Letters to the Editor (March 27, 2025)

Communication is key

Editor:

In a healthy democracy, one of the primary responsibilities of the people we elect to represent us in the Legislature, both state and federal, is to be available to answer questions and provide assistance, either in person or by phone or email.

Having a problem with a state agency? Call your state representative or senator (or their assistant) for help. Got a problem with a federal agency? Your U.S. representative or senator (or their office) should be available for help.

Well, that’s the theory anyway. I’ve found that my state representative, Brian Baca, HD-8, will not return phone calls. I’ve had to reach out to state representatives from other districts when I needed help.

Mr. Baca also has no website, nothing indicating his views. I could find no Brian Baca campaign events and, during the last election, he ran unopposed. But that didn’t stop him from emailing me six separate solicitations for campaign donations, saying in one “Election Day is approaching rapidly. With only 20 days left, I need your support now more than ever.”

Mr. Baca didn’t need to spend any money on his campaign in the last two years, so why is he asking his constituents for even more money this “campaign,” while refusing to respond when those constituents reach out to him for help?

Refusing to respond to constituents should be unacceptable for all state representatives and senators. In fact, no matter which district you’re in, call your representatives to register your opinions on legislation. Remember, they are elected to represent you.

Go to nmlegis.gov to find your state representative or state senator. See if they will respond to your call. Ask them questions. If they won’t respond to you, why would you give them your vote?

Whether I can contact a representative, senator or judge is one important factor I use to determine whether to vote for them. If I can’t contact them, they don’t get my vote.

Paul Kinzelman

Peralta

Checks and balances

Editor:

The U.S. Constitution created three co-equal branches of government. For more than 200 years, presidents have abided by this fact even when they sometimes deeply disagreed with a decision by a federal court.

Donald Trump gets upset by some court decisions he does not like. However, he and his subordinates now come up with novel and sometimes laughably absurd rationales as to why his regime does not have to obey some decisions by federal courts. Trump lashes out like a spoiled child who doesn’t get his way.

Meanwhile, in another co-equal branch of government, the majority in the Senate chooses to look the other way, keep quiet, lie or sound like parrots as they let the Trump regime do pretty much whatever it wants. Perhaps those gutless senators can save us the cost of their salaries and simply resign.

If they are unwilling to meet their constitutional responsibilities, what are they doing there? Ideally, true American patriots would be selected in their places.

Meanwhile, Trump is heartened by many in the MAGA movement who believe that whatever their feckless leader does is all right with them. Many of them really don’t care about democracy or the Constitution and may have never even read the latter. To many in the MAGA movement, who needs checks and balances on power?

What they overlook and which history has shown over and over, is that once you lose democracy it is almost impossible to get it back. All Americans should let that sink in.

James Rickey

Los Lunas