a “social distance.”

That didn’t help. The general election ended up being a walkover for Reid.

Missouri, 2012, Senate Race

  • Incumbent Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill faced exactly the same problem as Reid had faced: She was headed for defeat against either of two leading Missouri Republicans. So she took a page out of Reid’s playbook and began spending money to support the third Republican, Todd Akin.
  • In this article: https://politi.co/2zZUzNp, which she titled "How I Helped Todd Akin Win—So I Could Beat Him Later," McCaskill brags about the plan she came up with to spend $1.7 million to tear down the strong Republicans and boost the weak one. That figure represents almost seven times what Akin spent on his own campaign.
  • Again, Tea Party and Club for Growth people were fooled, Mike Huckabee got excited about all the great things that were being said about Akin and against Akin's opponents (not knowing that all that noise was coming from McCaskill) so Huckabee got on board with Akin.

Akin won the primary, 36-30-29, over the two Republicans who had been poised to crush McCaskill. Then Akin had his very predictable meltdown: He announced that it’s not really possible for a woman to get pregnant from a rape—provided it’s a “legitimate” rape.

From that point on, he was toast. McCaskill won the general election in an enormous landslide. And the Democrats had held another seat they didn't deserve to have.

New Mexico, CD 2, 2020
 

Fast forward to today. The Associated Press reports that:

"Spending reports reviewed by The Associated Press show that Patriot Majority PAC bought nearly $200,000 of ads to influence Republican voters in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District primary on June 2."

Yes, that's the same outfit that has tried to (successfully) get Republican voters to pick the weakest candidate all around the country. The AP said: 

"The Center for Public Integrity said Patriot Majority PAC was founded by veteran Democratic Party operative Craig Varoga in 2009 to support Democratic candidates."

This clearly indicates that Democratic Party polling shows that Chase is ahead of incumbent Democrat Xochitl Torres Small and that Yvette Herrell is running behind Torres Small. Small defeated Herrell by close to 4,000 votes in 2018. It was an open seat then, and it had just been won by a Republican in 2016 by more than 24 points.

Now, Small is the incumbent. It has seemed difficult for Republicans to find a path for Herrell to win a race in 2020 as a challenger that she couldn't win as the "virtual" incumbent just two years earlier.

The Democrats' ad says:

"There’s Santa Fe lobbyist Claire Chase who opposed President Trump, calling him an (expletive) unworthy of the office,” 

Then, while pictures of Chase are shown on the screen, the voiceover intones:

“Or there’s Yvette Herrell. She’s 100% loyal to Trump, backed by 11 pro-gun sheriffs and Cowboys for Trump.”

At that point, the Democrat spokesperson has this to say:

“make a better choice.”

Right. But "better choice" for whom? Since the Democrats are producing the ads and paying for them to go on the air, they probably mean that Herrell is the "better choice" for them. Not for the Republicans' chances in November.

The bottom line is this: Will Republicans be so easily fooled as they have been in years past in similar circumstances. 

We don't know. But we do know that State GOP Chairman Steve Pearce and his staff are pulling out all the stops for Herrell. While they're doing that, it certainly appears that they are playing right into the Democrats' hands.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Pearce, Herrell, Tinnin Deeply Involved in Campaigns: Complaints Coming in from Everywhere; Pearce's Support of Yvette Herrell Doesn't Stop There.

05/21/2020

It appears any pretense that the Republican Party of New Mexico might actually adhere to party rules and remain neutral in various primaries around the state, has been lost.

Everywhere we look, Pearce appears to have deeply embedded himself—and his Sancho Panza-like Executive Director Anissa Galassini Ford Tinnin—in Republican primary campaign after campaign. Sidekick John Billingsley also shows up everywhere with "contributions" and verbal support for the Pearce team, in opposition to those Republican conservatives who are even more conservative than Pearce himself, but who will not join the Pearce personality cult, pledging total fealty to Pearce and the odd team of email thieves he's surrounded himself with.

After all, shouldn't the state party focus on winning more Republican seats? Instead of creating more life-long intraparty disputes and squabbles? Just so Pearce and Tinnin can maintain an up-to-date "enemies list" for themselves? 

To us at least, all of their machinations, picking favorites, and endless scheming seem pointless and destructive. 

Yesterday we learned that Tom Tinnin (recently married to the RPNM Executive Director) had donated $2,500 to US Senate hopeful Elisa Martinez. Reports recently made public establish that Anissa's mother, Rocky Galassini, filed with the Federal Elections Commission as the registered Custodian of Records for the Yvette Herrell campaign. Philip Pearce, Steve Pearce's brother, is the Herrell's campaign treasurer.

All of this kind of interference while simultaneously insisting that what we are seeing with our own eyes—improper meddling by the state party in Republican primary contests—is not really what we are seeing. And the kicker is that they expect us to believe that.

Lea and Eddy Counties

Everyone in Lea and Eddy Counties has complained about Pearce's takeover last winter of the Lea County Republican Convention, and his near-takeover in Eddy County. His purpose was to ensure that all state convention delegates in both counties would support Herrell over Claire Chase. 

In both instances, Pearce pushed out (or in Eddy County, attempted to push out) long-time activists and volunteers and imposed a group he had gathered up. One Lea County Republican stalwart told us: "Steve showed up with about a hundred people we had never seen or heard of before, and never will see or hear from again."

In Lea County, numerous political observers state that it was Pearce who recruited, or strongly encouraged, incumbent State Representative David Gallegos to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Gregg Fulfer. This of course has resulted in an extremely expensive primary battle that in the end will probably have cost Republicans hundred of thousands of dollars. That is money that could have been used to take on sitting Democrats.

According to our sources:

"Steve would rather have folks on 'his team' or his own 'devoted followers' in office, even if the sitting Republican is a strong conservative and doing a good job."

This is certainly the case in State Senate District 41, where incumbent Gregg Fulfer is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, recommended by Right-to-Life, has continuously battled Governor Lujan-Grisham, and has the endorsements of such stalwarts as Eddy County Sheriff Mark Cage—one of the most vocal and influential conservatives in the state.

Fulfer also did something no first-year legislator has been able to do: he got $350 million to four-lane the state's most dangerous roads, and make huge improvements on US 285. (Gallegos, oddly, we are told, actually voted against that funding.)

CAGE ABANDONS HERRELL: SWITCHES TO CHASE BECAUSE OF HERRELL's UGLY AD CAMPAIGN

Tuesday, Sheriff Mark Cage announced that he has withdrawn his earlier endorsement of Yvette Herrell. Cage endorsed Herrell when she was the only candidate in the race.* Cage had this to say about his earlier endorsement and his change of view:

“Unfortunately, the latest very personal, very ugly attacks on my friend Claire Chase have driven me to do otherwise...” 

Herrell has faced tremendous criticism for her part in a sordid political affair involving a cartoonist, with whom she exchanged text messages about creating a meme that would promote false rumors about her opponent Claire Chase—implying that she had cheated on her first husband. The rumors weren't true, but text messages obtained by The Associated Press showed that Herrell was busy offering suggestions to build and embellish the meme.

Cage's support of Fulfer could have something to do with the incredibly nasty ads being run by Gallegos—apparently all of which are untrue. Gallegos is said to be using the same Washinton, DC-based consulting groups that Pearce is said to have lined up behind Herrell. Both groups have run demonstrably false ads, angering many people in Southeastern New Mexico.


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CD 2 Republican Primary Heated, Attacks All Around; Yvette Herrell in Trouble over Low-Rent Campaign Tactics

05/11/2020

The race for the GOP nomination in CD2 is dominating the airwaves, and in a very negative way. Both sides are carpet-bombing TV news programs and highly-rated syndicated game shows with devastating hits on each other.

HERRELL'S ANTICS HAVE ATTRACTED THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA and GARNERED NATIONAL ATTENTION

Former State Representative Yvette Herrell, who lost the Republican-leaning seat in 2018 (even while Trump was carrying the district) has come in for serious criticism from the Associated Press as well as the Washington Free Beacon.

It seems the Herrell has gone well beyond any basic sense of decency, digging into the personal life of her main opponent, Claire Chase. Most candidates and consulting teams steer clear of trying to attack such things as marriages, child custody, things that are said in divorce proceedings, and the like. NOT Herrell. She's dug deep—in a manner that has really bothered even her strongest supporters. One close observer of the race sent us this comment:

"Everyone I've talked to is absolutely disgusted by Yvette's actions, and her decision to collaborate with a known criminal to fabricate allegations against her opponent may end her political career."

The Associated Press and the Washington Free Beacon

Yvette Herrell is desperately trying to run away from her boneheaded political attack

This week the Associated Press and Washington Free Beacon reported on Yvette Herrell’s partnership with Roger Rael, a political meme-maker, who is currently facing charges for criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct. Apparently Herrell – who has herself been divorced twice – thought it would be a good idea to push fake accusations about Claire Chase’s first marriage.

According to the Free Beacon, Herrell offered Rael $200 if he would put out a meme falsely accusing Claire Chase of cheating on her ex-husband, Ben Gray, with her current husband, Chance Chase, while Gray was in Afghanistan.  

AP: “In an interview with The Associated Press, retired U.S. Marine Jared Richardson said Herrell called last month after he announced his support for Chase on social media and told him that Chase cheated on her first husband while he was deployed in Afghanistan. But according to Chase, she met her current husband after her divorce and two years after her former husband’s return from deployment.”

Washington Free Beacon: “But Rael told the Free Beacon on Tuesday that he created the cartoon at Herrell's direction. ‘She asked me to make a meme for her and put it out there, because she didn't want ties to it,’ Rael said, adding that Herrell offered to pay him $200 for the task.”

Unfortunately for Herrell

Chase was able to immediately produce documents proving the attack was false. Chase hadn’t even met her current husband, Chance, when she and Gray divorced. Herrell appears to have made it up out of thin air. Chase’s ex-husband even blasted Herrell for smearing him and using his service to our country in this boneheaded political attack.

Here is how the national media covered this aspect of the story:

Washington Free Beacon: “Chase's campaign says the allegation is false and provided information showing that Chase and Gray were not divorced until two years after he returned from Afghanistan. It also says the divorce was finalized months before she had met her current husband.”

AP: “Gray, Chase’s first husband, said in a statement he and Chase are still friends and he is a member of the Veterans for Claire coalition and the rumors are false. ‘I can’t believe Yvette Herrell would try to use me in this false, disgusting attack,’ he said. “What kind of person would smear a veteran to win a political campaign?’”

Text Messages Show that Herrell Appears to be Lying About her Relationship with Rael

Yvette Herrell is now is claiming she doesn’t even know Rael and had nothing to do with the attack, but The Free Beacon and Associated Press have her text messages personally editing the meme and describing her long-time relationship with Rael.

AP: “According to the text messages obtained by the AP, Herrell offered suggestions about a meme created by Roger Rael that showed Chase with her current husband, Chance Chase, while her former husband, Ben Gray, looked on confused. ‘The second Claire is spelled wrong,’ Herrell texted back after receiving the meme. ‘It should say golddigging, not good digging.’ Herrell then writes, ‘Let me send them in the morning. There are a couple of more.’”

Washington Free Beacon: “Herrell has attacked Rael's credibility, pointing to pending criminal charges against the cartoonist, and said she had no relationship with him. But the string of text messages, which began last November and stretches until this February, suggest otherwise. Among the text messages Rael provided to the Free Beacon, one message from Herrell refers to the ‘long time’ they've known each other. ‘I know you know me better than to buy into this crap,’ Herrell wrote in a Feb. 17 message. ‘You have known me a long time and you know my priorities are the people of New Mexico.’”

Herrell’s Campaign in Damage Control

Yvette's campaign seems to be in damage control mode at this point. She is no longer responding to requests for comment about her attack on Chase and refused to attend the first major debate of the race.

Free Beacon: “Herrell's campaign did not respond to requests for comment.”  

Associated Press: “The first major debate among GOP hopefuls in a crucial U.S. House race in New Mexico had a noticeable absence — a Republican who skipped debates in 2018 and lost the seat. Former state lawmaker Yvette Herrell declined Thursday to participate in the debate with two of her opponents on KIVA in Albuquerque. It was the first radio debate in an increasingly nasty Republican primary fight.”


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


TRUMP DAILY COVID-19 BRIEFINGS PROBABLY NOT HELPING—possibly marking time now, but very possibly could be losing ground each day.

04/24/2020

We realize there are lots of analyses—all over the map—both praising and downgrading Trump’s performances on the daily briefings.

The shows appear to have been helpful early on, but as time has gone by Trump has appeared to lose ground—as shown in the polls.

He did benefit from being the only game in town for a bit—especially as he held his temper and deferred to experts. But as time goes by, he wanders farther and farther afield each day, increasingly taking the bait from hostile reporters, ending up in a set-to, squabble, or verbal altercation every few minutes.

Don’t get us wrong: the media types are mostly awful, wholly uninterested in doing the actual job of journalism or news reporting. Most are focused only on steadily attempting to annoy Trump—and he increasingly succumbs to engagements that don’t really go anywhere.

Let’s face it: CNN and many others are unprofessional jerks. But that fact is known by all who can possibly know it by now. Engaging them doesn’t help Trump—nor does it help CNN. Trump’s base, of course, is unaffected, as are their counterparts—the most ardent Trump haters.

What appears to have happened is that the tiny portion of the electorate which is persuadable is now more or less suffering from Trump briefing fatigue—thus the 8 to 10 point gap between Biden and Trump.

And no, we still can’t really believe Biden will be the Democrat nominee—we look at the current polls as a stand-in measurement of Trump v. Whoever the Democrats put up.

Bottom line: As a publication which continues to believe that the Trump Administration is far better equipped to lead than anyone the Democrats have thus far produced, NMPJ believes “less is more.”

Trump would be better off getting out of the briefings. In fact, the administration would be better off with far fewer briefings, and only holding them when there is something truly new and important to announce.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


How Do COVID-19 Death Statistics Compare with Other Causes of Death in New Mexico?

04/23/2020

Each year, on average over the past decade, the State of New Mexico records some 18,650 deaths. That means approximately 4,600 New Mexicans die from all causes every quarter, or about 6,200 during every third of the year—each four months.

Thus far to today, through the 23rd of April, with one week to go in the first third of the year, 65 New Mexicans have died of COVID-19 (or perhaps we should say that many deaths have been "attributed to" COVID-19).

Meanwhile, approximately how many other New Mexicans will have died in the first third of the year, ending 30 April? Based on statistical averages from the National Vital Statistics Reports, here are the answers to that question:

Total deaths in New Mexico: 6,220

Deaths caused by:

1) Heart disease: 1,300

2) Cancer: 1,205

3) Accidents: 480

4) Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease: 320

5) Stroke: 290

6) Alzheimer's: 240

7) Diabetes: 200

8) Suicide: 160

9) Flu & Pneumonia: 110

10) Nephritis: 100

Other causes of death include homicide, which in New Mexico occurs, on average, about 55 times every four months.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 
 
 
 
 

GRANTS MAYOR WILL DEFY GOV. GRISHAM. WILL OTHER CITIES & COUNTIES FOLLOW? (Watch video below)

04/22/2020

Small businesses being killed while Grisham is allowing “Big Box” stores to run wild!

GRANTS, N.M. — Grants Mayor Martin Hicks says dozens of locally-owned businesses in his town, have been forced to close.

While larger corporately owned stores, are considered essential and allowed to stay open.

Now, he's willing to go against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s extended public health order and opening up all Grants businesses on Monday, no matter what it costs.

https://bit.ly/3eJy531


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

WHERE ARE THE NEW MEXICO MEDIA? Don't they Know we have on Ongoing Crisis?

04/21/2020
Our surrounding states' governors have specific, detailed plans to open their economies. And those governors are available to the press.

Meanwhile, Michelle Grisham has the advantage of the sleepy-time New Mexico media: No questions, No inquiries, No interest.

We are way behind other states and other states' governors. Why isn't Grisham being pushed by our media?

Whatever she says or doesn't say is fine with them. Amazing.

(Would they have the same approach if the governor were a Republican? We don't know. But we think not.)

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 
 
 
 

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC STATISTICS? We are Doubtful of their Accuracy

04/20/2020

Has anyone else noticed that the “reported” Coronavirus infections and fatalities make the United States look very bad?

We have 4.25% of the world’s population, yet the current numbers show we have suffered 25.2% of the globally-reported deaths. That would make us worse per capita than the world-wide average—by a factor of six.

And our total reported infections represent 31.8% of the world-wide total. That’s more than 7.5 times more than what our pro rata share should be.

Our suspicion is that a number of countries have little or no accurate reporting taking place. Of course this would include many third world nations where public health infrastructure and statistical analysis reliability is weak, but we also suspect China is not telling the truth.

China has more than 1.4 billion people and has reported only 4,632 deaths. So they have 3 fatalities per 1 million population. We on the other hand have 137 per million. Is it possible that China has prevented deaths from the COVID-19 outbreak (which began there) 46 times better than the U.S.?

We somehow doubt that.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

FOUR COURAGEOUS REPUBLICAN COUNTY CLERKS WIN a MAJOR VICTORY in the NEW MEXICO SUPREME COURT.

04/14/2020

SURPRISINGLY BIG LOSS for the DEMOCRAT PARTY

The Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the Democrat Party's request that New Mexico conduct an "All-Mail-Ballot" election for the upcoming June 2nd Primary.

Instead, the court has ordered that all voters be mailed an absentee ballot APPLICATION. As we explained in our previous post, the mailing of applications sets in place an entirely different dynamic from the mailing of actual ballots.

Democrats, led by Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto and lead Democrat Party counsel Gretchen Elsner sought desperately to find an argument that would convince the Supreme Court that it could simply impose an entirely new kind of election on New Mexicans—one in which actual ballots would flood the state, leaving piles and piles of opportunity for potential fraud in trash cans, apartments, college dorms, and assisted living facilities.

Instead, Albuquerque Attorney Carter Harrison, arguing on behalf of four Republican clerks, persuaded the court to order the mailing of APPLICATIONS ONLY, a procedure which interposes a crucial step requiring identification and personal information as a prelude to receiving an actual ballot.

Though most Republican County Clerks ran away from the case, intimidated by Ivey-Soto and the dominant Democrat power structure in the state, three Republican clerks stayed with the case as intervenors—brave enough to fight the attempted power grab. Those clerks are Keith Manes of Lea County, Whitney Whittaker of Lincoln County, Tanya Shelby of San Juan County, and Dave Kunko of Chaves County.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


TRUMP and the ALL-MAIL BALLOT ELECTION: Understanding the differences between Absentee Voting and the All-Mail Ballot Election

04/07/2020

The President did a reasonable job of fending off a hostile question about why he opposes “all mail ballot” elections while, according to the reporter “you yourself just now voted by mail in Florida.”

Neither the questioner nor the President were able to draw the distinction between regular “absentee” balloting and “all mail ballot” elections. This is understandable because neither of them is a county clerk or an elections administrator. For those of you who are interested, here are some key differences:

ABSENTEE BALLOTING is an “optional” means of voting in a regular, standard election during which the bulk of the voting takes place on a designated Election Day, or at early voting sites in the exact same manner as Election Day voting. Absentee voting is at least 155 years old, and it requires a voter to fill out and send in an “absentee ballot application” for which there are a number or safeguards. Only then is a ballot mailed selectively to a voter who is choosing to vote in that manner.

ON THE OTHER HAND, “all-mail” elections are quite the separate animal entirely. They are held for general elections in only about three states (all of which, perhaps coincidentally, are now strongly or extremely strongly Democrat). Under an “all-mail” election, all eligible registered voters are mailed a ballot. (No application necessary.) This procedure literally floods the state with ballots. All kinds of what are called “group quarters” locations end up with huge numbers of ballots.

This means one sees ballots in hallways, trash cans, stoops, entryways, and all sorts of bins at retirement homes, college dorms, apartment complexes, assisted living facilities, and even homeless shelters—not to mention Post Office trash cans where uninterested voters simply throw them away. There are few safeguards.

It’s a crime to do so of course, but these loose ballots can easily be gathered up and mailed back in by all kinds of interested special interest groups. OLE is one group already deeply involved in the harvesting of absentee ballots, so it would be a normal transition for them to adjust to the even more lucrative world of “all-mail” elections.

Our goal is to clarify the point that “absentee” voting and “all-mail” elections are two entirely separate concepts.

We hope this helps.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

Ronchetti Opening up a Wide Lead in the Republican US Senate Primary

04/03/2020

The Mark Ronchetti campaign released a poll yesterday that showed the Albuquerque meteorologist opening up a huge lead over his remaining Republican opponents in the GOP primary race for US Senate. The winner of the primary will face Democrat Congressman Ben Ray Lujan in the open seat general election to replace retiring Senator Tom Udall.

According to Public Opinion Strategies, 45% of Republican primary voters either definitely support or probably support Ronchetti, while both Gavin Clarkson and Elisa Martinez each enjoy probable or definite support from only 11% of those same voters. 

Voters were asked:

"If the Republican primary election for US Senate were being held today, for whom would you vote between Elisa Martinez, Gavin Clarkson, and Mark Ronchetti?" (Or "between Mark Ronchetti, Elisa Martinez, and Gavin Clarkson," and other randomized combinations that changed the order of the candidates' names throughout the poll.)

400 Republican voters who were identified as "primary voters," were surveyed by telephone between the 18th and 22nd of March. 

In terms of name identification, Ronchetti also enjoyed a significant advantage, with 75% of Republican voters having heard of him, while Clarkson was known by only 41% of those surveyed and 37% were familiar with Martinez.

Significantly, core sub-groups also supported Ronchetti. Voters who identified themselves as "very conservative" gave Ronchetti 46% of the vote. Perhaps even more surprising, Ronchetti had 44% of the support of voters who consider themselves to be "strong pro-life."

The latter finding has to sound alarms with the Martinez campaign, as she has touted herself as the pro-life champion, given her role as the former Executive Director of New Mexicans for Life. 

It's Early, But this is the First Test

Of course, it's still a very long time (especially in politics) till the June 2nd primary, exactly 60 days away, and a lot could happen, especially in this strange, unprecedented atmosphere. But this early sample has to be sobering for Clarkson and Martinez as it is encouraging to the Ronchetti backers. Ronchetti could get a huge fundraising lift out of this poll, just as his opponents could see contributions dry up.

Ronchetti's favorable to unfavorable rating is an almost unheard of 56 to 3, while Clarkson's is 16 to 4 and Martinez's is 13 to 4.

One of the things that has to be concluded from this is that the constant, daily extremely negative social media attacks on Ronchetti by Martinez supporters, John Block, Eddy Aragon, and several others have simply had little effect. 

We have believed that those kinds of tactics often end up creating what might be called "a tempest in a teapot" rather than having a significant impact among the state's 370,000 Republicans or the 120,000 GOP voters who might show up in a primary. This poll appears to support our conclusions.

While we have remained scrupulously neutral in this race, as in other statewide races, we nonetheless can see where many Republican voters may see a rise in morale and a hope that their party might be able to unite behind a strong candidate for the fall showdown with Lujan.

Still, there is time for either Clarkson and Martinez to stage a serious comeback and surge to victory, in which case we are sure that Republicans would also unite behind either of them should they become the nominee. 


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican

 

 

 

 


State Representatives May be Tossed off the Primary Ballot; Partisan Challenges to Nominating Petitions Reveal Confusion; Legislature Has Failed to Adjust Petition Forms for Almost a Decade. Today we look at Representative Ruiloba. Rumors that the Democrats Don't Care What Happens to Ruiloba.

03/31/2020

Representative Patricio Ruiloba Disqualified, House District 12 (South Valley, SW of the Big I)

In 2014, following the retirement of the late Ernest H. Chavez, the current incumbent Democrat Representative, Patricio Ruiloba, won a three-way Democrat primary with 42% of the vote by defeating Mark D. Armijo 438 to 405, with Lorenzo J. Pino getting 197 votes. Republicans did not file anyone.

As shown in the map at left (HD 12, shaded orange), the district is located west of the Rio Grande between Gun Club Rd on the south and Rosendo Garcia on the north. It is a "low-vote" district, with a higher than average "under 18" population, and fewer eligible adult voters than average. So vote totals are much lower than the average House district.

81% of the voting-age population is Hispanic.

These combinations of factors usually mean the Republicans are not competitive.

In 2016, the district voted for Clinton 4,468 to 2,013 for Trump, and 638 for Gary Johnson. Republicans last contested the district in 2012, when Chavez defeated Clyde Wheeler, 4,736 to 1,856.

Ruiloba Problems

Representative Ruiloba apparently secured a sufficient number of signatures, but failed to indicate the district number of his state representative district, writing only the words "State Representative" into the last blank (as shown on the form) instead of "State Representative, District 12."

To be fair, the Supreme Court is on record encouraging the legislature to provide an additional blank space for a district, but the legislature has ignored that direction. 

Confusion Built-in to the System

On section of the Election Code requires the following information on a nomination petition: 1) the candidate’s name as shown on the certificate of registration; 2) the candidate’s address; 3) the office sought; 4) the district or division number; 5) the party affiliation of the candidate; and 6) the party affiliation of the voters signing the petition.

However, over the past nine years, the legislature has failed to update the nominating petition form as shown in statute. Therefore that section of the Election Code requires some very different information: 1) the party affiliation of the voters; 2) the candidate’s name; 3) the candidate’s address; 4) the candidate’s county; 5) the office sought; and 6) the date of the primary election.

To make matters worse, while the Secretary of State tells candidates that the district number is required, the statute and the SOS guidance also say that the candidate’s party affiliation is required. However, there is no blank on the petition form for the candidate’s party affiliation, just as there is no identifiable appropriate blank provided for the district number. 

In short, regarding nominating petitions, the entire process, including the Election Code, the SOS guidance, and the numerous conflicting passages between various sections of the Code represent an enormous jumble of conflicting and contradicting information that is actually impossible to comply with. It will remain that way until such time as the legislature finally agrees to take seriously the Supreme Court's admonition to "fix it.

Ruiloba however, did not make any of these points in court, so, while he says he will appeal the district court's decision, he appears unlikely to prevail.

Rumors that Democrats Want Ruiloba Out? Not True, says the Speaker of the House

We have heard from many readers, Democrats and Republicans alike, that the Democratic Party and Speaker of the House Brian Egolf "don't care if Ruiloba is thrown off the ballot." In fact, say these readers "the word is out that Egolf and the Democrats are happy to see him go," that "he votes wrong on some issues and isn't in the mainstream of the party," that he "has an A rating from the National Rifle Association" and other damning traits.

Not so.  Speaker Egolf denies these rumors in no uncertain terms. "I absolutely have done everything I can to assist Representative Ruiloba," the speaker said. "I worked with other elected officials to ensure that he was able to find competent counsel." (Counsel ended up being Tatiana D. Engelmann of Albuquerque.) "Representative Ruiloba is a very collegial member of our caucus who works very well with everyone, I absolutely want him back, and will do what I can to see that that happens."

When asked about statements other Democrats had made that Ruiloba has a "bad" rating with the NRA or is part of a faction that opposes Egolf, the Speaker denied even knowing about such a dynamic. "That's the first I've heard of any of that," he said. "I value Pat, I've made him a committee chair, and regard him as a key member of the legislature."

The Speaker did, however, acknowledge that Ruiloba's problems with his petitions were "of his own making." "We offered everyone a chance to have their signature and petitions reviewed, and even reached out to him on three occasions to afford him that opportunity. He decided that." The Speaker hopes Ruiloba prevails on appeal, but is not "optimistic" about that.

So if Ruiloba does NOT Prevail on Appeal: What Happens Now to the Residents of House District 12?

Well, Ruiloba is out—individuals who have filed a declaration of candidacy cannot file another one during the same election year. So he cannot come back as a "write-in," or as an "independent," or under some other party banner. The other major parties—the Republicans and the Libertarians—did not file anyone. So they're out too.

What is left for the people of House District 12 are four options:  

1) On June 25, an independent (or multiple independent candidates) could file 300 valid signatures and provide voters with that choice for the general election ballot.

2) On June 25, a member or members of New Mexico's three minor parties—the Green Party, the Constitution Party, and the Better for America Party—could file 150 signatures and present one or more candidates from those parties as an option on the general election ballot.

3) On June 25, a resident or residents of the district (all potential candidates have to be residents of the district) could file as a write-in candidate. Such a candidate has the disadvantage of not having his or her name appear on the ballot, but it is an option.

4) No one files on June 25, Ruiloba serves out his term, and the office becomes vacant on January 1, 2021. At that point, the Bernalillo County Commission would be empowered to name a new state representative. 


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


IS HONDA SUBARU of SANTA FE the FIRST VICTIM of the GOV. GRISHAM CRACKDOWN?

03/23/2020

We have received reports this evening that New Mexico State Police—apparently tipped off by passers-by (or by competitors)—have cited the owners and management of Honda-Subaru of Santa Fe for “having too many people on site.”

NMSP apparently entered the property, located at 7511 Cerrillos Road, without warning.

The Governor’s edict apparently provides that Sales Staff at car dealerships are “not essential,” whilst mechanics and other maintenance employees are essential.

We’ve had at least one reader ask us “Did we all go to bed a citizen and wake up a subject of the state?”

We understand a hotline is being set up so that the citizenry can report on their neighbors. (And businesses can keep competitors from gaining the upper hand with regard to sales.)



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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


The Republican State Convention, A Comprehensive Report: Successes, Failures, Surprises, and the Expected. A Review of Speeches and Performances.

03/23/2020

Delegates of the Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) gathered at the Hotel Albuquerque on Friday evening, 6 March, for their State Pre-Primary Nominating Convention which was held Saturday morning, March 7th. The convention is for candidates who seek statewide or congressional offices.

Only those candidates who have gathered signatures equal to 2% of their party's total votes cast in its previous gubernatorial primary may compete in the pre-primary convention. The New Mexico pre-primary convention law then requires those candidates for statewide offices and congressional seats to receive 20% of the delegate vote to be "certified" as convention-designated nominees for the primary. 

The first thing we have to say is that the convention was very well run, efficient, on-time, with no glitches of any kind that we took note of. 

Steve Pearce started the whole thing off, which as state chairman was certainly appropriate. He hawked his autobiography, which was on prominent display, though we never saw anyone buy one.

It's available in thrift stores in southeastern New Mexico for 25 to 50 cents, though to be fair, many many books are sold at that price, not just Pearce's. But Pearce did give a good, solid, rousing speech, which was fairly well-received, though certain sectors did not respond as we thought the theme merited. 

Candidate Speeches and Results

Congressional District 1

Michelle Garcia Holmes led off, making an okay speech with frequent referrals to notes, indicating some unfamiliarity with her message. She was well-received as the bulk of Albuquerque delegates present in their home town venue were in support of her candidacy.

Brett Kokinadis delivered an okay speech as well, though he also had to constantly refer to notes and was not as well-prepared as others. His themes were generally not in sync with the views of the overall convention crowd. This was probably predictable, given that he's only been a Republican for five months and his views still by and large reflect his life-long Democrat leanings.

It's one thing to change parties—that happens all the time. But in most cases, the change is made because a person realizes that his or her current party does not match his or her actual worldview or political philosophy. It is not clear if this is the case with Kokinadis, or if he instead intends to lead the GOP to embrace new policy positions it doesn't currently hold.

Attendees also told us he was hurt by an abrupt switch from the CD3 primary to CD1 that they claimed had the appearance of opportunism rather than sincerity.     

Jared Vander Dussen finished the three-candidate set by giving a well-prepared speech with no notes and he never looked down or anyplace else other than to his audience. He was one of two candidates to accomplish this (Yvette Herrell was the other). He made a generally very good impression.

RESULT:  Holmes 135 (63.4%) Vander Dussen 64 (30.3%) Kokinadis 14 (6.6%). Holmes won an impressive victory, with Vander Dussen coming through with a very respectable showing, and Kokinadis receiving very little support. By all accounts, it went about as expected, though some were surprised that Kokinadis did very very poorly, believing he had a real chance to reach 20%. 

Congressional District 2

Claire Chase was introduced by her husband, and then gave a pretty good speech, with a certain degree of energy and was well received. It must be noted, however, that at the 3-minute 50-second mark, Chase's microphone was cut off. She is the only candidate who received this treatment, though others did go past the 3½-minute time limit.

When that happened, Chase maintained her poise and reacted with grace, something the audience seemed to appreciate.

Yvette Herrell was introduced by Couy Griffin, who has built up a business enterprise called Cowboys for Trump* and has a certain following in the state.  Griffin gave a rousing, well-received speech, as did Herrell. In fact, it could be said that Herrell actually knocked it out of the park.

She had clearly spent a lot of time rehearsing the speech—which is something every convention candidate should do, but few actually accomplish. It paid off, and she was probably the best-received candidate on that date.

However, it must be noted that Herrell went all the way to 3 minutes 54 seconds (four seconds longer than Chase) and her mike was not cut. (So there was non-uniform treatment of candidates in that respect.)

Chris Mathys showed up with a hat—something we believe is usually not a good look (with the possible exception of a Land Commissioner or County Sheriff candidate). It wasn't a cowboy hat, but some sort of odd, exotic style. He gave a reasonable speech, but not anything that would move the crowd.

RESULT:  Herrell 168 (66.1%) Chase 83 (32.7%) Mathys 3 (1.2%). While Herrell's victory was reasonably impressive, it was also very much expected, as Steve Pearce had led a contingent of about a hundred people in Lea County that took over their county convention and had secured at least 90% of the delegates there.

[NOTE: Though he has escaped notice thus far (probably because disadvantaged candidates do not wish to file a formal complaint against their own state chairman) Pearce has left himself open to being cited for violations of §1-19-1 of the New Mexico Election Code.]

Pearce has engaged in similar operations, in several contested primaries, but perhaps most noticeably in the CD2 race. His involvement—and the active, ongoing involvement of the RPNM on behalf of Herrell—has been so extensive that most observers were thinking that the effort to keep Chase from reaching the 20% threshold might be successful.

Given that context, Chase's showing exceeded most people's expectations and her campaign was clearly happy to emerge with convention designation. Mathys' showing was about as expected, though perhaps a higher single figure of total votes was expected.

Congressional District 3

Audra Lee Brown appeared in a cowboy hat and delivered a reasonable speech. She got some laughs from the crowd and developed a good rapport. We later learned from a close observer that the rationale for the hat was not the cowboy motif so favored by Gavin Clarkson et.al, but rather to obscure a rainbow-colored coif that might otherwise be viewed as off-putting. In any case, Brown's speech was pretty well delivered. 

Karen Evette Bedonie, who is Navajo, brought a considerable entourage to the stage and made an appeal that was somewhat heavy on identity politics.

This is a somewhat risky tactic in conservative settings where the voters believe politics is about ideas and a candidate's stands on issues rather than overt appeals to demographic subgroups of the population. Bedonie did pretty well and seemed to make a connection with the crowd.

Anise Golden-Morper, newly back on the ballot and fresh off an easy victory over a poor ruling by the Secretary of State (who seems continuously power-hungry and overreaching) brought something of a defiant mood to the stage.

Because she is only 4' 6", the lectern had to be moved back and off to her right so she could be in full view of the convention audience. She displayed a lot of energy, but—perhaps understandably—devoted too much time to her court victory and not quite enough to the great national issues to which a congressional candidate should be attuned. Still, she made a solid impression overall.

Alexis M. Johnson made what sounded like the best-outlined and maybe the best-scripted speech of the day (with the possible exception of Herrell's). Unfortunately, in the hubbub surrounding Golden-Morper's visibility, when the lectern was moved back into place, the microphone was left dangling to the right and down and away from the speaker. Either that or her nominating speaker left it in an awkward position.

In any case, Johnson did not make an effort to ensure that she and her microphone were in sync. As a result, the volume of her voice ranged between very low to a light, mid-range level.

As she came in and out, it definitely appeared she was giving the right inflection and proper emphasis to have a desired effect, but much of that effect, if not most of it was missed, and therefore lost on the audience. The people right in front of her did react more strongly than most of the nearly 700 who had gathered in the room. It was an unfortunate turn of events for her.

Harry B. Montoya was introduced by former Congressman Bill Redmond, an experienced hand whose first move on the podium was to take control of the microphone with his hand and adjust it, and even holding it while he spoke.

We usually don't believe introductory speeches are the way to go (they take time away from the candidate, who, after all, is the subject on trial) but Redmond's recognition of the mike problem did a great deal for Montoya.

Montoya was also accompanied by an enormous entourage, one that included quite a few natives of northern pueblos. They appeared to be making it clear that Bedonie, whatever identity she may invoke, does not have a lock on the Native American vote. (It may be lost on some, but there exists a certain degree of, shall we say "disconnect" between Pueblos and the Diné—which reflects long-standing, somewhat uneasy relationships.)

Montoya made a good speech on his own and connected.

RESULT:  Montoya 86 (35.6%) Bedonie 69 (30.9%) Golden-Morper 39 (17.5%) Johnson 25 (11.2%) Brown 4 (1.8%). Montoya's victory may have caught some off-guard, as he has been attacked pretty strongly for being another recent convert.

He left the Democrat Party only 11 months ago, after more than 35 years a Democrat and having served two terms as a Democrat Santa Fe County Commissioner.

His opponents claim he switched only because the state Democratic Party told him he had no place to run as a pro-life candidate and was unwelcome as a potential congressional candidate. This did not seem to hurt him among convention-goers, though it may as the primary campaign continues.

Bedonie's operation is very well organized, and, according to most observers, is far and away the nastiest—and said to be in league with US Senate candidate Elisa Martinez, whose surrogates and spokespersons are also running an extremely nasty and overwhelmingly negative campaign, especially in social media.

Both of those candidates, who seem to be running as a team, may eventually face a backlash from primary voters disgusted with their social media operations. 

Whether it has come about via negativity or some sort of true grassroots support, Bedonie clearly has a formidable organization. Golden-Morper was clearly upset with her showing and dropped out of the race within a few days. Audra Brown did the same, having garnered only 4 votes.

For her part, Alexis Johnson vowed to continue the campaign. As the candidate who probably comes off more eloquently conservative Republican than any of the remaining three in the race, Johnson may yet have a shot at catching hold. 

U.S. Senate

Gavin Clarkson led off the senate speeches attired in his semi-cowboy motif and did his usual good job of expounding on conservative Republican themes. He appeared to connect with the audience, most of whom have undoubtedly seen him around the state, as this is the third office he has sought over just the past 21 months.

Elisa Martinez followed with a well-delivered speech, which connected with a built-in very receptive audience. As the former executive director of New Mexico Alliance for Life, she had an organizational advantage that allowed her to elect about a hundred members of that pro-life organization as delegates, leading to a real boost in enthusiasm for every part of her speech.

Martinez is Navajo, but emphasizes that she is also Hispanic, and she, much like Bedonie, made a very real identity-politics pitch. Again, this is a risky approach in a universe of voters who view identity politics with skepticism if not outright intellectual disdain.

Though to be fair, Martinez probably touched on more issues that resonate with conservative audiences than did Bedonie. Needless to say, she did well with the convention crowd.

Mick Rich, who is clearly one of the nicest people to ever run for office anywhere, simply did not come across as someone who had his full heart and soul in this race. He read most of his speech, which is almost inexplicable for someone who is running for the same office for three years. 

Mark Ronchetti came through with a burst of enthusiasm that seemed to hit home with at least a portion of the convention crowd. He seemed to elicit a more increasing welcoming and friendly response as his speech went on.

Ronchetti has been the principal, if not the only target of the relentlessly vicious attacks by the Elisa Martinez social media operation. So it was not a surprise that it appeared that a large segment of the attendees had come in with a skeptical, if not negative, appraisal of his candidacy.

However, Ronchetti's enthusiasm and well-delivered, well-crafted speech seemed to win over a significant portion of that skeptical element.

Louie Sanchez made a good speech, highlighting his entrepreneurial talents and business success. He found a receptive audience as it appeared he had a lot of committed delegates who were big fans, a phenomenon we had noticed in various locations around the state. This was impressive in that we had never heard of him till his announcement earlier this year. 

RESULT:  Martinez  241 (34.9%) Ronchetti 198 (28.7%) Sanchez 113 (16.4%) Rich 72 (10.4%) Clarkson 66 (9.6%). Martinez's win was widely expected as she had a built-in base of about a hundred votes due to her very early start nearly six months ago and the hard work planning for the convention and rounding up the Alliance for Life members.

The surprise for almost everyone, including us, had to be Ronchetti. He had only recently entered the race and had done relatively little for this meeting, knowing that no matter what happened he had over 10,000 signatures and therefore did not have to worry about reaching the 20% threshold.

As a result he apparently spent nothing for the convention: no hospitality suite, no ads, no visible effort at all. Yet he surged very strongly, probably based on how he came across. It can even be argued that if only the persuadable delegates are considered, Ronchetti actually beat Martinez something like 190 to 140, pretty impressive.

Rich seemed somewhat despondent at the surprising result, and dropped out of the race. Clarkson's showing has to be considered unimpressive given his continuous campaign for three offices that has now lasted some 2½ years. However, he vowed to soldier on.

Another real surprise was Sanchez's inability to reach the 20% threshold, considering his extremely loyal base of support that had quickly emerged and his clear standing and reputation in the business community. Surprisingly, he dropped out as well. We are told that his lucrative business interests are more or less a "hands-on" requirement for him and that he concluded that he cannot really conduct the kind of campaign he needs to do while simultaneously giving the personal attention his enterprises require.


* The organization does, however, face serious questions involving its role in advocating the election of selected candidates, and whether or not it is filing proper campaign finance reports.)


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


DEMOCRATS PLAYING POLITICS with the DEADLY CORONAVIRUS

03/23/2020

Can any Democrat out there tell us what Nancy Pelosi’s amendment, that provides:

“tax credits for solar panels,”

has to do providing relief for the effects of the Coronavirus?

Anything? Why get in the way of helping the American people by insisting that “the Green New Deal” be a part of the package?

The Democrats are continuing to do what we have, sadly, noted over the past several days: playing politics with the lives of the American people.

Yes, it’s hard to believe that anyone—let alone elected officials—would gamble with our lives, but that is exactly what Schumer, Pelosi, and many others are doing. If you don’t believe us, all you have to do is tune in to C-SPAN.

This is what the Democratic Party has become.


 

Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


NEW MEXICO REPUBLICANS SHOULD NOT BE CALLING for a SPECIAL SESSION: BAD IDEA

03/20/2020
The frantic calls by New Mexico House Republicans and some New Mexico Republican Senators for a special session to "solve" various problems in state government seem very very misguided to us.
 
Yes, it is true that both those caucuses of Republicans fought very hard on a range of issues, including advocacy for a reasonable budget, lower spending, etc. And it is true that they were, and are, correct about Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's reckless spending and her waste of much of the record $2.2 billion surplus left by Gov. Susana Martinez.
 
House and Senate Republicans deserve credit for all they have done.
 
But it's an entirely different thing to be clamoring for a special session.
 
Making that kind of noise does a number of things:
 
1) It makes it sound as though the Republicans own the problem of any budget shortfalls or irresponsibility. They don't. The Democrats own that problem. Democrats asked for that budget. Democrats overspent. Don't give Grisham the opportunity to say "I'm calling for a Special Session because Republicans want to fix their problems." No. It's her problem.
 
2) In the current atmosphere, the tendency by those in power (and the Republicans are NOT in power) is to overreach—to try to stretch the limits of governmental power, claiming it's justified by "emergency." (We need look no further than the Albuquerque City Council's recent actions this week.)
 
3) Secretary of State Maggie Oliver is making noise about all kinds of "powers" she supposedly has to create new election laws and rules. If a special session is called, she could easily ask the legislature to adopt an "all-mail-in" election for 2020. If such a thing were adopted, New Mexico would quickly go the way of Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. Republican electoral fortunes would plummet further with hundreds of thousands of ballots stacking up in post office trash, dormitory rooms, group housing, apartment buildings—all ready to be picked up and voted by OLÉ, or other Democrat special interest groups.
 
Bottom Line:
 
The Democrats control 100% of every aspect of state government in New Mexico. Asking for a special session, or any kind of session, always puts an outnumbered group of Republicans against overwhelming voting power of the Democrats—so please explain to us HOW that works to any taxpayer's advantage.
 
In the Old West, cowboys who found themselves outgunned 20 to 10 weren't the ones who said, "Okay, let's schedule a showdown." No way. If it comes, do your best, but there's no logic in always trying to bring the Democrats' overwhelming power to bear. You're going to lose. And, keep in mind, it's not your fight, and not your dilemma to solve.

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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


Part 2 of Our Look at Unnecessary Primaries: Senate Districts 33 and 41

03/18/2020

We already looked at the circular firing squad situation in State Senate District 19, brought about by the state's Republican leadership. RPNM and House Leadership continue to deny unlawful activities, however, it appears all of the information that our sources say came from inside discussions we have reported on has turned out to be true. The bottom line is that because of poor leadership New Mexico Republicans are going to be wasting many thousands of dollars on primaries—funds and resources that could be used on challenges to Democrats.

GOP LEGISLATIVE PRIMARIES

Senate District 41

Incumbent Republican Senator Gregg H. Fulfer of Jal is being challenged by incumbent Representative David M. Gallegos of Eunice. Fulfer was appointed to the position in December 2018, following the resignation of Senator Carroll Leavell. Following New Mexico law on vacancies in the legislature, both Fulfer and Gallegos submitted their names to the Eddy and Lea County Commissions.

The Eddy County Commission selected Fulfer by a vote of 3-2 and the Lea County board did the same by a 4-1 vote. Accordingly, Fulfer's name was the only one forwarded to Governor Susana Martinez, who appointed Fulfer.

Since they have both been interviewed extensively and have published full-page ads explaining their motivation for running, we did not need to interview either candidate. 

Representative Gallegos explained his rationale in the Hobbs News-Sun on March 1st by attacking both of the county commissions that he wants to represent. Saying that he is someone who has "always stood on principle," Gallegos appeared to repeatedly attack both the Eddy and Lea County commissioners as lacking the principles he possesses. He had this to say:

"When Senator Fulfer was chosen for this office by just 7 people who were all on Lea and Eddy county commissions, the voice of the people at that time was ignored. Some would go so far to say the decision was made in private before the public vote."

Gallegos neglected to tell the voters that the procedures followed by the commissions are exactly those that are prescribed in New Mexico law. Instead, he implies they had somehow broken the law and just dreamed up the process, making up rules as they went along. He also accuses the commissions of having violated the Governmental Conduct Act by holding secret, unlawful meetings—an odd approach to take with the governments of the counties he wants to represent.

In any case, Gallegos has made it very clear that his self-proclaimed, single, overriding reason for running is that he feels he should have been chosen 15 months ago instead of Fulfer. It seems a thin reed on which to base a campaign, especially with the Republican Party having so many Democrat targets available. 

Senator Fulfer had a strong response ad to Gallegos, laying out his support for traditional family values and the Southeastern New Mexico way of life. Minority Leader Stuart Ingle weighed in to buttress Fulfer's case by saying:  

“Senator Fulfer is the foremost expert in the entire State Senate on oil and gas issues. We look to him for the kind of in-depth knowledge of this industry which is so vital not only to Southeastern New Mexico, but to our entire state. I don’t know where we would be without Gregg’s expertise on these kinds of issues. We need him to stay in the Senate.”

On balance, it appears that Fulfer makes the stronger case for the seat, as Gallegos appears motivated by spite, while Fulfer is motivated by the ways in which he can represent the district. Making the case worse for Gallegos is the fact he's an incumbent challenging an incumbent of the same Republican Party. Meanwhile, Republicans will have fewer resources with which to take on Democrat incumbents.

Senate District 33

Incumbent Republican William F. Burt of Alamogordo is being challenged by newcomer Christopher Glendon Hensley of Roswell.

Hensley is a landman with his own company. He is from Chickasha, Oklahoma and he says he's been in Roswell about two years. He graduated from Putnam City High School in Oklahoma and he has a B.S. from Oklahoma City University. He is 39, married and has four children. 

Burt grew up in Deming and graduated from high school there. He has a B.S. in Mass Communications from New Mexico State, and he and his wife own four radio stations in Alamogordo. He is 69, married, with two children and five grandchildren.

We interviewed Mr. Hensley by telephone, asking his motivation, considering the fact that, in terms of Republicans capturing the Senate, the outcome of this race is irrelevant. 

Here are excerpts from that interview: 

Hensley: "I don't have a negative thing to say about Mr. Burt. I just feel we need new blood, and certain people have asked me to do this." 

NMPJ: Are they willing to go public with that?

Hensley: "No."

NMPJ: Are you familiar with the notion that when anyone takes on an incumbent that person is saying the incumbent should be fired? You're essentially saying Mr. Burt should be fired.

Hensley: "I get that. And again, I don't have anything to say about Mr. Burt, but the state is in poor position. We are just about last in every category, except crime. If you've had a job for close to ten years, it can be time for change. 

NMPJ: Well, Republicans might argue "Hey, we aren't the ones in charge. We aren't the ones who have put the state in this position. Why run against us? Why not against the Democrats?

Hensley: "Some people say that. But here's the thing: new blood can find different ways to work together to change things. 70-80% of the issues are non-partisan—education, healthcare, we have only 2 million people and we're last in everything."

Hensley was cordial throughout. 

We also interviewed Senator Burt by phone, asking his view of the impending contest. Here is his take:

NMPJ: Do you know Mr. Hensley or why he is running?

Burt: We have met and talked. He's a nice guy. I don't know, no one seems to know him. But yes, I do have an idea of who is behind his running.

NMPJ: Can you say who that is?

Burt:  No, I'd rather not right now. Let's wait and see how things go. There might be an appropriate moment to talk about that at some point, but not right now.

NMPJ: What do you think of his statement that New Mexico is last in everything?

Burt: "There are lots of reasons why we are last or near last in some categories. Everyone wants to improve. It's what path we take that matters. Most issues are certainly not non-partisan. Republicans and Democrats have different approaches to just about everything."

NMPJ: So you've had a cordial meeting?

Burt: "We have. I certainly don't want anything negative. Win, lose, or draw, I don't want to lose a good Republican. I encouraged him to get to know people, let people get to know him, for him to get to know the state, the politics of the state, and the system."

Senator Burt was cordial and forthright. 

RATINGS

We again consulted the American Conservative Union (ACU)* to see what their 2019 rankings of New Mexico legislators might reveal. It turns out that Senator Burt has a rating of 53%, which ties him for 10th place out of 16 in his caucus, with Senator Candace Gould.

His ranking places him 3 points behind the Senate Minority Whip, William Payne of Albuquerque and one point ahead of the Minority Leader, Stuart Ingle of Portales. The Minority Caucus Chair, Steve Neville of Farmington is in the same grouping, standing 8th, at 57%.

Mr. Hensley, as a first-time candidate, has no votes and no record with which to compare.


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We Were Right: Republican Leaders Apparently Did Encourage Intra-Party Fights Instead of Focusing on The Democrats. Senate District 19: Schmedes v. White.

03/16/2020

Republicans end up being urged to run a circular firing squad. As we tentatively forecast, based on reports we had received about the activities of Steve Pearce, Anissa Tinnin, and others, several Republicans are now challenging sitting Republican incumbents in the legislature. The RPNM had denied this, but we turned out to be correct. 

It now appears they have guided even currently sitting Republican state representatives to spend enormous resources attacking other Republicans who already hold seats. This may represent hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenditures that could be spent trying to unseat Demcorats. Democrats hold the state senate 26-16 and the State House, 46-24. Only in New Mexico would you see a state party so ill-led as to have these undertakings. 

GOP LEGISLATIVE PRIMARIES

Senate District 19

Incumbent Republican James P. White is being challenged by a sitting Republican State Representative, Gregg William Schmedes. 

We interviewed Representative Schmedes by telephone, asking his motivation, considering the fact that, in terms of Republicans capturing the Senate, the outcome of this race will not move the ball one inch down the field. Here are Schmedes' responses:

Schmedes: "Jim is a good guy and primaries are misunderstood. Jim is a nice person. But the district is a conservative district and it deserves to have conservative representation."

NMPJ: Are you saying Senator White is not a conservative?

Schmedes: "I won't say that. I feel it's best to let Jim describe himself."

NMPJ: Well, if you say the district should have conservative representation, that implies that you believe the district does not have conservative representation at this time.

Schmedes: "Yes, it does. That's right. This was not my personal idea in the first place. It came from people I met with who wanted different representation. Jim is a good guy. It's going to be a good race. We have talked and we've agreed to remain collegial in the campaign."

Representative Schmedes was cordial and forthright. 

We also interviewed Senator White by phone, asking his view of the impending contest. Here is his take:

White: "I believe we are both good legislators. The bad thing is that one of us will have to go home, and that's a shame because we shouldn't really be having this [primary]."

NMPJ: Representative Schmedes says the distinct deserves a conservative to represent it. How do you respond to that?

White: [laughs] "I don't see that as accurate. As I understand it, he's giving up his seat in the House because he's got a tough opponent and he doesn't think he can win that race. So he might as well try for the Senate seat."

NMPJ: What does this mean to you?.

White: "Well, there's a Democrat running for this seat also. So we now have to spend a lot of money on the primary that we really need for the general election." 

NMPJ: He says you two have talked about the primary.

White: "We have. I called him, and we agreed that we want to keep it clean and have no mud-slinging or that kind of campaign."

Senator White was cordial and forthright. 

RATINGS

Since Schmedes is assuming the role of the "conservative" in this race, we decided to try to obtain some kind of objective information about both candidates.  The American Conservative Union (ACU)* rates legislators in all 50 states as well as members of Congress. Their 2019 ratings for New Mexico are online.

It must be noted that the House and Senate ratings are based on different criteria. The House ratings include seven votes that senators did not get to make, and the Senators are rated on four votes that House members did not have a chance to vote on. So there are a total of 46 votes included in the survey, but 11 of them are not available to one chamber or the other. 

Those differences result in very different scores between the two houses. For example, the average Senate Republican score is 61%, while the average House Republican score is 80%—but the average scores would be much more similar if they were graded on the same criteria. 

The ACU rates Schmedes 22nd of 24 Republican state representatives. His rating is 71%, nine points below the average House Republican rating, which is 80%, though well ahead of the average House Democrat, whose rating is 15%.

Oddly enough, the two Republicans Schmedes placed ahead of are Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences (66%) and Bill Rehm of Albuquerque (66%). Neither Rehm nor Dow is considered to be a "liberal" or a "progressive." To the contrary, both enjoy strong conservative reputations in their districts as well as throughout the legislature.  

For his part, White comes in tied for 12th among the 16 remaining Republican senators. Significantly, one of the senators he is tied with is the Minority Leader, Stuart Ingle of Portales, hardly considered a progressive. The other is Gay Kernan of Hobbs, who is also not considered to be a liberal.

Their ratings are both 52%, which—as in the case of Schmedes in the House—is also 9 points below the Senate Republican average of 61%, though well above the 19% average enjoyed by Senate Democrats. In addition to tying Kernan and Ingle, White finished ahead of Ron Griggs of Alamogordo (50%) and Sander Rue (46%) of Albuquerque. Neither of those legislators is considered objectively progressive. 

Conclusion: Based on objective ratings, it would appear that Schmedes does not have a case for challenging White on the grounds that he himself has put forth: that the district needs a conservative. If Schmedes' logic is to be considered strong, then Steve Pearce (or Stuart Ingle himself) should have recruited people to run against Kernan, Ingle himself (oddly), Griggs, and Rue.

Likewise, Pearce or Jim Townsend should have had someone recruited to run against Schmedes, Rehm, and Dow. 

The point we are making is that Schmedes "logic," if that is what it is, fails of its own weight. It appears to be more of a conjured pretext rather than an objectively derived rationale. We must conclude that White is most likely closer to the truth in asserting that Schmedes saw a tough race ahead and decided to try for an office with a four-year term rather than a two-year.

(A review of the 2018 election returns shows that Schmedes won his house race by only 140 votes out of more than 16,000 cast: 8,198 to 8,058. This is much closer than it should have been, as Trump carried the district comfortably two years before, and the previous representative, James Smith, won his races by between two and three thousand votes. That kind of relatively weak showing may be part of Schmedes' motivation, especially since the 2018 Democrat nominee is running again this year.)

In any case, the motive has to be judged as likely springing from personal ambition and a personal desire, rather than to ideas or the welfare of the conservative movement or the Republican Party. 


* We also took a look at something called the Freedom Index, published by the Rio Grande Foundation. The problem with the Freedom Index is that the criteria used appear to be arbitrary, inconsistent, and subject to sudden changes and readjustments. One senator told us that "the RGF has switched its weighting of the issues two or three times since they were first published." 

Additionally, the RGF tends to be "libertarian" rather than conservative. This can end up misleading Republicans, who tend to be conservative. As an example, libertarians generally: favor abortion rights, support the legalization of controlled substances, support sanctuary cities, favor citizenship for illegals, support the transgender movement, and oppose a border wall. While libertarians and conservatives have many shared views—on taxation and the economy for example—it would be misleading to the bulk of Republican voters to evaluate elected officials based on libertarian criteria. 


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LOWLIGHTS of the DEMOCRAT DEBATE TONIGHT: BIDEN TRASHES OIL, PLUS OTHER HITS

03/15/2020

BIDEN’s LOWEST LOWLIGHT for NEW MEXICO

“No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill. Period.”

In context, at the 1 hour 25-minute mark of the debate, Biden said:

“No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling, including off-shore. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill. Period. Ends.”

If Biden becomes president, New Mexico is screwed. We get nearly 40% of our total revenues from oil and gas taxes and royalties that go into the permanent funds and the general fund.

It was because of oil & gas that Gov. Susana Martinez was able to leave office while providing New Mexico with a $2.2 billion surplus.* Unprecedented in state history. (Even though Grisham has already eaten into that surplus quite a bit.)


* To be fair, she also had to veto every single tax proposal that passed and also make numerous line-item vetoes of Democrat overspending.


MORE DEBATE LOWLIGHTS:

Biden points out that, if he had his way:

“6 million undocumented (illegal immigrants in Democrat-speak) would be citizens right now.”

Bingo. Exactly. That is the Democrat Party platform: bring as many illegal immigrants into the country as can possibly cross the border at the maximum rate possible—open borders—and immediately make them citizens and Democrat Party voters.

The American people will have to decide if that is what we want our country to be: No borders. No sovereignty. No real country at all.

SOME ADDITIONAL DEBATE LOWLIGHTS

??Biden makes the bizarre claim that Sanders has “nine super PACs” supporting him. Bernie asks Joe to name one. Biden gets all sad, turns oddly silent—goes just a little bit “dementio.”

??Biden says:

“I don’t want to get into a back and forth.”

NMPJ comment: Really? It’s a debate, Joe. That’s sort of how debates work, Joe.

Sanders is being somewhat aggressive, but—in a Romney-esque manner—he can’t decide whether to be bold or timid. He’s talking seriously about Biden’s bad votes (from a Democrat perspective) and about his failure of “leadership.” However, he needed to have been this way all along—and to let it all out. To change the dynamic at this stage he must go all out. He’s not doing that.


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BERNIE’s LAST STAND? Sunday Night? 6PM Mountain Time.

03/14/2020

With the Democratic Party’s nomenklatura issuing orders to all its membership to END THE NOMINATION PROCESS NOW, Sunday night's CNN Debate between Biden and Sander’s could very well represent Bernie’s last chance to change the dynamics of the Democratic race for that party’s nomination.

After losing the first three contests—badly—Biden has made a dramatic turnaround, first by winning the South Carolina primary. At which point, the hierarchy of his party excitedly seized on the moment to enlist their numerous media allies, who enthusiastically joined forces with the party to drive home the message: BIDEN’s the ONE! Bernie must be stopped!

Oddly, for a party that sees itself as intellectually superior to the Republicans—and especially to Trump supporters—the Democrats responded remarkably like sheep. Suddenly Biden was hailed by Democrat apparatchiks in unprecedented terms—and in terms dramatically and embarrassingly at odds with those same individuals’ appraisals just days before.

It simply didn’t matter.

“Who cares what we said before? Who cares if we believe any of this?” As James Carville and equally influential members of the Democrat “Politburo” shouted on TV:

“Everybody shut up! This thang is over! Just stop. Vote for Joe! Nothing else matters!”

The sense of the party is this:

If Joe can get by Bernie tonight, unharmed, without a self-inflicted wound, then we will be home-free. We will have a nominee behind whom we can all unite to defeat Trump. We must knock Bernie out tonight.

And, the thinking goes, there’s no need for any special maneuver or “punch” by Joe Biden tonight. All he has to do is survive—to make it to the bell. He can even take a lot of punches—doing the equivalent of a “rope-a-dope” for two hours. He only needs to be on his feet and breathing at 8:00 PM Mountain Daylight Time.

We have no idea if Bernie realizes the fate of his campaign is resting on tonight’s event. But it most likely is.

BIDEN can also be seen as a PLACE-HOLDER

We also believe that Biden represents not just his own candidacy. We suspect he is also being viewed as a place-holder. That is to say, once he is used to vanquish Sanders, the Democrats may well see him as someone who can be replaced—if need be—should his incapacity to lead become glaring obvious to all.

NEW RULES for DEMOCRAT DEBATES

For a satirical view on the Democrats’ debates (though one with possibly a great deal of truth), see our Editor Emeritus’s take here:

 

Washington, D.C. (AP) THE DNC’s NEW DEBATE RULES DISCOVERED; AND LEAKED TO MEDIA

??Beginning Sunday, all presidential debates are reduced from two hours to 30 minutes.

??Permanent moderators will be Donna Brazile, Candy Crowley, and Martha Raddatz. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is the timekeeper and host.

??Because she has experience in this, Brazile has full discretion to provide all questions in advance to Biden.

??Biden will also be provided a TelePrompTer.

??Crowley is permitted to disagree with Sanders on the “facts” he may offer—and explain Bernie’s errors to the viewing audience.

??Raddatz is permitted to mildly harangue Sanders for “misstatements,” and admonish him as the need arises.

??Wasserman-Schultz will introduce the show with a 5-minute explanation of the rules and the assurance of neutrality by the Democratic National Committee.

??Moderators will ask one question each.

??Questions offered by moderators will last at least two minutes each, providing the background and a full explanation of the issue to be discussed.

??Sanders will always answer first and is given one minute to respond.

??Biden will always follow Sanders and is allowed a maximum of 30 seconds, though moderators may cut him off earlier, if mind-wandering is detected.

??There will be five 3-minute commercial breaks. The breaks will feature ads for Biden.

??Sanders is given 30 seconds to close.

??Biden will be thanked for his straightforward answers and will be asked to nod and smile as the credits roll.

??The delegate threshold for Tulsi Gabbard to qualify has been raised to one thousand.


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Intelligent Political Discourse—for the Thoughtful New Mexican


ANOTHER INNUMERACY ALERT (Or—again an alternate title: Why You need NMPJ!)

03/13/2020

Yesterday, Fox News’ medical expert, Dr. Marc Siegel, had this to say:

“It’s time we step up to the plate and do what South Korea is doing. How about 20,000 tests per day? That'll make the people feel comfortable with the situation," he concluded.

Not us.

Why? Because testing the US population, at the rate of 20,000 people per day, would take the United States 45 years and 2 months. And that’s if no one else was born or died during that period.

See: Math is hard. We guess.


That’s why people say things that they simply have not thought through.

(Heck, at the rate the South Koreans are boasting about, it will even take them seven years to test their whole country.)


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Filing Day. Will this be a Day of “Unity” for the GOP? Or has the Party’s Leadership and Legislative Leadership Led Individuals to Disunity and Selfish Motives? Today will Tell Whether We are Correct or whether the State Party and Legislative Leaders have been Telling the Truth or Prevaricating.

03/10/2020

We are hearing rumblings of the worst kind from the Republican Party insiders—that they have encouraged their own to turn on each other. With the party having been run into the ground over the last two cycles, the thinking of most Republican voters is that the state GOP should be concentrating only on vulnerable Democrat seats in the state House and State Senate.

NO REPUBLICANS HAVE ANY BUSINESS  TRYING TO KNOCK OFF THEIR EXISTING OFFICEHOLDERS. THAT'S STUPID.

Resources are scarce. Contributions are hard to come by. Democrats are organized and have tons of Soros money and other “independent expenditure” funding. We have heard over and over that Republicans have to marshal their funds, time, and effort on going after Democrats.

And that there is no way any Republican should be challenging any of the incumbents they already have. Those are hard-earned seats that Republican voters and donors have already fought and bled for.

Nonetheless:

Yet, as we have reported: We have heard rumblings that the State Party leaders have encouraged certain sitting GOP legislators to take on other sitting GOP legislators.

We are not making this up—as bizarre as it may seem for a party as poor and as outnumbered as the New Mexico Republicans, the rumors are strong that incumbent Republicans are going to challenge OTHER INCUMBENT REPUBLICANS.

We are not talking about primaries where there are Democrat incumbents—primaries in those seats make sense. You want a strong candidate.

We are not talking about primaries in places where there are OPEN seats. Again, primaries in those places make complete sense.

But Primaries Where the Seat is Already held by a Sitting, Incumbent Conservative Republican?

The Republican leaders of the state party and of the state legislature can and will do what they want to do. We recognize that. They can encourage division if they want. And they can provide no leadership and no vision of how to capture Democrat seats if they want to. But that doesn’t make them good leaders or correct.

If there are sitting Republican incumbents bent on taking on other Republican incumbents, it is nothing more than a selfish act of ego. The differences in philosophy are not there. The differences in their votes and their platform positions are not there.

No. Such undertakings—even if they are encouraged by legislative leaders or state party leaders—are extreme acts of egotistical, self-centered, narcissism. And no Republican in his or her right mind should contribute a single dime, or pass out a single piece of literature on behalf of such a selfish effort.

What a colossal, almost incredibly stupid waste of resources, time, campaign funds and energy and effort that would be!

Republicans are at their lowest ebb in the history of the New Mexico Republican Party.

Democrats have a 47-23 stranglehold in the State House.

Democrats have a 26-16 stranglehold in the State Senate.

All Republican efforts should be solely focused on DEMOCRATS ALONE!

Bottom Line at this Low Ebb of the New Mexico GOP?

Any Republican who might be running against a sitting Republican legislator is definitely not doing so in the interests of the GOP or in the interests of New Mexicans.

He or she would be acting solely to stroke his or her own ego. They deserve the opprobrium of the Republican rank and file. And so do the leaders who either encouraged it, or stood by and provided no leadership and no vision for 2020.


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BIDEN MELTS DOWN

03/09/2020

We have received lots and lots of pushback with our firm position that Biden will not prevail—even in the Democratic nomination process—and that Bernie will ultimately destroy him in debate, or Biden will destroy himself.

This is about guns—and we don’t even think this is his most vulnerable issue.

This video shows Biden pointing finger in a man’s face and telling the autoworker he is “full of shit.”

He grows increasingly agitated by his own confusion over firearms nomenclature and the legality of classes of weapons.

We are not physicians, but for many voters this can come across as a classic example of onset senility.

https://twitter.com/boknowsnews/status/1237387463246708736…