Wednesday, January 22, 2020MLG Strikes Moderate Tone In State Of State; Hot Button Issues Sent To Backburner, Plus: More News, Analysis And Perspective On Opening Of 2020 Legislative Session
It seemed designed to avoid making headlines as there was no mention of such items as her Red Flag bill, climate change, abortion, renewable energy and only cursory treatment of the state's raging drug and violence epidemic. (Complete speech here. Video here. AP coverage here.) For a session constitutionally devoted to budget matters there was a noticeable lack of discussion of the fiscal state of the state which happens to be quite good. But then why give the Republican opposition the chance to attack your budget "spending spree." The Governor generally had a successful first year but her liberal positions on Red Flag etc. stiffened her opposition and her poll numbers softened. The speech seemed determined to not have her poke her finger in any more eyes. Hewing to the middle ground she pledged "steady and sustainable" progress that she said marked her first year in office. She did reach for the bold change trophy when she discussed the proposed Early Childhood Trust Fund, a $320 million set aside that would generate about $30 million a year for the cause. But former Dem state Senator Eric Griego, analyzing the talk for public TV, noted that the Governor has walked back (or put in abeyance) her support for a sweeping measure that would generate $175 million a year for early childhood through the $19 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund. She fought for it last year but it was stopped in the Senate. She may have Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers but fiscal conservatives still control the Senate. The Governor, a pragmatist, won't veer too much out of their lane as they go along with her substantial state budget increases. The question that may be gnawing at her is her prospects for long-term success. She has ably steadied the leaky ship she inherited but turning around a last in the nation state will require more realism about how deep the hole is, more imagination and more political risk taking. But in New Mexico such thinking encounters much cultural and institutional opposition. It's not a place that readily embraces change. For now, MLG argues that the state of the state has gone from being shipwrecked to steady as she goes. That may not make big waves but the ship is afloat and at least headed in the right direction. SENIOR GATOR ANALYSIS
On style, she needed to slow it down in the first third of the speech and let her points sink in. Her pace was better in the final two-thirds. She didn’t build up to a moment, recognize the moment and let it sink in with people. Listeners (the press) should walk away with three big points, not sort through 45. When she’s on the script, it’s very good. Off script, the jokes don’t land and they are often ones no one gets. The podium jokes about how short she is are getting old and serve little purpose. No podium jokes? Hey, those are fightin' words. "Lower podiums, higher hopes. Go @GovMLG Well, moving right along...
On the opportunity to "nationalize" herself, the speech was indeed insular to NM. MLG's name may come up for something if a Democrat wins the White House in 2020 but her not being a prominent part of the national political scene is a relief for New Mexicans who have witnessed the last three Governors play that game--and lose. MESSAGING MARIJUANA While progressives might not have much to hang their hats on in the Governor's speech they did get one bone thrown their way--legalizing recreational marijuana. MLG spent considerable time touting the idea, although it appears dead for this session. GOP Senator Mark Moores accuses her of pushing legal pot because it helps her raise campaign money. If any of the conservative leaning Dems are defeated by their progressive challengers in the June primary, legal weed could have a better chance in 2021. As for her relationship with the left of her party, she may not be on a collision course but there are rumblings as the Senate continues to thwart House passed legislation. We could see grumbling deeper into MLG's second year. Witness the challenge from the left that House Speaker Egolf is experiencing in his June primary. GEORGE NOT BOBBY
Like Gonzales of Taos, who will be a regular member of Senate Finance, both are fiscal conservatives and both are not from ABQ. Munoz will now be seen as the heir apparent to 78 year old Finance Chairman Sen. John Arthur Smith. Senator Joe Cervantes of Las Cruces will replace Sen. Richard Martinez as chairman of the judiciary committee after Martinez's DWI arrest forced him to give up the gavel. Cervantes is a longtime lawyer and a former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. R'S RESPOND The state GOP responded to the State of the State address, saying: Gov. Lujan Grisham's Bloated Budget and Progressive Agenda Will Hurt New Mexico and Its Citizens--The State of the State Address Suggests Reckless Spending and Little Accountability The party's full response is here. THAT DARN SENATE MLG shouldn't fret too much over her troublesome state Senate. That's the way it usually is as we see in our 2012 write-up of Governor Martinez's second State of the State speech: In spite of a serviceable speech and some kinder thoughts for the Legislature in general, the Republican Governor's agenda seems doomed to languish once again in the state senate. There, our Alligators report, the bill to hold back third graders with reading problems will sink. And so will for the third time the move to repeal driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants. Her proposal to eliminate the gross receipts tax on businesses grossing less than $50,000 a year shows no signs of early momentum and seems headed for that crowded Senate graveyard. (Is Senator John Arthur "Dr. No" Smith the undertaker there?) The Senate isn't the oldest graveyard in New Mexico but it is the busiest. MOST PHOTOGRAPHED MAN  What would opening day of a legislative session be without the most photographed man in NM? Well, it wouldn't be.Here--left to right--is that most photographed man, State Auditor Brian Colón, yukking it up with Lt. Governor Howie Morales and NM House Speaker Brian Egolf who seems as ready for Halloween as he is for the session. Fellas, you're having way too much fun. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2020 |
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