Monday, February 22, 2021Waving The Wagyu: MLG'S Trio Of Missteps Finally Give GOP Something To Work With; Consultants Weigh In On Damage, Plus: Another Divide: Pricey Private Schools Swing Open their Doors While APS Kids Remain Locked Out
None of the three missteps alone is that impactful, but if tied together consultants on both sides say they could do lasting damage to the Guv's image. One explains it this way: First, there was "jewelrygate" where MLG had an ABQ jewelry store open their doors to fulfill a remote order, despite such retailers being shut down because of the pandemic. Then there's those big pay raises she gave to key staff members as most New Mexicans did without raises or worse. Now there's the reveal of her purchase of over $6,000 of groceries--some quite expensive--with her contingency fund. The groceries were for pampering guests at the Governor's Mansion, even as she warned folks not to share their homes with people other than family and while many New Mexicans lined up at food banks. Taken together, that's enough to craft an advertising campaign positioning her as an out of touch, spoiled aristocrat. Whether the incidents stand the test of time is the issue. The state GOP has gone to work, calling the Governor "Living Large Lujan" and "Greedy Grisham:" Greedy Grisham’s behavior, while it may be legal, is hardly gubernatorial; it’s cruel, insensitive and reinforces the image of a governor who kills jobs for some New Mexicans while living large. It is ever clearer who our Governor really is and what her priorities are.
This is not good government. This is not efficient government.
This is hypocritical government. MLG admits she fumbled on the groceries that included a cut of Wagyu beef, a fat-laden steak, the best of which is imported from Japan and sells for $15 an ounce or more. (Wagyu is not related to the lowly chicharrone, the fatty snack of choice of many of her constituents.) INDELIBLE MARKS
Never mind that the infractions are relatively minor, they can leave indelible marks on a leader's character and crater their polls. Our previous Governor saw her political aspirations collapse when in 2015 she hosted a staffer Christmas party at an upscale hotel where she got drunk. In comments captured on tape she berated hotel staff when they brought noise complaints to her attention. For MLG, the first order of business is to stop the self-inflicted wounds and meet with regular New Mexicans. She's been closed off from the public, sticking to a stay-at-home schedule that has left her vulnerable and perhaps out of touch. For the GOP the job is to keep alive the negative MLG imagery and finding a strong Governor candidate, a task that's proving as elusive as finding Wagyu beef at your local Smith's. SCHOOL DAZE MLG took a hit for the wagyu mishap but she's speaking for the majority of parents as she comes down hard for returning kids to schools after a nearly year-long absence. Her view clashes with that of the teachers' unions who, despite recommendations from national health authorities, continue to fight to stay home. The Governor criticized APS when the school board voted 4-3 to continue to keep students out of classrooms. It's not only health concerns driving that decision, APS is having a hard time getting teachers to go back to class. They just won't go. The school board and the kids are essentially held hostage, even as the pandemic dissipates. (The governor does have the power to let school sports resume and impatience is growing over her reluctance.) The public school closings reveal a great divide. While APS students remain shut out, students at ABQ Academy, where tuition runs over $25,000 annually, kids started to return to campus this month and all students will be back in the classroom today. Ditto for other private schools where kids are in class with their friends and in a social structure that keeps them mentally healthy and advancing academically. (And that's happening across the nation). No wonder so many NM parents do whatever it takes to get their kids into elite schools and leave behind the bickering of the public sector. CONGRESS WATCH  . . . A sociologist who works on water, climate, and science policy, Melanie has spent her career working to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges our communities face and I know she will do the same in Congress. Cantwell is a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources which tomorrow morning at 7:30 NM time will begin confirmation hearings for Haaland as Secretary of Interior. The hearing will be streamed live on the committee's website and archived for later viewing. We reported about the lawsuit filed by GOP congressional hopeful Eddy Aragon that asks a NM federal court to stop the major parties from having their central committee members pick the nominees, in effect forcing them to conduct primary elections. Here's a copy of that lawsuit and an excerpt: Allowing unconstitutional appointment of candidates in the 2021 special election for New Mexico's 1st congressional district to proceed would irreparably harm Plaintiff and the voters of New Mexico both by denying representation of the voters. . . in the near term, and by permanently sowing distrust in federal elections. The U.S. Supreme Court has found such threats to constitute irreparable harm on numerous occasions. The stakes in this case are too high to ignore. If the process is not interrupted, the special election for the ABQ seat could be held in June. This is the home of New Mexico politics. Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   |
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