Michael Corwin
If Steve Cabiedes or Cara Valente-Compton can show our facts are wrong about his voter ID lawsuit, then we will make the necessary corrections.
“Shadowy group,” “smear campaign” – phrases uttered by Susana Martinez, her political team and the N.M. GOP whenever Independent Source PAC exposes their wrongdoing.
Now Cara Valente-Compton, primary opponent to Sheryl Williams Stapleton for HD 19, is using the same Republican language to attack ISPAC.
Valente-Compton also called dedicated, effective Democratic legislators “status quoers”—another phrase straight out of Martinez’s GOP messaging machine.
This is not surprising when considering that her campaign manager, Steve Cabiedes, knowingly and willingly joined with Republicans to engage in voter suppression of minorities and financially disadvantaged voters.
Those voters he tried to keep from the polls uniformly support Democratic issues such as protecting working families and minority voter rights.
There is no other way to spin his actions.
Show that our facts are wrong
Cabiedes initiated his lawsuit of his own free will, knowing that his actions would harm Democrats. The court documents are posted right here on our website for anyone to read.
No Democrat should forget that Cabiedes targeted groups such as ACORN, America Votes and Moving America Forward. These groups were dedicated to increasing minority voter registration and turnout.
Cabiedes joined forces with a Republican who constantly cried “voter ID fraud” because he viewed such allegations as the best “wedge issue” Republicans have to undermine Democrat votes.
This same Republican forced out David Iglesias, a Republican, who refused to participate in finding voter fraud where there was none.
If Cabiedes or Valente-Compton can show our facts are wrong about his voter ID lawsuit, then we will make the necessary corrections.
A strong advocate
Williams Stapleton has been a strong advocate for all minority voters.
Williams Stapleton serves on the advisory board of Emerge, a group dedicated to encouraging women to run for office. Valente-Compton is a graduate of that program. Why choose to run against a board member of the same group who is also the highest-ranking woman Democratic legislator?
Cara Valente-Compton has complained that our literature is a personal attack on her. However, anyone who has read our literature will clearly understand that it is not a personal attack against her at all.
But there are legitimate questions that need to be asked: Does Valente-Compton know about Cabiedes’ actions in targeting minority voters, yet chooses to work with him anyway? Or is she so politically inexperienced that did she simply does not know about his past efforts to harm minority voters and working families?
Cara Valente-Compton must know all about Susana Martinez’s attacks on Sheryl Williams Stapleton. No other Democratic legislator has been attacked so hard by Martinez.
This is because Williams Stapleton has the political experience to use her position as majority whip to keep Martinez’s anti-working family and anti-public education agenda from moving forward.
The bottom line
Yet rather than supporting Williams Stapleton, as all Democrats should, Valente-Compton is echoing Susana Martinez’s attacks in her campaign against Williams Stapleton.
In doing so, doesn’t it appear that Valente-Compton is helping Susana Martinez weaken one of the strongest voices for working families and public education?
Michael Corwin is the executive director of Independent Source PAC and a licensed private investigator.