Heath Haussamen
The Doña Ana County wilderness bill that New Mexico’s U.S. senators and local activists are trying to push through Congress before the end of the year puts U.S. Rep. Harry Teague in a very tough political spot.
The Democratic is in a difficult re-election battle against former GOP U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce. It’s a Republican-leaning district in a Republican leaning year, and Pearce already has an advantage.
Because of past votes, Teague has angered conservatives and progressives alike. And no matter what stance Teague takes on the wilderness bill, he’s going to once again anger constituents his re-election campaign needs.
Supporters of the bill want to push it through before the end of the year, because it’s unlikely or at least less likely to pass the House if Pearce, not Teague, represents the district. There’s even a chance Democrats could lose control of the House in November – which would all but ensure the death of the bill.
So the legislation has to be pushed through this year or its chances of passing could go way down. But pushing the bill through this year could seal Teague’s fate.
No matter what stance he takes…
Teague has angered conservatives by voting in favor of cap-and-trade legislation. And he has angered the progressive wing of his party with his health-care record – he voted against health care reform and his company has cut health insurance for employees.
Three polls of the race have shown that it’s a toss-up (here, here and here), but none are recent. It’s my belief that the race has shifted further to the right, and that Pearce has the advantage. That’s in part based on a recent poll that showed last week that the less-conservative 1st Congressional District race in the Albuquerque area is a toss-up even though the dynamics are better for the Democrat in that race.
U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich hasn’t alienated his progressive base. Republican challenger Jon Barela isn’t anywhere near as well known as Pearce. And yet the 1st District race is close.
I’m guessing that means Pearce is pulling ahead of Teague in the 2nd Congressional District race.
With that as the backdrop, the Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks Wilderness Act could be Teague’s worst nightmare. It’s already passed a Senate committee and awaits a Senate floor vote. Then it’s on to the House.
Progressives have worked hard to get the bill to this point and are anxious to secure approval of the legislation, which would designate hundreds of thousands of acres in the most populous county in Teague’s district as wilderness – a restrictive conservation designation that prohibits most uses of cars, bikes and other mechanized vehicles. Voting for the bill would help Teague in Doña Ana County, but would hurt him in the more conservative eastern side of the district, where many oppose wilderness as another government intrusion.
Voting against the legislation would hurt Teague in Doña Ana County – a must-win county for him – but at least wouldn’t give conservatives a fresh reason to be angry at him.
Walking a fine line
Teague is walking a fine line, and it’s apparent in the statement his office gave me about the bill. From spokeswoman Kara Kelber:
“Congressman Teague has said that the peaks of the Organ Mountains define both Las Cruces and Doña Ana County, and he believes that Doña Ana County’s natural beauty and wide open spaces need to be protected. However, with a unique, exceptionally dangerous drug war that has claimed thousands of lives raging just across the border in Mexico, Harry is cautious to endorse legislation until we know more about how the drug war could impact our national security, and it can be conclusively established that the bill will not hinder Border Patrol and local law enforcement efforts to restrict criminal activity, protect against the drug violence in the border region, and secure our border.
“Harry does absolutely oppose any effort to rob future generations of land to hunt and fish and New Mexicans of their natural heritage by selling off our public lands to for-profit interests – a radical, but real proposal that Congressman Pearce previously put forth.”
Pearce, who opposes this bill and the wilderness designation altogether, knows Teague faces a difficult choice. From a recent news release:
“Like a typical Washington insider, Congressman Teague has been sidestepping this issue and refusing to lead at home,” Pearce said. “I hope Congressman Teague will take a position on the wilderness bill immediately.”
Pearce proposes new land designations that aren’t as restrictive as wilderness. As I’ve written before, progressives aren’t going to vote for him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll vote for Teague.
Teague is going to have to take a stance
When he announced that he would vote against the health-care reform bill last year, Teague put out a statement that offended some progressives because it sounded as though he was trying to say the legislation wasn’t progressive enough. Some have said he was trying to have it both ways – his vote was to appease conservatives while his statement sounded like it came from progressive Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, who initially voted against the bill because it didn’t go far enough.
In trying to walk that tight rope, Teague didn’t win many friends.
He won’t be able to get away with that a second time. Teague is going to have to take a definite stance on the wilderness bill. People need to see him as principled. That didn’t happen with his health-care vote.
Teague will lose some support no matter which way he votes. That’s inevitable. But Congress isn’t currently scheduled to meet between the November election and January, when the winner of the election will be sworn in.
The wilderness vote is likely coming up for a House vote before the election. Teague is going to have to take a stance.