Politics

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. 

Joined by Speaker McCarthy, Yvette Herrell announces 2024 run Read More »

NM’s ‘woke’ social studies standards get national spotlight

24 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

New Mexico’s failed education system has been a headline for years, with recent rankings showing the state dead last compared to all other states. However, fewer national headlines spotlighted New Mexico’s ultra-woke social studies standards being rammed down public school students’ throats — until now.

The Washington Examiner recently ran an op-ed by The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Gonzalez detailing the New Mexico Public Education Department’s (NMPED) Marxist standards, which the Piñon Post has covered for years. 

Gonzalez writes, “Things couldn’t be that bad, you say? A typical sentence in the standards instructs teachers to have high schoolers ‘assess how social policies and economic forces offer privilege or systemic inequity in accessing social, political, and economic opportunity for identity groups in education, government, healthcare, industry, and law enforcement.’” 

He continues: 

Indeed, the standards, approved last year, mention “diversity” 65 times, “identity” 156 times (in just 104 pages!), and “equity” a comparably paltry 29 times. “Systemic,” meanwhile, appears 10 times — nine as in “systemic inequity” and once in the standard version, “systemic oppression.” “Power,” a key term to an ideology that sees all of life in terms of power dynamics, appears 43 times.

Taken together, the standards aim to use social studies to indoctrinate children and turn them into citizens filled with grievances, who identify not with America but with their given ethno-racial or sexual-gender category and who see the world only in terms of these categories jockeying for power with one another.

The classroom thus becomes the fulcrum of revolution, shaping a generation that hates the West and America. Whether it ends with revolution or not, it is almost guaranteed to end with unhappy citizens, for by generating people who hate their country and community, teachers will create people who hate themselves.

Gonzales wrote to the NMPED to reconsider the standards, telling them that these updates “will in no way help New Mexico students participate in their civic duties of our society if they are taught to abhor that society.” 

Instead of turning schools into “laboratories of revolt,” Gonzales would rather have students learn historical facts without the far-left anti-American spin. The coverage of New Mexico’s failed education system and woke social studies standards is a rare sighting amid mostly silence from the mainstream media.

NM’s ‘woke’ social studies standards get national spotlight Read More »

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 .”

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

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

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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.

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Governor surprises with sweeping line-item vetoes in tax bill

8 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Thursday, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham delivered New Mexicans a major surprise by vetoing major portions of the Democrats’ tax package, H.B. 547, which is seen as a big win for fiscally responsible legislators.

According to one report, Lujan Grisham “struck from the bill a phased-in reduction of the tax New Mexico consumers pay on most goods and services, a 20% alcohol tax increase, an electric vehicle tax credit and changes to the state’s personal income tax system aimed at benefiting low-income residents.”

The far-left enviro-Marxist group the Rio Grande Sierra Club whined on Twitter following the veto of the electric vehicle tax credits, “We are incredibly disappointed to see the [governor] line item veto the climate tax credits in the comprehensive package. This is a climate emergency and merits emergency action.”

The governor also vetoed a 25% tax on cigars, which lawmakers argued would make a $10.00 cigar $12.50, creating a “black market” for the products by bringing them in from other states, as Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo) noted. 

Portions of the bill that remain intact include $500 one-time tax rebates for single filers and $1,000 for married, as well as an expanded child income tax credit of up to $600 per child.

A fiscally irresponsible measure left in the bill includes additional film production tax credits, which critics argue will mostly benefit large production houses out-of-state that will hire temporary workers in New Mexico while continuing to keep post-production out-of-state in the Los Angeles area. 

Another bad portion of the bill that she vetoed is a reduction of capital gains deductions. According to KRQE 13, “Currently, New Mexico allows taxpayers to claim a deduction of up to $1,000 or 40% of the profit of a long-term asset sold. In other words, if you sell stock and make a profit of $10,000 on it, you only have to pay state income tax on 60% (or $6,000) of that profit,” The outlet added that “the capital gains deduction for non-business-related personal sales would be capped at $2,500. In other words, if you sold the same amount of stock as given in the example above, you would have to pay state income tax on 75% (or $7,500) of the profit.” 

“And for business-related sales, capital gains deductions would be capped at 20% of the profit, rather than the current 40%. With a lower cap, the change would presumably help the state generate more tax revenue, while potentially costing some businesses more money by limiting the dollar value of their deduction.” With the measure no longer being in the bill, it is a relief for New Mexico business owners and those who sell assets.

A provision Lujan Grisham struck from the bill, despite previously advocating for it, was a gross receipts tax deduction from 4.875% to 4.375%. She vetoed it. 

The governor wrote in her veto message, “Given the unpredictable nature of the economy and our state’s reliance on oil and gas revenues, I am not confident this package is fiscally responsible.”

Governor surprises with sweeping line-item vetoes in tax bill Read More »

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

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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.”

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

NM bill to harbor criminal abortionists signed into law

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On Wednesday, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed S.B. 13, sponsored by Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Albuquerque), which bans the extradition of criminal abortionists and the sharing of information regarding such criminals with other states. The governor was joined by the sponsor and late-term abortion doctor Eve Espey of UNM School of Medicine at the bill signing. 

Section 4 of the legislation reads, “It shall be a violation of the Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Protection Act to request from a third party, or for a third party to transmit information related to an individual’s or entity’s protected health care activity with the intent to: . . . (6) deter, prevent, sanction or penalize an individual or entity for engaging in a protected health care activity.” 

According to New Mexico Alliance for Life (NMAFL), “This language expressly covers any pro-life communicative activity aimed at stopping abortion. It is hard to imagine a broader, more blatantly unconstitutional restriction. Note that it applies not just to the communications of pro-life groups, but also even to inquiries from pro-life individuals.” 

Section 9 of the bill expressly exempts from extradition criminal fugitives who commit or conspire to commit illegal abortions, so long as the perpetrator remains in New Mexico during the commission of the crimes. 

Therefore, “an abortionist who sends pills to another state will be protected by New Mexico. Additionally, the abortionist must have fled from that state after the commission of the action. This may create a loophole if an investigation is not brought before the abortionist arrives in New Mexico,” NMAFL wrote.

S.B. 13 would isolate New Mexico from other states, as many pro-life legislators pointed out during the debate of the legislation.

The measure passed the state Senate by a vote of 26-16 and narrowly passed the House by a vote of 38-30. 

Democrat Sen. Pete Campos of Las Vegas was the lone vote against the measure in the Senate. Democrat Reps. Anthony Allison of Fruitland, Ambrose Castellano of Ribera, Harry Garcia of Grants, D. Wonda Johnson of Church Rock, Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup, and Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde opposed the bill in the House. 

After the signing of the legislation, the pro-abortion New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice wrote on Twitter, “We are proud to say New Mexico protects reproductive freedom at all costs,” boasting about the harboring of criminal abortionists in the state.

NM bill to harbor criminal abortionists signed into law Read More »

Lujan Grisham signs bill changing NM’s assisted suicide law

25 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Tuesday, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed S.B. 471, which will no longer force New Mexico doctors to perform physician-assisted suicides following litigation by the national group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) in Lacy v. Torrez. The measure passed unanimously through both legislative chambers.

The bill allows exceptions for physicians based on reasons of conscience or religious beliefs. Previously in 2021, physician-assisted suicide passed the legislature, which would mandate all physicians to prescribe drug “cocktails” to cause death in terminally ill patients. 

The American Medical Association previously wrote in a medical opinion, “Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.”

During the 2021 assisted suicide bill’s hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the “expert witnesses,” law professor Robert Schwartz and physician Steven Kanig could not list the drugs that would be prescribed to end an individual’s life and admitted that there is no set “cocktail” that is used. Schwartz claimed the concoction of harmful drugs “has been refined over the years” and that “these drugs do change.”

Following the signing of S.B. 471, ADF’s senior counsel Mark Lippelmann wrote, “We commend the New Mexico Legislature and Gov. Lujan Grisham for enacting this critical law to protect health care professionals who object to assisted suicide for reasons of conscience or faith.”

“Dr. Lacy and the thousands of other Christian medical professionals we represent believe every life is sacred and full of inherent value, and that assisted suicide ends an innocent human life without justification. The government should never force doctors to surrender their religious, moral, and ethical convictions.”

Dr. Jeffrey Barrows, senior vice president of bioethics and public policy for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) wrote after the bill’s signing, “As Christian health care professionals, it is our aim to serve every patient with excellence and compassion, as image-bearers of God,” adding, “We strive to perform our work according to the dictates of our faith and professional ethics, including the belief that every life is precious. We’re grateful New Mexico quickly responded to our lawsuit by enacting protections for conscientious physicians.”

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

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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.”

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

Sky-high gas prices on the horizon again in NM, across country

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

Due to the recent Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decision to cut oil production, gas prices have already risen eight percent in the United States. The price whiplash is par for the course in Joe Biden’s America, with his “climate change” agenda taking center stage — and consumers feeling the pain at the pump. 

“​​Some forecasters see prices rising by another 10% or 15%, which would quickly boost the cost of gasoline and other types of carbon energy,” one report notes.

The Saudi Arabia-led OPEC is cutting production by 1.16 million barrels per day. This would have been an opportunity for the United States to fill the gap and create lower prices with more domestic production, but instead of thinking of the taxpayers’ costs, the ant-energy Joe Biden administration is going all-in on its environmental agenda.

Biden then doubled down on his “green” agenda, writing in a White House statement, “Recognizing that clean energy as well as energy efficiency, and demand flexibility measures are essential to enhancing energy security and accelerating the energy transition, the Task Force has exchanged information on policy and market solutions to accelerate the deployment of energy efficiency technology, heat pumps, smart thermostats and related awareness raising activities among consumers and relevant stakeholders.”

One week ago, gas price averages in New Mexico were $3.35, according to AAA. Now, averages are at $3.42 and rising. 

In 2022, the average national gas price rate was $4.87 during Biden’s anti-energy policies and price war with other countries. He then nearly decimated all of the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) padded during the Donald J. Trump presidency.

The Council on Foreign Relations wrote that in 2021 “Biden announced a release of thirty-two million barrels in exchange agreements and eighteen million barrels in sales, seen as an effort to pressure OPEC to increase production; some experts said it was a novel use of the SPR, given there was no supply disruption.” Now, Americans are facing the consequences of the failed negotiation between Biden and OPEC. 

“In New Mexico, lower and middle-class families are the ones who suffer the most from these price increases, forcing many to make the heartbreaking decision of filling up their car or buying groceries. Hard-working New Mexicans should never have to make this choice, especially when New Mexico is rich in energy,” wrote Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce, a former congressman from the oil-rich Second Congressional District. 

“[Joe] Biden’s energy policy is a disaster. Gas prices are increasing because Biden has allowed foreign nations to weaponize energy against the United States. We’re witnessing the harmful consequences of losing our energy independence.”

Sky-high gas prices on the horizon again in NM, across country Read More »

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