MLG Archives - Page 57 of 68

Dems want NM taxpayers to subsidize recreational pot bill with over $7M in funds

2 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Tuesday, the New Mexico Legislature met for the Governor’s special session on recreational marijuana legalization. She and her party failed to pass it through the Legislature despite having big majorities in both chambers.

The bill, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has promised will be a money-maker for the state through the sale of marijuana, turns out to be an apparent scam to subsidize the industry heavily.

As reported earlier, the upfront cost for implementing the marijuana industry, according to the previous 2021 session’s fiscal impact report, was $659,400 in 2022. However, the newly resurrected pot bill in this current legislative session paints a wildly different picture, forcing the state to delve out millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to prop up Big Pot.

The current bill introduced this special session calls for $1.7 million to the Regulation and Licensing Department to “administer” the bill, $750,000 to the Department of Public Safety for “drug recognition expert field certification for law enforcement,” $4 million to the Taxation and Revenue Department for expenditures in the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, $500,000 to the Administrative Office of the Courts to help address with expungement of records, among other costs.

Just on face-value, the taxpayers of New Mexico would be on the hook for nearly $7 million to implement this costly industry, which was promised to be revenue-generating.

However, according to the previous fiscal impact report for the bill that died in the first legislative session of 2021, by the fiscal year 2024, the flailing industry would only produce at most $15 million in net revenue to the state, which, if current spending levels remain, would only amount to 0.204% of the funds needed to fund the government.

Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval, and Santa Fe) was not pleased with the Democrats’ proposal, writing on Facebook, “We’ve been told marijuana will be revenue positive but now, in the middle of Special Session (that has been called in the middle of a Holiday week), we learn last-minute that the state will subsidize the marijuana industry with millions of taxpayer dollars. This is far from open transparent government!”

Lujan Grisham’s allies in the Legislature hope to pass the bill within a matter of days without much care for Republican input. H.B. 2, the pot bill, passed the House Judiciary Committee at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday by 7-4 after it flew through the House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 8-4.

Dems want NM taxpayers to subsidize recreational pot bill with over $7M in funds Read More »

MLG wants the nation to adopt NM’s job-killing Green New Deal

5 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Monday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was featured in a video shared by “Climate Power,” an “independently run project created by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Sierra Club.”

In the video, Lujan Grisham said, “We need Congress to take action on building a clean energy future. We need bold investments in clean energy infrastructure and jobs.”

She cited New Mexico’s “Energy Transition Act,” signed into law in 2019, which has been dubbed by anti-energy groups as New Mexico’s “mini” Green New Deal. The act would completely phase out all energy production in the state by 2050, with a 50% reduction in nine years.

“And New Mexico has shown what clean energy leadership looks like. We committed to a renewable energy future that eliminates our carbon footprint while creating exciting and fulfilling careers across our great state,” said Lujan Grisham in the video. “We invested in our energy communities and refuse to leave them behind as we transition together to a sustainable future.”

But in New Mexico, the opposite is happening. XCEL Energy, one of the three largest electric utilities in the state is already asking to raise rates on their customers because of the Energy Transition Act, passing off large costs back to the consumers.

In northeast New Mexico, the Energy Transition Act has forced the closure of the San Juan Generating Station by PNM, leaving countless New Mexicans without jobs and only around 80 employees able to retire. “For the rest of the employees, though, they’re going to have to go find some other form of employment,” said plant manager Omni Warner.

“We have laid a roadmap for what America can and must look like in the 21st Century. An America where we lead the world in safer, cleaner, and more affordable cities and communities.” said Lujan Grisham in the video.

“Federal lawmakers should take a page from our state’s playbook and the clean energy movement that puts millions back to work and in doing so, better prepare our country to face the existential threat of climate change.”

NEW: @GovMLG calls for the kind of bold investment in clean energy infrastructure that “eliminates our carbon footprint while creating exciting and fulfilling careers.”

“We need Congress to take action on building a clean energy future.” pic.twitter.com/mTGkkvFWWU
— Climate Power (@ClimatePower) March 29, 2021

However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Mexico is the 46th worst state for unemployment, only coming ahead of other far-left anti-energy states including California, Connecticut, New York, and Hawaii. New Mexico is at its lowest point for energy jobs in over ten years.

Left-wing environmentalists will claim that the massive uptick in unemployment rates is all Covid related and not Lujan Grisham’s Green New Deal. However, New Mexico’s neighboring state of Texas gained energy jobs every single month since last September unlike New Mexico.

New Mexico is bleeding cash by the day as the Governor’s assault on the energy industry worsens. New Mexicans are being laid off with no fallback other than the state’s flailing unemployment system run by Lujan Grisham’s cabinet appointees.

Even far-left eco groups have begged the Legislature to make changes to the Energy Transition Act before it completely wrecks the state.

“This is not only our chance to recover, but our opportunity to build back better now and long into the future,” claims Lujan Grisham. But pro-energy groups beg to differ.

Larry Behrens of Power the Future says, “New Mexico ranks near the bottom for jobs so it’s shocking to see Governor Lujan Grisham advocating for other states to import her failures. The Energy Transition Act is destroying jobs and already causing utilities to seek rate increases on New Mexico’s working families. The fact that even some of those who support the bill now recognize that it is costing our families appears to be lost on Governor Lujan Grisham as taxpayers pick up the tab for her own electric bill.”

Special session marijuana bill could have loophole giving minors access to drugs

2 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Tuesday, the New Mexico Legislature will reconvene at the behest of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to reconsider a bill legalizing recreational marijuana. However, there is much confusion about what the bill under consideration is going to cover since conflicting pieces of legislation have been distributed to state legislators. One draft appears to grant minors access to marijuana through a loophole.

Sen. George Munñoz (D-Cibola, McKinley, and San Juan) told the Santa Fe New Mexican, “They were supposed to send us a copy of it today. I really don’t know what it’s going to look like. Every time I went to read one [a cannabis bill] during the session, every four hours they had a different bill.”

Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), who serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, “Nobody is saying the bill is ready and should be passed from top to bottom.”

On Monday, Cervantes tweeted out, “To those calling and messaging me on marijuana legislation for special session tomorrow. I’m told we’ll get a new rewritten bill today, which addresses all issues I and others identified in our Judiciary Committee hearing during the regular session.”

To those calling and messaging me on marijuana legislation for special session tomorrow. I'm told we'll get a new rewritten bill today, which addresses all issues I and others identified in our Judiciary Committee hearing during the regular session.
— Sen. Joe Cervantes (@SenJoeCervantes) March 29, 2021

According to the Carlsbad Current-Argus, Cervantes said the bill might be split in two, with one portion dealing with recreational marijuana legalization, while another deals with “social justice” aspects to expunge records of past drug offenses.

“You can understand how some legislators might vote for the licensing bill, but be against criminal justice reforms; and conversely, some vote the criminal justice reforms and against the licensing bill,” Cervantes said. “There are some Republicans who have said they support the principle of legalization, but may have problems expunging records and letting people out of jail.”

However, there is no certainty the bill will have the support to pass the Senate, with the Santa Fe New Mexican warning of how risky prior special sessions called by governors have been, notably Gov. Gary Johnson, who reconvened the Legislature to fix budgetary issues while falling short on a push to “close a loophole in state gasoline tax law that allowed Indian tribes to sell wholesale gas tax-free.”

“There are plenty of ideas and, with Easter approaching, precious little time. We’ll see whether legislators can build a new industry, or just blow smoke,” wrote the New Mexican’s editorial board.

Senator Gregg Schmedes (R-Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, and Torrance) shared on his Facebook page what appears to be a Democrat version of the marijuana bill in contention, where it reads “It is not a violation of the Cannabis Regulation Act when: a parent, a legal guardian or adult spouse of a person under twenty-one years of age serves cannabis products to that person under twenty-one years of age on real property, other than licensed premises, under the control of the parent, legal guardian, or adult spouse.” Schmedes wrote, “Apparently Dems like the idea of giving marijuana to minors. Might want to talk to the CDC or WHO or just about any doctor first.”

Also concerning members of the New Mexico Senate is whether Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Bernalillo) will force “sensitivity training” down members’ throats after she was distraught after debating Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto over a bill regarding paid medical leave. She couldn’t answer basic questions about her bill and claimed Ivey-Soto was “abusive.”

One Republican senator told the Piñon Post that he would reject the training if asked to do it. The senator wrote, “Ha. I will refuse. I don’t force them to do common-sense training.”

As the special session approaches, the Governor has made it crystal clear that she is not taking “no” for an answer, and the recreational pot industry has made it clear that “social justice” provisions of the bill are “absolutely required.”

House Republican Leader Jim Townsend said in a statement, “The past sixty days have been defined by the Governor and Democrats silencing the voice of the people, and the silence has become deafening following the crash and burn of their pot bill.”

“If legalizing marijuana is truly about the people, you would think that New Mexicans from all walks of life would have the opportunity to contribute to the process, especially when it failed so miserable[y] at the last minute due to too many cooks in the kitchen. Transparency is key to the public good, and so far all I can tell you is that transparency in this building is on shaky ground.”

The latest victim of Gov. Lujan Grisham’s lockdown: ENMU men’s soccer program

1 Comment / New Mexico, News / By John Block

On Friday, the Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) Board of Regents in Portales announced that the university would be cutting its men’s soccer program “with the long-term interest of all our Eastern New Mexico students in mind,” according to athletic director Matt Billings.

According to a press release from the school, “The Greyhound soccer team became an NCAA varsity program in 2004. Most recently, during the 2019 season, the Hounds posted the most wins in a season in program history with an overall record of 12-5-1. Overall the program compiled a 75-134-35 record in 16 seasons.”

“All current men’s soccer student-athletes will have their athletic scholarships honored if they choose to remain at Eastern New Mexico. Those wishing to transfer will be given assistance moving to another program.”

The news comes as other programs across the country have been cut for good amid the COVID-19 pandemic, where lockdowns have virtually stopped all playing of college sports altogether, especially in New Mexico.

In October 2020, NBC News reported that “Twenty-six colleges and universities, from Stanford to Dartmouth College, have cut more than 90 sports programs.” That list has only grown since.

Another tracker from Business of College Sports lists many other schools that have permanently cut programs, including universities such as Stanford, Dartmouth, Brown, and others.

The ENMU soccer program joins other entities across the state closing for good amid the pandemic, which has forced many college sports teams to flee the state altogether and play in states like Nevada and Texas.

For example, the 2020 New Mexico Bowl took place in Frisco, Texas due to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s strict COVID-19 lockdowns, which have shuttered countless communities resulting in financial ruin.

The latest victim of Gov. Lujan Grisham’s lockdown: ENMU men’s soccer program Read More »

NM pot org chief: ‘social justice’ provisions of special session weed bill ‘absolutely required’

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Thursday’s episode of a startup podcast called “New Mexico Grass,” the show featured the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce executive director Ben Lewinger to talk about marijuana legalization and his thoughts on New Mexico politics. The Chamber’s members include Big Pot donors to many legislators’ campaigns, such as PurLife and Nature RX.

During the interview, Lewinger was asked why it has taken so long to get close to a recreational marijuana bill passing. In his answer, he characterized rural areas of the state that lean Republican as stigmatized, claiming, “New Mexico is a hard blue state — a very progressive state, but once you get out of the urban areas of Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, New Mexico is rural and conservative. And I think still the stigma around cannabis as an illicit substance is very much alive and well.”

He also blasted New Mexico’s citizen legislature, saying, “You know, for several reasons, New Mexico is not a state that is one that is set up to get things done quickly. Right?! We have — we’re the last state that has a volunteer legislature. If you look at, like, you know, California, those are full-time jobs.”

He added, “We’re the last state with volunteer legislators, and they meet 30 and 60 days alternating each year compared to California where it’s like Congress where they’re in session most of the year, and they can just get a lot more done.”

“I think New Mexico still very much suffers from this idea that we don’t have the same ability to create our own reality as other states do,” said Lewinger.

Regarding the marijuana proposal’s left-wing social justice aspects, Lewinger said these portions of the bill are “super important” and “absolutely required” for the bill. He said, “We absolutely have to do that.”

“The way we’re trying to do it creates a mechanism for us to incorporate a lot of the very important social equity pieces, but it doesn’t mean that it’s the easiest way to do it. And that’s why, you know, we worked for several years to figure out how to create this legislative vehicle to get it done,” he said.

Later in the interview, Lewinger said that he thought the Democrats’ recreational marijuana bill had an 88% to 100% chance of passing during a special session of the New Mexico Legislature.

When asked about cannabis legalization on the national level, Lewinger said that he doesn’t expect Joe Biden to legalize cannabis nationwide. However, he says he will take it off the “schedule,” thereby decriminalizing it.

Lewinger then said, “I think the next Democratic president — Kamala Harris — will probably legalize cannabis.”

Gov. Lujan Grisham has announced a special session to commence on March 30 to hash out the marijuana bill, as well as an economic development program, which is likely to extend through Holy Week ahead of Easter.

Red to green: No matter what ‘color’ your county is, never forget MLG locked you down

2 Comments / Editorial / By John Block

On Wednesday, many restaurants, shops, and other small businesses celebrated the shift from “red” (meaning nearly completely locked down) counties to less harsh yellow, turquoise, and green reopening statuses. With Wednesday’s announcement, not a single new Mexico county is in the “red.”

However, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (MLG) should not be thanked for these counties’ reopening plans. After all, MLG is the one who locked down the state to the harshest criteria in the nation throughout the pandemic, with sporadic reopening and then reclosing plans, which led to thousands of New Mexico small businesses going under–for good.

Lujan Grisham kept on changing the goalposts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, repeatedly refusing to ease restrictions despite her supposed plan.

During the heat of the pandemic, Lujan Grisham shuttered businesses and demanded citizens comply with her COVID-19 restrictions. However, once Black Lives Matter and Antifa terrorists began marching in the streets and burning down businesses, she applauded them despite their refusal to obey her restrictions on mass gatherings, with many maskless protesters.

Instead of reprimanding these people, she applauded their efforts, which undoubtedly helped spread COVID-19 to more New Mexicans. “This is a violation of the mass gatherings, no doubt, but we’re just going to take a leap of faith in protecting protesters who have no other way, quite frankly. Right? There’s no other way to be seen, to be heard, to be respected, and to be clear about your message,” she said.

Before Lujan Grisham’s color-coded lockdown, New Mexicans were subjected to arbitrary “benchmarks,” which she and advisor Dr. David Scrase repeatedly changed on a dime. Then, citizens were subjected to Lujan Grisham’s red, yellow, and green system. Then, she changed her three-color system to a four-color system, adding “turquoise.”

Now, with New Mexico’s neighboring states reopening, Scrace says, “I get the natural tendency to wonder why we can’t be like them.” However, New Mexico remains shuttered, even at the “green” and “turquoise” levels, New Mexicans are mandated to wear masks, observe “social distancing,” and avoid mass gatherings.

The Governor is trying to normalize strict lockdowns as the norm in New Mexico. Even at the green level, our state is bleeding cash and losing people to other states where the government is not hostile to businesses merely trying to make ends meet.

Never forget that Michelle Lujan Grisham locked New Mexico down and crippled countless small businesses in the process. Her hypocritical “leadership” through COVID-19 has caused mass confusion, is responsible for thousands of deaths (including suicides) and is the single person to blame for our state’s bleak economic outlook. Do I even have to mention her jewelry buying spree at a shuttered business and her $200 per pound Wagyu steak dinners on the backs of the taxpayers through the “discretionary” slush fund?

Never forget what she did to you during COVID-19, and if you still are thinking about voting for her, then you are as lost as she is.

Red to green: No matter what ‘color’ your county is, never forget MLG locked you down Read More »

Gov. MLG’s dreams of New Mexico getting hooked on drug money

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By John Block

On Monday. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent out a tweet reaffirming her plan to transform New Mexico’s economy from a fuel and energy-based economy with our booming oil, gas, and coal sectors to heavily reliant on drug money from overtaxed marijuana.

The Governor failed to ram through her proposed legal weed bill in the 2021 Legislative Session, so in a desperate move to “not take no for an answer,” she will force the Legislature to reconvene in a “special session” to pass recreational weed legislation.

“I believe legalization of adult-use cannabis will be one of the largest job-creation programs in New Mexico history, driving entrepreneurial opportunities statewide for decades to come. It’s clear that New Mexicans are ready – let’s get it done,” the Governor wrote on Twitter.

It is clear that even the most “progressive” far-left plan for the Governor to ram through legalized pot wouldn’t even make the tiniest dent in New Mexico’s revenues with the current budget sitting at a bloated $7.4 billion — yes, BILLION.

According to that leftist legal recreational pot plan’s fiscal impact report, New Mexico would take in at most $15.1 million in revenue after years of losses to implement the program.

For context, the MOST such a revenue plan would generate in revenue wold be 0.204% of the needed funds to plug the gaping hole in Gov. Lujan Grisham’s budget.

The oil and gas industry, in contrast, generated $2.8 billion directly to the state general fund in fiscal year 2020. That is approximately 37% of the state’s budget coming from oil and gas.

In states that have already legalized adult-use marijuana, the largest of them being California, the state only brought in a total of $1.5 billion since 2018. The state’s budget is approximately $202 billion.

Gov. Lujan Grisham’s push for weed comes as she and her allies in the Democrat-dominated Legislature have pushed the most aggressive anti-energy policies aimed at driving the oil and gas industry out of the state in its entirety.

Weed, no matter if it passes or not, won’t make the slightest difference in the state’s budget, but Gov. Lujan Grisham sure wants to make New Mexico dependent on drug money–either by 20% taxed dope through her plan–or on the streets through contraband merchants of the product.

Nearly 18K New Mexicans sign petition urging Gov. MLG to veto trapping ban bill: ‘Not science-based’

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

During this legislative session, one bill, S.B. 32 by Sen. Bobby Gonzales (D-Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Taos) has gained much fury from New Mexicans. S.B. 32 is a bill banning trapping on public lands, which passed both the Senate and the House before being sent to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk.

The bill squeaked by its last chamber, with the House of Representatives narrowly passing the measure by a vote of 35-34.

During this session, many rural residents and wildlife conservation officers say trapping remains critical for managing wildlife and protecting livestock.

The bill, which many Republicans and Democrats vehemently oppose, has garnered formidable opposition, with one Change.org petition named “Support science based wildlife management” gaining nearly 18,000 names of those opposed to the bill.

The petition reads:

This bill is not based on science, data or wildlife [biologists’] input. It is not based on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the Public Trust Doctrine, which define fish and wildlife resources as the property of the people to be managed by the state and federal agencies entrusted with their stewardship. This model should be used as the foundation of science-based fish and wildlife management and hunting, fishing and trapping are appropriate management tools.
…
The [S]enate should be committed to sound stewardship policies that are guided by science over politics, emotion and conjecture.
The passing of S.B. 32 hurts all wildlife in New Mexico, it signals an unbalance and sets a precedent for what could end up listing many animals as endangered or threatened in the future. Furthermore, the economic impact of an out of balance ecosystem will cost jobs and millions of dollars, if not more. S.B. 32 represents the destruction of wildlife. There is no science based reason to start this trend.

The bill, which sits on the Governor’s desk, has a shot at being vetoed if enough people oppose the measure by calling Gov. Lujan Grisham’s office.

The organizers write:

This is the last chance. View this bill as a ban on all hunting because that’s what their goal is.
Do work! Share this and make it a point on how important it is. This is a ban on hunting.
Call Gov. Grisham here – (505) 476-2200 – we were never given the opportunity to voice, never given the opportunity for expert opinion, the opposition had an unqualified anti-hunting activist as their expert witness? Not a biologist, not a scientist, not a qualified individual to make a science-based wildlife management decision. (505) 476-2200

Nearly 18K New Mexicans sign petition urging Gov. MLG to veto trapping ban bill: ‘Not science-based’ Read More »

PHOTOS: New Mexicans from across the state hold ‘No More Lockdown!’ rallies

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Politics / By John Block

On Saturday, New Mexicans from across the state gathered en masse to protest Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s lockdowns and the stringent mask mandates imposed on citizens. The rally with the most protesters was organized by Albuquerque residents Karen Larré and Caleb Gluck and took place at the corner of Academy and Wyoming in Albuquerque.

“Participation in other rallies around the state included 100 people in Las Cruces, 75 in Roswell (with participants from Clovis, Artesia, Cloudcroft, Carrizozo, Ruidoso, and Capitan), 50 in Rio Rancho, 50 in Santa Fe, and an [h]as yet to be determined number of people in Edgewood, Moriarty, Silver City, and Deming,” according to the organizers.

Sarah Smith, one of the statewide coordinators for the March 20 events and an organizer of the Las Cruces rally, said, “It’s time to re-open all New Mexico businesses. This is a non-partisan issue. New Mexicans are suffering. The New Mexico lockdown does not make sense or follow the science, given the numbers and the COVID trajectory. The Red-to-Green re-opening criteria is fatally flawed and does not take into account any real indicators of the severity of COVID-19 impacts in our community.”

She added, “States with severe lockdown have fared no better than states with much less tyrannical measures. Our economy and small businesses have been devastated. We need to get our people back to work, and let our communities connect and heal. All the states around us are much more open, and there have been no negative repercussions of that. Reopen New Mexico now.”

According to a press release from the rally organizers, “The New Mexico rallies were planned in solidarity with rallies to end lockdown in 40 countries around the world, including Canada, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark, Australia, Lithuania, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Norway.”

The organizer of the Roswell rally, Jesse James, said, “People can’t take this any longer – and they shouldn’t have to. The Governor’s illegal and immoral abuse of power in New Mexico cannot be tolerated. Whatever party you identify with, it’s time to raise our voices and say, ‘No more!'”

The rally comes on the same day that the 2021 Legislative Session concluded as many radical proposals were rammed through upon the request of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Here are some photos from rallies across the state:

PHOTOS: New Mexicans from across the state hold ‘No More Lockdown!’ rallies Read More »

Gov. MLG wants New Mexicans to foot the bill for Democrats’ political ineptitude

1 Comment / Editorial / By John Block

On Saturday, the last day of the 2021 Legislative Session, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she will be calling a special session after the Legislature (dominated heavily by Democrats in both chambers) failed to epic proportions in their empty promises of ramming through a recreational pot bill.

But despite the lopsided partisan composition in the Legislature and their ability to force through other crazy bills such as abortion up-to-birth and the “Civil Rights Act,” which will line Speaker Brian Egolf’s (D-Santa Fe) pockets with civil litigation going to his law firm on the backs of local communities, Democrats fell short on legalizing recreational marijuana.

Democrats had sixty days to get the job done with the help of defecting “Republicans” such as Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-Chaves, Eddy, and Otero), who is a prominent proponent of legalizing weed. He even sponsored a proposal of his own to do it.

The Democrats can only characterize the Governor calling a special session for her extreme agenda as one thing: a massive failure on their part to deliver. Despite suspending rules in both chambers on the last two weeks of the session, only allowing the public to testify on bills in 10-15 minute increments for both sides, and the lopsided majorities of Democrats to Republicans in committees and in the chambers themselves, Democrats failed, not just on pot, but on many other issues.

Democrats failed to ram through all gun-grabbing bills, couldn’t pass their 20+ cent per gallon gas tax on the poor, were unable to advance their anti-police tort claims act, didn’t pass their overhaul of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, failed at implementing “critical race theory” doctrine into state agencies, among so many other proposals.

But bills that actively intend to create a culture of death, including assisted suicide via lethal drugs and abortion up-to-birth, were streamlined.

For those who claim Democrats are champions for weed legalization, they failed year after year after year while they were in the majority and prioritized murdering babies and killing sick people over weed bills that they professed to be “revenue-generating” miracles for the state budget.

Now, these same Democrats will force New Mexicans to foot the bill for a special session costing upwards of $50,000 per day because Democrats couldn’t even finish the job they claimed they cared so much about. Their failure is on their hands and their hands alone. New Mexicans should not be forced to fund this frivolous and self-serving special session.

Remember: Democrats have been in power for most of 80 years in this state. They had chance after chance to do pretty much whatever they wanted with their oversized majorities for decades.

Despite this year’s “Zoom” legislature where the public was barred from the People’s House with a chain-link fence and National Guardsmen fortifying the premises, Democrats still failed. Their failure is representative of their do-nothing, useless sad excuse for a party as a whole.

I hope Republicans in the House and Senate give the Democrats holy hell in this special session and leave nothing off the table to resist Gov. Lujan Grisham and the radical Democrats’ pagan agenda. We must beat these people at their own game.