For years, New Mexico lawmakers have complained incessantly about being the only “citizen legislature” that does not receive an annual salary. Legislators from the Democrat Party and the extreme “moderate” wing of the Republican Party have repeatedly whined about it.
However, these elected leaders knew full-well when running for their place in the House or Senate that their positions were intended as a mostly voluntary position, one of service to the community and one meant not for self-enrichment, but for representation to one’s community.
But some legislators have fallen out-of-touch with the idea of the citizen legislature, such as Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Doña Ana) who claimed in 2019 while sponsoring a bill to pay legislators a salary, that the current system has people “being left out of the system.”
Recently, Sen. Bill Soules (D-Doña Ana), who has been in the New Mexico Senate since 2013, tweeted a picture of a dollar bill, writing, “#nmleg. ‘Another day another ………’. Oh wait. That’s right. The New Mexico Legislature is unpaid. The only unpaid legislature in the country.”
First-term Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Bernalillo), who is already looking for a promotion to a higher office (U.S. House of Representatives), is already complaining about the Legislature not paying members a traditional salary, chiming in on Soules’ conversation, writing, “Being unpaid and part-time makes this branch of government weak.”
“Moderate” Rep. Alonzo Baldonado (R-Valencia), while defending Rep. Kelly Fajardo’s (R-Valencia) vote in favor of Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “mini” Green New Deal, wrote, “For all of you out there that think making votes and not getting paid to do it is easy….I say you go do it.” In 2022, many conservative Republicans will do it, and hopefully, strong patriots who do not cower will run against Reps. Fajardo and Baldonado to bring true representation to the Legislature—actual servants of the people who will not complain about the job they knew full-well they were getting into.
Multiple other “moderate” Republicans and leftist Democrats have complained about the pay strucutre of New Mexico legislators.
But despite all the misinformation from ungrateful supposed “public servants,” legislators in New Mexico do get reimbursed through a daily per diem for their work, which is $184 a day and 58 cents a mile. They also get a hefty pension for their service. After ten years, it amounts to $10,824.00.
The point of New Mexico’s legislature is for it to work for New Mexicans—not the other way around. Just remember, senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for not doing much at all. Having regular citizens who work jobs in the time they are not in the New Mexico Legislature (usually 10-11 months each year) serving as our representatives, brings them closer to the people they are supposed to represent, and makes them more accountable to their constituents.
Let us never forget that public servants are supposed to represent us. Those who are quick to complain about the trust we have placed in them or are putting their own well-being above that of New Mexicans should not be rewarded by getting another term in any elected office, much less a seat in the New Mexico House or Senate.
During the 2021 Legislative Session, far-left Sen. Jacob Candelaria (D-Bernalillo) has proposed multiple bills to ram through his extremist agenda. However, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has been an ally of the fringe left-wing, won’t even go for Candelaria’s bills.
One of his legislative proposals seeks to erase governors’ ability to use the “pocket veto,” which is a de-facto veto of legislation after a certain date if the Governor decides not to sign the bill. Candelaria reportedly called the pocket veto an “unnecessary, anti-transparency, anti-good government provision in our Constitution.” The Governor’s office called Candelaria’s legislation “too burdensome,” and Democrat Leader Peter Wirth voted against it.
Another far-fetched proposal by Candelaria sought to eliminate private prisons in New Mexico. The Associated Press reported that “The top prison official under Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham voiced opposition to a bill that would make it unlawful for the state and local governments to contract with private prisons across New Mexico,” dealing another major blow to Candelaria’s whack ideas. Candelaria has also voiced support for “demilitarizing” the police.
A sad Candelaria wrote on Twitter, “Disappointed that @GovMLG opposes bill to end private prisons in NM.”
Disappointed that @GovMLG opposes bill to end private prisons in NM.
Candelaria has long been a laughing stock of New Mexico after he marched with Black Lives Matter insurrectionist domestic terrorists over the Summer and then offered to defend looters and rioters in court pro-bono.
Then, in October, once one of his constituents got tired of his whining, they sent him some nasty messages, which resulted in him calling the police, begging for protection from the benign threat.
He then used his position “as a Senator” to threaten officers who responded to his call, invoking the name of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, claiming he would call them on the state police officers. Once the officers explained to him the supposed threat could be interpreted in many different ways, he snapped and threw the helpful officers out of his domicile.
Once his constituents started calling him out for his hypocrisy, he targeted them, including a Catholic priest, who Candelaria sent GIFs of scantily clad male models with the strange caption, “I LOVE BEING GAY! That’s a fact.” He also targeted Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales.
Later, in November 2020, Candelaria made a fool out of himself by posting a picture of a luxury French fashion box that presumably contained hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of designer goods, and wrote an eyebrow-raising caption to the post in the attempt to show off his new goods. He wrote, “Treat yo self. [sic] The road is long and the fights are hard—-celebrating your joy is a seditious act.” It is unclear what Candelaria meant by “seditious act.”
He’s subsequently used his Twitter account to lash out at elected officials in higher offices, such as Gov. Lujan Grisham and Republican U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (CD-2). It is unclear what Candelaria’s mental state is like. However, he claims he has “PTSD” from the alleged nasty messages he received in October. Now, even Gov. Lujan Grisham won’t take his calls and is shooting down his whack legislation for being even too whack for her.
On Wednesday, the Santa Fe New Mexican ran an article detailing the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association’s (NMOGA) willingness to work with the rabidly anti-oil and gas Joe Biden administration to “work through” problems to “find middle ground.”
Unfortunately for NMOGA and its executive director Ryan Flynn, Joe Biden and his anti-energy choices in the Cabinet, such as Green New Deal-loving Rep. Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico), his designated choice for Department of the Interior, want an all-out assault on the oil and gas industry.
Joe Biden has already signed a slew of anti-energy executive orders in his first few days banning all new leases and permits for drilling on U.S. land indefinitely, canceling the Keystone XL pipeline with Canada, and re-entering the United States in the Paris Climate Accord, which the United Nations itself admitted is a sham.
Now, despite Flynn’s whining about the New Mexico budget being aided by oil and gas, his organization still naively thinks it can find a supposed “middle ground” with Biden to “strike that balance then that will help ensure there’s not unnecessary damage on the industry in New Mexico.”
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports:
A key official [Ryan Flynn] within the state’s energy industry said he is encouraged by the Biden administration’s yearlong moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands, which he contends is better than the U.S. Interior Department’s halt on leases announced last week.
Flynn even said appeared to expect his industry to collapse, telling the Santa Fe New Mexican, “It’s not like a transition away from oil and gas products is going to occur in a week or year or even in the next 10 years.”
For years, the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association has aided Democrats in their efforts to enact radical anti-energy policies, including their “neutral” stance on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “mini” Green New Deal (Energy Transition Act), which they and multiple “Republican” members of the New Mexico Legislature helped get passed. The law will completely wipe out the oil and gas industry by the year 2050.
Those “Republican” legislators who voted for it include Rep. Kelly Fajardo (Valencia), Rep. Bill Rehm (Bernalillo), Sen. Greg Baca (Bernalillo and Valencia), fmr. Sen. Candace Gould (Bernalillo and Sandoval), Sen. Ron Griggs (Doña Ana, Eddy and Otero), Sen. Mark Moores (Bernalillo), Sen. Cliff Pirtle (Chaves, Eddy and Otero), and fmr. Sen. James White (Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, and Torrance).
But not only did NMOGA refuse to fight against the Democrats’ assaults on the energy industry (which they purport to represent), the organization directly funded radical Democrats with tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions to help them do it.
A Piñon Post reportdetails NMOGA’s political contributions to Democrats, including $25,000 to Democrat Speaker Brian Egolf’s PAC in the 2020 election cycle, which helped elect ruthlessly anti-oil and gas extremists to the Legislature, $5,000 to then-Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, in her 2018 bid for governor, and countless others.
Even Republican leaders in New Mexico have called NMOGA and Ryan Flynn out for his betrayal of the industry, with many top Republicans penning a scathing op-ed calling out the weak, spineless, and anti-energy approach the organization has used.
Here’s a snippet from the op-ed:
So, what is Flynn’s motive? We aren’t exactly sure, but this pattern of lies has effectively destroyed any trust we had in him to be a fair advocate for NMOGA. While we cannot dictate to NMOGA who should be running its organization, we would suggest the association consider putting a person in its leadership who does not spread misinformation and puts personal political preferences ahead of the interests of the oil and gas industry and the workers it supports.
Now, Flynn wants to “work” with the Joe Biden administration to find “middle ground,” and even though it is unlikely, it doesn’t’ seem like NMOGA is too worried about fighting for their industry, since Flynn is expecting to “transition away” from oil and gas in ten years’ time.
President Donald Trump has been the single most active, accomplished, representative, and straightforward president our country has ever had, and we would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has done more for this wonderful nation than President Donald J. Trump.
Through all the trials our country has faced, from Democrat obstruction and RINO (Republican in name only) deflection to Chinese pandemics and years-long witch hunts, President Trump charged ahead and brought forth a vision, not only of American greatness but of an America that finally recognizes the hard-working men and women who fight each and every day to keep our country powered and moving ahead.
President Trump focused his campaign talking about the men and women who so-often are scoffed at by ivory tower coastal elites and Washington, D.C. insiders who openly mock those working blue-collar and service jobs (the very jobs that keep the lights on).
Trump focused on our hard-working coal miners, oil workers, energy refiners, teachers, farmers, ranchers, truckers, construction workers, restaurant workers, medical professionals, and so many others who do the critical work to make our nation great.
With Trump, the everyday man and woman finally had a candidate who not only cared about them—but lifted them up and recognized them for their invaluable contribution to our society and their love for our country.
That is exactly why I jumped on the Trump Train on June 16, 2015. And I’ve got to tell you; I have absolutely no regrets in my support for him, from the hilarious jokes he made during his speeches on the campaign trail, to his very serious achievements during his presidency that have brought America back to greatness.
In the beginning, I can’t tell you how many people came up to me puzzled, asking me why, of all the GOP candidates running for president, did I choose Donald Trump? And my answer was very simple: We finally had a candidate in Donald Trump who didn’t BS us with a politician’s filter. He put his money where his mouth is and funded his own campaign, not having to rely on the Washington, D.C. swamp or coastal elites to bankroll (AKA buy) him. He had the right reasons for running—not for his own career, but because he saw a hurting America that he knew needed an ordinary American to fix.
I still got laughed at by Democrats and many Republicans, who thought Donald Trump was a joke. But I didn’t care, and I still don’t care. I’ve always seen him as a very real and very necessary candidate after both the feckless Republicans and the hateful Democrats abandoned the American people time after time. Trump was not the average weak and spineless RINO like Bush or Romney. He was and still is a fighter, to the very bitter end if, necessary.
During his parting address in the White House on January 19, 2021, he noted his fighter spirit, saying, “I did not seek the easiest course; by far, it was actually the most difficult. I did not seek the path that would get the least criticism. I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices because that’s what you elected me to do. Your needs were my first and last unyielding focus.”
My first Trump rally was on September 14, 2015, in Dallas, Texas, at the American Airlines Center, and the gigantic stadium was packed to the brim. The energy was not like anything I had ever experienced before. It was like a giant family reunion with like-minded patriots who all knew Donald Trump was the one guy who could finally chip away at the corrupt political system.
September 14, 2015 Trump Rally, Dallas, Texas
Since then, I have been an unflinching supporter of our president. In 2016, I saw that my local Republican party wasn’t putting up signs in support of Trump, so I stepped up to fill the void, buying and erecting Trump signs across my area of town in New Mexico to support the future President.
Although the president did not win my state in 2016, he won the presidency nonetheless, and he’s accomplished more than any president in the history of our country in just one short term. He chopped the head off of ISIS, brokered historic peace deals in the Middle East, moved the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, unemployment reached a record low 3.5%, he championed through a vaccine for the China Virus in record time, he massively cut regulations on business and industry, majorly defunded Planned Parenthood, the United States reached energy independence, he chipped away at the Obamacare disaster, he lowered taxes, confirmed over 230 federal judges in record time, he built 452 miles of southern border wall, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
As President Trump said at the Values Voter Summit in 2019, “They’re coming after me because I’m fighting for you.” And boy, has he fought for us every step of the way in every single regard. And although the 2020 election was stolen from him due to massive voter fraud across the board, his legacy will live on, and I am proud to have fought alongside him to champion his agenda and to try to stop the Democrats from stealing the election.
We have a long and hard fight ahead, and that same spirit we brought to fight against the Democrats’ steal, we must now channel to fight against the wickedness of the upcoming illegitimate administration of Joe Biden, who has promised to completely change our country.
All the progress President Trump made in four years can be eroded by Joe Biden. Biden has promised to raise taxes, hike energy costs with a “Green New Deal,” fund late-term abortions, focus on transgender issues, rip down the wall on our southern border, install unaffordable socialist “Bidencare,” defund the police, and worst of all, “negotiate” with the Chinese, who oppress their own people and have had shady business dealings with Biden in the past.
We must all resist Joe Biden and Kamala Harris with all of our might, not only to avenge President Trump but to salvage what’s left of our nation after a Biden administration. Just like me, I know many of you fought like hell, from protesting in front of the New Mexico Capitol, the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, and even in front of abortion facilities; we need to amp up our efforts.
We must demand our state legislatures put forth voting integrity mechanisms, including paper ballots, signature matching, voter ID, a ban on ballot harvesting, removal of Dominion voting machines, and mandated poll challengers and watchers to see every single vote being counted and cast at every single precinct.
If we allow the Democrats to steal more elections in 2022 and beyond, our work and time spent protesting will be for naught. Email and call state representatives, members of Congress, and any elected leader who will hear you. No matter what the Democrats and feckless RINOs try to do to us, never let them stop hearing your voices.
I am committed to fighting for our rights here in New Mexico and beyond with everything I’ve got, and I hope you will join me. From wherever you live across this great nation, we must never give an inch to Biden and his fraudulent, wicked administration, which is chock-full of swamp rats and career D.C. insiders who absolutely despise the common man and woman.
President Trump forever will be our 45th president and I will recognize him as the current president, as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been frauded into office. No matter when you got on the Trump Train, I implore you to never get off. It is not easy to fight, but nothing worth fighting for is ever easy. God bless you, my fellow patriots, and may you never lose the spirit in your hearts and your love for this great country, which we have the honor of calling the United States of America.
In an overreaction to the January 6th incursion of the U.S. Capitol, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham erected massive fences around what was once known as the People’s House–the New Mexico State Capitol. Now, the building looks more like a militarized zone, complete with National Guardsmen and State Police surrounding the perimeter and its adjacent streets, plus massive concrete blocks keeping the public away from visiting their own state capitol building.
The Capitol’s militarization came at an opportune time for the Governor, as an illegitimate and allegedly fraudulently elected liberal figurehead, Joe Biden, comes into power on January 20th, while the New Mexico Legislature convenes “100% virtual to the public” via Zoom video on January 19th. This is an opportune time for the Governor and her cronies in the Legislature to block the public out from the political process, allowing Democrats to ram through as much extreme legislation as possible, without so much as a visit by a constituent.
During her weekly COVID-19 press conference last week, the Governor appeared to be goading on New Mexicans to break the rules and resist her commands to stay home around the time of the presidential inauguration by repeatedly invoking former Vice President Joe Biden’s name and telling people to protest “from your living room.”
“No violence–domestic terrorism will not be tolerated here–and everyone who participates, if they participate, in any of those efforts in this state–they will be held swiftly and firmly accountable. And we will use the full extent of the law to do just that,” added the first-term Governor.
Usually, language like this would provoke a reverse psychological response from the public. However, pro-Trump patriots heeded the warnings of many Trump allies urging MAGA people to stay home over the weekend and not engage in “false flag” events, which the liberal media has been trying to promote as havens for “violence.”
Pro-Trump patriots are not taking the MSM bait and not engaging in protests, despite @GovMLG fencing off the Capitol in the attempt to stoke fear and division. https://t.co/0A8TcTLm95
Leftist news sources, such as the Washington Post and others, were stirring the pot last week, looking to catch Trump supporters storming capitols across the country on January 16-17. The move would help the Democrats’ narrative in trying to demean and demonize Trump supporters by labeling them inaccurate terms such as “insurrectionists,” “seditionists,” and their favorite, “domestic terrorists,” as Lujan Grisham has parroted. One far-left state representative, Liz Thomson (D-Bernalillo), even went so far as to demand every Trump supporter be “forever branded with a scarlet S for seditionist.”
But Trump supporters did not take the leftist bait and stayed home over the weekend. Only a few peaceful individuals prayed in front of the fence at the Capitol, while one Christian worship leader, Philip Renner, led a handful of people in worship on Saturday morning. Some leftist news outlets bemoaned the lack of protests, but Trump supporters support Law Enforcement and the Military, which is likely why no protests to counter the tyrannical governor occurred.
Also, the Legislature was not in session over the weekend, which is also likely why no one protested. However, it is unclear if peaceful protests will begin in other places around New Mexico this week. KRQE 13 News reported that the now-fortressed New Mexico Capitol will be barricaded from the public at least until the end of the 60-day Legislative Session.
While American patriots marched from the White House to the U.S. Capitol to demand members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate vote not to certify a certainly fraudulent election, those supposed “leaders,” including Vice President Mike Pence and traitorous members of Congress defied the will of the people and certified an illegitimate election in favor of Joe Biden.
All the information about how protesters got inside the U.S. Capitol and who they truly are is still a mystery. However, some Americans’ actions–good and bad–will forever remain in the history books as a monumental start to what will be a battle for our nation.
This was the point in history beyond reconciliation. Americans finally saw those in public office who are fighters for the Constitution and those who are sellouts to the Washington, D.C. swamp. Only 147 brave public officials in Congress stood up and rejected the stolen election, while the rest revealed their true colors.
This battle for our nation will be long, hard-fought, and be the start of many more clashes between crooks who look to cling to their power and those who get up every day to fight for Americans across our country who only want goodness and rightness for what is left of our republic.
As they have done for the past four years, the Radical Left–aided by the biased media machine and big tech oligarchs–will continue to try and discredit us, shame us, and tear us down for supporting our President. They will doxx us, they will try to break our families apart, get us fired from our jobs, spread rumors about us, and maybe most importantly, try to kill our spirit.
These attacks, aided by a spineless and hollow “Republican” establishment, will not cease. If anything, they will get louder, more emboldened, and increasingly violent. Many GOP “leaders” will cry out against us, but their self-centered manufactured outrage must not matter to us. The bloodshed of patriots will not matter to them as they defile and curdle the very identity of our nation.
But we, as New Mexicans and Americans, must never stop fighting for our values and against fraudulent elections that happen far too often in our state. The crooks have been taking over our government for decades, but if we do not fight back now, there won’t be a country left to save.
Take courage, my fellow patriots. The fight will be long and hard, but I will be fighting right alongside you every step of the way. The enemy’s voice may be loud, but ours is louder. Never, ever stop fighting for our Country. Do it for our children and our children’s children. Their future depends on our actions now.
What you can do:
Stand up and fight like hell, patriots.
Join a pro-Trump protest in your community, such as one that happens each Saturday in front of the New Mexico state Capitol in Santa Fe.
Connect with your local Republican Party, and if the leaders of that local chapter are RINOs (Republicans in Name Only), organize other patriots to attend meetings and vote the establishment out in numbers.
Despite Democrat leaders locking the public out of the Capitol for the upcoming Legislative Session, show up anyway in numbers and demand they hear your voices. Scream and shout as loud as your voices can carry you. Do not stop writing your legislators’ offices and inundating their inboxes about bills and amendments until they can’t take it anymore.
Ram down these legislators’ throats the demand for free and fair elections, without crooked operating systems tallying votes and late-night ballot dumps of fraudulent “absentee” ballots that have been sitting in closets and suitcases. Demand Voter ID, purging of illegitimate voters on the rolls, and ballot harvesting.
Consider runs for public office in your communities. Take out RINO politicians who vote with Democrats, such as many of the state representatives and senators who currently sit in the Santa Fe Capitol. Find those who did not stand up and fight and demand they tell you why. Why did they cower in fear while New Mexicans suffer? Look up their freedom scores on places like the Rio Grande Foundation and the American Conservative Union. If they don’t represent your values, mount primary challenges to them and boot them the hell out of office. The same thing goes for every other elected office across our state. If they don’t fight for us, then fire them.
If we organize in numbers to take back our government one step at a time, we will. Never stop resisting tyranny and never stop looking toward the horizon at what we can do if we work together and finally take out the trash that has been rotting in the Santa Fe and Washington, D.C. swamps. I am with you, my fellow patriots. We must all stick together and remember that there a lot more of us than there are of them. Stop the steal.
Over the weekend and on Monday, liberal media outlets like the Albuquerque Journal, KRQE News 13, and KOAT 7 News all blasted Calvary and Legacy churches in Albuquerque for holding Christmas Eve services to honor the birth of Jesus Christ, allegedly in non-compliance with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s strict 25% capacity limit on churches.
Despite the large churches minding their own business in the practice of worship, that was not good enough for the liberal mainstream media and Gov. Lujan Grisham, who could not stand the thought of free Americans using their First Amendment rights to proclaim the birth of Christ. So, after the press amplified politically motivated liberal voices who claimed the churches were putting health at risk, the Governor’s Health Department slapped the churches with hefty $5,000 fines.
The Department said that in addition to the $5,000 fine, “other remedies against the same conduct” would be taken “as allowed by state statute.”
The Governor’s pompous communications director Tripp Stelicki–who condescended New Mexicans repeatedly–gave a statement to the Albuquerque Journal, mercilessly bashing Legacy and Calvary churches for their “illegal and selfish gatherings,” saying they “will directly contribute to more suffering and illness in our state.”
Here’s what the Journal reported:
Tripp Stelnicki, a spokesman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, said the parishioners and leaders of the two churches violated both the state’s public health order “and common sense.”
“They endangered the lives livelihoods and health of not only their parishioners but their entire communities — and given how quickly this virus can spread, potentially our state as a whole.”
Stelnicki went on to say that while all New Mexicans wish that the pandemic was over, it clearly is not and no pastor “may deem it so.”
“These church leaders should reflect on the danger they’ve unleashed in their communities,” he said.
The First Amendment comes first for a reason, and the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled in favor of religious institutions and against tyrannical edicts given from on-high by power-hungry tyrants like Lujan Grisham. “Even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten,” wrote the Court’s conservative majority in one case’s opinion.
Those words must ring true to Calvary and Legacy churches’ leadership now more than ever. Standing up for what is right may not always be easy, but both churches may be surprised at how many patriots from across our great state are willing to stand with them as they go into battle for New Mexicans’ rights.
Legacy Church released a strong statement following criticism, saying, “We have taken the pandemic seriously from the start, and have prudent measures in place. But when governments exceed their constitutional authority and contradict what we are called on by God to do, we answer first to His authority.”
According to Calvary’s chief Pastoral Officer, Neil Oritz, he said that the church “experienced a significant attendance on one of the most celebrated and sacred days of our Christian faith.” In response to the large turnout, the church “chose not to break fellowship with any worshiper by requiring them to leave the gathering of their church family.”
“We do care about people’s physical health, and we take great precautions,” he said. “… At the same time, we believe that people can be responsible adults and make their own choices about their life and health and that of their families.”
If these churches choose not to buckle to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s tyranny, I and many readers of the Piñon Post would be the first people to donate to their legal funds in the fight for our Constitutional freedoms.
Take heed in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the fight ahead:
“One may well ask: ‘How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?’ The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all.’”
I urge as many New Mexicans as possible to email Calvary Church with words of encouragement by visiting their online form linked here. Legacy Church can be reached via email at this address: info@legacychurchnm.com. Please leave your name and phone number when contacting these churches so they may reach you better.
On Thursday, Sen. Martin Heinrich posted a strange The Atlantic article titled, “If You Didn’t Vote for Trump, Your Vote Is Fraudulent.” The piece tried to cast doubt on conservatives’ court challenges to election results mysteriously swinging Trump states to Biden with statistically impossible numbers.
The article brought in multiple convoluted arguments trying to bash what the author dubs “Trumpists,” however, the argument, as usual with the Radical Democrats, ended by claiming Republicans are racist by making the pie-in-the-sky argument that Black peoples’ votes don’t count in the eyes of the GOP.
“Because Republicans believe, as Mitt Romney put it after his defeat in 2012, that Black people vote for Democrats only because they are offered “free stuff,” Black votes are considered illegitimate even if they are legally cast,” says the author.
However, Heinrich opined on the far left article with his own two cents, writing, “Last time l checked, in this country you win elections by getting the most votes.”
Last time l checked, in this country you win elections by getting the most votes. https://t.co/cOGQjYYzlG
Heinrich sadly forgets Article II, Section Two, Clause Two and Three of the Constitution that very plainly states:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States shall be appointed an Elector.
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
The Electoral College chooses who becomes the President of the United States, meaning each state has their respective votes count toward a victory for a presidential candidate. However, Heinrich’s rabid case of Trump Derangement Syndrome must be getting the best of him these days, as he seems to forget that the popular vote does not necessarily pick the president.
Also, fraudulent votes, which were cast in all battleground states that mysteriously went for Joe Biden in the dead of night, should not count. Heinrich’s naïveté begs the question of whether his own votes that elected him to public office were cast legitimately. His tirade raises more questions than answers and does not do much to further the conversation or serve the people of the great state of New Mexico.
John Block, editor of the Piñon Post, had a discussion with former Congressman and current Chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, Steve Pearce.
The exclusive interview touches on what Pearce has done during his tenure as chairman, how he has utilized his political connections to build up New Mexico, and the victories the Party saw in the last election. The Chairman also revealed what his vision is for his next term in the chairmanship if re-elected.
Republican Party chair elections are held on Monday, December 7, 2020, where the State Central Committee members will vote. Learn more about the New Mexico GOP by visiting their website, NewMexico.GOP.
On Friday, Gov. Lujan Grisham’s office released their new county-by-county “Red to Green” COVID-19 plan, which has been noted is a major flip-flop in policy on her part. Her staff, which has already adopted a general tone of hostility toward all New Mexicans, is now blatantly condescending local news stations, including the liberal KOB 4.
KOB 4 News sent questions to the Governor’s office asking about the new strategy since they were not allowed to ask questions during the announcement Zoom meeting, as reporters usually are allowed to do. (Not the Piñon Post, however, since we have not been granted such access despite multiple correspondences).
KOB Reporter Grace Reader asked simple questions to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s communications director Tripp Stelnicki, was met with pompous and condescending responses. Some responses questioned the reporter’s intelligence, some blasted county officials, and some answers so short that they didn’t adequately provide responses.
Reader asked Stelnicki, “Will county leaders be notified when they’re good to move to the next color via the state? Or do they need to be checking the DOH webpage every other Wednesday?”
Stelnicki responded with:
The map updates every other Wednesday. If county officials care about the spread of COVID in their communities, they are already checking this map regularly to identify the risks to their constituents so they can protect their communities they represent. County leaders are well-compensated and qualified professionals who are more than capable of reading the public health order and communicating within their own communities.
In another question, Reader asked, “For business owners who are going to be monitoring these developments closely to see what they can and can’t be doing, where do they need to be looking? Does the state have any concern that this county-by-county approach will confuse businesses and patrons about what they’re allowed to be doing?”
Stelnicki returned with a more long-winded response full of snark, but this time taking a jab at the reporter, appearing to question her ability to read attachments from the Governor’s news release:
Did you read the attachment to the news release yesterday and find it confusing? Please let us know if we can help you understand it. Three colors is not confusing. Checking a website— or asking your county to check a website—once every two weeks is not difficult. Many other states operate precisely this way. Many communities and legislators, particularly Republican legislators, have been demanding exactly this county-by-county framework for months, please make the time to ask them whether they are glad to see it now and hold them accountable to their prior statements on the matter. These questions assume that this method of enacting and publicizing the restrictions is somehow comprehensively different than what has been the case for the last 9 months. It is not. Businesses and anyone else who wants to monitor these developments can look to the exact same places they’ve been looking. The levels will be clearly demarcated on the state’s websites. We are creating web widgets they can use on their own websites.
Reader then asked, “We noticed that for the first time, close quarters businesses are being asked to open at 25 percent capacity or 10 people, whichever is smaller. Can you tell us what forced the 10 people cap to be added to the capacity requirement? Additionally, did you all consider lifting the 75 person requirement on essential retail businesses (I know a lot of people have been upset about the lines at large box stores)?”
As usual, Stelnicki responded by claiming the hours-long lines New Mexicans have been standing in to get basic goods and food are a “minor inconvenience.”
His response in-full:
A line is a minor inconvenience, for which the state is sympathetic. The state is also sympathetic to the overworked nurses and doctors in the state’s hospitals and the thousands of families who are suffering and grieving right now The state will continue to prioritize saving lives and protecting New Mexicans while providing for as much safe economic day-to-day activity as possible.
The Piñon Post reported on the long lines last week after the Governor’s office told KOB 4 that the lines were just “Republican talking points.” The office also claimed, “The state is not forcing anyone to stand in a crowded line, as you suggest.” Coincidentally, Stelnicki now appears to be punishing the television station (a station that has bent over backward to placate the Lujan Grisham Administration at every turn: see below) with his latest tantrum, throwing not only the reporter under the bus, but also county officials, New Mexicans, and Republicans in general for pointing out the Governor’s massive flip-flop on policy.
.@GovMLG’s allies in the mainstream media are working overtime to deliver the Governor’s scare tactics to the people of New Mexico. Objective journalism? Not.
New Mexicans responded to the Governor’s office’s latest snark-fest on Twitter.
State Rep. Rebecca Dow (R-Truth or Consequences), wrote, “Just wow! Her SILENCE towards his condescending tone IS AGREEMENT. Apparently we are not ‘all in this together’”
Matt García Síerra wrote, “Hey NM media, kudos for keeping @GovMLG staffers honest. Their petty responses indicate you’re making them do their jobs. You know, the jobs they’re still cashing in on, while New Mexicans are unemployed.”
It should be noted that Stelnicki and his counterparts in the Governor’s office have full funding and do not face budget cutbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On average, the Governor’s staffers make around $100,000 each annually.
Grace Reader herself even took to Twitter, sharing the Q&A article and writing, “As a reporter, it’s my job to ask questions, especially when your livelihood and health is at stake. Today we asked about the next phase of the public health order, here’s how the state responded to those questions”
The condescending responses by Stelnicki are just the latest from him toward anyone daring to offer substantive questions or points he disagrees with. In April, Stelnicki wrote on Twitter that Republicans are a “death cult.” The Governor’s office did not apologize or respond. However, Stelnicki went silent for months, with Lujan Grisham’s press secretary Nora Sackett speaking publicly for the office in the interim.
Sackett is also known for being hostile to the press, such as in September when Española Mayor Javier Sanchez rebuked the Governor for chiding Españolans on mask-wearing despite only observing the alleged non-compliance from the back seat of her chauffeured car.
Sackett said, “Every media outlet that covered the mayor of Española’s self-righteous op ed will now also cover his flagrant hypocrisy and violation of the public health order, right?”
Before the Thanksgiving holiday, Sackett claimed, “New Mexico Republicans want you and your loved ones to get COVID-19 and potentially die” because the Party called out the Governor’s unreasonable 5-person household limit for gatherings.
It should also be noted that every time the Piñon Post has reached out to Nora Sackett or Tripp Stelnicki for comment, we have never heard a word back, and instead have had to use the Information of Public Records Act (IPRA) any time we have had a question regarding the Lujan Grisham Administration. On average, this process takes two weeks to produce information, and it is mostly not adequate due to redactions.
