The Blame is Within

Rachel Pulaski

Only a few hours after Ben Lujan won the vote to retain his position as New Mexico Speaker of the House, the Progressives started spewing their usual political filth and finger pointing by blaming the Tea Party for Joseph Cervantes’ loss. Let’s take a look at the facts. First, Cervantes was unable to use his “suave” personality or popularity to receive a nomination from his party for fear that a Republican may win the vote. Second, the Republicans had no obligation to vote for someone outside of their party especially for someone who does not meet any of their core values. Lastly, the New Mexico Tea Parties formed a coalition to persuade their party and representatives to stay true to their values and principles by asking them to nominate a candidate from their own party. The Democrats and Progressives can play the blame game, but ultimately they only have themselves to blame. If the Democrats felt that Ben Lujan was suddenly an unacceptable speaker then where was their grassroots effort to support Joseph? Ben Lujan has been speaker for 10 years and NOW the Democrats finally feel he is a corrupt politician and an unfit choice for speaker? One can only assume that they just did not care about Lujan’s actions for the past ten years or the Democrats were just too lazy to do anything about it until now. What has happened in New Mexico politics recently to make the Democrats have such a change of heart?  If it was not for the industrious effort of Andy Nunez, Joseph Cervantes would have been just another name in the New Mexico House. Let me make it clear, if the members of the Democratic Party had done their job and made their voices heard by contacting their representatives and forming their own public coalition then Cervantes would have been the new speaker. Don’t blame the Tea Party for the lack of the Democratic Party’s grassroots skills. Finally, to those of you who continue to attack and slander the Tea Party, we thank you. Your actions only inspire us, fuel our momentum and expand our parties. While our opposition wastes their time predicting our demise, we will continue influencing politics right under their nose.

The Blame is Within