On Tuesday, it was reported that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham broke her own “stay-at-home” order, where she had a staffer pick up “expensive” jewelry for her from Lilly Barrack on Paseo in Albuquerque.
According to the article, Lujan Grisham’s aide had picked up the jewelry for her in April, smack dab in the middle of the Governor’s COVID-19 lockdown. Her strict orders forbade “non-essential” businesses from staying open under any circumstances. In late April, Lujan Grisham had fined a small pawn shop in Grants $60,000 for remaining open.
Lujan Grisham also sent her State Police to deliver a cease and desist order on Mother’s Day to New Hope Revival Church’s pastor, Caleb Cooper. The Truth or Consequences church was deputized by Sierra County Sheriff Glenn Hamilton, but the Governor was unrelenting in her crackdown.
The Governor’s spokesman confirmed that the Governor’s forbidden purchase from the “non-essential” store did happen, saying, “Lujan Grisham did call an employee, saying they had a longstanding personal relationship. The employee came here [Lilly Barrack], got the jewelry and took it home, left it outside their home, and then someone came and picked it up.”
“The governor’s office first said it was a campaign staffer, then later told KRQE it was the governor’s friend, but wouldn’t release a name. They also said the transaction was entirely contact-less, remote, and permissible,” reported KRQE News.
While New Mexico businesses and churches are being forcibly closed and facing crippling fines, Gov. Lujan Grisham is indulging herself in expensive jewels from a business clearly outside of her stay-at-home order. But small businesses, such as local restaurants are permanently closing by the hundreds, and other businesses are being forced into foreclosure.
New Mexicans can no longer stand Michelle Lujan Grisham’s tyrannical rule, clearly driven by delusional political ambitions of being Joe Biden’s vice-presidential pick. The Governor’s audition for a longshot nomination is more important to her than the wellbeing of the working families of New Mexico, struggling to put food on the table as a result of her despotic orders.
The primary election is just one week away, and New Mexicans have an opportunity to buck the Governor’s tyranny and choose pro-freedom candidates to go and fight for us and our rights in the General Election. Be it through the mail, voting early, or on Election Day, we cannot afford to get it wrong this time — or Gov. Lujan Grisham’s abusive rule is just a taste of what is to come.
If Republicans can take one of the two chambers of the New Mexico Legislature in 2020, we can stave off further detriment to our state by the Tiny Tyrant and protect the freedoms we have left as a people. We will not be scared into submission by Lujan Grisham’s repressive rule — which is why we must VOTE, VOTE, VOTE.
Some have even contended that we can impeach Lujan Grisham if we secure the New Mexico House of Representatives, with an impeachment petition found at ImpeachMLG.com.
Listen, if you can afford to flock to Walmart or Costco to hoard toilet paper during COVID-19, you can show up to the polls or send in an absentee ballot for pro-freedom Republican candidates. Our future and our freedom are hanging in the balance and the only way to keep those freedoms is by utilizing the freedom men and women have died for: our right to vote. If you need to find more information or register to vote, find all the resources you may need here.
John Block is the editor of the Piñon Post and a longtime New Mexico political activist. With the Piñon Post, John looks to bring true representation to conservatives in the Land of Enchantment and cut through the mainstream media red tape by providing independent, fair, and conservative journalism to New Mexico. Follow John on Twitter @JohnforNM or send him an email at John@PinonPost.com.
One week ahead of New Mexico’s primary election, New Mexico voters will see two very important things about the candidates and the campaigns they are running. First, they will see what lengths candidates will go to earn a vote — be that throwing out low blows on their primary opponents, or see what the outside groups supporting them will do. Second, they will see what lows their supporters will go to hit the other guy as hard as one can, to see if the sleaze they’ve dropped will stick.
Many candidates, mainly Claire Chase, has blatantly fumed hatred for President Trump, calling him an “a**hole unworthy of the office,” and claiming to have voted for pro-abortion Libertarian Gary Johnson for President in 2016. Now, Chase claims she did indeed vote for Trump. But after Trump won the presidency, she joked about moving to Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and “Columbia” to escape Trump.
With just a week remaining, Chase, who has hired many of the same consultants tied to Jay McCleskey, the “slash and burn” political hitman, is sure to continue hitting her opponents below the belt with ad-hominem attacks and claims of non-existent “anti-Trump” sentiments, despite her deep-seated hatred for the President of the United States.
Opportunism is a funny thing — especially if it comes in the brand of Claire Chase, a multimillionaire ex-lobbyist whose constitution could not stomach the prospect of Trump as President, saying the 45th POTUS made her “throw up in [her] mouth.” Now, the NeverTrump candidate, whose experience equals a low-level ten-month staff position due to a vacancy in former Congressman Steve Pearce’s office and an eight-month stint at NM Oil and Gas Association, conveniently claims to love the President now, and also to be an avid “pro-life activist.” However, there is no evidence to back up either claim. Chase also claims to have been Pearce’s “most senior” legislative staffer, but that is untrue.
During the 2019 pro-life fight against abortion up-to-birth HB-51, there was silence from Chase on the bill. Also, she has failed to produce a single piece if proof claiming she has done any work whatsoever in or for the pro-life movement. Her opponent, former Rep. Yvette Herrell constantly sponsored pro-life bills, and boldly stood up for Life as a legislator, working alongside Republicans and Democrats to defend the most vulnerable in our society: the unborn.
While Chase worked at NM Oil and Gas for the short period, the organization gave money to anti-oil Democrats while taking a neutral stance on the radical “Energy Transition Act,” New Mexico’s version of the “Green New Deal.” While Chase had the opportunity to act against the measure aiming to completely wipe out New Mexico oil and gas by 2050, she didn’t stand up for the hard-working oil producers in the Southeast corner of our state — despite claiming to be a champion of the industry.
Chase also claimed to have “first-hand experience” as a pecan farmer, but there is no evidence showing she worked for the farm owned by the multimillion-dollar family she married into. Claire Chase was not listed on any ownership paperwork for Chase Farms, and neither was her husband, Chance Chase.
Judging by the groups who have come to support Chase, such as the super PAC, “Defending Main Street,” run by the anti-Trump “Main Street Partnership,” it’s not ambiguous what kind of member of Congress she would be. A PAC called “Citizens for a United New Mexico” is closely tied to Chase’s campaign. Chase’s campaign chair, Nancy Brantley’s husband, George Brantley, gave over $25,000 to the PAC — a clear conflict of interest. The PAC has bashed both opponents Yvette Herrell and Chris Mathys with hit jobs.
Despite working for both Rep. Steve Pearce (who serve in the New Mexico Legislature before serving in Congress), and the late Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), who served in the U.S. Senate for over thirty years, she dares attack opponent Yvette Herrell as a “career politician,” despite Herrell spending a mere eight years in the New Mexico House of Representatives, and signing onto the U.S. Term Limits pledge By working for multiple congressional outfits in D.C. and for serving as a lobbyist in Santa Fe, wouldn’t that qualify Chase as the very thing she’s trying to portray Herrell as? Chase still has her (202) area code phone number, despite living in New Mexico — where a resident would use a (505) or (575) number.
During Herrell’s time in the Legislature, she was ranked the most conservative member and served in leadership roles for the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which has hundreds of conservative Republican members from across the country as members. However, Chase and her allies have bashed ALEC, despite their record of conservatism.
If that wasn’t enough, Chase hired Chris Grant of the consulting firm “Big Dog Strategies.” Grant was a legislative aide for disgraced ex-Congressman Chris Collins who was convicted of insider trading and resigned from Congress. Grant benefited from the insider trading tip from Rep. Collins, avoiding him a loss of $11,200. Now, Chase has hired the consultant despite his shady past.
But despite the facts not being on Chase’s side, she has been unrelenting in her bitter campaign against Herrell, sending out mailers bashing the former New Mexico legislator, and falsely claiming from an out-of-state surrogate that Herrell tried to bash Chase’s previous divorce — despite Herrell being divorced herself.
The negative campaigning on behalf of Chase and her anti-Trump surrogates proves that she is willing to go to any low length to win the campaign by slinging mud but won’t address the countless facts showing her lack of a conservative, pro-Trump record, and her deep connection to the Washington, D.C. Swamp.
Unlike my own experience in D.C., working for a non-profit pro-life legal group, as a staffer for Chevron’s government affairs department championing oil and gas policy alongside the Trump Administration, as a manager for one of President Trump’s largest independent ally organizations, and as a pro-life sidewalk counselor on weekends, Chase has skewed her experience and made claims she cannot prove with any relevant experience.
New Mexico’s Second Congressional District needs a champion, and most importantly a REPRESENTATIVE of the people, who will work in their best interest when they get to D.C. The sprawling District full of hard-working, working-class patriots needs a champion for their interests. They need someone who will work day and night to support the values they care about while in the Nation’s Capitol, fight hard against the far-left extremists tearing down the fabric of our nation, support President Trump, and show up for the people of CD-2 when it matters.
It is clear that the only person in this race who has a proven commitment to the people of the Second District is Yvette Herrell, a patriotic champion of, by, and for the people. Yvette isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, and she doesn’t just give constituents lip service. Yvette’s proven, well-documented, and incomparable record of ethical leadership and strong advocacy for our most important issues, such as the Right to Life and our Second Amendment, is the only one in this race who can go head to head with Xochitl Torres Small and win — again.
I’ve worked alongside Yvette while working as a committee aide at the New Mexico Legislature, and she treats everyone, from the janitorial staff to the Speaker of the House with respect, she does her homework, and most importantly, she fights — and fights hard for our rights.
We don’t need a multimillionaire ex-lobbyist who has never done a hard day’s work in her life as our representative — we need a worker. Yvette is the worker we need representing us in Congress.
John Block is the editor of the Piñon Post and a longtime New Mexico political activist. With the Piñon Post, John looks to bring true representation to conservatives in the Land of Enchantment and cut through the mainstream media red tape by providing independent, fair, and conservative journalism to New Mexico. Follow John on Twitter @JohnforNM or send him an email at John@PinonPost.com.
On Friday, U.S. Senate candidate Mark Ronchetti’s campaign manager, Jeff Glassburner, posted yet another vicious attack on a fellow Republican. This time, the campaign is targeting candidate Elisa Martinez after she followed fellow U.S. Senate candidate, Dr. Gavin Clarkson, in running ads pointing out Ronchetti’s NeverTrumper past.
In a tweet, Glassburner wrote, “She didn’t pay her taxes for 8 years (!!!) yet thinks people should trust her to set tax policy,” with a screenshot of what appears to be a public record showing Martinez did not pay $1,355.96 in overdue taxes to the State of New Mexico.
— Jeff Glassburner (@jeffglassburner) May 22, 2020
The Piñon Post reached out to Martinez for a comment, where she vehemently denied the false accusation. Ronchetti’s campaign also failed to say the small lien referenced was fully paid off. Martinez asserted that she did not update her address, which is why the State of New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department could not get in contact with her to address the issue. Once Martinez connected with the State, she quickly paid the balance off in full.
Tax document showing Martinez had paid her taxes in full.
“This is another example of Mark Ronchetti’s lies, trying to distract and dissuade from his comments bashing President Trump and working hand-in-hand with far-left activists instead of Republicans. He should be running as a Democrat,” Martinez said. “He claims to be pro-life, and as a pro-life leader, I can assure you he has never been with us anywhere in this fight. And when we could have used his help as a media figure during our various pro-life battles, he was working with far-left Democrats to stop President Trump and push the radical climate change agenda. We cannot trust Mark Ronchetti.”
Ronchetti’s campaign has repeatedly claimed that because of his media contract with KRQE 13, he could not get involved in politics, but we know that is yet another lie because he was very involved — just not with conservative issues. He worked with climate activists to advance the climate change conspiracy theory and repeatedly bashed President Trump on the air.
In a previous statement, Glassburner said Martinez is a “desperate” candidate who has “nothing to run on,” despite her work leading a prominent pro-life group in New Mexico.
But this is just the latest false attack Ronchetti’s campaign has lobbed against fellow Republicans in this primary season, sending out Glassburner as an attack dog to peddle false talking points and conspiracy theories about Republicans of every stripe.
Before the Republican Party pre-primary convention, I did a deep investigation into Ronchetti’s background and his connection to NeverTrumpers behind the scenes of his campaign. Triggered by the revelations, Glassburner sent the Republican convention delegates a last-ditch email, in the attempt to discredit me and the facts I presented about Ronchetti’s liberal record.
Glassburner wrote to delegates, “[John] is a former intern for Senator Heinrich who then worked on Tim Keller’s mayoral campaign where he helped elect the ultra-liberal mayor who made Albuquerque a Sanctuary City.”
Glassburner failed to mention that I worked to help stop radical open-borders socialists from taking over Albuquerque by VOLUNTEERING on the Keller campaign for a little over three weeks to uncover unethical campaign practices. However, once the campaign did a simple Google search on my name and found out I was a pro-Trump Republican and my true purpose for being there, they kicked me out of the office and had me blacklisted as a “spy.”
However, my work in that short time did not go unnoticed, as an ethics probe into Keller’s campaign found that Keller did, indeed, violate the ethics code, taking thousands of dollars in both private and public financing for his far-left socialist race for mayor.
As for my two-month summer internship at the U.S. Senate, which Glassburner failed to note happened AFTER my short stint on the mayoral campaign, I applied, was accepted, and served in Martin Heinrich’s office AS A CONSERVATIVE PRO-TRUMP REPUBLICAN. I applied for an internship in then-Republican New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce’s office as well. The only office that granted me an internship was Heinrich’s. I was given the selective opportunity to serve the people of New Mexico as a Senate intern and bring a conservative perspective to the far-left office.
On the first week of the internship, the Chief of Staff called me in and said he had looked up my background, finding my staunch support for the President. He was fully aware that I was, indeed, a pro-Trump conservative Republican, and allowed me to continue with the internship for the summer despite my political leanings.
My fellow interns repeatedly attacked my Republican ideals and repeatedly attempted to have me fired from the internship, but I did not back down — and it made my conservative values and support for our 45th president that much stronger.
Heinrich has allowed various Republican college students to intern for him in the past, such as Republican Dominic Pacheco in 2016. Pacheco helped the Republican Party of New Mexico with President Trump’s election efforts, as did I. While I was fighting liberal hacks in multiple viper pits, Mark Ronchetti was bashing President Trump on-air at leftist CBS Fake News affiliate KRQE News 13.
Ronchetti’s campaign also blasted fellow Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Dr. Gavin Clarkson with a vicious slew of personal attacks, including a mailer falsely asserting that Clarkson resigned from his position at the Trump Administration with an “ethical cloud” over his head, despite a string of facts proving that was a blatant lie.
Ronchetti bashed Clarkson’s bankruptcies during the 2007-2008 financial crisis, citing a progressive opinion column in the Santa Fe New Mexican as his source. It is unclear if Ronchetti also hit President Trump’s bankruptcies, just as he has with the President’s skin color, calling him “The Orange One,” and saying in 2019 that the President took a “part of his soul” that he’s “not getting back.”
When Clarkson brought attention to the despicable anti-Trump comments Ronchetti made at a leftist climate change conference, Glassburner hit Clarkson as “a failing candidate” desperate to “get attention.”
But that’s just scratching the surface. Ronchetti also bashed former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Rick Montoya for telling delegates about Ronchetti’s deep ties to NeverTrumpers, namely that of Jay McCleskey, Ronchetti’s general consultant, known for his “slash and burn” political tactics. Ronchetti blasted Montoya with ad-hominem attacks, calling him “ham-handed.”
But even worse, before the pre-primary convention, Ronchetti called Republican convention delegates and falsely told them that then-U.S. Senate candidate Louie Sanchez had dropped out of the race, which was a bald-faced lie.
It doesn’t have to be this way, but some people just insist on playing dirty. This is usually a reflection of character or leadership, maybe both.
Ronchetti also promised a room full of hundreds of GOP delegates that he’s run a “positive” campaign, telling the conservative audience, “I will not take a shot at a fellow Republican.” That promise to Republican voters was quickly violated.
In the very same breath, Ronchetti bashed fellow Republicans asking him questions as “little Facebook trolls who are in their parents’ basement with their Cheeto-stained fingers,” a smear heard by many leftists to bash President Trump supporters.
During his KRQE 13 days, Ronchetti repeatedly mocked and hated on President Trump and other Republicans, such as former Gov. Susana Martinez, who he shamed for wearing a hard-hat while visiting a construction plant. He also laughed at President Trump’s hairstyle.
Instead of campaigning to be New Mexico’s next U.S. Senator, it appears Ronchetti is more interested in playing the high school bully, name-calling, and pushing everyone in his way just to get what he wants.
The nasty, bottom-of-the-barrel ad-hominem attacks on fellow Republicans, many of them being fellow candidates, prove that Ronchetti’s campaign is willing to go to any embarrassingly low level to win. The Republican voters will have to decide on June 2nd if they want to vote for a campaign full of sleaze and hatred for President Donald Trump, or vote for the two true Republican candidates, Dr. Gavin Clarkson and Elisa Martinez.
During an online Facebook interview called “Demanding Women” with Shannon Watts, founder of Michael Bloomberg’s dark money gun control group “Moms Demand Action,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham hit the NRA and the law enforcers pushing back against unconstitutional gun laws, claiming they are putting out “false information.”
During the interview, Lujan Grisham said, “We all have a constitutional right to be safe in our homes and communities,” in her opening statement. She also bashed groups championing the Second Amendment, namely, the National Rifle Association (NRA), which she claimed took massive resources to fight their “scare tactics.”
“If you’re going up — and we are — against the NRA, then it means that incredible resources and a false, right, effort at not fighting facts, and using social media in a way to do that, which is disappointing to me as an advocate and a politician, and an elected leader. But we know that that exists — and scare tactics that we are ‘taking everybody’s guns away,’ that ‘we are creating a registry to somehow punish you,’ and that we don’t believe in whether you are a constitutional scholar about the Second Amendment that this is a hidden agenda not to deal with gun violence, but just to reduce and restrict peoples’ individual rights. And that’s not true,” Lujan Grisham said.
When asked about tips she had for elected leaders, Lujan Grisham claimed that they are “intimidated” by the NRA and law enforcers upholding their right to keep and bear arms. She claimed they are peddling “false information,” and using their uniforms to intimidate lawmakers.
“Elected leaders need to be not intimidated by the NRA and by efforts with some law enforcement folks. And they have free speech, every right to talk about their issues. But when you’ve got elected leaders, some sheriffs, some law enforcement folks who also put out false information — I think there’s some trepidation that if it is somebody in a uniform, that they can’t be putting out false information. And I’m not suggesting that that’s purposeful, but the groups that they’re working with — I think leverage them in ways that are completely inappropriate. And as a result, elected leaders have to have confidence that that’s what’s going on and they can maintain their relationships with their firsts responders, that they can also set an agenda that protects everybody else,” said Lujan Grisham.
.@GovMLG says pro2A sheriffs are peddling false info: "You’ve got elected leaders, some sheriffs, some law enforcement folks who also put out false information—I think there’s some trepidation that if it is somebody in a uniform, that they can’t be putting out false information." pic.twitter.com/HzJ0q6H76p
Lujan Grisham was asked about her statements encouraging sheriffs to resign if they do not enforce her unconstitutional gun control laws, Grisham said, “You got to stand your ground, right? Again from the political side, if a sheriff on his or her own time says ‘I really disagree, I’m disappointed. But of course, on my professional arm, I will enforce every law,’ I can respect that, and am completely fine with the First Amendment, right? Free speech. But when you have a first responder or law enforcement individual who says they are not going to enforce the laws, I’ve made clear three things: 1) You should resign because you can’t do your job, and I’ve been unafraid and unabashed about that. 2) You’re creating a liability for your community, and that means that creates liabilities for government in general, including the state, which provides liability protections to local government, and 3) If you’re not going to invest in your required public safety agenda, then I’ll do it using other first responders.”
.@GovMLG comments on demanding pro-Second Amendment sheriffs' resign if they won't enforce her unconstitutional gun laws: "You got to stand your ground, right?" pic.twitter.com/XeSy3J0Trj
Lujan Grisham continued to bash gun ownership, claiming, “Gun violence, in fact, is a public emergency, and is an epidemic in this state.”
In 2019, during the fight against the unconstitutional gun control legislation, Senate Bill 8, 29 out of New Mexico’s 33 sheriffs united against the law, which Lujan Grisham railed against on Twitter. She claimed they were defending domestic abusers and were throwing a “childish pity party” for refusing to enforce the law.
I’m not daunted by obstacles, whether it’s NRA propaganda, rogue sheriffs throwing a childish pity party or bad-faith critics. Legislative leaders and I will continue to fight the scourge of gun violence in our communities. #nmleg#nmpol#SB8
On Tuesday, Democrat U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland (NM-01) shared a 7-second snippet of Cowboys for Trump leader and Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin’s speech over the weekend, where he discussed the need to flip Democrat seats back to Republican in November.
During the speech, Griffin said, “I’ve come to a place where I’ve come to the conclusion that the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat. I don’t say that in the physical sense and I can already see the videos being edited where it says I want to go murder Democrats. No, I say that in the political sense because the Democrat agenda and policy is anti-American right now. Our country is not coming to a place if you love or hate Donald Trump. Our country is coming to a place if you love or hate America because that’s what it’s boiling down to. But as far as Democrats go, you have some great conservative candidates…. The only reason I said the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat — I’m saying it politically speaking, and I’m saying it because we need to have majorities in the House and the Senate. It’s the only way we’re going to put the brakes on an out-of-control governor. Sometimes, you have to hit very rock bottom in order to make a change. It can happen in our own personal lives, it happens in community, but it also happens in government right now.”
The video shared by left-wing activist and graduate of the Democrat training camp “Emerge NM,” Tracy Perry, heavily edits Griffin’s words, just as Griffin predicted in his speech.
Deb Haaland shared the deceptively edited video, writing on Facebook, “Couy Griffin must resign immediately! Commissioner Griffin was filmed speaking at an event this past weekend. His rhetoric was hateful and plain disgusting. Wishing harm upon anyone is just wrong!”
Democrat New Mexico Hosue Speaker Brian Egolf wrote on Twitter, “The County Commissioner’s comment is despicable, indefensible, and un-American.”
Cowboys for Trumps shared the full clip in context on their Facebook page, writing, “We can already see the videos getting edited. Politically speaking only, what’s a good democrat? The democrats will manipulate anything they can to tear America apart. How long will you believe their lies?”
Once again, Democrats are seizing on a benign statement made by a conservative leader and taking it out of context much like what the mainstream media does to President Trump and his words time and time again. Griffing made clear exactly what his statement meant, however, Haaland and left-wing activists won’t pass up an opportunity to try and take down a conservative leader, no matter how low they have to go to do it.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has been telling her allies that the Joe Biden campaign has been vetting her for vice president.
Politicowrites, “Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told allies in recent days that Joe Biden’s campaign has begun vetting her for vice president, according to a source familiar with the conversations.”
“Mayra Macías, executive director of Latino Victory Project, an organization that endorsed Biden ahead of the Nevada caucuses and is dedicated to electing Latinos, said she is aware of at least one lawmaker advocating for Lujan Grisham,” the story continued.
When asked on Easter Sunday about her being chosen as Biden’s vice presidential pick, she said, “I think that you want a vice president who was much like former vice president Biden. He knew how to govern, he had done a ton of work as a senator and in local government as well, and I think those are incredible attributes.”
“I will do whatever it takes to support a Biden administration, and I’m looking forward to a federal administration that can do a national strategy in good times and in bad times both,” she continued.
Multiple high-profile members of Congress floated Lujan Grisham’s name for the VP nod, as well as that of freshman Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). It’s unclear what will come up during the vetting process, but her stake in a consulting company that ripped off the taxpayers and her connection to the Los Padillas gang are sure to come up in her record.
The news comes as Lujan Grisham has turned New Mexico into one of the strictest states under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite few cases in the state. She has mandated all New Mexicans wear face masks, which has garnered criticism from many citizens.
In April, the Rio Grande Foundation sent a letter to candidates for legislative office requesting they sign onto the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” to be a good steward of taxpayers’ hard-earned income and promise to not raise taxes.
Just last week, Rep. Moe Maestas (D-Albuquerque), chairman of the New Mexico House Commerce and Economic Development Committee, signaled he was open to raising taxes on families and businesses already pinching pennies due to the effects of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. Maestas wrote, “A ‘no tax’ pledge is so 2009 … and was the precipice of the lost decade,” referring to former Gov. Susana Martinez’s no-tax promise.
In a recent post by the Rio Grande Foundation, “after decades of Democrat rule, New Mexico’s government spends more than nearly any other state in the nation (as a percent of GDP) while ranking 44th for ‘return on investment’ according to Wallethub.”
It’s clear that tax-happy Democrats are not only aggressively spending New Mexico’s tax dollars, but they are also proving how they are not the best stewards of our state’s resources, especially as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is now looking to raid our state’s permanent fund.
Instead of cutting million-dollar tax subsidies given to out-of-state film companies investing little to none into our state, fiscally irresponsible Democrats seek to punish New Mexico families and businesses by gambling with our future. Raising taxes and spending New Mexico’s permanent fund puts small businesses and working families in jeopardy.
Because this is such a critical juncture in New Mexico, it is vital for voters to select legislative candidates who vow to be good stewards of the valuable resources our state has to offer. The Rio Grande Foundation’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge to “not to raise your taxes as a result of the current economic downturn” will bind candidates to fiscal responsibility and help voters ensure they are choosing candidates who will protect their hard-earned income.
If you are a candidate for a legislative office, please find the pledge here to ensure to voter your commitment to fiscal responsibility. If you are unsure if your legislative candidates have signed onto the pledge, please reach out to their campaign and urge them to sign on. As New Mexicans, we are a family, and whatever political stripe we wear, we should all work toward fiscal responsibility to ensure a brighter future for all.
Lujan Grisham’s face mask requirement began on May 15th, “requir[ing] everyone to cover their faces in public, with exceptions for eating, drinking and exercise.”
“If New Mexicans don’t help us as we ease restrictions, we’ll see cases rise, and as they rise, we’ll have to shut down again. That’s the only tool I have,’’ Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “If I can’t get New Mexicans to protect vulnerable populations, to protect our seniors and children and minority populations and homeless populations and essential workers and health care workers and first responders and so many more, I will do whatever it takes to protect them. But you can help me. And if we all do this together, we can keep easing restrictions in a safe manner and go on living in a COVID-19 world.”
Sunday’s tweet came after multiple leaders in New Mexico criticized her strict face mask mandate. Eddy County’s Sheriff Mark Cage said, “This is America. Make your own decisions, make your own informed decisions as an adult. If I am not wearing a mask and you feel that you could be comprised by being around me not wearing a mask, then you have the right to move away from me.”
House Minority Leader Rep. Jim Townsend (R-Artesia), said Lujan Grisham could be overstepping her authority by mandating everyone wear face masks. “That’s troublesome. There’s a number of other entities that challenge whether it’s a proven method,” he said.
On Sunday, hundreds of New Mexicans gathered in Truth or Consequences at the New Hope Revival Church to openly defy the Governor’s previous cease and desist order given to the Church for holding services despite her order. The Church was previously deputized by Sierra County Sheriff Glenn Hamilton, but received the citation from the State Police regardless.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Sunday tweet appears to be her best attempt at strong-arming citizens into complying with her latest mask mandate. Many citizens from across the state are refusing to comply.
On Thursday, Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, who is running again for the 2nd Congressional District, sent out a panicky-sounding fundraising email trying to disprove the blatant fraud uncovered in the 2018 race, which she “won” by the grace of absentee ballots showing up out of the blue in Doña Ana County.
The email, titled “NEW: Yvette’s latest conspiracy theory” appears to be in response to a video Herrell released three months ago regarding the massive signs of fraud found in the 2018 race.
Torres Small’s email reads, “Yvette Herrell just released her 1 minute pitch to voters, and she’s taking her conspiracy theories to a new level, even going so far as to allege that there was ‘fraud’ in 2018.”
But despite Torres Small’s best attempts at masking the fraud that did, indeed happen in 2018, evidence proves that fraud was rampant.
On election night 2018,Republican Yvette Herrell was up in the vote count late in the evening. However, the Secretary of State’s office announced that ballots would cease to be counted until the next morning. From the time counting stopped to when it resumed in the morning, there would be ample time for the outcome to flip — be it organically or by the hands of those handling the votes.
That morning, ballots were found that pushed Democrat Xochitl Torres Small into a tight win, in counties where Small lost handily, such as in heavily-Republican Eddy County, only receiving 30% of the vote. But Torres Small’s absentee number was a much higher figure, 54.7%, close to double.
According to the report conducted after the election, “These anomalies are not simply organic. Reviewing the historical returns in the CD2 district, over the last five election cycles, the same degrees of variation between absentee votes and EV/ED votes do not exist in CD2 in any cycle to the degree found in the 2018 race.”
Other major anomalies occurred, but the most malevolent of them is the 25% of absentee voters who requested ballots in Doña Ana County and never returned them — a number that rarely reaches 5%. According to the report:
“it is probably the strongest purely statistical red flag present in this whole election — of the possibility that someone was submitting absentee ballot applications for Democrats. There is also a significantly high number of duplicate applications — where one voter supposedly submitted more than one absentee ballot application or submitted an absentee application after the absentee ballot had been received, or the voter had voted in person. In many of these cases the signature on the duplicate applications do not match each other.”
Torres Small claims that election fraud did not happen and that her supposed “win in 2018 was real.” But the anomalies, as proven by the independent report prove that such anomalies cannot possibly be coincidental. Her email fundraising gimmick appears to be just another way for her campaign to solicit donations based on a conspiracy theory of her own.
One of Gov. Michele Lujan Grisham’s most loyal allies on the far-left of the Democrat Party, Rep. Moe Maestas (D-Albuquerque), chairman of the New Mexico House Commerce and Economic Development Committee, took to Twitter to mock fellow legislator Rep. Jason Harper (R-Rio Rancho) and his reasonable pledge not to raise taxes on the hard-working people of New Mexico.
Rep. Harper’s response came after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham proposed a special legislative session to focus on a tax hike and tapping New Mexico’s permanent fund.
Harper’s proposal to not raise taxes came out in an op-ed in the Albuquerque Journal, where he wrote, “Where in the world do [Democrats] think working families will get the money for tax hikes? Many New Mexicans have endured heartbreaking losses.”
But Maestas laughed off Harper’s concerns for working families being able to afford the economically crippling tax proposals, not to mention employers across New Mexico.
But Maestas wrote, “A ‘no tax’ pledge is so 2009 … and was the precipice of the lost decade.”
It appears Democrats, including the chairman of the House Commerce Committee, believe that in order to enact their far-left policies in the timeline they want, they are willing to punish the little guy in the process. Democrats are always eager to tout their supposed “pro-worker” badges of honor, but their eagerness to raise taxes proves the opposite.
Maestas is married to lobbyist Vanessa Alarid, who lobbies for the far-left, dark money, anti-gun Everytown for Gun Safety, founded and bankrolled by billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
