Welcome to the 767th original “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where today we’ll be discussing Janice Arnold-Jones, former four-term member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, a failed candidate for Governor of New Mexico in 2010 who only got 3% of the vote in that race, and failed in her first attempt to get elected to Congress in 2012 against Democratic Congresswoman Michelle Lujan-Grisham. Arnold-Jones went mostly quiet for six years, but emerged as Republican candidate who ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Mexico’s 1st Congressoinal District in 2018, in the hopes that she could flip the district after Lujan-Grisham would run for Governor of New Mexico. Her opponent, coming out of the Democratic primary, was Deb Haaland, who was seeking to become the first Native American woman to serve in Congress.
Honestly, there isn’t a lot of extremism in Arnold-Jones’ record as a legislator, save for the times she voted against bills aimed at curbing domestic violence, not just in terms of creating a commission to decrease it, but a bill that would block domestic abusers from becoming members of New Mexico law enforcement. We will note, however, she also voted against just domestic partnerships, let alone her opinion on same sex marriage. The worst rhetoric you would see coming from her direction would be standard GOP lies about the Affordable Care Act “killing jobs”.
Of course, the election did not go well because Janice Arnold-Jones decided the best way to chip into the lead that Deb Haaland had in the early polls would be to go on Fox News “correct the record” about Haaland’s heritage, and insinuate that she wasn’t actually a Native American.
Ainsley Earhardt: “Your opponent, she would be the first Native American, as a woman, in Congress.”
Janice Arnold-Jones: “That’s what they say, yes.”
Earhardt: “‘That’s what they say?’ What do you mean by that?”
Arnold-Jones: “Well, there’s no doubt that her lineage is Laguna. But she’s a military brat, just like I am, and so [long pause], you know, it evokes images that she was raised on a reservation. She belongs to a pueblo.”
Welcome to 21st Century Republican politics, where they will re-frame the heritage of people to claim they’re either not actually U.S. citizens, or if their heritage is inspiring, deride it as not being genuine (See current events with Kamala Harris supposedly not being African American, and Donald Trump, Jr. spreading the story for another example). And for those not aware, New Mexico has one of the highest Native American populations in the country, so having a blonde, blue-eyed lady like Arnold-Jones go on Fox News to whine to another blonde, blue-eyed lady about if people “belong on a reservation or a pueblo” didn’t exactly sit well. She only ended up mustering 36% of the vote.
We’re not expecting her to make another run for office after burying her foot in her mouth all the way to her knee.
One Year Ago, July 21st, 2018: Greg Heartsill (IA)… 2018 Update
Two Years Ago, July 21st, 2017: Greg Heartsill (IA)… 2017 Update
Three Years Ago, July 21st, 2016: Greg Heartsill (IA)… 2016 Update
Four Years Ago, July 21st, 2015: Greg Heartsill (IA)… Original Profile
Five Years Ago, July 21st, 2014: Newt Gingrich (GA)