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.”
I see tremendous opportunity across NM which is why I’ve released 13 plans to make it a safer & more prosperous place. Together, we'll rebuild our public ed system & infrastructure, support #smallbiz growth & a clean energy economy, & make NM a hub for international trade. #nmpolpic.twitter.com/GL0dDfurpK
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 Tuesday, Democrat Rep. Ben Ray Luján (NM-03) revealed a new ad using the narrative of his late father’s cancer battle to promote his U.S. Senate run.
Lujan, who is a supporter of the socialist “Medicare for All” proposal backed by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, used his father, who was an ironworker, to promote his health care plans.
“When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, mom and dad were fortunate to have insurance and good care for him during those trying days for our family,” Luján said in the ad. “That’s why I’ve worked in Congress to expand access to affordable, quality healthcare, and why I’ll bring that fight to the Senate to ensure every New Mexican can receive the affordable medical care they need.”
“I’m Ben Ray Luján. Mom and Dad were lucky to have insurance. To many, a cancer diagnosis means bankruptcy or losing your home,” the ad says.
When my dad was battling lung cancer, he was lucky to have insurance. But for many, a cancer diagnosis means bankruptcy or worse.
That's why my new ad focuses on my work to defend Medicare, expand Medicaid & protect those with pre-existing conditions. I'll always fight for you. pic.twitter.com/hQGtWgOBIg
According to Congress.gov., Luján has not passed a single bill with his name on it into law despite over 11 years serving in the House of Representatives. Now, it appears he is using the image of his well-known late father to boost his image on television commercials for his U.S. Senate run.
Luján’s father served as the Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives from 2002 to 2012. Ben Ray Luján is running against Republican longtime television weatherman Mark Ronchetti for the U.S. Senate seat.
On Tuesday, the far-left New Mexico Supreme Court once again sided against the will of small businesses and restaurants and in favor of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s harsh sanctions on businesses violating her public health orders. The Court ruled that the Governor is allowed to issue costly $5,000 fines to businesses
The businesses suing, which included some restaurants argued that the $5,000 fines don’t apply to them and that “Public Health Response Act allows for those pricey civil penalties to be issued against hospitals and other healthcare facilities but not for them.” They also argued that the State of New Mexico should owe them compensation for the time they are shut down.
Lujan Grisham has so far fined 16 businesses with $5,000 sanctions.
Gov. Lujan Grisham’s attorney from her office, Matthew Garcia, argued that “The only tool we have currently to stem transmission of COVID-19 is social distancing, and so we need compliance, we need immediate compliance we can’t say ‘well hopefully you’ll comply eight months down the road’ we need compliance now.”
The Supreme Court sided with Lujan Grisham on the case, arguing that the New Mexico Legislature meant for $5,000 fines to apply to all businesses and that the State is not liable for compensating businesses while the State has shut them down.
Lujan Grisham responded on Twitter to the Court’s decision, writing, “The state shouldn’t have to fine anybody. Doing the right thing in a crisis shouldn’t be something we have to argue about. But anyone endangering the lives of New Mexicans will face the consequences. My thanks to everyone doing their part every day.”
The state shouldn't have to fine anybody. Doing the right thing in a crisis shouldn’t be something we have to argue about.
But anyone endangering the lives of New Mexicans will face the consequences.
On Tuesday, in a crippling blow to Democrat Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, former Rep. Harry Teague (D-NM), who used to represent the 2nd District, endorsed Republican challenger and former state Rep. Yvette Herrell for the race.
“Ultimately, it is time to vote for candidates that will protect and lead New Mexico no matter what their party tells them to do,” Teague said in a statement. “We must vote for candidates that have the interests of New Mexicans first, who will stand up to their party and put their personal ambitions aside for the best interests of New Mexico.”
“New Mexico must have a Congresswoman represent the 2nd Congressional district that knows and appreciates the impact the energy industry has on all New Mexicans,” Teague added.
Teague represented the District from 2009 to 2011, the only Democrat to do so in nearly 30 years.
Herrell commented on the influential endorsement, saying, “It’s a true honor to have Congressman Teague’s support – I am dedicated to bridging the gaps that divide us!”
Breaking news: former Democratic U.S. Congressman Harry Teague has endorsed our campaign! It’s a true honor to have Congressman Teague’s support – I am dedicated to bridging the gaps that divide us! https://t.co/DQxullOI2a#nmpol#NM02
On Monday, former acting National Intelligence Director and Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell roasted New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Twitter for her prohibition on in-person campaigning, while applauding Antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters and rioters.
Lujan Grisham in her press conference commented on in-person campaigning, saying, “don’t want it, don’t need it. It’s problematic. We are not going to use COVID or anything else to prevent a peaceful protest. But we are not going to allow them to be excuses for political organizing for the sake of a political party or individual getting ready for the election.”
Grenell characterized Lujan Grisham’s comment as hyper-partisan, writing on Twitter, “They aren’t trying to hide their politicization anymore.”
On Friday, after U.S. Senate candidate Mark Ronchetti blasted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her cousin, Ben Ray Luján for their actions banning in-person campaigning, Ben Ray distances himself from Lujan Grisham, claiming they two are not related.
Luján tweeted, “While I respect my friend, our governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, we’re not cousins. This may come as a surprise to you, but not all Hispanic people with the same last name are related.”
While I respect my friend, our governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, we’re not cousins.
This may come as a surprise to you, but not all Hispanic people with the same last name are related. https://t.co/PTQTzr056k
It appears Luján was trying to claim Ronchetti thinks every Hispanic with the last name “Luján” is related for linking the two together. Lujan Grisham also commented from her personal account, writing, “c’mon. do better.”
However, far-left reports claim Luján and Lujan Grisham are related, and Ronchetti hit back at Luján for correcting him but not correcting leftist members of the mainstream media.
Ronchetti wrote, “Do better? Then why didn’t you correct the AP and Washington Post, and multiple NM stories stating same?”
Do better? Then why didn’t you correct the AP and Washington Post, and multiple NM stories stating same?
Ben Ray Luján’s move could be him trying to distance himself from Luján Grisham after her unpopular leadership during COVID-19 appears to be tanking, from 64% approval of her response in April, to a 53% approval rating now.
On Thursday, it was reported by the Hobbs News-Sun that Lea County Sheriff Corey Helton and the Lea County Sheriff’s Department had a Writ of Mandamus filed against them by Attorney General Hector Balderas for violating Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s strict public health orders.
The move came after the Sheriff and his deputies had eaten indoors at a local restaurant, which the Governor took issue with, as only outdoor dining at 50% capacity is allowed under her new orders.
During last week’s COVID-19 press briefing, Lujan Grisham lambasted the Law Enforcers for sticking it to her by eating at a local restaurant. In a post, the Sheriff’s Office wrote, “#heyleacounty ! Do not be alarmed when you see LCSO Deputies enter local restaurants. We’re not there to enforce the Governor’s mandate. We’re there to grab and support our local businesses!”
saying, “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.”
Balderas’ lawsuit reads, “Despite the spike in new cases, Respondent Corey Helton, the Sheriff of Lea County, and his deputies have requested that restaurants open their facilities in violation of the State’s public health emergency orders. According to television reports, the Sheriff’s Office patronized local restaurants that have opened despite public health orders, and that are operating without a valid food service permit.”
“Therefore, the State, through its Attorney General, petitions the Court for a writ of mandamus, directing Sheriff Helton and LCSO to cease violating the State’s executive and public health emergency orders, including by issuing orders to city businesses that countermand state law,” it continues.
The suit also lists two local restaurants that have had their food license suspended, and the coordinated effort between the Governor and the Attorney General appears to be a targeted campaign against the people of rural New Mexico — specifically Hobbs. Lujan Grisham berated a Hobbs business in her weekly presser, even going after the workers at the restaurant, claiming they were not wearing masks. “Those workers” in the photo “are not wearing masks. You cannot tell, but I can tell,” she said in a paranoid tone.
On Tuesday, U.S. House of Representatives candidate, Alexis Martinez Johnson, who is running in the Third Congressional District, announced that conservative Republican Representative and Freedom Caucus member Paul Gosar of Arizona has endorsed her run for Congress.
“Alexis Martinez Johnson is conservative, hardworking, and a patriot. My decision to endorse Alexis Martinez Johnson was an easy one. I know Alexis will be the right person for the job and will work tirelessly for New Mexico and will be an ally for conservatives in the House and President Trump,” wrote Gosar.
Gosar continued, “Elites from the east and west coast want to determine the fate of New Mexico’s elections. I want you to know that Alexis will bring true conservative representation to New Mexico’s 3rd District. Choosing to support Alexis in the General Election will help fight off the elites from the east and west coast.”
— Alexis Martinez Johnson (@alexisjohnsonnm) July 28, 2020
“I know a lot of people have said that New Mexico’s 3rd district is too much of a battleground seat. I have personally reviewed Alexis’s strategy for winning and met with her campaign strategists, and she can win…with your help,” wrote Gosar, giving some hope for Republicans to reclaim the District after years of Democrat rule.
Martinez Johnson will face Democrat Teresa Leger de Fernandez, a longtime leftist attorney who worked alongside the Obama Administration. Martinez Johnson is an environmental engineer and mother who says on her website, “I do not come from wealth or privilege, but through hard work I have built a life to be proud of.”
Democrat Teresa Leger de Fernandez’s donations include those of Johnathan Soros, former New MExico Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, former U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, as well as dark money abortion up-to-birth groups NARAL and EMILY’s List. Over half of Leger De Fernandez’s campaign donations come from out-of-state.
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.”
.@GovMLG presser reel 2/3: MLG claims she supports “independence and authority of judges” despite having NM Supreme Court overrule local judge MLG claims State Police will cite Sheriffs and local Law Enforcers MLG says militant mask enforcement increases mask-wearing.@GovMLG presser reel 3/3: MLG goes on a rant against New Mexicans leaving the state, citing her tracking of peoples’ phones to know where they are coming from and going to.
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 Thursday evening, The Roswell City Council passed a directive to the city manager directing him not to enforce Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s emergency health order.
City Councilor Jacob Roebuck said, “While we certainly have a continuing crisis on our hands, the emergency part has passed. There has been ample time for the governor to make her case to the people, to get their support through the lawmaking body,” he said.
He also said his reason for supportng the measure was not partisan in nature.
“I think there’s a clear line between political and partisan. This is a political process,” said Roebuck. “I think one of the reasons we need to do this is because it needs to be on us, the political body, and not the staff to decide.”
City Councilor Jeanine Best said, “I think we have more important fish to fry. You know, (the governor) she wants us to pay $100 or go sit in jail for six months when she’s letting people out of jail in Santa Fe that shouldn’t be let out of jail,” regarding the strict mask mandate imposed by the Governor. “She’s not making sense in the decisions that she’s making,” she continued.
Councilor Barr Foster said, “I’m not sure the governor is acting in the best interest of our state, more in the best interest of her party,” he said. “Her actions by not responding to the restaurant association shows me she has contempt for our system and she doesn’t care about our Constitution, so that is why I’m for this.” Foster was referring to Lujan Grisham not responding to a lawsuit from the New Mexico Restaurant Association, which was decided in favor of them, but overturned just hours later by the New Mexico Supreme Court.
After an hour and a half discussion, the Council voted 6-4 to pass the order.
