To the Point with Mick Rich

2015 Headline “Can New Mexico Break Its Cycle of Corruption?” 2025, Didn’t Happen

2020 Corruption Report: New Mexico Top Five Most Corrupt State, Scoring High for Illegal and Legal Corruption

A Culture of Corruption

I moved to New Mexico in 1980 as a Democrat. A few years later, I switched to Republican after the details of Governor Tony Anaya’s “Pay to Play” scandal became public knowledge. In retrospect, Anaya’s scandal seems almost quaint compared to what followed.

New Mexico needs new political leaders for the upcoming financial crisis.

Gottheimer, Lance Announce "Anti-Moocher Bill" to Claw Back Tax Dollars. New Jersey Democrats Rep. Gottheimer and Rep. Lance have introduced the "Return on Investment Accountability Act," which targets so-called "Moocher States"—like New Mexico—that receive more in federal funds than they pay in taxes. Has our delegation's obsession with "bringing home the bacon" without delivering national value made us a target for federal budget cutters (DOGE) and equity activists (the Squad)?

The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) recognized Alex Thompson of Axios for his hard-hitting article on President Biden's cognitive decline in his June 2024 Axios article. For the WHCA members, this was a big acknowledgement, for the American people (at least for the conservatives), this was too little and too late.

In his acceptance speech, Alex Thompson addressed the WHCA's biases. What I found far more damaging is that the WHCA recognized Thompson as the hero, but he was no better than the rest of the WHCA members, who failed to tell the truth and prostrated themselves to the court's favor of the liberal establishment.

Hard-Working New Mexico Deserves a Governor Who Works for Them.

Once again, New Mexico ranked 49th in the nation — this time by MSN and WalletHub in 2024. It takes effort to fall this far behind, especially as one of the states with the highest tax revenues, thanks to oil and gas. Instead of addressing the root of the problem, our leaders launch campaigns like the Governor’s anti-litter “Breaking Bad” initiative — embracing blight instead of fixing it.

I spoke with thousands of New Mexicans when I ran for U.S. Senate in 2018. Their needs were simple: safe neighborhoods, schools that taught their children reading, writing, and arithmetic, and good-paying jobs to support their families. Compare that to Governor Lujan Grisham’s acceptance of Breaking Bad’s portrayal of New Mexico, crime-ridden, failed schools, and job opportunities that lead to prison.

UNM Hospital

How could NM’s only Level 1 Trauma Center receive failing grades?

While many public institutions struggle due to underfunding, UNMH benefits from strong financial support, thanks to state oil and gas tax revenues and local levies. So, if money isn’t the issue—what is?

Political Priorities Over Patient Care

UNMH increasingly aligns with the agenda of the New Mexico Legislature, promoting social causes under the umbrella of healthcare—such as abortion, gender transition services, assisted end-of-life options, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In the process, the medical principle of “Do no harm” is overshadowed by political priorities.

The first step in ending the fentanyl epidemic.

Judy and MIck at his First Trip to Murry's and Judy's Ranch 2016In 2016, I met Murry and Judy at their Ranch, just miles north of the New Mexico-Mexico border. As I approached their ranch house, their cattle dogs greeted me while their Chihuahua yapped incessantly from inside. They explained that the Chihuahua would bark at night if there was any "rattling." Initially, I assumed this referred to rattlesnakes, but they clarified—it was illegal immigrants checking doors and windows in the dark. As night approached, they invited me to dinner, but I declined. The thought of traveling over an hour in darkness, without cell service and a sidearm, was unsettling.

Former NM House Speaker, Democrat Sheryl William Stapleton Reads Warrant Courtesy of KOB / Pinon Post

Corruption, New Mexico’s Recent History

When I moved to New Mexico in 1980, I was a Democrat. Within a few years, I switched parties because I was disgusted by reading in the Albuquerque Journal about Democrat Governor Tony Anaya’s “Pay to Play” schemes. In 1984, Bill Richardson was sworn in as New Mexico’s Governor. Richardson quickly made Anaya’s “Pay to Play” look like child’s play.

For veteran Republicans, Richardson’s corruption and ruthlessness are legendary and unforgettable. For younger Republicans, the name Richardson means little. Why? because Richardson was never prosecuted (Gov. Bill Richardson Won’t Face Criminal Charges In Federal Probe, AP Reports, NPR 8/27/2019) , and New Mexicans expect a certain amount of graft.

While New Mexico is stuck in quicksand

Sun Setting on New Mexico Photograph by Mick Rich 12.06.2022
I told Marion this past week that I feel the world is passing me by. While Donald Trump and Generation Z are in Washington, D.C., lifting the nation, I am in Albuquerque with New Mexico stuck at the bottom and Generation Z locked out.

America
The accomplishments of the Greatest Generation cannot be overstated. They won WW II by creating an industrial complex that provided ships, airplanes, and tanks to free countries across the globe while providing the men necessary to win battles on the seas, the air, and land. They ushered in the nuclear and space ages, culminating in mankind's landing on the moon. However, their successes left an environmental crisis.