What We Are Up Against
78 Years of Democratic Control

Lord Acton once said that, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” There is no clearer example of this than in New Mexico’s state government, where Democrats have dominated the executive, legislative and judicial branches for 78 years. For example, during this time, New Mexico has only ever had one Republican Attorney General, 2 Republican Auditors and Treasurers, and NO Republican Secretary of State.

BY-PRODUCTS OF THIS ONE-PARTY CONTROL HAVE BEEN:

Corruption
Recently, two former state treasurers were indicted and convicted in New Mexico’s largest kickback and bribery scandal. In March 2009, Manny Aragon, a longtime Democrat leader in the state senate was sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison for his role in a courthouse kickback scandal in Albuquerque.

High Child Poverty and a Poor Education System
The latest Kids Count report ranks New Mexico 47th in the area of child poverty; the state also ranks near the bottom in education and healthcare for children. Continual Democrat control has led to an ever-increasing reliance on government to teach our children values and prepare them to compete for jobs in the world. This method has failed time and time again, and New Mexico’s welfare state has helped to stifle job growth and entrench so many families and children in poverty.

High Taxes
Unnecessarily high taxes on businesses and individuals have certainly been a product of the tax-and-spend Democrats who, at every turn, seek to expand the size and scope of government. This has prevented businesses from wanting to locate in New Mexico, which denies New Mexicans the jobs they would provide. And, most importantly, it shows a clear difference between Democrats and Republicans. Republicans believe that tax dollars are the people’s money – not the government’s money…and the people can spend it far more efficiently than government can.

New Mexico has created an unhealthy, perpetual dependence on government, often at the expense of private enterprise and the creation of numerous and high-paying jobs.

Republican Disadvantage in Voter Registration
Democrats have a voter registration advantage over Republicans in New Mexico. Recently, it was found that there are 1.6 Democrats to every 1 Republican in the state. Because of this, the Republican Party works very hard to encourage voter registration in all 33 counties, and generally has to raise more money for its candidates than the Democrats need to in order to win. Also, this means that under-funded political contests, which receive less exposure – especially at the county level and in lower-level statewide races – traditionally go to the Democrats…often simply due to the numerical advantage they have. But we have seen that, in more visible races, numerous Democrats in New Mexico will cross the aisle and choose the Republican candidate – because they identify with our values and our candidates.

Unending Cycle of Corruption
Since taking office, an ever-increasing string of scandals has plagued the Richardson-Denish Administration. After a lackluster presidential run and a great deal of political posturing, Richardson was tapped by President-elect Obama to head the Department of Commerce. However, Richardson was forced to withdraw his name from consideration when news broke that the federal grand jury was investigating whether or not his administration had awarded lucrative transportation contracts in exchange for sizable campaign contributions. As of April 2009, the federal investigation has expanded its scope to include possible securities fraud associated with the contracts.

The Republican Party exists as the only true voice of opposition to the status quo in New Mexico; we are the only entity that can offer the hope of change and can honestly say that we have ideas for a different path forward, one which would benefit all of the people, families, and children of New Mexico.