Tuesday, October 11, 2022Crotchgate Arrives As Ronchetti Looks For Hail Mary's To Throw At Large Polling Gap; Does Ad Stand Up? Plus: Early Voting In NM Starts Today, And: GOP Looks For Wins As Guv Race Fades The ad reminds everyone who didn't know (and there are few) that MLG settled a lawsuit brought against her by 2018 campaign aide James Hallinan for over $150,000. The suit was over his allegations that she sexually abused him by throwing a bottle of water on his crotch and then grabbed his crotch. The ad transcript and then the analysis: CNN: Tonight NM Gov. Michelle Lujan Gisham is battling a sexual misconduct allegation. AD NARRATOR: The Governor mocked the manhood of an openly gay staffer. (The screen shows her alleged quote: "Have you really even got anything down here?") CNN: And then grabbed his crotch through his clothes. JAMES HALLINAN: I was pressured to not report it to law enforcement. AD NARRATOR: The Governor paid the staffer more than $150,000 to settle and forced him to never talk about it again--Wouldn't this get you fired? Not that the charges--which MLG heartily denied while settling the case--are totally implausible. Those close to her will attest to her occasional ribald side. But there are issues with the ad. By running the news footage saying "tonight" the ad spins that the charges are new but they are nearly three years old. And Hallinan was never "forced" to do anything. He hired a battery of lawyers and negotiated a cash settlement. As for getting fired over the allegations. Good question. We know that when Trump talked about "grabbing pussy" it did not prevent him from getting hired as President. AD ANALYSIS, PLEASE
This isn't the silver bullet/"Willie Horton" ad Ronchetti needs to change MLG's momentum. First, it's too easy to refute and it's also a bizarre story. MLG isn't facing misconduct charges "tonight." The case is at least three years old. And the party in question wasn't "forced" to sign a non-disclosure agreement. He willingly signed (it can be assumed) because he wanted the settlement, and/or the matter to go away. Ronchetti's campaign consultant is also playing with fire because he recently settled a defamation case that involved similar smear tactics. If MLG wants to put Ronchetti down for the count, her response can be: how can voters trust Ronchetti about this last-minute attack when we can't trust where he stands on abortion? It's an easy pivot that takes the conversation back to the last issue Ronchetti wants to talk about with early voting underway--the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. DO IT EARLY
BernCo Clerk Linda Stover announces the Clerk’s Annex, at 1500 Lomas NW, will be open for in-person absentee voting and same-day registration Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 11 through Oct. 21, 2022. Additional locations will be available for early voting and the continuation of same-day registration from Oct. 22 through Nov. 5, 2022.
Starting Oct. 11, the Clerk’s Office will begin mailing absentee ballots to those who have requested them. . .The last day to request an absentee ballot for the Election is Nov. 3, 2022. GOP LOOKS FOR WINS With Ronchetti fading in the polls some Republicans are looking more anxiously at the southern congressional district where Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell faces a stiff challenge from Democrat Gabe Vasquez in a newly drawn district that on paper leans slightly Democratic. One GOP Alligator remarked:
GOP heavy hitters have slated a fund-raiser for all GOP House candidates at the ABQ Country Club tomorrow to raise money to continue their tough on crime mailers that are of concern to House Dem hopefuls. Hosts include former GOP Chairman Harvey Yates, Dale and Rep. Gail Armstrong (of TLC fame), well-known ad man (not madman) Steve McKee and old warhorse Mickey Barnett. Former GOP Guv candidate and state Rep. Rebecca Dow is assisting with fund-raising. The most optimistic Republicans have their side picking up as many as six house seats Election Night to cut into the Dems who hold 45 of the 70 seats. Their worse case scenario is that they lose two. HECTOR ARAGON?  That's a big bucks post that would surely pad the Balderas retirement account someday. Hey, maybe Hector can get the band back together and hire Brian Colón as his chief assistant. THE BOTTOM LINES A couple of clairfications. The latest SurveyUSA on the Guv race showing MLG with a 16 point lead is a four point increase over their early September survey. We had it higher in our first blog draft Monday. . . A number of readers pointed this one out. Christopher Wray is the director of the FBI, not head of the ABQ office. The Governor's office mistakenly called him David and we gave him a demotion. Well, 'tis the season of too much of everything. 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 2022 |
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