Opinion

During the 2018 campaign for governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham made a lot of promises to the people of New Mexico, and some of those promises are coming back to bite her regarding her response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an August 2018 campaign ad, Lujan Grisham vowed to “promote small businesses and entrepreneurs,” and said “When I’m governor, we’ll be open for business.” 

Lujan Grisham repeated this line in her campaign policy proposals, writing, “we will let industry leaders know that New Mexico is open for business.”

But with the state shut down, 14-day mandatory quarantine for anyone traveling out-of-state, and hundreds of small businesses closing for good, New Mexico does not look anything like the utopia Lujan Grisham promised. New Mexico not only is not “open for business,” it is bleeding for cash, as seen during the 2020 special session, where the Governor’s unsustainable budget was cut due to her irresponsible lack of fiscal responsibility. New Mexico’s largest tourism event, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, is also cancelled, as well as countless revenue-generating events and opportunities.

Lujan Grisham also fined small businesses, which she supposedly supports according to her campaign ad, with up to $60,000 fines for non-compliance with her strict health orders, in stark opposition to her previous claims of support for such businesses.

Now, New Mexico, the most dependent state on federal dollars, could be being intentionally closed — not because of COVID-19, but because of the huge federal aide being offered for each COVID-19 patient. According to a study from Kaiser Health News, New Mexico is receiving $171,000 per coronavirus patient, which may be a reason Lujan Grisham is locking down the state — a stark violation of her campaign promise. New Mexico remains closed for business thanks to Gov. Lujan Grisham.

On Thursday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham held a press conference, which escalated into more of a rant against people she claimed were causing the spread of COVID-19.

During the presser, she claimed New Mexicans were “breaking ranks,” with public officials questioning inaccuracies in her Health Department’s data while berating those leaders for claiming Lujan Grisham’s mask mandate is a way to “control or manipulate individuals in our state.” 

She insisted, “I need folks to not do that!” She went on to claim President Donal J. Trump “didn’t meet his responsibility” to force every American to wear a face mask, as the Governor has done.

Lujan Grisham then went on to compare random photographs from Taos and Hobbs, one showing a sunny, bright day in Taos, where people were wearing face masks as far as the eye could see. However, the other photograph Lujan Grisham showed was one of an unnamed establishment in Hobbs, which appeared to be a snitch photo submitted to her office picturing people eating inside and not wearing masks. 

She said the actions in the picture were “not allowable,” touting how her team had altered the snitch photo to add blue/purple masks onto the subjects. Lujan Grisham also claimed, “those workers” in the photo “are not wearing masks. You cannot tell, but I can tell,” she said in a paranoid tone. 

As well, she said, “I don’t think the individuals were trying to support a local business,” then claiming “we’re getting… those photos and many calls and many complaints, and we’re going out.” 

Other than threatening local law enforcers with fines and citations after her rant at the Hobbs business, Lujan Grisham then claimed, “Nobody wishes that restaurants have a situation where they have a situation where they are challenged to make it. Every business — every small business is worthy of New Mexico’s attention and support.” It may not appear that way, with the New Mexico Restaurant Associaton estimating that 20% of restaurants across the state will close forever.  

Lujan Grisham continued, saying, “And I know that New Mexicans also know we are also debating these issues in front of fact-finders — judges — statewide, and I believe in the independence and authority of judges. And we will adhere to whatever judicial action comes down any number of these. But we are citing. We are closing, and I will tell you this. For local law enforcement: where you are also — it’s bad enough that you won’t help us cite folks who aren’t wearing masks and organizations and businesses and restaurants following public health orders — if you are violating a public health order, there are civil and criminal tools at our disposal. And local law enforcement — including the sheriffs who have been posting photos of themselves eating returns — should expect to be cited as such and to be held accountable.” 

The statement seems a bit hypocritical that Lujan Grisham “beleive[s] in the independence and authority of judges,” when the New Mexico Restaurant Associaton’s lawsuit to allow in-person dining was met with radio silence from her office. Not only that, right after the Court sided with the Association, Lujan Grisham had the New Mexico Supreme Court fast-track the case — shutting down the lower Court’s ruling within hours. Is that what Lujan Grisham claims is being respectful toward the “independence” of judges? 

As well, Lujan Grisham’s targeting of Sheriffs, claiming her State Police will have to turn on fellow law enforcers and cite them, undermines the duly-elected sheriffs and local law enforcement operations trying to uphold the written law — not necessarily Lujan Grisham’s edicts. But Lujan added insult to injury, and said, “shout out to the State Police” for putting the hammer down and prioritizing her mandates as gospel. She continued, “We don’t want to do it — New Mexicans are making us do it. And so are out-of-staters who are being cited.” 

But despite the bad optics of the forcible masking, she claims the militant tactics have “increased mask-wearing” while berating Texas and Arizona, which she claimed were not wearing as many masks as New Mexico. 

At the end of her press conference, Lujan Grisham said “New Mexicans are traveling out-of-state. They are not adhering to a 14-day quarantine — and you’re not supposed to be going out! Why are you going out of state? Vacations, family gatherings, unnecessary, unrequired business travel — I can see you at the airports, I can see it on Facebook. Our modelers and folks who look at that aggregate data, we know about it and we can see it coming up in contact tracing. You are taking the virus to other places, you are bringing that virus back. You are being unfair to New Mexico’s economy. Worse, you are putting new Mexicans in the hospital and some of them are losing their lives. Unacceptable.” 

New Mexicans’ latest scolding by the Governor proves that there is no telling what the Governor will do to take control and usurp power from local law enforcers, as well as shame small businesses and citizens she deems as threats to her political plans. 

On Friday. Lujan Grisham claimed she had a “heartbreakingly hard” decision to stave off opening New Mexico’s public schools, despite not seeming remorseful or heartbroken in the slightest in her Thursday press conference. 

On Friday, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s campaign sent out an email touting the Governor’s supposed work she’s done to “mitigate COVID-19.” It then goes on to say, “So first and foremost, welcome to this online community. Now let’s hit the ground running – with a face mask!” 

The email also boasted about the Governor’s penchant for pursuing “moonshot” spending on public education, the state’s raising of the minimum wage, and the passage of New Mexico’s “Energy Transition Act,” also referred to as the state’s “Green New Deal” to combat the “climate crisis.” The email then asks respondents to “take a survey” to let Lujan Grisham know what the email openers’ “top priorities” are, closing with “I’m dreaming big in these trying times because I know my work won’t end anytime soon, and there’s so much I can do to help.”

Once respondents click the survey, they are met with the question, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, do you think Democratic Governors have led where national leadership has failed?” The confusing-sounding item appears to checkmate people into either agreeing that every Democrat governor is leading during COVID-19 or not.

The next question asks, “Under Democratic leadership in New Mexico, we’ve passed so many important pieces of legislation. Which ones are you most excited about?” Multiple vague choices are given, such as “protecting our seniors” and “creating new job opportunities,” which also appears to be another catch-22 for respondents. None of the options show specific bill names, and they trick the respondent into thinking the Governor has done close to miraculous things. However, the jury is still out on the options given — especially on job creation — as families are suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The next page says, “New Mexico Democrats are on a mission to deliver a moonshot for our public education system. We’ve already passed several landmark bills that will invest in public education, increase educator salaries and establish a framework for community schools that will serve New Mexico’s families.” Then the question “Do you think it’s important that we keep fighting for our children and educators” is posed, forcing the respondent to either be against children and teachers by clicking “no” or agreeing that Democrats have somehow created an education paradise with “yes.” 

After the education question, the next page gives a blank box for respondents to answer what their priorities are, with the final question asking, “How important is it to you that we have a Democratic Governor leading New Mexico and fighting for our communities this year?” The answer choices range from “extremely important” to “not at all important.” 

Then, a page pops up asking — or more accurately — begging for a $5 donation, even though the survey says “times are tough.” No option is given to opt-out of giving, with either the option “Yes, I’ll give $5” or “Yes, and I can give more!” 

The Donation page features a photograph of Lujan Grisham with her arms crossed and the text “Donate now to help Michelle Lujan Grisham defend New Mexico values.” It is unclear what Lujan Grisham believes are “New Mexico values,” however, using COVID-19 in a hook to get people to donate to one’s campaign in a non-election year doesn’t appear to be a value shared by many New Mexicans. 

As Lujan Grisham has closed down the state with crippling bans on most activities, including restaurants, the ramifications of the strict mandates are increasing rapidly. The New Mexico Restaurant Association estimates that 20% of restaurants in the state will close for good due to the Governor’s ban on indoor dining and only 50% capacity outdoor dining allowed, while hotels are facing abysmal occupancy rates due to the governor’s strict 14-day quarantine mandate for out-of-state visitors. Massive demonstrations have erupted across the state in protest to the Governor’s lockdown.