In the final days of Campaign '18 there's plenty of material for a Friday clippings blog. We'll also work the beat this weekend to give you analysis of the ABQ Journal poll results which will be released Saturday and Sunday. Look for that here and on Facebook.  Now on to our clips:

Our quote of the week and if you can top this one we're buying the enchiladas:

While Dem land commissioner candidate Stephanie Garcia Richard has sought to set herself apart as the advocate for animals, Dem contender George Muñoz is blunt that he would not support a ban on coyote-killing contests. “She doesn’t live in rural New Mexico,” he says of Garcia Richard. “She’s never had her chicken eaten by a coyote.”

Hold on. Stephanie grew up in Silver City in Grant County which happens to be home to lots of coyotes. She's staying above the fray and not responding to this allegation George, but we can only imagine the trauma you may have caused her if, for example, she had a pet rabbit or something eaten by a coyote. Really, this negative campaigning must end for the good of all New Mexicans!

Garrett VeneKlasen is the other Dem in the land commission chase and he is traumatized over the possibility of Trump building that great wall on our southern border. He comes with another TV spot about in which he shows a ladder and says:

This is a brilliant device, designed to easily thwart Donald Trump's border wall. It's called a ladder! As Land Commissioner I will stop Trump's hateful border wall.

Come on, Garrett, That rickety old ladder you sport looks as if it couldn't support a hundred pounds. The undocumented trying to get over the great Trump wall with that thing will be flooding the injury lawyers with business. We know you're an environmentalist and like wood and stuff from nature, but please consider giving the border crossers from Mexico something sturdier, like aluminum.

INTERNATIONAL MONICA

The British tabloid Daily Mail has a field day covering the DWI arrest of ABQ GOP State Rep. Monica Youngblood. Their take is replete with unflattering pics of the rep taken from the 44 minute police lapel camera video of her arrest. Here's their headline:

'I've always stood up for you guys': Cringeworthy moment; tearful state lawmaker tries to charm officers into letting her off a DWI by telling them she doesn't believe police are racist.

Youngblood has been mum on her political plans for re-election since the scandal broke. She will be on the June 5 primary ballot unopposed. She could choose to get out of the race after that and let the GOP appoint a replacement candidate, or she could opt to stay in and be the one to face Dem candidate Karen Bash.

Meantime, the newspaper has called on Youngblood to give up her legislative seat. But NM GOP Chairman Ryan Cangiolosi continues to stay quiet about whether Youngblood ought to leave the legislature as does Gov. Martinez who has been asked for comment by the media several times. And while the state Dem Party called for an attorney general's investigation of the incident, which he will do, no leading Democratic figures have publicly commented on the Youngblood DWI arrest.

And one other note from the Monica clippings, guess who she's hired as her lawyer? You guessed right. It's Paul Kennedy, the lawyer for all things Governor Martinez and her political machine of which Monica is a charter member.

Critics will say the Kennedy hire shows that Youngblood is going to fight the DWI and does not want to take responsibility for her drinking and driving. Others will say she faces a serious charge and should have seasoned legal counsel. For sure this case is now going to be a major test for BernCo DA Raul. Torrez.

PEARCE AND MONICA

Is this a strong enough response to the Youngblood scandal from soon-to-be GOP Guv nominee Steve Pearce?:

DWI is a very serious problem in New Mexico and the law must be enforced without favoritism. Monica Youngblood needs to meet with her constituents, look them in the eye, and together decide what is right.

Why don't you tell her what is right, Steve? You are the titular head of the Republican Party and about to be its candidate for Governor? Shouldn't it be a no-brainer for you to call on her to give up her legislative seat? Where's the firm leadership you are touting in your TV ads? Is there no unifying standard of proper behavior in the Republican Party?

What if "together" they decide that it's right for her to fight tooth and nail to keep her seat in the legislature? You will agree with that?

This is a wishy-washy statement disguised in language designed to infer decisiveness. Pearce preaches moral rectitude but when it comes to one of his own, he slips into situational ethics where everyone sits around a table and decides what's right.

Steve, you're going to have to do better, a whole lot better, if you're going to have any reasonable chance at the New Mexican governorship. Don't say we didn't tell you.

CYFD VACANCIES

Dem Guv candidate Lujan Gisham said in last Sunday's TV debate that CYFD has had a vacancy rate of 26 percent and "have not done anything . . . to ensure they have the staff to respond to these serious issues." In an interview this week she said the vacancy rate at CYFD has gotten to about 12 percent, but "that is still too high when we have one of the worst child well-being issues in the country."

NM'S GREAT FUTURE

Stop the naysaying, cries reader Richard Flores to his fellow New Mexicans. He for one is reinvigorated:

 I attended the graduation ceremonies for the Anderson School of Management where my granddaughter was receiving her Bachelor's degree, and my perspective changed. I saw in that diverse group of UNM graduates the hope for our future. . .Those people that will contribute to the future of our state were on display at Johnson Gym. I worry less about the future because these young graduates restore my faith in all that is good about our state, the energy, the personal discipline, the talent, the commitment, the hard work, and especially, the diversity of our population.

What I witnessed last Saturday is the future of this state. These are the young people who will lead, who will push forth the ideas to improve our economy, change our attitudes, and who will build the infrastructure and resources to sustain our future and our quality of life. I will no longer allow myself to get stuck in the the quagmire of negative publicity about New Mexico! I am a renewed person, because every graduating class at UNM regenerates the kind of hope and energy that will shape our future for the best. Thank you UNM!

Okay, Richard, just don't let the green pastures of Denver or Austin tempt your granddaughter. She has her marching orders.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2018