Editor:
(Santa Fe New Mexican; Albuquerque Journal)
New Mexico has always stood at the forefront of diversity and multi-culturalism in America. With over four hundred years of experience, beginning in 1598 with the first Spanish settlement near present-day Espanola, New Mexicans have long-since "gotten over it". The evolution of our social mix continues to this day, and most New Mexicans would agree that we do it with some grace and style.
One of the things we have learned, as New Mexicans, is that compromise, not extremism, is the path to follow. In that spirit, 168 of the "president's"
judicial nominees, including (commendably) many minority nominees, have been approved by the US Senate. And yet today we see the sad spectacle of the Republican leadership standing there on the floor of the US Senate, sniveling about four extremist judicial nominees that have been rightfully rejected by the party that is in tune with true American values of moderation and cooperation. The National Republican apparatus, led by an out-of-control, far-right-wing administration of dubious legitimacy, has moved dangerously out of the mainstream of American values. The Democrats are standing at the barricades, the filibuster the only tool left to protect moderation and cooperation.
Our esteemed Republican opposition, here in New Mexico, long-time respecters of New Mexico values of diversity and cooperation, are rightfully troubled by the increasingly extreme stance of the National "Rethuglican" Party. Such extremist tactics are counter to the spirit of New Mexico, and I would ask that our New Mexico Republicans speak out publicly, as New Mexicans, and, at least, inform the "Rethuglican" wing of their party that such extreme (and doomed) policies run counter to what we all hold dear. Our freedom to be different.