To the Point with Mick Rich
Mick Rich will provide articles once or twice a week. Some will address New Mexico issues and some will talk about national issues.
Can NMGOP Ever Be the Big Tent for Conservatives and Win Elections?
- Category: To the Point with Mick Rich To the Point with Mick Rich
- Published: 10 March 2023 10 March 2023
The first Step to Winning
I started my Senate campaign by traveling the state to understand what was important to Republican leaders and activists. I learned they/we agreed on the significant issues. But I was surprised by the animosity between factions. In a few private conversations, I was told that if I team with (fill in the blank), don’t return. But that also translated to if you are not with us, you are against us. The result is that Republicans lose one big election after another while the Democrats drag the state into anarchy. But it does not have to be this way; we can choose to focus on what unites us.
Conservatives care about what New Mexicans care about; Their safety and that of their family, not allowing violent criminals to walk free. Schools to prepare their children for a bright future and good-paying jobs, not schools to change their children into the image of their teachers. They want good-paying jobs for themselves and their children that build character and communities, not jobs in industries that destroy lives, such as drugs, sex, and abortion.
Name-calling of fellow conservatives must stop. Conservatives have called me far worse names than any construction worker has. Unfortunately, I am not alone in this experience, and individuals with thinner skin than I have walked away from the Republican party. If we do not respect one another, neither will the voters and candidates, and volunteers will walk away.
Santa Fe Democrats Created NM’s Failed Education System
- Category: To the Point with Mick Rich To the Point with Mick Rich
- Published: 04 March 2023 04 March 2023
Republicans Can Fix It, Put Children First, Education Focused on Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic
New Mexicans believe Santa Fe Democrats will turn around New Mexico’s public education system despite decades of failing grades. That is why New Mexicans approve more money for education yearly and wonder why our children can’t learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. The Albuquerque Journal editorial wrote what many think, Mississippi turned around its failed education system, so why not New Mexico? Yes, Why Not New Mexico?
The Evidence
Mississippi is a Right to Work state that ensure parent and student interests do not compete with the teacher unions. The teacher’s union control the New Mexico legislature via Mimi Stewart, AFT Union member, and Senate Pro Tem. KQRE recently reported that Stewart proposed a cap on union-targeted charter schools (similar to the 2019 bill). A statement that is good for the teacher unions and bad for parent/student choices.
American Federation of Teachers NM President Stephanie Ly with Gov Lujan Grisham
Mississippi focuses on students learning reading, writing, and arithmetic. Santa Fe Democrats focus on student indoctrination. Breitbart 2021 headline, “Whistleblower: Albuquerque Social Studies “Recommended Books’ All About Race, Queerness.” Recently Project Veritas posted an
audio revealing “Mandatory CDC Guidelines on Transgender Ideology In New Mexico Schools.”
Mississippi spends approximately ten percent more per student than New Mexico. However, the gap may be more significant when New Mexico’s inefficiency is factored in. The Albuquerque Journal recently reported that APS administrative staff increased while student enrollment decreased. When APS enrollment dropped, APS wasn’t concerned about what happened to the students, only assuring the teacher and administrators that they would not lose their jobs. APS has demonstrated that their priority is their union staff, not their students.
New Mexico’s educational budget will be $3.5 billion. How much of the $3.5 billion is siphoned off before it reaches the students? In 2021 Sherryl Williams Stapleton, AFT Union member and NM Speaker of the House, was indicted by the DOJ for racketeering and money laundering of all the federal grant money received for educational software. But is Sherryl Williams Stapleton just the tip of the corruption iceberg? If the DOJ can quickly uncover corruption in the NM Education system, why not NM AG and NM Auditor? Maybe because they have agreed to focus on Republicans and give a pass to Santa Fe Democrats.
The Path Forward
Put parents and students first by breaking the teacher unions’ stranglehold on our education system. New Mexico could reverse the damage done when Bill Richardson recognized the teacher unions. Education dollars belong to the parents and students, not the failed New Mexico education system, not to the teacher’s union, and not in the hands of corrupt Santa Fe Democrats.
Allow parents and students to hold schools, administrators, and teachers accountable. Parents and students should be able to sue Schools for failing to educate our youngest generation. In addition, parents and students should be able to sue for psychological damages associated with critical race theory and gender identity chaos.
It is time to replace Federally Indicted Sherryl Williams Stapleton’s name with businesswoman and NM Representative Jane Powdrell-Culbert on the African American Performing Arts Center and Exhibit Hall. In addition, New Mexicans demand an independent audit (the NM State Auditor is not independent) of the Education Budget.
Stolen Election vs. Un-Fair Election
- Category: To the Point with Mick Rich To the Point with Mick Rich
- Published: 21 February 2023 21 February 2023
Big Gov, Big Tech & Big Media put their thumb on the scale for Big Dems.
Was the 2020 Presidential election stolen from Donald Trump, or was the 2020 Presidential election unfair to Donald Trump? There is a difference between the two, and that difference is essential for Americans in future elections.
Stolen Election
Donald Trump led by wide margins in multiple states on election night, only to lose by large margins the following day or days. Trump supporters believe this indicates that Joe Biden and his supporters manufactured millions of votes. However, this "false election day Trump win" was predicted in the AXIOS article, "Exclusive: Dem group warns of apparent Trump Election Day landslide." Because the Democrats' strategy was for Democrats to vote early or by mail which takes longer to tally, at the same time, the Republicans' strategy was to get Republicans to vote on election day, which takes substantially less time to add. These two strategies caused the lead to switch from Trump to Biden.
Santa Fe Democrats Abandon NM's Neighborhoods to Criminals
- Category: To the Point with Mick Rich To the Point with Mick Rich
- Published: 09 February 2023 09 February 2023
We Must Protect Our Neighborhoods with our Constitutionally Protected Firearms
We want neighborhoods we can walk in without fear. We want our precious belongings not to be stolen when we are away from our homes. We want our loved ones to be safe when we are not there to protect them. These are not extravagant wants; these are basic needs stolen from us by those Santa Fe Democrats.
When our daughter, a UNM Medical student was interning at the UNM Hospital's Emergency Department there were eleven shooting victims in one night. Her experience that night was similar to a Mobile Army Surgical hospital, save the ones you can and pray for those you can't. Santa Fe Democrats' actions have turned our neighborhoods into shooting galleries.
Our daughter experienced a home invasion in 2021. She heard banging at her front door. She saw a man breaking through the front door sidelight. She took off for the back bedroom window as he struggled to get past the broken glass in the door sidelight. He pursued her despite his injuries and stopped when she entered the neighbor's home. The police arrived forty-five minutes after the emergency 911 call. Santa Fe Democrats' actions have left our loved ones unprotected.
Compassionate Republicans Lend a Hand to the Struggling
- Category: To the Point with Mick Rich To the Point with Mick Rich
- Published: 01 February 2023 01 February 2023
Santa Fe Democrats Add to New Mexicans' Misery
Media have been combing Solomon Pena's past to uncover who assisted him, whose fault it was, and to taint the Republican Party. The exception was the Albuquerque Journal's article," Family, friends, and records paint complex picture of Solomon Pena." While Republicans are either distancing themselves from Pena or pointing fingers, they are not embracing their greatest strength—Their compassion to lend a hand to those struggling.
Many Republicans assisted Solomon Pena in his efforts to right his life. In doing so, they risked their reputation, savings, and valuable time without any assurance of success. It now appears Solomon Pena betrayed their trust and will have to defend himself in court. I hope those whose trust was betrayed will "not harden your heart" against those who will need your help in the future.
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
- Category: To the Point with Mick Rich To the Point with Mick Rich
- Published: 23 January 2023 23 January 2023
As Republicans and Democrats run the state into the ground
I assumed all I needed to succeed in the construction industry was my engineering diploma and a calculator in my hip pocket. However, I quickly discovered that no matter how technically competent I was, there would be challenges I needed help to overcome. The first time that happened, the project team watched me flounder because I did not help them when they were in need. After that, I worked to understand what was important to them and supported them when needed. Many of those working relationships have lasted for decades.
Republicans are splintered nationally down to the local level. I have seen NMGOP Leaders failing to understand what is essential to fellow Republicans. A few examples are a flyer showing a barber with darkened hands trimming the hair of a vulnerable white child. The grand opening of an Albuquerque RNC Hispanic outreach center with only white guest speakers. Events begin with prayers reminiscent of a tent revival, while Catholics, Jews, and Mormons are nowhere to be seen. Single-issue candidates are only concerned with their single issue.
Climate Activists Waging War Against Americans
- Category: To the Point with Mick Rich To the Point with Mick Rich
- Published: 05 January 2023 05 January 2023
Climate Activists follow Mao's Great Leap Forward
Climate activists and their Democrat politicians are waging a clandestine war against the American people. This war is being waged from the Nation's Capital to every home without identifying the verifiable factors that prove the "Climate Will No Longer Change." Nor the cost of the American people's Blood and Treasure in achieving their dream.
Beautiful to Watch Individuals Work as a Team
- Category: To the Point with Mick Rich To the Point with Mick Rich
- Published: 09 December 2022 09 December 2022
Miserable to watch a team struggle as a group of individuals
I completed every project stringing together a thousand projects in my career. Not one construction defect claim (we did have warranty callbacks) nor any severe injuries (we did have a few cuts, abrasions, and broken bones) in those forty years. A few of those projects were internationally recognized. Before we turned a shovel of dirt, we built our professional construction team. Otherwise, my record would have been that I started one construction project in my career.
The early lessons in my career
I moved a couple of hundred miles from home to work on a construction project at eighteen. I was amazed that men on the project could have more than heated arguments during the day and drink and gamble at the casinos at night. There was animosity between the men, but it never got in the way of getting the project built and having a good time.