Reader Dave in Rio Rancho says we went too far when we praised retiring State Rep. Jim Trujillo, chair of the House tax committee, for his work on a major tax bill that passed the legislature this year. He comes with this blast:

Joe, When I read your short take on retiring Jim Trujillo, I got hot under the collar. "Well done, sir"? A man that raised our taxes? Many of the tax increases were regressive that hurt the poor the most. Then the capital gains tax increase. Sell your house? That will be more money to Lujan Grisham to blow. Also, Trujillo wanted to raise auto registrations to over $100 per car.

They had a zillion new taxes lined up until the Senate shut them down. And that is after two years of back to back billion dollar surpluses from oil and gas revenue. I am glad to see this man retire. He had a negative effect on New Mexicans standards of living.

Also, when I read your flowery send off about former NM Supreme Court Justice Charles Daniels, who completely screwed up our judicial system, it bothered me but I let it go. But not this time. 

Meantime, you never miss a chance to slam State Senator John Arthur Smith, "Dr. No" as you  say. At least he tries to keep our ship afloat by moderating the fools that want to spend every cent they get and then ask for more. Joe, I understand it's your blog and you are a leftist but please, do not praise people that have a lousy legacy and have hurt our state. . .

That's a world-class rant, Dave, and merits a response.

--One of the main features of the Trujillo tax bill was a restoration of the progressive nature of the system in which those with the highest incomes again pay more than those who make far less. That hardly "hurt he poor."

--The capital gains increase will mainly effect the sale of assets such as stocks and bonds. The first $250,000 in profit from a home sale is exempted from capital gains ($500,00 for couples).

--Trujillo proposed a surcharge on car registration fees that would fund for road repairs The state MVD site says:

The registration fee for passenger vehicles is based on the weight and model year of the vehicle. Registration fees range from $27.00 to $62.00 for a one (1) year registration or $54.00 to $124.00 for a two (2) year registration.

As for Justice Daniels, we did not give him a "flowery" send off. We said his service was "important," leaving others to judge the merit of the controversial constitutional bail amendment he championed.

As for Senator Smith, Dave is correct that we've been tough on his policies. That's because we think he and his fellow austerity hawks missed major changes in the state economy that led to a long economic stagnation. We believe they've missed again in underestimating the amount of money the oil boom will produce.

As for being a "leftist," we've supported Dr. No for his stance against legalizing marijuana, advocated for tougher law enforcement by APD and turned thumbs down on far left measures like banning fracking in the Permian. But thanks for the rousing rant, Dave.

SOUTHERN CIVIL WAR

Claire Chase

Southern Republicans fear a repeat of the bitter civil war of 2018 between congressional candidates Monty Newman and Yvette Herrell as Herrell faces off with Claire Chase for the 2020 GOP nomination and the right to take on Dem Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small.

Herrell backers insist Chase is a stalking horse for the forces of former Gov. Martinez who supported Newman when he lost to Herrell. Meanwhile, Herrell is aligned with the Pearce faction of the GOP. Chase's father, Jim Manatt of Roswell, no stranger to politics, comes with this peacemaking effort:

Joe, I read in your blog a suggestion that Claire is aligned with "the Martinez faction" of the party. Claire's campaign is focused upon doing all possible to heal the split, invite all sides into the big tent and, importantly, bring new and younger people into the campaign and into conservative politics in NM. Her campaign is not aligned with any particular faction within the split. It is open to all.

She spent almost 3 years in DC as a Senior Legislative Assistant for Steve Pearce. . .When she was making plans to return to NM, the Pearce organization persuaded her to work as Deputy District Director for Steve's constituent services in SE NM until her wedding. 

Yvette Herrell

Steve has made it clear he is not endorsing in the primary but Claire has a lot of residual goodwill among Steve's constituency, bolstered by the experience she earned/learned as a financial consultant for the NM Finance Authority for SE NM governments.

The main point is that Claire's campaign takes a classic Big Tent approach. The door is open to all and there are no "sides" in her campaign. People from all "sides" throughout the District are becoming involved.

The race for the southern congressional GOP nomination is hotter than Hatch Green and the fall weather isn't going to cool it off.

As always, we welcome your email comments, critiques and existential angst at newsguy@yahoo.com.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019