Unsteady Start: MLG's Re-elect Rally Implodes; Guv Image Cast In New Light As She Rips Protesters As "Lizard People"; R's Try To Take Advantage But Still No Name Candidate

Messy, unnecessary and amateurish. Those were some of the takes from political pros weighing in after the worst PR debacle of Governor Lujan Grisham's tenure. 

Her Thursday evening re-election announcement at the ABQ Museum turned into such a fiasco that for the first time some doubt was cast over the conventional wisdom that her second term is as likely as the summer monsoons. 

The mishap has roots before the event when MLG and her team ordered up a public announcement of her intention to run for another four year term in 2022. 

Why do one at all when she had already said she was seeking re-election? Is there someone challenging her in the Dem primary? No. Is it too early to politicize the image of a sitting Governor and turn her into a candidate? Yes.

And why do it in a public venue like the museum amphitheater where protesters easily drowned out the entire event with indignant shouts powered with megaphones and who dominated the news coverage? 

And why make the event exclusive to the Democratic elite (e.g. House Speaker Egolf and Senate Leader Wirth), reinforcing the notion that the pandemic put her above the fray ordinary citizens faced?

And if you’re going to announce your re-election, can you inform the state what your plans are for the next four years instead of a program of speakers who conducted a pep rally?

Of course the protesters made sure that MLG had little chance of saying much of anything and what she did say only made matters worse. 

Frustrated by the overwhelming cacophony and the knowledge that the event was crashing and burning before her eyes she went after the protesters, calling them “QAnon lizard people.” Say what? 

She should have been kicking herself and her staff for the political folly not those who took advantage of the misadventure. Remember Hillary and the "deplorables?" Well, MLG just empowered the "lizard people."

The protesters are also constituents who happen to disagree with MLG’s strict lockdown measures. That's not a position that puts them on the far fringes of conspiratorial politics. Casting them as such again furthered the narrative that the Governor, already busted for high living ways during the pandemic, is out of touch. 

The chaos at the occasion was all the more remarkable because of MLG's recent legislative successes and her generally well received handling of the virus crisis. The image of that success was drowned out by a small group of protesters who effectively punctured the bubble MLG and her campaign staff have apparently been operating in. 

One mistake leads to another and now that MLG's fallibility has been showcased, the game is on to stage repeats. Heck, the flying dildo drone may even show up next time. (MLG was forced to cancel a Friday campaign event at Espanola because of security concerns).

THE OPPOSITION

Chase and Pence

The Governor is blessed with a weak opposition and we mean weak. The state GOP is at their lowest point since the 1970's. 

There still is no big name Republican Guv candidate but the Thursday mishap may have someone of note mulling over a run.

Who might that be? Probably a hopeful who can mostly self-finance an expensive campaign because raising money will be a challenge against an incumbent, unless her numbers are deep in the cellar. 

Claire Chase of the wealthy SE NM oil family who ran for the southern GOP congressional nomination in 2020 comes to mind. Besides money there is the need for a fresh R face. But Chase isn't even 40 and better opportunities may come along.

While without a campaign leader, the Rs are codifying their 2022 anti-MLG messaging that will rally their base: 

The Governor’s unfair and illegal decisions during the pandemic killed our economy, lost thousands of jobs and cost our children a school year with no classrooms. Many students and job seekers have had to move out of state. . .The Governor even gave her staff pay raises. . .

Her refusal to reopen has caused irreparable damage and has led to suicide and mental health problems. Lujan Grisham based her COVID decisions on political science, not medical science. . . 

Her character must be questioned. She continues to act like a monarch with absolute rule. . .Lujan Grisham has broken the rules that she decreed . . .She closed shops to the public but enjoyed buying jewelry for herself, closed grocery stores but feasted on steaks and exotic foods at taxpayers’ expense.

MLG could have laid back for months, making no political announcements and depriving the R's of a target. The silver lining for the D's is that it is still way early and there's plenty of time to forget. But there's no denying that with an ill-advised and poorly executed re-election event MLG shot herself in her colorful cowboy boots and instead of charging out of the gate, she comes out limping.     

LIZARD NATION

The only announced GOP gubernatorial candidate, Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block, didn't waste any time incorporating lizard people, the state's newest political meme, into his campaign: 

I am very much looking forward to going back to Block Country in Artesia. We have tremendous support there and our campaign is moving along very well around the state. I also will have some huge news to share with you shortly. Stay tuned Lizards!

And don't forget the Alligators. They're still out there, too. 

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021