Gaslighting Dems call 2-day spending spree ‘efficient’ as crises go unaddressed

New Mexico House Democrat leadership is trying to rewrite history after last week’s chaotic and wasteful special legislative session, portraying their actions as “heroic” while ignoring the fact that no major crises were addressed — from the state’s broken child welfare system to its collapsing healthcare network.

In a weekend op-ed, Speaker Javier Martínez, Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski, Whip Dayan Hochman-Vigil, and Caucus Chair Raymundo Lara claimed that Democrats were “hard at work” protecting New Mexicans from federal funding cuts and “President Trump’s policies.” The four legislative leaders described the two-day session as “efficient” and focused on “urgent needs.”

But critics say that narrative is pure gaslighting.

Instead of tackling real emergencies such as CYFD reform, medical malpractice reform, physician licensure compacts, or the state’s failing education system, Democrats used the special session to funnel millions into partisan pet projects and left-wing political allies — including $3 million for Planned Parenthood and $6 million for so-called “independent” public broadcasting, better known as state-subsidized progressive propaganda.

The governor also rammed through a new vaccine mandate law empowering the Department of Health to impose shot requirements without federal oversight — a move that many parents call “non-scientific” and unconstitutional. 

Meanwhile, the same Democrats who failed to fix New Mexico’s doctor shortage are now patting themselves on the back for “protecting rural healthcare.” Their $50 million spending package does nothing to address the malpractice crisis or the licensing barriers driving doctors out of the state. Even Democratic Sen. Martin Hickey, a physician, admitted earlier this month that New Mexico is “the only state losing doctors.” Yet Democrats refused to even discuss joining interstate medical compacts — one of the few proven ways to attract providers.

The Democrats’ op-ed also bizarrely blames “D.C. Republicans” for supposed “healthcare cuts,” falsely claiming President Trump was responsible for ending temporary Biden-era tax credits from the pandemic. Those subsidies, enacted under the American Rescue Plan, were always designed to sunset — but now Democrats are pretending their expiration is a Republican plot to “strip healthcare.”

In reality, the so-called “healthcare fix” passed during the session simply props up Washington’s unsustainable COVID-era policies using hundreds of millions of New Mexico taxpayer dollars — a bailout that does nothing to reduce premiums long-term.

Even more absurdly, the Democrats celebrated $30 million in new “food assistance,” portraying it as a moral stand against “Trump’s tariffs” and “Republican cruelty,” despite inflation and food costs skyrocketing under the Biden administration.

Throughout the special session, no legislation was advanced to improve public safety, curb child abuse, or repair New Mexico’s disastrous education rankings — all issues Democrats have promised to prioritize for years.

What taxpayers got instead was a political stunt: millions spent on government media, partisan nonprofits, and special interest handouts — while the state’s hospitals, classrooms, and families continue to struggle.

The Democrats’ closing line — that they’ll “continue to protect New Mexicans from Washington’s messes” — might be the most ironic statement of all. After two days of spending taxpayer dollars on ideological pet projects while ignoring real crises, the only “mess” most New Mexicans see is right here in Santa Fe.