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The ACLU is ‘deeply disappointed’ with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham

13 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

Following Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s sweeping vetoes of bills passed during the 2023 Legislative Session, some leftists are furious.

In a Tuesday statement from the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU-NM) director of public policy, Nayomi Valdez, the group showed frustration with Lujan Grisham.

S.B. 84, which “strictly limited re-incarceration for technical violations such as missing appointments or failed drug tests while someone is on probation or parole,” was vetoed due to Lujan Grsham claiming it “failed to get the support of district attorneys and other stakeholders.”

Another bill veto ACLU-NM trashed was SB 187 would have nixed drug possession or DWI charges in another jurisdiction when considering sentencing for “habitual offenders.” Lujan Grisham claimed the bill would actually result in “the opposite of the intended effect” by restricting prosecutors from “encourag[ing] defendants to get treatment for their addiction.”

In a strong statement of rebuke, Valdez wrote, “We are deeply disappointed by the governor’s veto of these much-needed reforms to our criminal-legal system.”

“Simply put, this administration has it wrong on crime and safety. Until the executive branch starts making decisions about our criminal-legal system based on the facts and in alignment with our values, New Mexico will continue to trap people in the same vicious cycle of incarceration without making our state any safer,” she concluded.

The ACLU of New Mexico along with other groups, such as the Office of the Public Defender, continually advocated against incarcerating criminals during the past legislative session, with some success. 

Bills that did get signed by Lujan Grisham include one piece of legislation that will let violent offenders life-sentenced as minors the possibility of parole at 15 years, even if they were convicted of murder or rape. 

Joined by Speaker McCarthy, Yvette Herrell announces 2024 run

11 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, former Congresswoman Yvette Herrell, who served New Mexico’s Second Congressional District from 2021 to 2023, announced her candidacy for another term in the U.S. House flanked by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California). 

Herrell’s announcement took place at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces, where hundreds of supporters packed into the well-attended event.

During the visit, Speaker McCarthy said, “Gabe is pretty much a socialist,” saying he’s “not in the bounds” of the district, referencing the incumbent Democrat Rep. Gabe Vasquez. Vasquez took the seat from Herrell in 2022 by a little over 1,000 votes.

“We’re going to make tomorrow better than today. If we elect Yvette, I don’t think Joe Biden’s gonna get re-elected too,” he said, concluding, “We have a reason to stand up right now.”

Herrell said, “Let’s make America great, and let’s make New Mexico great for the first time,” adding, “I will never give up.”

“Democrats are counting on us – on YOU – to falter. They want to divide us. They want us to stay home and give up. It’s the only way they can ram through their unpopular, America LAST agenda,” McCarthy wrote in an email promoting Herrell’s candidacy.

Vasquez has recently taken bad votes that go against the values of the Second Congressional District, including voting against a bill that most House members and even Joe Biden signed to block the District of Columbia’s updated criminal code from becoming law, a code that would favor criminals. He also voted against lower energy costs for New Mexicans. 

In a desperate-sounding email following Herrell’s announcement, Vasquez’s campaign wrote, “This is a top-target of the NRCC as well as a DCCC Frontline seat. Gabe needs all the grassroots support he can get to go up against extremist Herrell and her far-right backers like McCarthy and Trump,” although the 45th President has yet to endorse the former congresswoman in her 2024 run. 

Heinrich rails against Lujan Grisham’s vetoes, sparking ‘26 governor run rumors

24 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Saturday, New Mexico’s U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, took to Twitter to voice his frustrations over Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s multiple vetoes of legislation he wanted to see reach the finish line.

Although Lujan Grisham signed many extreme far-left bills into law, such as H.B. 9 forcing New Mexicans to lock up their guns at nearly all times, H.B. 207 expanding the “Human Rights Act” with woke transgender ideology, and H.B. 7 mandating public bodies facilitate “gender-affirming care” and abortions, that wasn’t good enough for the Democrat senator.

He wrote on Twitter, “New Mexico’s state legislature took bold action to deliver for our state. I am disappointed to see many of those efforts now vetoed.” 

Heinrich bemoaned the governor’s veto of an electric vehicle tax credit that was stripped from the omnibus tax package. He wrote, “Our state legislature passed HB547 to lower taxes for families, veterans, & educators. And it would have made NM a national leader with climate tax incentives – similar to the ones I fought to pass in the IRA. But these reforms were vetoed.” 

“The legislature also passed SB426 to give children and others a legal advocate in the AG’s office, responding to CYFD’s systemic failures that continue to place children in real danger. But this legislation was also vetoed,” he claimed.

The measure referenced would have created a “Civil Rights Division” in the state Attorney General’s Office, which would mostly be used as another tool to hunt down New Mexicans over alleged Civil Rights Act and Human Rights Act abuses. 

Democrat state Sen. Joseph Cervantes chimed in on the Twitter thread, writing to the senator, “Among vetoes Senator- keeping NM judges lowest paid in the nation. With her stated reason she’s unhappy with the judiciary’s work. That’s the way to get better judges or motivate? Pay far less than raises she gave her own staff and far less than private sector? Hello?” 

Heinrich, who has been rumored to want to run for the governorship in 2026, sparked chatter on Twitter of his potential run, with one commenter writing, “Someone is getting ready to run for governor.”

POLITICO’s senior political columnist Jonathan Martin wrote, “Notable swipe at [Gov. Lujan Grisham] ahead of Heinrich’s own potential gov race in ‘26 .”

New ruling by federal judge could end over half of U.S. abortions

5 Comments / National, New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A new ruling Friday by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Amarillo, Texas, suspended the Federal Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

Kacsmaryk “said in a 67-page ruling that the FDA made a series of legal errors in approving the pill for sale in the U.S. The judge suspended approval of the pill but delayed the impact of his decision for a week to give the Biden administration a chance to appeal,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The Court does not second-guess FDA’s decision-making lightly,” Kacsmaryk wrote.

“But here, FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns — in violation of its statutory duty — based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions.” He noted how the agency faced “significant political pressure” to “increase ‘access’ to chemical abortion.”

“In 2000, the FDA approved the drug mifepristone, which is also known by the brand name Mifeprex and is sold by Danco Laboratories LLC. The agency said studies had found its use safe and effective. A generic version is made by GenBioPro Inc.”

The order now halts the use of the drug most commonly used to abort children, with the WSJ report noting, “More than half of abortions in the U.S. now use it.”

The lawsuit was filed last November by the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists (AAPLOG) and other physicians. They are being represented by the group Alliance Defending Freedom, which helped take down Roe v. Wade in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision.

The doctors argued that the FDA did not have the authority to authorize mifepristone “under a pathway for drugs treating serious and life-threatening conditions,” the report noted. 

The new lawsuit could halt abortions in states such as New Mexico, where they are aborting many children via medication abortions, including women traveling from pro-life states such as Texas and Oklahoma that do not permit most or all abortions.

A ruling made late Friday in a different case in Washington, D.C., by U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice ordered the FDA to preserve “the status quo,” which could fast-track the litigation due to the dueling nature of the separate rulings.

GOP ex-candidate takes consultants to court over botched campaign rollout

12 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, it was revealed that former gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Ronchetti, a Republican, had filed a lawsuit against his former consultant, Virginia-based GoBigMedia. He is being represented by former Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s general counsel Jessica Hernandez.

Ronchetti claims the firm botched the launch of his campaign websites during both the 2022 gubernatorial and 2020 U.S. Senate elections. He says the second fail by the company cost him his job as a meteorologist at KRQE 13 News. 

The lawsuit alleges that Ronchetti made an agreement with the television network to leave on January 6, 2020 for the Senate race, but GoBigMedia put the campaign website live that evening, which was “leaked” to the media. 

The lawsuit states, “The second leak also occurred before Mr. Ronchetti had announced his candidacy, and in fact before he had made his final decision whether to run,” adding, “As a result of this leak, Mr. Ronchetti was forced to resign immediately and without warning from his job at KRQE-TV.”

The botched website operations by the firm caused “financial losses, loss of reputation, damage to his campaign, damage to his employment prospects, and other economic and noneconomic damages,” as the lawsuit reads.

“Filed in Albuquerque during February, the lawsuit does not specify how much money Ronchetti is seeking from Go Big Media but seeks compensatory and punitive damages, accusing the company of unfair or deceptive trade practices, breach of contract and negligence,” noted the Santa Fe Reporter. 

Ronchetti signaled a possible new run for office late last month by writing on Facebook, “Thank you all for your kind comments, Krysty and I and the girls appreciate it. There’s a lot of stuff we’ve been working on behind the scenes. We’re announcing one of those things here soon. So stay tuned. And don’t worry…my sleeves are still rolled up.”

Trump responds to arraignment: ‘This is a persecution, not an investigation’

7 Comments / National, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, President Donald J. Trump traveled from his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, to New York City to attend an arraignment hearing on charges by partisan Democrat District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 

At the hearing, the president did not speak or show emotion, according to reports. Television cameras were not allowed in the courtroom, but pool cameras were allowed to take photos, such as this one:

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts lobbed against him by the partisan district attorney, who, before taking office, threatened to go on an unending, merciless witch hunt against President Trump.

Following the hearing and after arriving back at Mar-a-Lago, Trump addressed supporters.

He said, “They want to settle the case, but I want no part of that,” adding, “This is a persecution, not an investigation.”

“The criminal is the district attorney because he illegally leaked massive amounts of grand jury information for which he should be prosecuted, or at a minimum, he should resign.” 

He also noted, “Various prosecutors in the DA’s office also quit because they thought President Trump is being treated very unfairly. Oh, I love that. I’d like to meet them.” 

In an email statement released following his remarks, President Trump wrote, “EVERY American who believes in justice and the rule of law must stand against this witch hunt. These tyrants cannot be rewarded. They must be completely and unconditionally defeated. Once their hatred and division are stopped, we will find that we have much more in common than we thought. We will be one country again. Together, we will deliver a great rebirth of American freedom. Pray for me. Pray for my family. Most importantly, pray for our country.”

Following the president’s arraignment, the Republican Party of New Mexico chairman, former Congressman Steve Pearce, wrote, “The charges released today only add more questions about the credibility of this indictment. No new information was given in the unsealed documents. Federal and district prosecutors previously decided not to charge the same allegations made against former President Trump almost seven years ago. Prosecuting district attorney Alvin Bragg was rightfully asked today, ‘Why now?’ We all know why.”

Buttigieg visiting NM as part of Biden’s ‘Investing in America’ tour

24 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

It was announced by Joe Biden that his secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, will be visiting New Mexico. The visit is planned as a part of Biden’s new “Invest in America” tour.

The White House wrote in a press release that the tour would tout legislation pushed during Biden’s tenure that the administration claims is “lowering costs for hardworking families” despite, under the administration, inflation rising to record levels, making the cost of living increase for American families.

“Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will travel to New Mexico to highlight how the President’s Investing in America agenda is providing a historic $65 billion to ensure every single American has access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet,” wrote the White House.

The press release added, “Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will travel to New Mexico to highlight infrastructure projects that are protecting the health and safety of communities and reducing traffic deaths.” 

“Pete Buttigieg will be in Albuquerque on Tuesday before heading down to Las Cruces on Wednesday,” one report noted.  

Buttigieg previously visited Albuquerque last November to push for his climate change agenda on tribal nations. 

NM’s all-Dem congressional reps. vote against lower energy prices

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, which would lower American energy costs “by increasing American energy production, exports, infrastructure, and critical minerals processing, by promoting transparency, accountability, permitting, and production of American resources, and by improving water quality certification and energy projects, and for other purposes,” according to the U.S. House GOP.

The Republican-led effort received bipartisan support, with four Democrats voting in favor of the proposal. 

According to Axios, “The past four H.R. 1 bills received entirely partisan votes. Democrats’ H.R. 1 bill for the past two Congresses was a sweeping election reform package known as the ‘For the People Act,’ which didn’t receive a single Republican vote.” 

“Ironically, since Biden took office, his radical climate agenda has led to MORE emissions up to 6% higher than the previous administration. His anti-energy agenda is creating worse emissions while simultaneously pushing Americans into energy poverty,” wrote the Republican Party of New Mexico, adding, “​​It’ll create good-paying American energy jobs for workers producing the cleanest energy in the world. For comparison, America’s natural gas is 40% cleaner than Russian gas.”

However, all three of New Mexico’s congressional representatives, all Democrats, voted against the commonsense bill to lower Americans’ cost of living and restore U.S. energy independence.

Despite representatives like Gabe Vasquez of the Second Congressional District claiming to “stand by New Mexico’s energy workers,” he joined Reps. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NMCD-3) and Melanie Stansbury (D-NMCD-1) in opposing the bill. 

In subsequent defensive Twitter posts, he tried to justify the anti-energy worker vote by claiming oil and gas CEOs in “glamorous out-of-touch mansions” were making him their “number one target.” 

The Second District encompasses the state’s energy-rich oil patch, which is responsible for New Mexico’s economic stability. Vasquez’s vote against energy workers and industry will likely not fly in his attempt at reelection in 2024.

Former Congresswoman Yvette Herrell, a Republican, is set to announce her 2024 campaign in early April to reclaim the district.

NM House GOP leaders want feds to intervene on DD waiver claims

4 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

This week, House Republican leaders requested that the Inspector General for the US Dept. of Health and Human Services initiate an investigation into the NM Department of Health. The call for independent investigation arrives amidst reporting from the Santa Fe New Mexican detailing what the Governor calls a “horrific case of abuse.”

House Republican Leader Ryan Lane (Aztec), Republican Whip Greg Nibert (Roswell), and Republican Caucus Chair Gail Armstrong (Magdalena) wrote to HHS Inspector General Christi Grimm asking for an independent investigation into the disturbing disclosure of “at least thirteen cases of possible abuse, neglect, and exploitation of developmentally disabled individuals.”

In the letter, House Republican Leadership states, “A federally sanctioned, independent investigation conducted by your office will ensure complete transparency regarding these suspected and unacceptable incidents. Your investigation will also preclude the inevitable possibility that the New Mexico Department of Health will fail to take necessary steps to prevent such cases in the future.”

The New Mexico DOH DD waiver program is partially funded by HHS. Republican Leadership is seeking an independent investigation in order to ensure transparency and justice for the victims and their families.

The letter continues, “Unfortunately, the State of New Mexico has a rather dismal record of protecting vulnerable populations who are under the care of state agencies and who receive needed services through state administered programs. These recently discovered cases of alleged abuse, neglect and exploitation create a new round of questions and concerns.”

NM Supreme Court rules on judicial pandemic emergency protocols

10 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

As New Mexico’s COVID-19 pandemic emergency is set to end on Friday, the state Supreme Court has just ruled that face masks will no longer be mandated in courthouses statewide. 

“Face masks will no longer be required in [New Mexico] courthouses after March 31, under [a] decision by state Supreme Court. Jurors will also not have to complete health screening,” wrote Dan Boyd of the Albuquerque Journal.

The decision “comes as pandemic-related public health order set to expire after three-plus years,” he added. 

Earlier in March, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s New Mexico Department of Health announced the end of the emergency declaration. However, the governor continued to urge residents to get jabbed with the COVID-19 inoculation.

“I urge all New Mexicans, and particularly those who are older or who have compromised immune systems, to get vaccinated or get their booster shots if they have not done so already,” she said at the time.

“New Mexico declared a public health emergency at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020. Since then, the State of New Mexico has aligned its emergency orders with the federal government to ensure every available resource was utilized in the state’s COVID-19 response,” wrote the Department.

Under Lujan Grisham’s strict pandemic emergency orders, around 40 percent of small businesses in the state shuttered, according to the New Mexico Department of Tourism.

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