Supporters of southern Dem Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small were trying to tamp down increasing talk that her vote to impeach President Trump Wednesday night was akin to signing her political death warrant in the conservative district.  Reader Richard Flores was among those coming with the counterpoint:

Torres-Small is doing the job she was elected to do, and should not feel threatened by Trump's base because they did not and will not vote for her anyway. I understand her tenuous position because I grew up in Roswell. But I also know Torres-Small hails from Las Cruces, a Democratic stronghold, and home to a huge percentage of those that will cast their votes for her in the future. She already beat the GOP's nominee in 2018 and has raised significant money for 2020. The GOP will continue to target her but it will be an uphill battle. By voting to impeach Trump she is showing the courage of her convictions and standing in unity with her party. The only future I see for New Mexico is more blue, and Trump only helps promote this directional inevitability.

Republicans, of course, beg to differ, pointing out that Torres Small defeated Republican Yvette Herrell by just 3,722 votes out of 199,256 cast.

We probably won’t have to wait long to see if the impeachment vote has hurt Torres Small. Polling should tell the tale early in the new year.

TRIAL LAWYER TWIST

A Republican trial attorney? Doesn't  that fall into the category of oxymoron? Well, we found one and he's running for the state House seat held by Rep. Daymon Ely.

Bryan Williams graduated from UNM Law School after working several years as a Petroleum Engineer in the oil fields in Southeast New Mexico. After prosecuting DWI’s in Bernalillo County’s Metro Court, Bryan served several years as Managing Attorney at a prominent law firm where he led it to levels never realized in its multi-decade history. Bryan now owns his own firm, Williams Injury Law, 

Rep. Ely is also a trial attorney who has represented a BernCo/Sandoval County seat since beating a GOP incumbent in 2014. The seat has become less of a swing district in the House elections and Ely again goes in as a heavy favorite. But at least we get to find out what the difference is between a Dem trial lawyer and a Republican one.

FILM LAMENT

Here's a a movie insider lamenting the large tax incentives given to the major studios to film in the state:

Joe, I don’t know what the hell is going on but it’s like no one is actually fact checking this stuff anymore. There are headlines in the newspaper that Netflix is hitting their benchmarks with no figures to back it up. The biggest cost will be the actors--who don't live here. Yet Netflix gets a rebate on them because they are, well, Netflix. These enlarged incentives will be the death of the film business. One we’ve invested well over $1 billion in so far. We were doing fine. Some adjustments in the incentive caps were necessary. Giving away the farm, the cattle and the water rights wasn’t. Good grief. We need to fix this before it’s too late.

Supporters of the expanded incentives say they will generate more than enough economic activity to make up the expenditure. Others say New Mexico's generous film incentives are like a thriller you might see on Netflix--a time bomb is ticking but no one is certain when it will explode.

Back here Monday with a pre-holiday blog.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019