New Mexico Legislature

Last week, Republican House Whip Rod Montoya (R-San Juan) ripped into Democrats for their use of victimization to shut down debate during this past legislative session, using terms like “marginalized peoples,” “institutional racism,” and “implicit bias” to silence opposition to their extremist bills.

In the letter, Montoya said, the divisiveness from Democrats has hit “obscene” levels. He said, “Acts of violent racism must be dealt with, however, each time racism is used as a catch phrase, it undermines the gravity and legitimacy of real victims of racist acts.” 

“Not only has this tactic been used to chill debate, it has been used to justify advancement of policies that are harmful to minority communities. It is infuriating to hear legislators say that Navajo coal miners who make $80,000 a year are somehow better off without a job because it slows climate change. To further call them victims of systemic racism, while they stand in unemployment lines, is nothing more than gaslighting,” wrote Montoya.

He made sure to focus on Rep. Stansbury’s racist comment toward Navajos, writing, “If this were not bad enough, absolutely zero attention was paid to the racially insensitive comments made by Representative Stansbury. When she was asked how these Navajo workers were going to replace their high paying jobs, she flippantly said ‘they can sell their art or their wool.’”

“Why were these comments not plastered all over social media or in local news? I can only surmise that her comments were ignored because she is a ‘well-meaning,’ white, progressive Democrat who is running for Congress.”

Montoya added, “Her comments, and many others for that matter, speak volumes to the condescending and paternalistic racism that has invaded the Democrat Party. If she were a Republican, demands would have been made for an immediate apology for her comments and she would have been asked to resign.” 

Montoya noted how “incredibly insulting” it is for “elitists” to think minorities are incapable of survival without their aid. “As a Hispanic who is married to a Native American, and having raised four children in New Mexico, I maintain that our successes and failures are our own, even when progressives pass laws that kill jobs and disincentivize hard work and success. It is the very essence of racism to pass laws that undermine self-sufficiency,” he wrote.

Montoya also touched on the use of gender to create division in the Roundhouse, particularly regarding Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, who claimed she was being attacked by a male Democrat colleague for asking her basic questions about her bill. 

“I thought that being a victim was directly related to a lack of power. Senator Stewart is not a powerless victim in this legislative body,” wrote Montoya, noting how “she determines all committee assignments, as well as every chairmanship.” 

“Progressives have crossed the Rubicon of using patronizing language, and unfortunately too many people now believe their future is in someone else’s hands,” he wrote. “If progressive Democrats are determined to continue this demeaning and dangerous tactic, we should perhaps change the words of our New Mexico pledge of allegiance to reflect, ‘… perfect disunity among divided cultures.’ I, however, have another idea. Traditional New Mexicans need to take back our state from outside influences that divide us over every tiny difference, and instead find common ground despite our differences. I think this new concept is called tolerance,” concluded Montoya.

The letter comes after one of the most divisive and corrosive legislative sessions in modern New Mexico history, with Democrats ramming through bills with little to no debate. If debate was, in fact, afforded, Democrats shut down the public from speaking and accused fellow members of racism and sexism at every other turn. 

During the legislative session and the subsequent Governor-commissioned special session, Democrats rammed through abortion up-to-birth and infanticide, assisted suicide via lethal drug “cocktails,” tax hikes, recreational weed legalization, raiding of the Permanent Fund to fund taxpayer-funded “free” daycare, mandates on small businesses to provide unaffordable benefits, a bill that will line civil litigation attorneys’ pockets and bankrupt local communities, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who is a far-left Democrat from Bernalillo County, has been chosen as the Democrats’ nominee for Congress despite her racist statements toward Navajos.