Monday, December 16, 2019Torres Small Makes Up Her Mind: Will Vote To Impeach, Plus: Conservative Senate Coalition Gets Boost As MLG Shuns Progressive
Does she remember Rep. Harry Teague? Teague, of course, is the last Democrat to represent the conservative southern district, getting elected in 2008 but losing the seat in 2010 to Republican Steve Pearce in large part because of his vote against Obamacare which alienated his fellow Dems. Now comes Torres Small with what could be her own version of Obamacare--her impeachment vote. Polling obtained here that was conducted for Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale shows how perilous that vote will be for the first term congresswoman. The poll by Fabrizio, Lee and Associates was conducted by landline and cell phones December 8-9 of 300 likely 2020 voters in the 2nd District. It asked: Based on what you know, do you favor or oppose impeaching President Trump? 56 percent opposed impeachment with 41 percent in favor and 4 percent not responding. (Full poll here.) Those are pretty daunting numbers for Torres Small. Not surprisingly, the two chief candidates for the GOP congressional nomination to be decided next June struck out. Yvette Herrell, who lost the race to Torres Small in 2018, said on Facebook: It’s official: Xochitl Torres Small will vote to impeach President Trump. Time to vote her out and take back our district! Candidate Claire Chase said Torres Small was supporting the "ludicrous impeachment inquiry" and that: Torres Small was elected because she promised voters to work across the aisle and deliver results for our District. She just stabbed her own constituents in the back--and Torres Small just sealed her fate in 2020. Democrats supportive of Torres Small praised her for following her conscience and acting courageously, even as she risked her political future. Others said If someday she wanted statewide elective office she had no choice but to vote to impeach.
Before her decision we opined that perhaps a vote against impeachment was the easiest course for Torres Small. That drew this reaction from reader Cheryl Haaker:
Thanks for printing reader responses to your recommendation that Rep. Torres-Small vote against impeaching Donald Trump. I agree wholeheartedly with them, and appreciate the bit of history from Mike Davis with short-lived Rep. Teague. I'd like to add that Democrats need to recognize and accept that they will never get Republican voters to vote for a Democrat. When Democrats pander to the right, they lose their own base voters, as Mr. Davis pointed out, and that's why they keep losing. With the decision to impeach Trump has she morphed into "Xochitl Teague?" Or will next November this decision be a long forgotten headline? Stay tuned. MLG SHUNS PROGRESSIVE
Instead of choosing a progressive replacement--Taos Land Trust Director Kristina Ortez--for the Senate seat (District 6) left vacant by the September death of Dem Senator Carlos Cisneros, MLG opted for the more conservative state Representative Roberto "Bobby" Gonzales. Both had been nominated for the post by county commissions in the northern district.
Bobby, 69, a retired educator, might not have much time to savor the appointment. Ortez, 47, could run against him in the June 2020 Dem primary. Or Ortez could try to get appointed to Gonzales' soon-to-be vacant House seat, but the Taos County Commission, which will nominate a replacement, is weighted against her.
Perhaps Taos Town Councilor Darien Fernandez, whose candidacy for the Cisneros seat quickly fizzled, will try for the House prize. Fernandez and Ortez announced for the seat after Cisneros passed. He soon dropped out and endorsed Ortez. What now, Darien? You sticking with Ortez now that Bobby's got the Senate gig? Inquiring commissioners would like to know. The big picture for New Mexico here is the continued control of the Senate by a coalition of Republicans and conservative Dems. Call them moderate if you must. But they routinely kill legislation approved by the more liberal House and embrace budget austerity. Gonzales is seen as abetting that coalition based on his decades of fiscal conservatism in the House. It's hard to believe Gonzales would give up the House seat he has held since 1995 if he were not in line to replace Cisneros as vice-chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, under the tutelage of coalition leader and Chairman John Arthur Smith. Meanwhile, coalition Democrats like Clemente Sanchez of Grants and Sen. Smith are getting prepped for their own Dem primary progressive challengers who are determined to bust their coalition--whether MLG is on board or not. MARTINEZ DWI This Dem Senator has no primary challengers--at least not yet. But northern Senator Richard Martinez, whose DWI trial starts today, is not out of the woods yet. A guilty verdict could prompt a challenge. Martinez, 66, says he will not resign. THE BOTTOM LINES Mayor Keller, APD Chief Michael Geier and DA Raul Torrez take it right between the eyes in this op-ed from retired APD Seargent Dan Klein over APD's arrest and jailing of a teenage girl mistakenly charged with murder. . . Funeral services for longtime lobbyist John Lee Thompson will be held in ABQ at noon Wednesday, Dec. 18 at Faith Lutheran Church, 10000 Spain NE. The family says Thompson, 79, died last week at UNM Hospital after contracting an infection following neck surgery. 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 2019 |
  |
