Friday, March 22, 2013Friday Clippings From Our Newsroom Floor Governor Martinez's PR pop from her selection as an official US Delegate to the Pope's inaugural mass this week wasn't exactly a fizzle, but there was no picture of her with the pontiff or other eye-catching media. ABQ Dem City Councilor Ike Benton this week announced his bid for a third four year term on the nine member panel. He is running in some new territory because of redistricitng, but is favored to stay on the council... The Lobo curse continued Thursday with the UNM basketball team getting knocked out at the first round of the NCAA tournament when Harvard shocked them 68 to 62. This came just a day after UNM coach Steve Alford was given a big raise and an unprecedented 10 year contract by Athletic Director Paul Krebs. How do you like them apples, new UNM President Bob Frank? As for Alford, nice work if you can get it, but he might want to think about resetting expectations if he is going to hang out here for another decade. But congratulations to our kids on the team. They got UNM into the NCAA and for many of us that's enough. LEGISLATIVE WRAP Join us at 4:30 p.m. Sunday on KOB-TV for "Eye on New Mexico" as we wrap the 2013 legislative session with news anchor Nicole Brady and veteran political reporter Stuart Dyson. AT THE MOVIES Reader Eric Lucero keeps on the look out for films that have appeal to followers of La Politica. Here's his latest: I recommend "Emperor" (3 solid stars out of 4), a very compressed and inspired historical drama starring Academy award nominee Tommy Lee Jones as General Douglas McArthur, The film is not so much about General McArthur, who we now know was both a military genius and a pompous glory hound, but more about Lt. General Fellers, his unsung head of psychological warfare operations, military attaché and de facto protégé. Fellers was tasked in Post-WWII Japan to provide evidence that would spare from the gallows the defeated country’s “Sun” Emperor Hirohito. Fellers, working under the code name “Operation Blacklist,”would labor for months to provide military and political reasons for McArthur to defy President Truman and American public opinion for summary punishment of the Emperor. In 1971, Emperor Hirohito conferred on Fellers the Second Order for the Sacred Treasure, among the highest civilian awards that the Royal Family can give. “Emperor” provides a possible explanation why the decisions of these two military leaders helped forge a new and robust economy for Japan as well as making it a pacifist nation that ushered in the American Century. In ABQ “Emperor” can be seen at Century 14 Downtown. VOTE BREAKDOWN In our Monday blog we assumed all 18 state House members who voted against that controversial tax package came from Dems. But the published record shows 5 Republicans joined 13 Dems to oppose the package which won on on a 46 to 18 vote with 6 absent. There are 38 Dems in the House so that is not "about half" the House members as we initially blogged, but it is a good chunk of them and sure to give Speaker Martinez a headache in the months ahead. (Readers helped us with the final vote count as our second correction of the vote that we posted was off by one R). Among those abstaining was freshman ABQ Dem Rep. Emily Kane who narrowly won her seat in 2012 and is expected to get a stiff GOP challenge next year. DAYS OF STOVER  Mayor Berry is calling outgoing ABQ Police Chief Ray Schultz the best in city history, despite his departure under a cloud as the US Justice Department continues a probe into numerous fatal police shootings.We offered up Bob Stover as perhaps the best chief in modern city history and that brought this note from retired APD Seargent Dan Klein: I remember when I worked under Stover. I was a sergeant and it was when the department was going to have a "blue flu" under Mayor Louie Saavedra. Stover calls all the sergeants and lieutenants to a mandatory meeting at the police academy the day before the blue flu was going to occur. He goes up to the podium and says "I can take the heat for any officer who calls in blue flu tomorrow night. But if one of you SOB's calls in I will have your bars and stripes before the following morning." Then he walks out. That is still a great memory and not one Lieutenant or seargent called in. We took him at his word. We knew he would protect our troops and we knew he would demote us. Those were the good old days.... That's it for this week. Thanks for the company. Reporting from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2013 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Thursday, March 21, 2013Just What's In That Monster Tax Bill Approved In Final, Frenzied Legislative Hour? Inquiring Minds Want To Know, Plus: Dem Chair Race Faces Big Weekend, And: Udall's Emails Will a close examination of the bill reveal hidden loopholes, gimmicks and giveaways? Past history says there's a chance it will. The bill was patched together in a last hour frenzy to avoid a confrontation with the Governor and a special legislative session. Supporters called it compromise. Others called it capitulation by the Dems. The NM Tax Research Institute comes with the first neutral analysis of the major provisions of the bill which will be phased in over a number of years. It does not get into the matter of which companies or individuals would benefit most (The Legislature puts out a fiscal impact report on the bill here). Even legislation that goes through the normal channels and has a full hearing by the House and Senate often comes up short. This gargantuan package may have more holes than Swiss cheese. Will some of it come back to haunt its supporters? Will future legislatures have to go back and redo much of it? Maybe on the first question, definitely on the second. One thing has emerged from the smoke: In the years ahead the legislation could cost NM cities millions and force a tax increase on Mr. & Mrs. Average Taxpayer to make up the difference. Is that how we pay for the corporate income tax cut? This and other questions are being pushed under the rug as the self-congratulatory political classes in Santa Fe herald a new era of "compromise." They even suggest what we witnessed in the last chaotic hour was "masterful legislating." That's like saying putting ketchup on fried eggs is gourmet cooking. Let's see what they have to say when the rug is lifted. SANTA FE EQUALS DC Santa Fe is not alone in setting an example of why people get so turned off the political system. The Congress does it time and again--passes mammoth legislation that turns out to be riddled with favors for their buddies and their contributors. The only difference is the stories of this knavery trickle out in the following months via the national media. Here, publicity about the unsavory exchanges is held to a minimum. THE OLD ENNUI Then there's the annoyance and boredom one must endure as Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith--a real estate appraiser from Deming--is touted as some kind of economic genius akin to Keynes. And then there is the bellowing over the blog by banished small town legislator Dan Foley and Sheriff-in-exile Darren White. "You see Joe, you and your Alligators don't understand the "complexity"of Santa Fe." (Is this where we start yawning?) CAIN AND ABEL  So much for the amusement, as for the recovery remedy offered for our beleaguered state, their recipe comes down to the same two words they've been offering since, well, since Cain slew Abel: Cut taxes.The intellectual exhaustion on display is enough to inspire a meth head to take a nap. It's as clear as a pimple on a teenager's nose that the state's deep and systemic social conditions crisis--poor education, widespread poverty and the epidemic of social pathologies--is making our state increasingly unattractive in what has become a hyper-competitive environment for economic development. Taxes and tax cuts have little--very little--to do with it. And then there's New Mexico's real job creator--the federal government--and its downsizing. Why is the Martinez administration and the Democratic Legislature so afraid to forcefully join the fight to protect what was built up here over 70 years? Do they really think a mish-mash, maze-filled tax bill that would give Rube Goldberg fits in figuring out, is a comprehensive economic plan? BREGMAN VS LARA Supporters of Roxanne "Rocky" Lara for chair of the state Democratic Party argued that they created momentum when she had a good performance at the Dem meeting in Santa Fe County last weekend. But supporters of ABQ attorney Sam Bregman say that's an illusion. They argue that Bregman will put away the chairmanship battle this weekend when big Bernalillo County Dems meet. Some 400 statewide delegates will meet at a Dem state central committee meeting in late April to crown the new chair. Lara, an attorney and former Eddy County Commissioner, needs to hold down Bregman's total here to avoid having the race shut down. She has solid support in the south, but a Bregman blow-out in Bernalillo could make it hard for her to make up the difference. MAKING THE SAUSAGE
....Since the first of the year I've received so many e-mails from Udall's office, and now this mailed letter, all asking for money and more money, as if his re-election is seriously in doubt before he even has an opponent. In a country where incumbents are generally safe anyway, his must be among the safest of seats, so what gives? I'm thinking he has hired a new company to do fundraising for him. Hell, they even tried to sell old campaign tote bags as collectibles. Very weird. I like Tom, and interned for him in both ABQ and SF, and he almost always votes the way I like. This sudden Elmer Gantry gambit is unworthy of him. Speaking of Udall, we don't think he could have been very happy that the White House invited Governor Martinez to be part of the US delegation to the new Pope's inaugural mass this week. That helps her with Hispanic Dems--especially in northern NM--a key area for Udall's re-election bid next year. Martinez is also seeking re-election next year. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2013 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Wednesday, March 20, 2013Berry Claims Chief Schultz "Best Ever" But What Does Record Say? Plus: Reader Wonders If Pope Will Soften Susana, And: A Bruce King-Dennis Chavez Story
It's one thing to give Schultz a pat on the back for his 30-year career--surely it had many bright spots--but the mayor's rewrite of history is over the top. The best chief ever when there have been 18 fatal police shootings since Berry took office and prompted the federal civil rights probe of the department with no guarantee that it won't eventually turn into a criminal investigation? And when millions of dollars in taxpayer money is going out the door because of the shootings? Don't think so, Mayor. Berry came to ABQ in the early 80's so he probably doesn't remember much about the tenure of APD Chief Bob Stover ('73-'80) who many consider to be the best chief in the city's modern era. Stover served another stint as APD chief from '90 to '94. He went on to win election as Bernalillo County Sheriff and later served as the city's chief administrative officer. Stover had his share of problems, especially in the 70's when the city hit the #1 spot on the FBI's crime list, but he ran the department with a firm hand and the cowboy culture that has infected Schultz's regime was kept in check. And the city's checkbook did not suffer nearly the damage it has under Schultz. The newspaper argues that "it's fair to question whether anyone can succeed" as a chief given the demands on a police chief. Of course, they can. There are successful chiefs in cities across the nation. It is not the demands on the office that have been out of control in ABQ, it has been the apparent loss of command and control by the current chief. Schultz's fatal error--the one that will keep him from being recognized as a great chief--was staying too long. Berry's error was reappointing Ray when he won election in 2009. He did so at the urging of Darrren White, the former sheriff who became Berry's public safety director. White--in an unprecedented move--took direct control of the department bypassing the city's chief administrative officer who left in disgust. Chief Schultz will be amply rewarded for his years of service as chief--as he should be--but the Mayor may want to consider talking about reforming the department for the future rather than trying to rewrite history. NEXT CHIEF
Berry says he will launch a national search for a new chief, but will consider applicants from within the department. There are probably some good ones there, but if there was ever a time we need an outside chief to come in, it is now. And the timing is good. The Feds are already an outside force looking to clean up the place so an outside chief will not meet with as much resistance. In a couple of years, the department may be ready for a chief from within its ranks. Berry could also encourage retirements among Schultz's chief lieutenants. That way you get a clean break with the past.
As for exactly when Ray Schultz departs as chief, Berry says:
Chief will be around--my best guess is--probably until through end of July plus or minus there--unless something changes. The mayoral election is in October. MARRIAGE GO ROUND
Marriage law in New Mexico is gender-neutral and does not define marriage as between a man and a woman,” said Geno Zamora, City Attorney. “New Mexico already recognizes valid marriages performed in other states between same-sex couples; it would violate our state’s constitution to deny equal rights in our own families.” Mayor David Coss and Councilor Patti Bushee say they are sponsoring a resolution expressing support for gay marriage in New Mexico and encouraging County Clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Meanwhile, Zamora who ran for attorney general in 2006 is considering another run in 2014. MORE ENLIGHTENMENT?  Reader Joe Barela writes from Rio Rancho: It was encouraging to see that Governor Susana Martinez was asked to be part of the US Delegation for Pope Francis’s inaugural mass. Let us hope and pray that this trip for her will provide much needed enlightenment to deal with our State’s working poor, the weak, the uneducated, the immigrants and our environment. Let us all hope that the mean vengeful spirit she and her 5th floor cronies have exhibited over the last three years is a thing of the past and that her new challenge in life is to become a leader that exhibits compassion, cooperation and compromise to do what is right. Reader Jeanne Tatum of Ute Park, NM in Colfax County sees political benefits in the Rome trip for Martinez: ...Old school Hispanic Democrats are going to have a higher level of respect for her as a state political leader because of this papal visit. The only thing better would be to get a photo op with Pope Francis that she can hand out to the faithful/ Plus, she gave it the proper level of respect, enthusiasm and grace that a die hard Catholic would understand. This was definitely a win-win for her. The other Martinez win referenced by Jeanne is the recent legislative session. There are no announced candidates against Udall who next year will seek a second, six year term. Reader John Cordova writes from ABQ: Former NM Governor Bruce King told me a story about advice he received from US Senator Dennis Chavez when Bruce was Speaker of the NM House. A vote on whether to have a Pancho Villa State Park was on the floor and Bruce opposed it. However, the state reps voted in favor, so Bruce went along. There was a pay phone behind the Speaker's podium and it rang within a minute or two of the vote. It was Chavez calling King from Washington to tell him to never vote in favor of something he didn't believe in because it was apt to haunt him later. Bruce agreed it was good advice and tried to adhere to it. Our Democratic legislators of today could stand to reflect on Chavez' advice now. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2013 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Tuesday, March 19, 2013Session Over & '14 Candidates Start To Line Up, Plus: Heh Trying To Make Hay In Mayor's Race, And: Lots Of Reader Reaction To Our Big Blog Wrapping Legislature Marks faces a tough task. State Auditor Hector Balderas tells me he will also seek the Dem nomination for AG. He will finish his second four year term as auditor next year. He expanded his name ID when he sough the Dem nod for US Senate in 2012, and he has cash left from that campaign that he can use for the AG run. You can see why Marks is getting an early start. There are a lot of other Dems names floating as possible for an AG run. On the R side, Clovis area District Attorney Matt Chandler who lost to Dem Gary King in 2010 is said to be weighing another bid... Not only doesn't there seem much interest among Dems to take on Governor Martinez next year, what about lieutenant governor? That's almost always a crowded field for the Dem nomination, but we aren't hearing many names yet. Brian Colon, who was the 2010 Dem Light Guv nominee, is considering running for the '14 Dem Guv nomination. DEM CHAIR RACE A good battle is shaping up for Dem Party state chair. Attorney and former Eddy County Commissioner Roxanne Lara and ABQ attorney Sam Bregman are the two main contenders. Bregman started the race as the favorite but Lara is picking up momentum. Reader Charlotte Roybal comes with this news: The Santa Fe Democratic County Convention this past weekend had Roxanne Lara taking 75% of the delegate votes from our county. It looks like she has 30 committed votes out of our 40 delegates to the State Central Committee. Roxanne and her team have been working Santa Fe County hard, even though Sam Bregman has been touting the Santa Fe County Chair has endorsed him. Big Bernalillo County picks delegates to the state central committee this weekend who in turn will pick the new chairman to replace Javier Gonzalez. That meeting is at the end of April THE MAYORAL TRAIL
Berry appointed Darren White as the city’s Public Safety Director who later resigned in disgrace. This was after a vote of “no confidence” from APD and AFD, and after his wife’s car crash, where her true sobriety or impairment was never determined. Berry kept Schultz who will resign in disgrace after ruining APD, while a major Department of Justice investigation is underway, where APD personnel say morale is at an all-time low, where numerous national level scandals continue to tarnish the department, where it is grossly understaffed and over budgeted, and where just juror’s tagged the city with a $10,000,000 judgment on Friday. Mayor Berry and Dem Pete Dinelli have also announced mayoral bids. Margaret Aragon de Chavez has not announced a formal bid, but is collecting petition signatures. APD Chief Schultz said Monday he will retire at the end of July HISPANIC WAVE From the AP: The District of Columbia, Hawaii, California, New Mexico and Texas have minority populations greater than 50 percent. By 2020, eight more states are projected to join the list: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey and New York. Latinos already outnumber whites in New Mexico; California will tip to a Latino plurality next year...By 2039, racial and ethnic minorities will make up a majority of the U.S. working-age population, helping to support a disproportionately elderly white population through Social Security and other payroll taxes. More than 1 in 4 people ages 18-64 will be Latino. JOBLESS RATE Okay, the Guv and the legislators celebrating passage of that controversial tax package Saturday got everything they wanted. So now will it deliver the jobs? Something needs too because this economy is still flat as a pancake: New Mexico’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.6 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Monday.The number of unemployed people in the state rose slightly to 62,300 from 61,800 in December. The state’s labor force increased by 1,200 in January to 939,800 from 938,600. RIDING THE TIGER  Lots of reaction to our big Monday blog wrapping the '13 legislative session. We start with this reader email: In your blog Monday, you mentioned a Santa Fe wall-leaner's quote from JFK in the context of the fiasco in the state legislature on Saturday. I think there is an even better JFK quote that describes the Democratic Party in New Mexico today--"those who foolishly seek power by riding the back of the tiger often end up inside." I have been observing NM politics for over a half-century, including as an aide to a famous US Senator from NM, an aide to a Democratic governor, and as an ordinary citizen, and I can say without doubt that the Democratic Party in New Mexico today is the most leaderless and rudderless I have seen it in my lifetime. Another Dem writes: Great blog Monday! Right on...so sad but true. And another Dem: Joseph C. Wilson IV to run for Governor of New Mexico in 2014? What do you think about that?" Wilson is a former US diplomat who lives in Santa Fe. Republican Reader Darren White said of the blog: (It was) distraught ramblings of a man on the edge." Thanks, Darren. We like to think of it as the "cutting edge." MORE MAIL  Reader Michael Lamb writes:“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” (Winston Churchill)...Once again, thanks for the insightful and hard-hitting analysis. Javier Gonzales, chairman of the NM Democratic Party, writes: I disagree with some of your assessments about the legislative session in Monday's blog. Democrats had arguably one of the most productive sessions over the last few years. From day one, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez and House Speaker Kenny Martinez presented a united front and outlined an ambitious Democratic agenda that was a 100% focused on job creation for New Mexico families. In addition to job creation, we focused on social justice issues, including increasing the minimum wage and creating pay equity for women. Furthermore, Democrats spearheaded the creation of the Health Exchange, the state vehicle that will implement the Affordable Care Act.... These major initiatives are impressive by most standards, but it's made even more so when you consider that Democrats passed them during this 60 day session. Make no doubt we are ready for the 2014 elections - from recruitment, to training, to running strong campaigns - Democrats are ready for the fight. Reader and longtime state politics watcher Mike Santullo used to be a Democrat. He's now an independent. He writes: Joe, you definitely framed the campaign for '14 and it will make it easier for someone like Sam Bregman to come in as chairman and sweep out the weaklings and jelly fish. The legislative results will also allow him to challenge the "DINOS"--Democrats In Name Only--and threaten to run candidates against those who rolled over. The Democratic Party is now sorely in need of a leader to get them back in shape. Reader Sebastian Ramirez writes: Joe, I've enjoyed your blog for many years; I depend on it to keep up to date on "La Politica." However, I was offended by your characterization of the final hour of the legislative session, "as an abortion performed with a coat hanger," in your blog of March 18. Abortion kills a human fetus, regardless of the implement used; whereas, the end of a legislative session is just that. Think you are right on that one, Sebastian. We overreached and will keep your thoughts in mind in the future. Reader Sterling Fluharty said on Twitter: ...(Joe) seems to have hit his stride, if the lack of typos in today's post is any indication... Having fewer typos was a New Year's resolution here, but we're only now getting around to it.
Thanks for the comments.
This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2013 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Monday, March 18, 2013Surrender In Santa Fe: Dems Cave On Tax Cuts Handing Susana A Sweeping Victory; House Dems Bitterly Divided As R's Plot '14 Takeover; New Speaker Taking Major Hits; Our Complete Wrap Of Session '13 As a Senior Alligator put it as the legislative session ended Saturday: "Susana hid her horns and tail very well and emerged with a new image as a tough compromiser--instead of the rigid noncompromiser of her first two years." She relished her victories--especially the last-minute tax package that included a corporate tax cut--calling them "striking." And she also displayed some passive-aggressive behavior at her post-legislative news conference that both jolted and amused our Alligators. With a gleam in her eye, she declared: "I even want to thank (Senate Majority Leader) Michael Sanchez." The session showed that Susana wields the only real knife in Santa Fe. With a smile she plunged it deep into the softness of Sanchez--her one time archrival who she personally worked to defeat last year, but who has now been reduced to the role of Senate traffic cop. He waves through the truck driven by the Governor and conservative coalition leader John Arthur Smith. They pretty much have the run of the road. For the New Mexico Democratic Party the 2013 legislative session was a rout. Let's put it this way: If the UNM Lobos play as well as Susana and the coalition did against the Dems, our wolfpack may make the the Final Four. HOW BAD? '  A core value of the 2012 electoral sweep of the national and local Democratic party was no more tax cuts for the wealthy. In fact, tax increases on them was the order of the day. Political blood was shed for that idea and it ended with Obama and congressional Dems winning a long-awaited tax hike on those making over $450,000 a year. So what do the NM Dems do? They give Susana a corporate tax cut and God only knows what else tucked away in a 35 page tax package that most of the House and Senate didn't even know what was being voted on when it was rammed through Saturday in the final seconds of the session. What was as startling as their cave-in on Republican tax cuts was what the Dems got for selling out--it was dimes for their dollars. They got the "Breaking Bad" bill that gives incentives for TV shows to be filmed here. A good enough bill, but not good enough to sell your soul for and certainly not one that is going to revive the beaten down film industry after incentives were drastically reduced earlier at the insistence of the Guv. Lifelong Democrat John Cordova, who learned the game at the knee of the late, great US Senator Dennis Chavez, put this frame around the Dem performance: "No shame, no huevos, no core beliefs." WHO NEEDS DEMS? Who needs Democrats when they do the lifting for the R's, was the question asked again and again after the session. Of course, not by those in the Roundhouse bubble. They were exclaiming that it was a great session--not the nervous breakdown that it was and that puts the state Democratic Party in the intensive care unit. But, hey, the lawmakers, the staffs, the lobbyists and the interest groups have to get paychecks. For them, any session is a great session. That's why we have a pond full of Dem and Republican Alligators to bring you the unvarnished reality. So who needs Democrats? Exactly. With her last hour sweeping victory and what some of our analysts called perhaps the best session ever for a Republican Governor in the Dem controlled Legislature--she now is well poised for her '14 re-election bid. Equally important is the new and improved chances for an historic Republican takeover of the state House next year. And that's really what was at stake in this session, but new Speaker Kenny Martinez did not or chose not to believe it. He wore the crown of Kenny the Compromiser only to see the critics pronounce him "Corporate Kenny." Compromise came not on the Speaker's terms, but on the Governor's. That's why analysts and wall-leaners are going to paint him as vulnerable to a coup. THE SPEAKER'S CHOICE
He had two extra House seats to work with as a result of the '12 election, but time and again he backed away from a confrontation with the Fourth Floor---one that could have shown a clear difference in philosophy between the Governor and the Democrats. One that would have acted on the election successes his party had in the state House, the US Senate race and, of course, the second big New Mexico win by Obama. A confrontation that would have the Governor giving more to the party that defeated her political machine and it's $2 million war chest--not the other way around. What you have in New Mexico is a Democratic Party that thrives at the federal level. That party has been re-energized, with the state now safe for the Dem presidential candidate, the US Senate seats and the northern and ABQ congressional seats. At the state level, you simply have no leadership to replicate the federal success. You have a flaccid shell of a party that has been rudderless ever since Big Bill vacated the scene. THE FINAL HOUR Looking at the final hour of the session when Speaker Martinez stretched the rules so he could jam through the Republican tax plan the same way the Senate did, you wondered if there ever had been a 2012 election. A new coalition had been born: Speaker Martinez and Governor Martinez. My, oh, my. It was a very messy ending. A legislative analyst was brought on to the House floor, tongue-tied with fear as he was called on to explain the complicated tax bill with only minutes left. And then there was the way the Speaker ignored the clock to get the bill through and how he handled the counting of a key procedural vote. The panic and fear were palpable. It was like an abortion performed with a coat hanger. Ugly. TROUBLE FOR KENNY
"(The bill) was shoved down our throats...It was a royal screw job," she bristled. (Video here.) An emailer to the blog piled on: "Kenny is supposed to preside over the House, not sell it out." The man from Grants--serving his first session as Speaker--said taking out the long knives to combat Susana was not the way to go. Now the long knives are ready for him. He has lost control of much of his caucus and will have little wiggle room going forward. The watchdogs we blogged about that he put in charge of some committees are today barking at him. You heard the old saying: "This too shall pass." Well, this won't. Brace yourself, Kenny. You're now on the centuries-old stage of La Politica where the lights shine bright. THE MOMENT OF TRUTH Senior Alligators across the board agreed the moment of truth came when the House leadership blinked when Gov. Martinez threatened to veto the state budget as well as the "Breaking Bad" bill. If they had called her bluff, they could have forced a special session, regrouped and taken the game to her by forcing her to compromise on the territory of the majority party that supposedly controls the Legislature. Instead the Dem leadership caved and bought into the Governor's tax package. One wall-leaner in Santa Fe told us they must have forgotten what President Kennedy said: We cannot negotiate with those who say, "What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable." NOW WHAT? So now what? Can the R's really take back the House after decades in the wilderness? They can if Democratic voters don't see much reason to go out and vote. They waited 60 days for some kind of life, some kind of fight in their leaders. It never came. But people who lean toward Susana do have a reason to be excited to vote for her. She robbed the train from right under the Dems noses and they joined her in calling the crime a compromise. She goes forward just as she planned--with the moniker of "tough compromiser" ready to be stamped on her campaign literature. BOTH CHAMBERS, PLEASE The state R's put out a message praising the tax cut deal saying the "legislature was able to find common ground." Then came the money lines just in case anyone got any ideas about this newfound love affair: As we approach the 2014 election, it is time to focus on gaining Republican control of both chambers, so that we can make the necessary reforms to our broken education system, continue to make New Mexico more job-friendly, and move our state in the right direction. How come we're not hearing anything from the Dems about taking over the governorship? SUSANA AND JAY  Let's imagine the meeting between the Guv and her political adviser Jay McCleskey (aka "The Fifth Floor") following the session. "Well. things look pretty good, Governor. We're engineering an election where Democratic voters don't care very much so that will keep them from coming out and keep the turnout model similar to when we won in 2010. You don't have any effective opposition for re-election so we have plenty of time and resources for our legislative campaign." "Sounds good," Jay. But what about the House?" Susana asks. "Let's see, Governor. We think we can pick up the Los Alamos area seat held by Garcia Richard. We've got a good shot at the ABQ seat that Republican Conrad James lost last time. Hmm. That takes us to 34 and we only need 35 to tie it up in the 70 member chamber." Susana mulls it over for a minute and replies, "Jay, don't forget Democrat Sandra Jeff. She'll join a coalition with our Republicans. That ties it up!" "You're right, Governor. We're so close, I can taste it." "What a great session," Susana declares. "What do you say we grab a couple of cappuccinos, Jay?" "At the Mansion, Governor?" "Sure, I don't want that $2,700 coffeemaker to go to waste. You know how I hate waste in government..." MORE FALLOUT?
The Legislative session strengthens the Governor which makes less likely a strong Dem opponent will emerge later this year when you need to start raising money. Dem Gary King is already announced. His chances for the nomination may have improved because of Susana's solid session, only because no one else may want to take her on. Her approval rating remains north of 60%. She will need some big mistakes to get strong candidates interested. And you heard it here first--any Democratic legislator thinking about running against the Guv is in trouble. The tax cut fiasco may have finished them off with the party's nominating wing--even if they were among those who voted against the tax cut bill. The Dems best chance is probably a fresh, outside face who can't be readily defined by the Guv.... It is feared that the tax package could cost cities like Albuquerque millions in cuts and force a tax increase. But know one seems to know how it will all play out. Such is the sausage making in Santa Fe that even the sausage makers don't know what they are putting into the stuff. That doesn't have anything to do with us being 49th or 50th in everything, does it? This is it--The home of New Mexico politics and the state's #1 political web site. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2013 Not for reproduction without permission of the author |
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