Editorials
Editorial content. Content posted here may or may not reflect the opinions of the Beat. They reflect the opinions of the author.
Russia Using Energy as a Weapon After Biden Surrenders Energy Independence
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 27 April 2022 27 April 2022
Washington, D.C. – Power The Future Founder and Executive Director Daniel Turner released the following statement in response to reports Russia has shut off the flow of natural gas to Poland and Bulgaria:
"Surrendering our energy independence doesn't just lead to massive inflation and record gas prices, it also emboldens Russia to weaponize energy across the world. Our allies are working to build natural gas infrastructure abroad while at the same time Joe Biden is using unelected bureaucrats to fight natural gas infrastructure and close off our lands to production here at home. President Biden knows his pathetic policies are hurting families and he could bring relief by reversing his mistakes, but it's clear the radical faction of his base will always come first."
New Mexico's Postpartum Medicaid Expansion Supports Parents and Newborns
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 22 April 2022 22 April 2022
By Divya Shiv, MPP, Research and Policy Analyst at New Mexico Voices for Children
On top of the extraordinary mental and physical changes one faces after having a baby, one thing that shouldn't have to change is one's health care coverage. Fortunately, new mothers who qualify now have a full year of postpartum Medicaid coverage in New Mexico so they can focus on what really matters: taking care of their babies and their own health concerns. After all, nothing is more foundational for our next generation than the well-being of mothers and infants.
Before this past legislative session, people who enrolled in Medicaid for pregnancy- and birth-related care received just two months of postpartum Medicaid coverage. This meant that, while taking care of their newborn, new parents had to worry about paying for medical care out-of-pocket or had to find new health insurance a mere 60 days after giving birth.
The 2-month cut-off did not account for the importance of the year-long postpartum period. During the first year, people who have given birth are at risk of serious and sometimes life-threatening complications. This is reflected in the fact that one-third of pregnancy-related deaths occur between one week and one year after delivery. Given that 60% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, the postpartum Medicaid extension is essential to providing parents with consistent coverage so they can identify and address health issues before they become deadly.
Hispanics ignored by woke-idealism become battleground for upcoming election
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 21 April 2022 21 April 2022
Albuquerque – In a recent Axios article, New Mexico Hispanic Republicans were highlighted for their election 2022 efforts- this year a record-breaking number of Hispanic-conservatives are running for state legislative seats. Republican outreach to key Hispanic voters, and candidate recruitment comes on the heels of a recent Wall Street Journal poll that highlighted the growing gap between Hispanics and Democrats. The poll shows a 9% swing in favor of Republicans from Hispanic voters who no longer view progressive policies as representing their needs.
"The Republican Party of 2022 is a much more inclusive party than the one I first became involved with in 1999. We have made great strides, both state-wide and nationally, to elect Hispanic candidates. New Mexico can boast the fact that we elected the first Latina Governor in the nation,"said House Republican Whip, Rep. Rod Montoya (Farmington). "In the last decade, we have seen a steady stream of walk-away Hispanic Democrats changing their registration to Republican. Many are just tired of being looked down on and/or pitied for having the 'misfortune' of being Hispanic. In the last several years, Hispanic Republicans and Democrats alike, have started calling out the blatant disregard of our shared Hispanic culture, values and heritage by those who see us as merely a tool for their political purposes. Our very language has been appropriated by white-progressives who have re-named us with the term Latin-X instead of Latino or Hispanic."
Don't Waste New Mexico's "Unique" Opportunity
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 20 April 2022 20 April 2022
By Paul J. Gessing
New Mexico is in a unique economic situation. Despite having the highest unemployment rate in the nation for all of 2022, our incredibly strong oil and gas industry, buoyed by high prices and rapid production growth, has given politicians in Santa Fe "more money than they know what to do with." So, in the recent 30-day session we saw spending grow by more than $1 billion and some significant tax cuts. Then, in a special session, rebates to be paid out to taxpayers and non-taxpayers alike.
The impetus to return money generated by the oil and gas industry to New Mexicans is welcome, but there are serious questions about the legality and logistics of handing out checks to those who don't pay taxes to the State. Furthermore, asking the Tax and Revenue department to hand out cash "only" to those who deserve it is an unenviable and impossible task that also seems to violate the State's anti-donation clause.
But, after three years of Lujan Grisham and the Democrats raising taxes, it is hard to complain about getting some money back.
The precious right to vote
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 19 April 2022 19 April 2022
By Myles Culbertson
Apr 18, 2022
An opinion today published in the New Mexico Sun: https://newmexicosun.com/stories/623333794-the-precious-right-to-vote
This is a story about my father – W.O. Culbertson, Jr. A few of you reading this will still remember him.
In the spring of 1972, we were branding calves on my family's ranch in Northeastern New Mexico. It was the first Tuesday in June, primary election day, and our plan was to finish up the morning's work, turn the horses loose, and stand down the chuck wagon and camp so that we and the crew could take the rest of the day off to go vote.
In the corral, as we were finishing up that day's set of calves, my father's horse fell with him – the full force and weight of the horse landing on his chest. For a moment it appeared his back might be broken, but thankfully that wasn't the case.
Dow Calls for NM SOS to Uphold Election Transparency
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 18 April 2022 18 April 2022
Today, New Mexico Gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Dow released a statement in support of increasing transparency in our elections and strengthening voter confidence. She calls for publishing the state's voter rolls, something only currently accessible to politicians and special interest groups, meaning all New Mexicans can hold our Secretary of State and election authorities accountable.
IPANM Statement on the Department of Interior's Leasing Announcement
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 15 April 2022 15 April 2022
IPANM (April 15, 2022) -- In response to the Department of Interior's Leasing Announcement, IPANM releases the following statement:
"The Biden administration's announcement to lease just 20% of the available acreage nominated by the oil and gas industry will do little to change the President's war on domestic production punishing American consumers.
If the Biden administration was serious about decreasing prices at the pump, fighting inflation, and returning America to energy independence, the President would have made a more meaningful announcement himself instead of pushing out a weak policy reversal by news release late on a Friday afternoon leading into a holiday weekend."
PTF Reacts To Biden's Easter News Dump: "Another Band Aid That Won't Stop The Bleeding"
- Category: Editorials Editorials
- Published: 15 April 2022 15 April 2022
Washington, D.C. – Power The Future Communications Director Larry Behrens released the following statement in response to reports President Biden will open only 20 percent of federal land leases to new development while increasing royalty costs: