Tuesday, May 18, 2021Abortion Issue Surfaces On Both Sides Of Congress Race As High Court Says It Will Weigh Roe v. Wade, Plus: Mark Has Breathe Act And Now Melanie Has Thrive Act The US Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear a direct challenge to the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, suggesting that the conservative court majority may be ready to curtail abortion rights. That makes the issue much less run of the mill as early voting in the ABQ congressional race is in full swing and the June 1 Election Day just two weeks from today. The NM Dem Party comes with a mailer reminding voters that Republican hopeful and State Sen. Mark Moores voted against repealing an anti-abortion statute that won approval at this year's legislative session. The measure. . . Which won final approval from the Democratic-led Legislature, overturns a dormant 1969 ban on most abortion procedures. Had the old statute been left in place, New Mexico’s ban on most abortion procedures would have gone into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court eventually overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. The mailer makes a big leap by claiming this means Moores believes doctors should be jailed for performing abortions but now seems right on the mark when it comes to the danger of Roe v. Wade being modified. Dem congressional hopeful and State Rep. Melanie Stansbury voted for the repeal.  TURNOUT UPDATE The abortion issue can make more of a difference in small turnout elections like this congressional race. In Nov. 2013 a special election was held in the city asking voters to ban late term abortions. It failed 55 to 45 but 87,000 voters turned out, much more than most municipal elections. Speaking of turnout, the first batch of numbers heavily favor the Dems and the R's will have to play catch-up. They say they will do that in the June 1 voting but that comes on the Tuesday after the Monday, May 31 Memorial Day observance. Some voters will still be out of the political loop June 1. As of Monday morning 18,508 votes had been cast. Dems made up 11,892, R's were 4,471, Indys came in at 2,068 and Libertarians with 77. That's a big Dem lead. They make up about 47 percent of the electorate but so far have cast over 64 percent of the early votes. Republicans have cast about 24% while their registration is 28% and independents made up 11 percent. Their registered voters are about 24 percent of the total. The early enthusiasm is with the Dems but there's still two weeks ago. BREATHE AND THRIVE Probably no more than a handful of voters (and media types) had ever heard of the BREATHE Act until Moores made it a cornerstone of his campaign against Stansbury. Now she comes with an act of her own to change the conversation--the THRIVE Act. Says the Dem nominee: The THRIVE Act (focuses) on bringing home good paying jobs, protecting our precious water, land and air, growing a more equitable economy, investing in our children, and ensuring that all New Mexicans have a voice as we recover from the COVID crisis. Groups supporting the act say it. . . . . . authorizes investments of at least $1 trillion per year for FY 2022-2031. New economic modeling shows that this is the scale of investment we need to create more than 15 million good jobs and end the unemployment crisis, while cutting climate pollution in half by 2030 and confronting systemic racism and gender, economic, and environmental injustice. STEPPING IN IT A poor choice of words by candidate Moores and you get this: On May 11 Republican candidate Mark Moores alluded in an online election forum that indigenous/ Native American communities were “uncivilized prior to his family settling” in northern New Mexico.
Senator Moore’s abhorrent comments. . . revive generational trauma and foster stereotypes and racism against our indigenous people. He should immediately issue a formal apology to our Native American communities and drop out the first congressional district race.
The NADCNM, Native American organizations and allies will come together to protest the Senator’s comments at 2 PM on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at the Republican Party Headquarters. Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021 |
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