In a campaign season filled with distortions, half truths and outright lies, the least I can do is correct my own mistake.<\/p>\n
I made a factual error in my last column by writing that New Mexico House District 31 had three Republican candidates and no Democrat. I missed Vicky Estrada-Bustillo, Democratic candidate for that seat. The error has been acknowledged and corrections have been published.<\/p>\n
But what worries me are all the distortions, half truths and outright lies that will not be corrected, because most of them are not in newspaper articles written by journalists but in mailings sent by campaigns.<\/p>\n
There was some very nasty mud-slinging in some of the contested legislative races.\u00a0 Most of the allegations were delivered in glossy card-stock mailers that, according to one legislator \u00a0iasked, cost at least $5,000 per mailing \u2013 and many of them were not from one candidate to the other but from anonymous political action committees.\u00a0 One mailer accused an incumbent of \u201cselling us out\u201d because she didn\u2019t vote for one version of a bill but failed to mention there were two versions.\u00a0 Another accused a candidate of lying by \u201ctaking credit for things she didn\u2019t do,\u201d and \u201cmisrepresenting her record.\u201d<\/p>\n
All in all, I\u2019m concerned that these groups were able to spend so much money in supporting candidates for unpaid legislative positions.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s one that came directly from the candidate.\u00a0 Martin Heinrich \u201cwants to ban gas stoves.\u201d<\/p>\n
This accusation is in a fundraising letter from Nella Domenici, the Republican candidate opposing Heinrich for the seat in the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n
This statement was embedded in a paragraph of allegations about Heinrich\u2019s alleged \u201csocialist policies\u201d and environmental extremism. I focused on it because it is a simple statement that can easily be proven or disproven.<\/p>\n
Heinrich\u2019s office sent me this response:<\/p>\n
\u201cSenator Heinrich has never voted to ban gas stoves.<\/strong> In fact, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he voted for legislation to prevent the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission from banning gas stoves.\u201d<\/p>\n That vote should not have been necessary, because nobody was trying to ban gas stoves. The frustration is that this kind of accusation turns a subject that should be a reason for legitimate discussion into a political symbol.<\/p>\n The gas stove issue arose a few years ago. A commissioner on the Consumer Product Safety Commission observed that gas stoves emit toxic chemicals that are bad for people\u2019s health and suggested that a ban could be considered. Even though he later said this would only apply to new stoves in future, he should have known better.<\/p>\n The chair of the commission stated that no ban is under consideration, but Republicans started saying that all Democrats — ALL Democrats — want to take your stove away. The House of Representatives has now passed the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act<\/a>, while life and death legislation like the bipartisan border bill languish without a vote.<\/p>\n The scientific information about gas stoves has come to public attention in the last few years. If you have a child with asthma or any respiratory illness, changing your stove might be worth considering. But if you can\u2019t get rid of an appliance that might be harming your child because the political symbolism is more important than your child\u2019s health, that\u2019s really too bad.<\/p>\n By the way, Nicole Chavez is the unofficial winner of the primary in District 31 and will face Vicky Estrada-Bustillo in November. I\u2019m glad I was able to straighten that out.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2024 NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a campaign season filled with distortions, half truths and outright lies, the least I can do is correct my own mistake. I made a factual error in my last column by writing that New Mexico House District 31 had … Continue reading