Sarah Lenti
From an outsider to all of you in New Mexico, a thought: just as hope springs eternal, so gridlock springs terminal.
Yes, I am implying precisely that which I wrote. Gridlock is a killer. Sadly, there is gridlock in Washington, there is gridlock in New Mexico, and there is gridlock in the Republican presidential primary race.
Pundits and the populace love to write, blog and pontificate about the fact that there is gridlock in Washington. True, so true. Most recently, at the federal level, this is displayed by a Democratic administration vs. a split Congress (Republican-led House and Democratic led-Senate). And, during the previous presidential cycle, this was displayed (in the last term, at least) by a Republican administration vs. a Democratically-controlled Congress.
New Mexico, in this last legislative session, has proven quite famously that gridlock is also very alive and well at the state level (to the detriment of the state, I would argue). Let’s just note that you have a governor with a high approval rating (66 percent), and a Legislature that “passed 77 bills during the just-completed 30-day legislative session, the fewest for a short session since 1976.”
(In full disclosure, it is true that I have a family member who is currently honored to be working for the Martinez administration. This does not subtract from the brutal, honest truth that there is gridlock, however you parse it.)
The Republican presidential primary race is also bestowing America with a stunningly disasterous display of gridlock. I blame this in and of itself on the GOP party, not the candidates per say. The GOP is “fracking” amidst its own schizophrenic attempt to identify itself: fiscal conservatives vs. progressive conservatives vs. social conservatives. (Note: Let’s be clear here that this fracking has been largely abetted/masterminded by the Axelrod Brain Trust’s attempt to stir up the GOP with the gift of the Catholic Mandate/Contraception debate.)
A question to readers
Gridlock. What does it come down to? At the federal level, the fear of losing power? At the state level, the fear of embracing leadership? With respect to the Republican presidential primary, the fear of undefining how the GOP rank and file is being so powerfully redefined by the opposition party.
To turn things back to the readers in New Mexico, I’d be curious about your thoughts with respect to who, of the remaining GOP primary candidates out there, is best suited to deal with both the internal GOP gridlock and then possibility of having to manage Washington gridlock?
- Newt Gingrich
- Ron Paul
- Mitt Romney
- Rick Santorum
These are your choices.
Yes, I am canvassing you all to weigh in on who is the best candidate to attack party and Washington gridlock.
Ironically, does this not remind you of a high school superlative/popularity contest?
Sarah Lenti is the blogger behind NMPolitics.net’s The Savvy. E-mail her at sarah@nmpolitics.net. For disclosure, Lenti previously worked on Mitt Romney’s policy book, as a researcher, in 2008 and 2009.