Impressions of Lincoln Tea Party Candidate Forum
The Tea Party Patriots gubernatorial candidate forum in Alto was very well organized, the sound technician did an excellent job and, as he announced at the end, it concluded “ahead of schedule and under budget!”
I wore my holstered .380 Colt automatic, and was surprised to find myself, a Democrat, to be the only person who was visibly supporting 2 nd Amendment rights. I wasn’t surprised to find myself surrounded mostly by Republicans.
Of the candidates, I felt that the two women did the best job. The questions were a bit of a disappointment, being all Republican softball types. I would have liked to hear answers to at least one of the three questions I submitted—“If elected governor, would you support and initiate a call for a constitutional amendment to limit donors to political campaigns and PACs to US citizens that are registered to vote?”
On the question of state sovereignty, Janice Arnold-Jones pointed out that the Medicaid match of three Federal dollars for every one the state spends comes with mandates on how those dollars are to be spent. Seems if New Mexico wants to exercise its sovereignty it might have to consider refusing that match.
After the forum I asked moderator Sally Moore if she believed in state sovereignty. She of course replied “yes.” Then I asked her why did the forum not include the salute to the flag of the state of New Mexico at the beginning? Democratic meetings always start with both the pledge and the salute. She did agree that was a good point. I hope to be hearing, at future Republican and Tea Party meetings, “I salute the flag of the State of New Mexico, the zia symbol of perfect friendship among united cultures.”