When Predator Panic is not enough: New Mexico GOP adds fears of White Replacement into fearmongering ad

What can be worse than scaring the ignorant masses with good old fashioned Predator Panic? How about adding a nod to the WhitevReplacement Theory into the mix?

https://www.abqjournal.com/2536044/nm-gop-needs-to-explain-doctored-mailer.html

Editorial: NM GOP needs to explain doctored mailer

BY ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD

PUBLISHED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2022 AT 12:02AM

UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2022 AT 12:15AM

 

An altered image of darkened hands cutting a white child’s hair sure does appear to play on racist fears and should be denounced by the political party that created it.

The Republican Party of New Mexico recently mailed flyers to voters in several state House districts showing a barber with darkened hands. “Do you want a sex offender cutting your child’s hair?” the flyer asks.

Democrats are calling this political flyer created by the Republican Party of New Mexico a racist “dog whistle.”

The flyers cite two unsuccessful bills related to occupational licenses and accuse House Democrats of voting to allow convicted sex offenders to obtain them. Democrats and Republicans supported the GOP-sponsored bill in 2019, but it was vetoed by the governor.

A GOP amendment to the Dems’ version of a similar bill in 2021 — denying or revoking a barber’s license if they failed to register as a sex offender after conviction — was opposed by Democrats on a question of constitutionality. It passed the House on a bipartisan vote but died in the Senate.

Democrats quickly denounced the flyer because the hands of a white barber had been darkened considerably from the original stock image. “This is one of the most vile examples of racist dog whistles that I have ever seen,” said House Majority Leader Javier Martínez of Albuquerque.

The RPNM response missed the mark, saying Democrats were trying to divert attention “from their soft-on-crime agenda.” House Republican whip Rod Montoya of Farmington says images were darkened to make the flyers “gloomy.”

“Any charge of racism over this mailer is ridiculous,” he said. “A shadowy, gray figure is not a racial category. What this mailer does depict is the danger in which Democrats voted to put our children.”

But the image is not a shadowy figure — it shows clearly darkened hands. If “shadowy figure” was the intent, whoever checked the flyer should have caught the error. Otherwise, it raises the spectre of such political images as Willie Horton’s mugshot and darkened photos of Barack Obama.

State party chairman Steve Pearce must give a better explanation. As local civil rights activist Rev. Charles Becknell Sr. said last week, “It is time we put an end to this kind of crap. … We’re better than this.”

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.

Bernalillo Co. NM Sheriff Manny Gonzalez makes false claims against political opponent, including accusation on helping Registrants move close to schools

Allegations of being "soft on sex offenders" as a political attack is nothing new. It has become quite commonplace, in fact. However, when a law enforcement agent makes such a blatantly false claim, we should take pause. It makes me wonder what other false allegations this Sheriff has made during his tenure. 

https://nmindepth.com/2021/10/22/sheriff-goes-to-the-dark-side-lobbing-grim-attacks-with-no-evidence/

Back in 2017, I wrote “it doesn’t get much darker” than ominous television ads attacking mayoral candidate Tim Keller, who is now Albuquerque mayor. Well, it’s gotten darker, and again Keller is the target. 

Four years ago the television ads, followed by billboards, showed an image of Keller and quickly cut to a dark figure wearing a hoodie, a classic racist trope. “Sex offender” flashed in bold red letters on the screen before cutting to a backlit child riding a bike.

Essentially, the ad sought to tap unconscious racist fears and smear Keller as a sex offender at the same time. Media outlets, including New Mexico In Depth, found no basis in the charge. Keller was one of 16 state senators in 2011 who voted for a bill sponsored by then-Senator Cisco McSorley that would have prevented municipalities from dictating where sex offenders could live. The state’s Sex Offender Management Board supported the bill. 

But the facts didn’t matter to those who paid for the ads, a mega westside land developer and a southern New Mexico oil man. It was classic negative campaigning — just throw any sort of mud at a candidate because you don’t like their politics. 

And the facts don’t seem to matter to Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales as he tries to unseat Keller as Albuquerque’s mayor this year. 

Gonzales dredged up the sex offender charge at a KOB mayoral debate Tuesday night, accusing Keller of sponsoring a bill in the past that would allow sex offenders to live close to schools and parks. 

One hopes Gonzales paid attention when that piece of negative campaigning got discredited in 2017 by the media, but if not, did his research before uttering those words Tuesday. 

But it got worse. Later in the debate Gonzales leveled shocking allegations of domestic violence against Keller without any evidence. 

Gonzales is a law enforcement professional who should know how important facts are when accusing someone of a crime. But maybe not. Then he accused the mayor of having an affair with a subordinate, again with no evidence. 

Four days later, there is still no evidence to support any of his claims. And in fact, KOAT said they looked into the rumor of domestic violence back in June, and found no evidence to support it. One would hope a Sheriff could do the same. 

Keller called the allegations disgusting, pathetic and defamatory. 

I’d add: cynical, calculating, and dishonest. And sad, frankly. Perhaps the worst is the allegation, with no evidence, of an affair. Keller’s family, including his children, must now grapple with it. 

I want to say all of this is a sign of desperation in the Gonzales campaign, the sort that usually leads to wild negativity, though any longtime New Mexico political observer knows it’s also a sign of Jay McCleskey, a GOP political consultant and media operative known for hard-hitting, negative advertising. Gonzales has so far paid McCleskey $189,000, mainly for advertising costs. 

But at the end of the day, as much as many like to throw stones at McCleskey or other political operatives, it’s Manny Gonzales who is responsible. Whether the unsupported attacks on Keller propel Gonzales to the mayor’s office remains to be seen. Regardless, what happened Tuesday is a particularly dark chapter in New Mexico elections that we can only hope won’t become the norm.

Attorney General Hector Balderas puts both the "bald" and the "ass" in the New Mexico Attorney General's Office

If there was ever a man who helps the state keep the spirit of the derisive slogan "Land of Entrapment," it is Attorney General Hector Balderas. He and his staff walked out of a legislative session in protest over a bill allowing teen sexters to get off the registry, citing that the NM ICAC would lose funding. At least he admitted it is all about the money!

http://www.alamogordonews.com/story/news/politics/new-mexico/2016/02/17/ag-opposes-teen-sexting-exception-amended-child-porn-bill/80530946/

AG opposes teen sexting exception in amended child porn bill
Milan Simonich, The New Mexican 6:46 p.m. MST February 17, 2016

SANTA FE – In a cantankerous hearing Tuesday night, a Senate committee approved a bill to increase penalties for those who manufacture, distribute and possess child pornography, but not until adding an exception for consensual cases of teenage "sexting."

The amendment so upset members of Democratic state Attorney General Hector Balderas' staff that they walked out in protest.

I bet being an asshole is also part of who he is. 

Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, called the behavior by Balderas' staff "a joke" and told the bill's sponsor, Rep. Sarah Maestas Barnes, "It's an embarrassment that they did that to you."

A spokesman for Balderas later said in an email: The "attorney general staff walked out of committee in support of stronger protections for New Mexico children." Then Balderas himself sent a statement that said in part: "I cannot support an amendment that weakens protections for teenagers from predatory activity, creates a dangerous new child exploitation loophole, and places New Mexico's federal Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force funding in jeopardy."

Maestas Barnes, R-Albuquerque, originally sought to allow prosecution of defendants for every individual image of child pornography that they possessed. She said some defendants with large numbers of pictures have drawn sentences from no prison time to 18 months. Her bill got out of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives intact, but it has been heavily amended in the Senate and criticized by a senator from her own party.

Sen. Lisa Torraco, R-Albuquerque, in a previous hearing, said Maestas Barnes' bill was flawed because it wasn't tough enough on manufacturers of child porn, and because cases of teens texting explicit pictures to a boyfriend or girlfriend could have been subject to prosecution.

Maestas Barnes reluctantly accepted Senate rewrites of the bill. It now calls for a 10-year prison term for possession, 11 years for distribution and 12 years for "manufacturing" lewd images of children. Those producing child porn often molest the children as well.

Maestas Barnes on Tuesday night gave halfhearted support to Muñoz's amendment in the Senate Finance Committee, so that teens ages 14 through 17 in consensual boyfriend-girlfriend relationships would not be prosecuted for texting photos that might be construed under other circumstances as child exploitation.

Clara Moran, a prosecutor on the attorney general's staff, testified that her office opposed the amendment. She said the Children, Youth and Families Department had no cases in the last three years in which texting byplay between teenagers had led to criminal offenses. But a spokeswoman for defense attorneys countered that those sorts of prosecutions of teenagers had occurred.

Muñoz at one point talked of withdrawing his amendment. But Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, R-Sandia Park, said she would filibuster the bill unless it contained a provision to head off prosecutions of teens who did something stupid but without criminal intent.

Beffort said she feared teenage boys would end up being prosecuted because of a complaining parent with clout. "It strikes a terrible nerve with me. It is a fairness issue," Beffort said.

Senators on the Finance Committee approved the amendment 9-1. Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, dissented.

After that, Moran and other members of the attorney general's staff walked out, leaving Maestas Barnes to answer any other questions from the committee.

Attorney General Balderas for two days had sent news releases calling on the committee to approve the bill without amending it. But he didn't attend the hearing, prompting Muñoz to criticize Balderas. "If he cared so much, why isn't he here? He sends his little henchmen."

Balderas' spokesman, James Hallinan, said Balderas did not attend the hearing "because he sent his staff."

With less than two days remaining in the session, the amended bill next goes to the full Senate.

Oh Suzanna! Why must you lie to me? Gov. Martinez takes wrong turn in Albuquerque

Gov. Marinez explains how, when she tells a lie,
her head swells like Barry Bonds on steroids.

Nothing like a Nancy Grace wannabe to spoil the political climate of an otherwise quiet place. While New Mexico is nowhere near being on the list of dumbest Predator Panic states in the US (for the moment D'ohio has the Shiitake ICBS CHUMPionship for that), Marinez wants to change all that. An ex-prosecutor, and thus incredibly biased and uneducated, she is nothing more than a registry sycophant. Add her pandering during the media coverage of the RSOL Conference, you have the makings of a potential 2012 Shiitake Award winner.

Prosecutors make lousy politicians. They don't understand how to treat people.
Hopefully this will be New Mexico's last term with Martinez at the helm.

http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/09/19/news/repeat-sex-offender-numbers-low-in-county.html


Gov. Susana Martinez, who specialized in prosecuting sex crimes during her career as a district attorney, said Bernalillo County’s low recidivism rate doesn’t necessarily mean offenders aren’t re-offending, just that they’re not being caught.

“The vast majority of my cases involved delayed reporting by the children (victims) because they are afraid, they are threatened that something bad will happen if they tell,” Martinez told the Journal. “That allows an offender to re-offend many times.”

That’s why Martinez said the registries are so effective, because they allow parents to monitor offenders who might be re-offending without punishment in their neighborhood. Martinez has also pressured the state Legislature during her time as governor to become fully compliant with the Adam Walsh Act, a 2006 federal sex offender registration law.

The state’s sex offender laws do not require offenders to scan palm prints in addition to fingerprints, which is out of compliance with the federal act, nor do they have a juvenile sex offender registration, GPS monitoring or email notifications for when an offender moves into a neighborhood, said Regina Chacon, the state Department of Public Safety spokeswoman....


Both Martinez and Swartz said the vast majority of sex crimes are committed by perpetrators who know the victim – as relatives, neighbors, coaches or through other means.

While Swartz argues that’s a reason the registry is not effective, Martinez said that fact makes the registry all the more important, because parents need to be able to find out if their acquaintances or family friends pose a threat to their children.

“If you are a convicted sex offender, I as a parent have a right to know,” she said. ” … You can’t teach a parent what to look for.”