When government gets more powerful, people feel politicians are not listening. And so, it is in New Mexico. New Mexico’s Progressive Democrats create and pass legislation that does not consider the opinions and wishes of the majority of their constituency.
New Mexico has a Democrat majority, but most Democrats here are not progressives. One must ask, why is there so much progressive legislation being considered in this session?
Progressive politicians get elected here because big money, from outside the state, funds their campaigns. Super-PACs funded by the likes of George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Bloomberg and other elites with power agendas, make sure their handpicked and groomed candidates get elected and support their outside agenda. In this last election, our governor received 40% of her campaign funds from outside New Mexico, while her challenger, Mark Ronchetti received 17% from outside the state.
Progressives also rely on an uninformed voting public (us) who will not take the time to look closely at the candidate, only their party affiliation. A truly local politician, funded only by locals stands little chance of being elected in a super-PAC funded race.
Politics has been described as a “blood sport.” Pollster, Scott Rasmussen, combined the findings from twenty polls he had conducted and found that 7% of the average voter would rather cheat to win than take a loss at the polls. Ninety-three percent of us would rather lose than cheat.
Further findings showed 57% of all voters felt there was not enough individual freedom in America. So, why are progressives continually introducing legislation that lessen our freedoms and increase the cost of living? Rasmussen says, it is because the elite 1% of us control a good bit of what happens in politics and the money follows.
Rasmussen classifies the elite 1% as having graduate degrees from the top seven colleges, living in close proximity to one-another and earning above $150,000 per year. In other words, they ain’t us.
When I look at this year’s legislative session, it is easy to see our progressive governor and her cohorts are proposing numerous bills which do not favor the people but empower the government. Among the bills are fuel standards and a gas tax which is projected to increase the cost of gasoline by 30 to 50 cents per gallon, all to force us to buy EVs.
Seven firearms bills which require a waiting period for the possession of a purchased firearm, despite passing the FBI’s NICS background check, placing an 11% tax on ammunition and firearms related purchases and opening the licensed firearms dealers and manufacturers to liability lawsuits for misuse and criminal use of firearms.
Expansion of the Red Flag Law, allowing unidentified licensed healthcare workers to report an individual as being unworthy of possessing a firearm, resulting in confiscation. And the most ridiculous is restricting anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing or possessing any semi-automatic firearm or any standard capacity magazine of over a ten-round capacity. Forget the fact they are old enough to vote, serve in the military and handle fully automatic weapons.
The state’s environmental restrictions on the oil and gas industry are driving producers to cease production in New Mexico and moving to other states. This is New Mexico’s number one tax revenue producing business and the largest private employer.
All these bills are a result of progressive politics which aim to remove power from the people and consolidate it in government. Of course, it is all done in the name of the people, for our benefit, in the better world the elite have designed and will govern.
Under the heading of No Kidding: Another misguided progressive effort in Oregon is a proposed restriction on the sale of automobile tires which grip the road well. Oregon’s progressives say they are not as fuel efficient as harder rubber tires. Forget the safety of a better grip, Oregonians must save the planet. I say, get a grip, people.
Our governor seems to be running a race with California, Oregon and Washington State to see who can pass the most progressive legislation.
It is time for New Mexicans to wake up and understand how our freedoms are disappearing and all because we ignore the true core values of the candidates and who is funding them. What interest could the plumbers and pipefitters union in Maryland have in the New Mexico governor’s race or the firefighter’s union in DC? They both contributed to our governor’s campaign in 2022.
We also tend to vote for the party and not the person. We place way too much confidence in politicians who raise the most money, especially those funded from out of state interests. This is our government and politicians work on our behalf and are paid by us. Let us remember this when we vote in November.
Tom Wright is a columnist from Santa Fe and an investor in El Rito Media, LLC