John Block

Report: If elected, Biden would likely tap Heinrich for Dept. of the Interior, MLG for Dept. of Energy

On Wednesday, pro-energy group Power the Future released a comprehensive report on former vice president and Democrat nominee for president Joe Biden’s energy policies, which reveal his long history of anti-oil and gas rhetoric, as well as his possible Cabinet secretaries, if elected.

“Biden has proudly embraced ‘net zero-ism.’ ‘Net-zero,’ of course, is the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) goal that green activists demand all climate policy must aim for to be considered legitimate,” the report reveals. However, “the goal is impossible to meet. But for greens that’s irrelevant.” 

Biden has already expressed support for the “Green New Deal,” a far-left socialist proposal brought forth by the farthest left “climate change” activists around, notable New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who once claimed, “the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.”

“No more drilling on federal lands,” Biden pledged. “No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill. Period. Ends.” The total ban on all drilling is a radical proposal, especially since 40% of New Mexico’s state revenue comes from the oil and gas sector, which provides billions in critical funds to keep New Mexico running, specifically in terms of funding public education. In Biden’s America, New Mexico would have to scrape at the bottom of the barrel some way, somehow, to fund schools for our children to receive an education. Biden also claimed, “I’ve never been middle of the road on the environment.”

But even more startling in Power the Future’s report were revelations of who Biden may tap for key Cabinet positions, such as Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Energy, New Mexico politicians, including Sen. Martin Heinrich (who permanently lives in Maryland), and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who signed a law referred to as New Mexico’s mini “Green New Deal,” are being considered.

The report says, “Sen. Heinrich’s record representing the state of New Mexico shows a politician who cares more about earning goodwill with liberal leaders like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in Washington, DC then doing what’s right economically for the constituents he represents in an energy-producing state. Usually, when a politician stops looking out for their own constituents’ best interests, it means they have another job they want in life. That makes Sen. Heinrich the front-runner for Interior right now.”

Lujan Grisham is mentioned as a possible pick for Secretary of Energy, “along with former HUD Secretary Julian Castro (D-TX) and Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA).” Lujan Grisham’s Green New Deal would force through a net-zero carbon mandate by 2045, completely decimating the oil and gas industry by that date.

“Judging by the fact they’ve embraced radical environmentalism at the expense of New Mexicans, there’s no doubt Governor Lujan Grisham and Senator Heinrich would jump at the chance to be in a possible Biden administration,” says Larry Behrens of Power the Future. “The energy policies they’ve forced upon us will continue to have terrible consequences for our families and that’s why they’re hoping for a soft landing in Washington because it means they won’t have to live with the results in New Mexico.”

In conclusion, the report plainly states, “This is what the public should expect from a Biden presidency. On energy and environmental policy (and very likely so much else), Biden is fully simpatico with the most extremist elements of the Democratic party and the green movement. The effect will cripple America’s shale revolution and immiserate consumers, especially the poor.”

Anti-gun partisan Democrat Rep. Torres Small clings to her guns in deceptive new ad

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (NM-02) attempted to claim once again she’s pro-gun by redoing her 2018 campaign ad featuring her firing off a shotgun. This time, she fired an array of firearms, including a shotgun and a revolver.

Torres Small says, “This is how I unwind. I’m Xochitl Torres Small. I haven’t been in Congress that long, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned: Washington doesn’t get us. Out here, no one asks if you’re a Republican or a Democrat. We’re all just New Mexican. It’s why I don’t play their silly political games, and why I work with anyone who wants to deliver for New Mexico. 

The ad comes after harsh criticism from her opponent, former state Rep. Yvette Herrell’s campaign, releasing an ad with Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace blasting Torres Small for her anti-gun policies, namely, her support for a radical “universal background check” bill that would rip New Mexicans’ guns away.  

Torres Small has voted 95% of the time with left-wing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and voted with her party on most major bills, including the Democrats’ impeachment inquisition, which the Senate totally exonerated Trump on all counts.  Torres Small also hired an ex-lobbyist from Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, Everytown, as her campaign manager for this cycle, which Piñon Post first reported on.

Trump campaign highlights Biden/Harris fracking ban’s effect on NM’s economy

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s campaign highlighted the front cover of The Carlsbad Current-Argus, with an article about Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris’ plan to ban fracking. 

The Campaign fixated on a quote from the article reading “Sadly, a fracking ban is no longer an idea from fringe candidates, it’s now the centerpiece of a major candidate’s campaign and New Mexicans should be worried,” quoting Larry Behrens of Power the Future, an advocate for the energy industry in New Mexico.

“Every New Mexico official who has endorsed Joe Biden should now have to answer if they support the extreme position of banning fracking and destroying our economy,” continued Behrens. 

“Her policies are leaving shattered lives, hopelessness and an ongoing belief among our young people that they have no future here,” the Current-Argus quoted Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce as saying following Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s convention speech. 

Lujan Grisham has been a staunch proponent of the Biden/Harris ticket, speaking at the Republican National Convention in front of an array of solar panels.

According to the article:

Biden’s selection of Harris reignited the ire of oil and gas industry advocates in New Mexico who slammed previous statements made by Harris during her campaign for Democrat nomination that she would support a full ban on hydraulic fracturing if elected to the highest office in the land.   

“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” she said during a 2019 town hall event on climate change hosted by CNN.

“This is something I’ve taken on in California. I have a history of working on this issue. We have to just acknowledge that the residual impact of fracking is enormous in terms of the impact on the health and safety of communities.”

The fracking argument is sure to be a topic of much discussion this election, with President Trump’s campaign staunchly pro-energy, whereas a Biden/Harris ticket means a total ban on hydraulic fracturing, a necessity in New Mexico, with our booming oil and gas industry.

RPNM Chairman Pearce gives away New Mexico’s 22 delegates at RNC Convention

On Monday, Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce gave away New Mexico’s 22 delegates to President Donald J. Trump for renomination as President of the United States in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Pearce said, “Madam Chair, on behalf of the good people of the state of New Mexico, the land of blue skies, limitless horizons, and unending vistas, a land where faith, freedom, and family dominate our values, we all saw Mr. Trump come down that escalator, and he gave a voice to fears and anguish that we all felt for this country, and he began to speak words of strength and purpose, words like courage and liberty, truth hope and life. And we saw him begin to rebuild this country and then we saw that rebuilding interrupted by the COVID-19. So now we have a choice. A choice to continue the rebuilding, the revival, the renewing of this great land. New Mexico is proud to vote for that renewal, that revival by casting its 22 votes for Donald J. Trump, the next president of the United States of America!” 

CENSORED: Largest conservative NM Facebook group gets disabled just 74 days before election

Just 74 days before the November 3, 2020 election, New Mexico’s largest conservative Facebook group has been taken down by the California social media giant.

On Friday evening, former Republican candidate for New Mexico House of Representatives Audrey Trujillo and founder of “#NewMexit” Melinda Rivera, two administrators of the Facebook group “TURN NEW MEXICO RED 2020” announced that the massive community has been disabled for not following Facebook’s “community standards.” 

Rivera writes, “Facebook is Silencing Conservatives in New Mexico….  I’m an Admin with my amiga Audrey Trujillo on the largest NM Conservative Group Page with over 20k followers and it’s been Disabled! It’s wrong!” 

Trujillo shared a screenshot of the notification from Facebook, which read “Your group has been disabled because it doesn’t follow our Community Standards.” The Facebook group had 20,000 members at the time of its removal.

It is unknown if Trujillo and Rivera will rebuild the group, however, there are other conservative Facebook groups New Mexicans can access, however, the timing of the ban is noteworthy, as the November 3 election is right around the corner.

“This is just another example of the censoring of conservative opinion by the Left. ‘Community standards’? Meaning: not following leftist/liberal dogma?” writes conservative blogger Armand Vaquer.

Over the past few weeks, multiple instances of conservative suppression by Facebook have been noted, including an advertising ban on one of the largest pro-Trump Facebook pages with nearly 1 million likes, The Committee to Defend the President, which is barred from advertising until after the November election. Questions of election interference have been raised by many.

74 days counts from Friday, August 21st, when the page was disbanded, not the day of this article’s publication.

KOB fluff piece on Luján glides over his failed record in Congress, focuses on his love of food

On Thursday, after Joe Biden accepted the Democrat nomination for president of the United States, KOB 4 ran a fluff piece with Chris Ramirez interviewing Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who is vying for the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by outgoing Sen. Tom Udall. 

The softball interview never focused on anything other than Luján’s family life and food preferences, both of which he touts on his television commercials, as well as his social media feeds.

The interview featured Luján making “mini enchiladas” and calabacitas while being asked questions by Ramirez. 

Not focusing on policy or any other kind of serious indicator New Mexicans may need to decide who to vote for, instead, Ramirez lauded Luján, wondering about where the congressman eats while in Washington and other questions. 

Luján disclosed that he eats at Subway while in Washington, explaining, “So in D.C., there is a Subway sandwich shop three blocks from where I am,” he said. ” I eat a lot of Subway sandwiches when I’m out there.” 

Lujan was then asked “How do you center yourself?  How do you regroup, get your mind back after you’ve had one of those days, stressful, maybe even a combative day?” He naturally pivoted right back to food, saying, “So, if I’m here, if I’m home, it’s this. If I’m cooking, even by myself, I’ll make a mess in the kitchen. Like what we did here, it will look like that even if I’m just cooking for myself. I’ll destroy the kitchen.”

“Who do you go to when you need to just be yourself and be able to think out loud?  Who’s that person for you,” asked Ramirez.

Lujan answered, “If I’m having one of those days, where it’s not that I have to pick up the phone to call a friend to chat about something necessarily, but it’s to go to work with mom in her garden, pulling weeds, just sitting on her porch is calming.” 

But a telling question he was asked, probably the most hard-ball question in the interview, was “How is it that you keep yourself grounded so that you don’t start believing you’re more important than the people who you represent?” 

“When I come home, none of this is going to take care [of] itself, right?  Mom always has a list. If you look in the garage, you’ll see two lawnmowers, the shovels and hoes and everything,” Luján responded. Ramirez then continued lauding Luján, saying, “I’ve always gotten the sense that you have these incredible family values.” 

But other than learning that Luján likes to pick weeds in his mother’s garden and “destroy the kitchen” making himself meals, New Mexico voters are likely not going to come away learning much about the congressman who is running to be New Mexico’s next U.S. Senator. We already know he likes making food and eating, but what does he do to help New Mexicans. Many would say “not much.” During his 12 years in Congress, Luján has not passed a single bill with his name on it, and now he asks for a promotion to the Senate. 

After KOB posted the story, Luján shared it on social media, writing, “Growing up in Nambé, food was what brought my family together — and today, it still keeps me centered. I got together with @KOB4 to cook up a big plate of enchiladas and calabacitas and talk about the values that drive me forward.”

KOB 4 says they will air an interview with Republican Mark Ronchetti after President Trump accepts the Republican nomination for president. Luján has refused requestions to be in all but one televised debate with Ronchetti.

Here are some of the most recent posts Luján has made regarding his food preferences. It appears he has done more eating than working while in office.

There are many more posts like the above.

MLG hails Haaland as ‘an inspiration’ for her ‘social, racial, and environmental justice’ DNC speech

On Thursday, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) addressed the Democrat National Convention and spoke about how she was one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and her focus on far-left social ideals. 

Haaland said, “I’m grateful to be with you here on Indigenous land” in her opening,” going on to explain more about her ancestry, claiming she has been in New Mexico for 35 generations, which has yet to be confirmed.

“Whether we vote and how we vote will determine if our nation’s promise of social, racial, and environmental justice will outlast us. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris respect our past and understand our present. They will see us through this crisis of leadership that is plaguing our country and they will help us to build a better future,” Haaland concluded in ehr remarks.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wrote in response to her address, “You are an inspiration to us all, @Deb4CongressNM. I feel so fortunate to call you a friend, a colleague, and a fellow New Mexican. Thank you for everything you do for our state and our country.” 

“Deeply proud to watch [Deb Haaland] tonight. Thank you for speaking to promise of our country and the strength of our people. It’s an honor to call you my friend, wrote Ben Ray Luján.

Haaland has not passed a bill during her time, and votes against her party only 1.1% of the time. She once called the domestic terrorist group, Antifa’s violent rioters  “peaceful protesters.” 

MLG touts NM’s Green New Deal in DNC speech, bashes Trump as ‘existential crisis’

On Wednesday night, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham briefly addressed the Democrat National Convention. She surprisingly spoke about her massive “climate change” proposals, alluding to her work to pass New Mexico’s “mini” Green New Deal, also known as the “Energy Transition Act.” She stood in front of an Albuquerque-area solar array to give her remarks.

Her speech is below:

“I am proud that New Mexico has shown what climate leadership looks like.  While the Trump Administration has been eliminating environmental protections, we expanded them. While they’ve been rolling back regulations on oil and gas, we’ve taken on polluters and held them accountable. We’ve committed to a renewable energy future with exciting and fulfilling careers for workers all across our beautiful state, including right here in the heart of Northern New Mexico. We’re laying a roadmap here for what America can and would look like in the 21st century — an America where we lead again, where we build safer, cleaner, and more affordable cities and communities, where we provide meaningful opportunities for workers and families to thrive and build better lives. 

As president, Joe Biden will rejoin the international climate agreement, and the United States will once again lead on this critical issue. At home, he’ll invest in energy workers, and he will deliver for working families across the U.S., helping them build meaningful careers while accelerating our nation and world into a clean, green 21st Century and beyond. 

“We know time is running out to save our planet. We have the chance this November to end two existential crises: the Trump presidency and the environmental annihilation he represents. We have the chance this November to attack the climate crisis, invest in green, 21st Century jobs, and embrace the clean energy revolution our country, our young people are crying out for, and the leadership the rest of the world is waiting for. The choice is clear. The choice is Joe Biden.” 

Lujan Grisham was also featured in a pro-abortion montage shortly afterward, as well as Rep, Deb Haaland 

Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who has claimed Lujan Grisham is not his cousin, tweeted her remarks, writing, “[Michelle Lujan Grisham] has led New Mexico with conviction and set a national example for strong leadership in the face of #COVID19. If you didn’t catch her live at the #DemConvention, check out the recap to watch her make New Mexico proud.”

Afer the speech, Larry Behrens of Power the Future sent out the following statement:

“Governor Lujan Grisham’s feeble defense of the green agenda tonight is made even more insincere as millions of Americans are dealing with blackouts after renewable promises failed our working families.

The Biden/Harris energy plan calls for a ban on fracking which will destroy over 100,000 jobs in New Mexico and cost our state billions. Governor Lujan Grisham knows their plan will upend New Mexico’s economy, but clearly her primetime audition takes priority over our families.”

It was previously speculated that if Biden is elected, Lujan Grisham would be considered for Health and Human Services secretary, however, her anti-Trump climate speech on the national stage makes it clear she is more interested in a role at possibly the Environmental Protection Agency or possibly the Department of Energy.

Ben Ray chickens out of TV debates — GOP opponent Mark Ronchetti wipes the floor with him

On Tuesday, Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan agreed to only one debate with his Republican opponent, Mark Ronchetti on KOAT and one forum which will be sponsored by a “liberal front group” on KNME, according to Ronchetti’s campaign. In recent history, U.S. Senate candidates in New Mexico held at least three televised debates on the three major networks (KOB 4, KOAT 7, and KRQE 13). 

Ronchetti said, “I want the voters of New Mexico to hear what I stand for. Ben Ray thinks he is entitled to the Senate seat and doesn’t want to explain a voting record that is out of touch with New Mexico.” 

“Serving as a U.S. Senator is an honor,” continued Ronchetti. “The people of this state deserve to see us exchange ideas and I’m ready to do that on all of our major media outlets before ballots go out. It’s important that as many voters as possible can hear from both of us, so they can make an informed decision for this election. I welcome the opportunity to share my positions with all of the voters in New Mexico.” 

Ben Ray Luján is well-known for his closeness to far-left Democrats, namely, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who created the title of “Assistant Speaker” for him to boost his prestige in the Democrat Party. 

During just this campaign cycle, Luján has preyed on seniors, falsely claiming their Social Security and Medicare will be slashed, he voted on the partisan impeachment of President Trump along with all his colleagues in the New Mexico delegation, he got the endorsements of abortion up-to-birth and infanticide groups, he mocked Latino Trump voters and praised racist Al Sharpton. He also exploited the Coronavirus to raise campaign cash and repeatedly lied about his record in the U.S. House, falsely claiming President Trump signed his bill.

Luján has not passed a single bill of his own into law, which Ronchetti’s campaign manager, Jeff Glassburner, blasted him for, saying, “I don’t blame Ben Ray for hiding from the debates, because he knows he has to hide his far-left, extremist, D.C. record. He spent over a decade climbing Nancy Pelosi’s ladder while never passing even one bill into law.” 

“Ben Ray Luján represents everything that is wrong with politics. He is a career politician who has sold out New Mexico, and now wants to hide from voters.” 

Luján has been virtually absent from his sprawling northern New Mexico district, not even bothering to show up on Election Night 2018, opting to instead stay with Nancy Pelosi in the Washington, D.C. swamp to watch election results roll in for his far-left friends in his party. For a man who holds a safe Democrat +8 seat, he doesn’t really need to campaign that hard, so he doesn’t. That same mindset appears to show up in his Senate run, but judging by his record, a promotion to the upper chamber of Congress would not be in the cards for Luján.

For more information on Ben Ray Luján’s failed record in the House, please check out this article. Ronchetti’s latest television ad can be seen here:

MLG refuses to reopen NM despite state meeting benchmarks

On Tuesday, it was reported that New Mexico had finally hit Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s gating criteria to reopen New Mexico. The criteria require there to be an average of 168 new COVID-19 cases in a seven-day period, which the state has met, hitting 155. 

However, despite KOAT 7 crunching the numbers, the State told them “they are using a different number that is based on the date the actual test was taken, and they could not provide the number.”

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office responded, “We have reached this stage only because of the incredible hard work New Mexicans have undertaken in adhering to the state’s public health guidelines and making the right individual and collective decisions. The gating criteria are not a ‘finish line,’ so to speak, implying that once we reach the gating criteria, we are in the clear.” 

The move by the Governor to dismiss New Mexico hitting the benchmark, while the state refusing to say what numbers they are measuring, shows a lack of transparency and obstruction of critical information New Mexicans deserve to know regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the Governor, as she has so often claims, is relying on data and science, then there should be no problem letting the public know what those metrics that she’s measuring are.

Lujan Grisham is set to address the Democrat National Convention tonight, and she is expected to address, at least in part, her “leadership” during the coronavirus pandemic, which has left countless businesses closed and working families devastated.

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