It’s the Economy Stupid

I have to admit to being dumbfounded by all that I hear from the local media when it comes to their trying to figure out why some democratic candidates in this state won election this year while others lost badly when they started out so strong. You hear that it is the wave of anger from conservative parts of the Republican Party. Yet when we look at election results we see candidates on both sides who pulled votes from the other party. They blame it on Governor Richardson because his administration made the words pay-to-play a house hold word yet he was never convicted of any wrong doing during his time in office. Governor Richardson was also out of the state for most of the past two years while the lieutenant governor ran state government.

So if not those reasons then why would one elected official win while another loss this year. Voters are not so simple when it comes to how they vote. An elected official who fails to understand that fact will almost always loss. Voters look for people who represent their major issues. Someone who can show support for the middle class and the working poor especially when times are hard. They want someone who is willing to take responsibility for past votes and stands on issues. Someone who can voice the reasons in a intelligent understandable manner for why they voted for an issue or why they stood against any issue without becoming angry for being ask their reasoning. Voters want to feel that an elected official is listening to them and not defending the people or problems that they are trying to convey.

Candidates need to find ways to explain to the voters what they can and cannot do for them without making them feel like their issues don’t matter. The last thing voters want to hear is that democratic officials who failed to get elected this year learned nothing from their defeat and that they do not yet understand what issues and abilities they should work on in the future.

The Democratic Party has a lot of good people who care about the voters and want to make the economy better for all New Mexicans no matter what their sex, age, or race. The voters will be carefully watching all elected officials over the next two years to see how they put into practice their campaign promises. I hope that no matter which party they represent that they will work for the good of all New Mexicans in this state.

One reframe I head lately from a tutor who was told by their college president that a 5% cut was coming this year is; “Oh Susana don’t you cry for me, just help me keep my job so I can continue to support the students.” It will be interesting to see the effect of those president’s lobbying on their own behalf while justifying why they want to cut student support. If those presidents want to see bonds pass in the future then they should aim those moneys at supporting students and not at enlarging their current administration yet again .