Wednesday, March 29, 2023GOP Takes Over House And Takes Down Secretary Haaland; Rigorous Grilling At Subcommittee Hearing Catches Her Flat-Footed, Plus: Another Round Please; Senator Hopes To Try Again To Limit Roundhouse Bar Hopping
RNC Research called her testimony "absolutely clueless" regarding the Green New Deal, a bill she co-sponsored as a New Mexico congresswoman. And they labeled her completely and totally dumbstruck" when responding to questions about the production of critical minerals which are vital to US national security. Haaland seemed nonplussed by her lack of knowledge of the questions thrown at her by the GOP congressmen, replying to them a number of times, saying, "thank you for the information, Congressman." Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, a Montana congressman who served under Trump for two years and resigned his cabinet post under an ethics cloud, challenged Haaland over whether the minerals should be sought in the US and not China and Russia. She replied that her department is working on identifying the minerals with the US Geological Survey. Video here. Another GOP congressman hammered away at the Green New Deal, asking whether Haaland supported the ban on fracking contained in the bill. She said she did when she was a congresswoman and said she was unaware of many other provisions of the bill because it was drafted several years ago. Video here. The Secretary has never aced committee testimony but the first two years of her term the Dems were in the House majority and provided her cover. Now the Republicans are in command and showing no mercy in trying to expose Haaland as uninformed, out of the loop on national policy and when she isn't, too far to the left. NEW REALITY Given the new reality Haaland may want to bone up more before future committee appearances or severely limit them as they will be used in the '24 election cycle. Also, her performance will be gauged more critically here as the 2026 gubernatorial election creates chatter that she is a possible candidate. One of our longtime DC observers questioned whey Haaland's staff had not given her a briefing book to read from concerning the most important and complicated subjects that were bound to come up. "At least that would have evened the playing field some." He opined. There was a human moment at the end of the hearing. Congressman Zinke, aware that he had scored heavy hits against the Secretary, the first Native American to hold the post, went up to her afterwards and said: “I wear a hat, but it’s not cowboys and Indians, I’ll tell you.” Haaland laughed. “Thank you for clarifying that,” the Interior secretary told her predecessor. CALLING ALL CONSTITUENTS Long gone are the days when congressional representatives routinely held large in-person town hall meetings. The conversation and the crowds are too hot to handle. The favored way of constituent outreach is now the telephone town hall and ABQ Dem US Rep. Melanie Stansbury will host one tonight: On Wednesday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m MT/8:30 p.m. ET, Rep. Stansbury (N.M.-01) will host her eleventh telephone town hall to give updates from Congress and speak directly with her constituents. Please RSVP here to receive dial-in information. ROUNDHOUSE BAR HOPPING
Pope's Senate Resolution didn't get a hearing before the Senate Rules Committee. He said he didn't know why but noted the committee had a full plate. "I know there were a lot of pressing matters. There's confirmations in [the Senate Rules Committee], a lot of bills. Sometimes things don't get heard, and it's not just my bill." Pope said he intends to resurrect his proposal--which would have prohibited senators from drinking alcohol before or during committee meetings and floor sessions--in next year's 30-day legislative session; however, he needs to research if he can introduce the measure during a shorter session. . . Is is true that when word spread through the Senate that Pope's bill was dead, cries of "I'll drink to that!" arose from the Senate floor? Perhaps, but some of the better stocked offices surely did banner business. If only they would put a special tax on that premium hooch the Senators enjoy. Heck, with that money we could diversify away from oil and gas. . . 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 2023 Tuesday, February 02, 2021Keller's Ugly Month: ABQ January Homicides Tie Record, Plus: Pelosi-McGinn Show Postponed But Nancy Gives Video Support That depressing news brings into focus the embryonic campaign for ABQ mayor. The election isn't until November but the sensational crime headlines are impacting the electorate that will decide if Dem Tim Keller is awarded a second four year term. So far, Keller seems in good shape with decent approval numbers and no announced opponents, but the soaring homicide rate has the forces of Dem BernCo Sheriff Manny Gonzales on high alert as he weighs a challenge to Keller. After years of resistance Gonzales recently equipped his deputies with body cameras, essentially removing the cameras as a negative campaign issue. Gonzales' camp expects the mayoral derby to cost about $2 million. About $661,000 is available from public financing, if he chooses to go that route. The remaining $1.3 million would have to be raised by an independent campaign committee which can play outside the city's formal finance system. The unrelenting murders have also put pressure on Keller in his choice for a permanent police chief. Cynics say his latest nationwide search for a chief is "wired" for interim APD Chief Harold Medina, the same way a previous national search by Keller ended with interim Chief Mike Geier getting the permanent posting. There are three finalists and Keller expects to name one of them chief by March. Joseph Sullivan, a recently retired deputy commissioner with the Philadelphia PD, is getting a second look from the insiders and others who see the current fight against violent crime as an obvious failure. They argue that only a competent outsider can change a damaged APD culture that is holding the city back. Does Sullivan have a chance against a longtime insider like Chief Medina? Well, if it was only a 5 percent chance before the January murder mayhem, that's at least doubled. THE PELOSI PLAY  Pelosi did postpone her appearance because, she said, meetings over COVID relief were running late due to a big DC snowstorm, but in the same four minute video she also heaped praise on trial lawyer McGinn, coming up just short of an outright endorsement. Take a look: I hope to be with you sometime soon. Why? Because Randi McGinn is so special. I know you have many good candidates and I respect the decision you make. But I wanted you to know how important I think it would be for Randi to be in the Congress of the United States. Good luck to all of you who are running for central committee. Thank you Randi McGinn for running for Congress. About 200 Dem state central committee members will choose the party nominee for the ABQ congressional seat when it becomes vacant when the US Senate confirms Rep. Deb Haaland as Sec. of Interior. Central committee elections are expected to occur before the vacancy so Pelosi was aiming the pitch at those running. Pelosi's tacit endorsement bolstered McGinn but it also fortified her opposition. The stop McGinn crowd said having her take the congressional seat would be an insult to women of color who have held it since 2012. And the party's left wing--a soft spot for Pelosi--grumbled over the speaker's involvement. Mitchell Freedman of Rio Rancho blasted: Pelosi has been a brake against what the majority of Americans support, starting with single payer medical security, canceling all student debt, free public college, and the Green New Deal. . .Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez and Melanie Stansbury have far more support among central committee members and each is actually a topnotch candidate. About 200 central committee members will name a nominee for the special election to replace Haaland and will have at least six candidates to choose from. The central committee probably won't name a nominee until sometime in March with a special election likely in June. This week McGinn rose to the top of the crowd on Pelosi's wings Now she has to hope that doesn't backfire and she can keep flying. NEW GOP ENTRANT
She describes herself as a proud mother, wife and native New Mexican who graduated from Sandia Prep and whose husband is NM GOP treasurer David Chavez. Shooting for Dem votes if she is the US House nominee, Chavez says: As a former Democrat with friends and family members who are Democrats, I understand that our greatest challenges are not a Democrat vs. Republican issue. I am a leader and will unite diverse groups to find a solution to our greatest challenges. Chavez joins radio talk show host Eddy Aragon and 2020 GOP congressional nominee Michelle Garcia Holmes in officially seeking the GOP nod. Also running, according to a GOP consultant, are Jared Vander Dussen, Peggy Aragon and Ron Lucero. Aubrey Dunn is running as an independent. 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 2021 Thursday, March 30, 2023Political Leadership Delivers On State Film Academy As Controversy Continues Over Generous Industry Rebates; Goal Of 1,000 Students A Year, Plus: Reader React To Sec. Haaland Tepid House Testimony Meantime, MLG, Mayor Keller, Econ Sec. Keyes and CNM have put some points on the board this week for the film industry--with the help of $40 million in capital outlay approved at the recent legislative session: The downtown Albuquerque Rail Yards will be the new headquarters for the New Mexico Media Academy. . . that will equip New Mexico residents with the advanced skills they need to work in the film and television industry. A satellite campus will be located in Las Cruces. ABQ area voters approved $7 million for the college (CNM) to improve and expand its film training program, and funding will go toward designing and constructing the program at the Albuquerque Rail Yards. The best part, if it comes to fruition, would be this: The academy is centered on collaborative partnerships with the ultimate goal of admitting 1,000 students annually. That is an ambitious goal in terms of students, but a worthy one. The announcement that the Rail Yards--after lengthy talks--will indeed be the home for the state Academy the Governor initially proposed is a dose of vindication for Keller's expensive plan to renovate the large and abandoned Rail Yards in the Barelas Neighborhood in ABQ: We’ve always had a vision that the Rail Yards would be the active heart of Albuquerque once again, and now that vision is becoming a reality. This is the result of years of intentional re-investment. With the usual cautionary note of "we shall see" this does appear to be a good "get" for the city, state and the next generation. It makes those huge tax subsides for film a bit easier to swallow--for now. HAALAND REACT  Joe, you wrote: "The national GOP went on the attack Tuesday when Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland stumbled during an appearance before the House Interior, Environment, Appropriations Subcommittee." The GOP went on the attack...What?? She didn't stumble as you aptly put it, Joe, she couldn't answer a lot of questions and when she did answer a question she responded with incoherent nonsense.
Now member(s) of Congress who do their job by asking questions of appointed members of Biden's administration are guilty of attacking them? Reader Mitch Jones writes: Joe, Fact checking the GOP congressman who supposedly caught Deb Haaland flat footed on the Green New Deal and fracking: he’s wrong. The GND didn’t mention fracking. In fact the words “fossil fuels” don’t even appear in the text. You can check for yourself here. Good catch, Mitch. Haaland did tell the committee that she supported the GND when she was a congresswoman but she did not commit to it at the hearing. 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 2023 Thursday, August 02, 2018Pearce Tries To Break The Ice In ABQ, Ben Ray Has TV Trouble With ICE, And: Obama Endorses A Trio Of NM Contenders It took the intervention of a U.S. congressman to get the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District to clean out a long-neglected South Valley drainage ditch – even though the MRGCD claims it has been providing regular maintenance on the ditch twice a year. At a news conference in the South Valley, adjacent to the Isleta Drain, Theresa Baca, president of the Atrisco Viejo Neighborhood Association, and Patricio Dominguez, association vice president, thanked Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., for getting the project done, even though the area is not in Pearce’s district. Rep. Lujan Grisham, the Dem Guv nominee and who represents the South Valley, was left holding the bag: It’s unfortunate that this group did not reach out to the congressional office for assistance regarding this matter,” said a campaign spokesman. “Had they done so the congresswoman and her staff would have been able to assist them.”  MLG's steadfast support of that pillar of our quasi-welfare state--Medicaid--could stand her in good stead as Pearce tries to come up with more hat tricks in ABQ. Dems reminded their brethren that this week marks the 53rd anniversary of the signing of the bill that made Medicare and Medicaid possible. And our own Senator Clinton P. Anderson, pictured here on the right, was a chief sponsor. ABOLISHING ICE It's a tricky question for the Dems as their left wing calls for doing away with the immigration agency known as ICE, but polling shows a majority of Americans don't agree. And NM Dem Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, chairman of the Dem Congressional Campaign Committee, found himself pinned to the mat on the hot issue in an appearance Sunday on ABC's This Week. Asked several times about the Dem position on ICE Lujan bobbed and weaved. He was called out by his Republican counterpart, Rep. Steve Stivers, chair of the Nat'l GOP Congressional Campaign Committee, who said Lujan did not "talk about ICE." Moderator Martha Raddatz, who asked Lujan several times about ICE said Lujan "did not answer that question" and as Lujan interrupted her she rebuffed him" "I think you had a fair chance to make your argument. We're going to have to stop there. You had your chance." OBAMA ENDORSES Former President Obama is back on the campaign trail with a list of his endorsed candidates. Among those making his cut is Deb Haaland, the Dem nominee for the ABQ congressional seat. Her Republican opponent is Janice Arnold-Jones. Libertarian Lloyd Prince is also in the running. The seat is ranked Safe Dem. Obama also gave his blessing to Sandoval County State Rep. Daymon Ely who is in a swing seat and faces Republican Barbara Boatman. Also getting the presidential nod was Dem Natalie Figueroa who is seeking the seat being vacated by House Minority Leader Nate Gentry. Her GOP foe is John Jones. The Ely seat is a swing area but we rank it Lean Dem based on current trends. The Gentry NE Heights seat is also ranked Lean Dem for the November election. One other note: John Jones is married to Janice Arnold-Jones. Both of them got the thumbs down from Obama. Dems love it. The couple probably wears it as a badge of honor. THE BOTTOM LINES Hey, we don't steer you wrong. A reader writes: Hello Joe, we took our long awaited trip to El Norte this weekend. We stayed at the Taos Inn as planned but after reading about Angelina's restaurant in Española in your blog we had to stop and try the Costillas. All I can say is that after your advice we have a new favorite spot. Thanks for the great tip! Yep, lamb in many varieties is the specially of the house, with the lamb costillas (ribs) being a fave. Don't forget the red chile with those. . . And one other foodie note. On a recent stop at Santa Fe's Coyote Cafe we had something we had never had before--Elk. Or as the menu puts it "Tellicherry Peppered Elk Tenderloin." It was quite delicious but competing with lamb costillas is a tough task. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2018 |
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