New Mexico

New Mexico Republicans
by Noel Garcia

           On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state to join the Union. Located in the southwest part of the country, this region north of Mexico was named Nuevo Mexico by a Spanish explorer in the 1560’s, giving rise to its present name. Sante Fe, the oldest and present day capital city of New Mexico, was founded in 1610.
           Like many southwestern states, New Mexico experienced a population boom that began in the 1950's, mostly concentrated around the cities. Going from 681,198 residents in 1950 to 1,515,069 in 1990 (U.S. Census Bureau), New Mexico still ranks 37th in overall population among the States, but 5th in terms of total area (121,598 square miles). This population boom also transformed the demographics of New Mexico from mostly rural to urban (73% urban, 23% rural-1990). New Mexico’s largest city, Albuquerque, contains almost 38% of the population.
           New Mexico’s sparsely populated rural areas and natural resources have allowed for the growth of the farming and ranching industries in the 90's. Mining is the state’s primary economic activity. The federal government also has various military bases and laboratories in New Mexico, providing much needed employment. NASA has a base in New Mexico, and it is no surprise that the first atomic bomb was tested in 1945 near Alamogordo in White Sands National Monument, a huge desert of pure-white dunes. In the urban areas, the majority of employment is provided by the tourist, retail, computer technology and the service industries. Still, New Mexico remains one of the poorest state in the Union, with a personal per capita income of $16, 674(1996).
           New Mexico considers itself tri-cultural. Native Americans, the original settlers of the land, compose 8.9% of the population. Hispanics, the majority of Mexican descent, compromise 38.9%, and Whites 50.6% of the population. For almost 70 years, the mostly Hispanic-supported Democratic party controlled the state. The population boom brought in a great majority of white Republicans, shifting the political landscape. Currently, the state has a Republican Governor, Gary E. Johnson. Two out of the three members to the House Representatives and one of the Senators are Republican.
           The Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) has a well defined platform. Its overall philosophy coincides with the most basic of Republican ideals. The RPNM believes in a small, low-tax, open and less-intrusive government. It also contends that a better society can be accomplished through faith in God and our fellow man rather than faith in a big, regulatory government.
           The RPNM believes in being tough on crime. It supports swift and sure criminal punishment. It believes in the death penalty as punishment and a deterrent of crime, and advocates victim’s rights. At the same time, the RPNM argues for the privatization of the state prison system due to the high cost of incarceration and the shortage of prison cells. Along these lines, the RPNM also supports innovative criminal punishment programs such as boot camps. The RPNM makes a special note of mentioning its desire to have rigorous enforcement of child pornography laws. The RPNM believes in the peoples right to bear arms, as stated in the Second Amendment to the Constitution, without reservations, and as a way for people to defend their families and homes. Therefore, it opposes most gun-control legislation.
           Similarly, privatization is the overriding principle in position on healthcare. The RPNM supports private healthcare and opposes any government takeover, or increased regulation, of the healthcare system.
           On the topic of education, the RPNM supports parents right to educate their children as they see fit, and therefore the ability to send their children and their tax dollars to the school of their choice, possibly in the form of school vouchers, whether public or private/religious. The RPNM states that since the goal of education is to produce employable, well-educated citizens, they oppose federally-mandated testing and national standards, citing them as detrimental.
           The RPNM believes that a clean environment and a sound economy are possible. They contend that the private citizens, ranchers and farmers of New Mexico are the best stewards of the land and should be trusted to preserve it. The RPNM proposes that any environmental regulations should be based on sound science. With no specific proposals, the NMRP does state that it supports the protection and expansion of private property rights, as well as the just compensation of private property owners in the event of regulatory take over.
           While not taking a strict anti-abortion stand outright, the RPNM declares that they believe in the sanctity of human life, support parental involvement, informed decision making, and oppose tax-payer funding of abortion. Also, the RPNM states that the traditional family is the foundation of our society, and calls on the Legislature to make a law defining marriage as the legal union between one man and one woman, clearly opposing recognizing homosexual unions or marriages. The RPNM supports equal rights, stating that no group should be given any special rights through legislation, and that everyone should be judged on their own merits. Therefore, they oppose affirmative action.
           The Republican Party of New Mexico supports the transformation of welfare into workfare. Explaining that welfare should not be a lifetime hand out, but a hand up, it proposes a workfare system that encourages a return to work, promotes personal responsibility, self-reliance and independence. In terms of work, it does support every person’s right to freely join a union but not as a requirement for employment. Union dues should also not be used for political purposes without prior consent of the union members.
           The RPNM proposes a system of open government, where all government decision making and legislative meetings should be held in public. The RPNM also advocates keeping current campaign finance laws as they are, especially the ban against foreign contributions, while allowing for public disclosure of all campaign receipts and expenditures.
           The RPNM refers back to the National Republican Party platform on the issue of foreign policy. In general, the RPNM believes that the United States is the only super power on earth and has the obligation to lead economically, militarily, diplomatically and morally. The U.S. should also build up it’s military in order to be ready to protect our interest. In terms of international trade, RPNM contends that given fair trade agreements, the products made by the American worker will win in an international market, creating jobs and stimulating our economy. Immigration is the one controversial topic among New Mexico Republicans. While the National Party proposes limits on immigration, no public benefits for illegal immigrants and increased funding for border patrols, the state party recognizes how these views offend the growing number of Hispanic Republicans within the state.