Steve, don't do it. Your life is worth living. It really is.

Now that the New Yorker has named you as one of the 80 GOP US House members in the "Suicide Caucus," you may find strength in numbers and want to end it all by continuing to vote to keep the government shut down and have the USA default on its debt.

Again, Steve we urge you not to do it. Think of the many reasons your life is worth living:

--You're worth about $8 million, according to Roll Call. Think of all the anti-suicidal treatment you could get with that money. In a month or two you'd be back to your old self, growling about government waste but voting to keep our state's military and federal labs up and running.

Trust us, Steve. A few months of therapy and you'll be belly laughing when anyone utters the word "suicide."

--Think of all the fun you will miss if you go away now. Your behind the scenes sparring with Governor Martinez is a joy to watch. You are contributing to the happiness of society, Steve. Again, don't do it!

--Are you going to let Democrat Roxanne Lara take your seat in a special election when you are gone? That  alone should bolster your will to live and to vote to end the shutdown and stop this talk about going to the Great Beyond.

--Think of your staff, Steve. You know how to drive them up the wall with off-the-wall statements. What will they do if you are gone? Could they even begin to learn to live a worry-free life after serving with you all this time? Again, Steve, for their sake and yours, don't do it!

WHACKO OR WACKO?

Lujan Grisham

What's going on in Washington is definitely whacko or is it wacko? ABQ Dem US Rep. Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham put out a news release in which she described the tea party antics in DC as "whacko." The newspaper jumped on that, saying she misspelled the word and that it is correctly spelled "wacko." Well, not quite.

Whacko is an accepted spelling according to several dictionaries we consulted. Now, it's well-known the local paper has much tea party expertise, but this time the congresswoman trumps them.

And, of course, what is going on in Washington is wacko or whacko.

Throwing thousands of our fellow New Mexicans out of work and harming our small businesspeople who depend on tourism from our national parks and monuments fits the definition.

The aforementioned "Suicide Caucus" is largely responsible--a small group of congressional reps including our own Steve Pearce who see burning the village as the means of saving it.

Journalism fails when it says "both sides are to blame." This is an internecine war in the Republican Party.

A Republican friend says he thinks we have "gone too far left." But that's not the case. The radical Republicans have gone too far right. We and just about everyone else look "too left" to them.

TALLYING THE TURNOUT

We've been referencing the 2009 turnout for the ABQ mayoral and city council election at "about 85,000." The actual number is 83,213. Will we reach that number in 2013? Judging by the action so far, we could dip below 80,000, but maybe some last minute enthusiasm could get us to that 83,000 mark. With the registration rolls showing 364,000 voters, 80,000 would represent a turnout of 22 percent.

Some of the Alligators are saying turnout could descend toward the 75,000 level or even lower.

And don't get excited about the city reporting that we are on track to have a 50% increase in early voting over 2009. That is to be expected.

Pollster Brian Sanderoff reports that only 24.4% of the 2009 vote was cast early. Since then the trend toward early voting has grown and that's what we are seeing in this election. More votes cast early means fewer votes cast on the actual Election Day. We would expect around 40% of the total vote to be cast early in the 2013 election.

FOUR QUESTIONS

KOB-TV asked all candidates for Albuquerque City Council four questions about their plans if they were elected. Here are some of the responses.

WHY DINELLI?

Yesterday we ran a piece from reader Jim McClure on why he believes Mayor Berry deserves re-election. Today reader Brandon Trujillo comes with this argument for Democrat Pete Dinelli:

Joe, I will take a quote from your Sept. 5 blog on why Berry should be ousted:

"Albuquerque has seen flat housing prices, low wages, instability in funding for Sandia National Labs, Great Recession job losses, no job creation, people moving out for lack of opportunity and near record commercial real estate vacancies. Those are the major economic issues facing ABQ (and much of NM) and what we presume voters want to hear discussed."

The mayor talks about balancing the budget, but during Berry's tenure, we've experienced a permanent elimination of at least 149 vacant positions, including cuts to crucial public services like safety, parks, and sanitation...

 His strategy may have served to reduce city government spending, but at what costs? Public sector jobs that are needed to perform essential government functions and support the local economy?

And what's so fiscally responsible about a $20 million renovation of the Albuquerque Convention Center? This is a lot of money to spend when the possibility of seeing a return on that investment is unlikely. I guess $20 million is less than the $25 million the Mayor originally wanted for the ill-conceived sportsplex, an idea that was not only rejected by the voters of Albuquerque, but the Albuquerque Tea Party...

Just because property crime arrests are up, doesn't necessarily mean that Albuquerque is safer. Shouldn't we be looking for a reduction in property crime? 

Thanks, Brandon. And how about a reader supporting Paul Heh for mayor?

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2013. Not for reproduction without permission of the author