Shendo shows he’s not ready to be a congressman

Earlier this week at a forum in Farmington, 3rd Congressional District Democratic candidate Benny Shendo Jr. set fire to the race by publicly accusing primary opponent Ben R. Luján of being gay.

Shendo did it in the context of hinting that, because he’s hid his sexuality to appease his parents, Luján is someone who won’t stand up for New Mexicans.

“You say that you stand up for the people of New Mexico,” Shendo said, according to video posted on YouTube, “and I want to know how you can stand up for the people of New Mexico if you can’t stand up to your mom and dad about your lifestyle.”

Luján stumbled through a response and said he wasn’t sure what Shendo was talking about. Luján, like the rest of us who are involved in New Mexico’s political system, has probably heard the rumor that he’s gay. But no evidence has been presented publicly and Luján says it isn’t true, so it’s nothing more than a rumor.

In response to outrage over his assault on Luján, Shendo later issued a statement to explain it. In it he said the belief that Luján is gay is widespread. He said many have told him that “there may be a level of public deception going on in the way that Ben Ray and his parents have handled this matter by so actively promoting publicly that he has a girlfriend.”

Shendo said the question he was trying to raise wasn’t whether Luján is gay but whether Luján has “the courage to stand up on the difficult issues that face us as a society.”

That may have been his intent, but what Shendo’s accusation did was reveal that he’s not ready to be northern New Mexico’s representative in the U.S. House. Shendo is publicly spreading rumor that may be damaging to another person for his own gain and without providing any evidence to back it up. That’s unacceptable conduct from someone who thinks he’s qualified to be a congressman.

If Shendo was presenting evidence that Luján was gay, we could discuss whether sexual orientation is relevant in a congressional race. Even more interesting would be the fact that Luján would have hidden his homosexuality, and we could have a conversation about what that says about Luján’s character.

But this is only a rumor. Were it not for Shendo’s outrageous attack, there would be no discussion about it in the media. The story isn’t Luján’s sexual orientation. It’s Shendo’s words.

Rumor mongering

As a journalist, it would be irresponsible and unprofessional for me to promote rumors I hear about politicians without providing evidence that they are or may be true. Santa Fe is swarming with stories about sexual encounters, alcohol and drugs and other nasty allegations. I’m sure some of them are true, and others – even some that are widely believed – are false. Part of my job is to sort through rumors and report on those allegations that are backed up by evidence.

As a congressman, Shendo would have a similar responsibility to be professional and use facts and evidence to argue issues on their merits. Because of his attack, it’s fair to assume that, as a member of the U.S. House, Shendo might instead use rumors about his opponents to try to discredit their arguments, as he tried to discredit Luján’s candidacy at the Farmington forum.

Such conduct causes substantive debate on issues to degrade into name-calling. We need less, not more, of that in Washington.

Shendo’s attack is unprofessional. It’s immature. Most important, it isn’t in the best interest of the citizens of the 3rd District. Instead, it appears to be about the political future of a congressional candidate who is desperate because he is about to lose the race.