Slogans are only as good as a candidate’s word
As New Mexico stagnates while the rest of the Southwest prospers, it’s easy to forget that Gov. Susana Martinez’s campaign slogan was Bold Change. Martinez made plenty of promises as a candidate, then became bored by the daily demands of holding office. Her changes, whether bold or not, have left the state worse off.
Only Alaska has a higher unemployment rate than New Mexico, and the biggest economic adjustment pushed by Martinez has backfired. She convinced the sheep who dominated the state Legislature to approve corporate tax cuts that were supposed to create a trickle-down economic boom.
President Ronald Reagan championed the same idea in the 1980s, an approach that keeps shrinking the middle class. Martinez’s corporate tax cuts not only failed to invigorate the economy, but they’ve made it harder to cover the cost of providing basic state services.
Martinez has fared no better in improving schools or reducing poverty. New Mexico ranked 50th in student achievement and 49th in child wellbeing in a recent national survey by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
After six and a half years in office, Martinez’s slogan ought to be In Search of Mediocrity. All that can be said for her promise of Bold Change is that it’s not the worst political slogan of the last half-century.
That dishonor belongs to another governor, the late George Wallace of Alabama. Wallace made Stand Up for America his slogan when he ran for president in 1968. By then, Wallace was trying to bury his bestknown, most destructive pronouncement: “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”
Wallace’s updated slogan was code for the old racism he favored and that he believed would sway angry white voters. The politician who stood in the schoolhouse door to block black students was standing up for Americans with a pale complexion.
President Richard Nixon’s slogan, Now More Than Ever, is one of the more imitated phrases in politics. It still surfaces regularly in campaigns. Incumbents use it to signal voters that, if they can just get another term, important projects might be completed and life could be better.
Now More Than Ever could be the campaign pitch for Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales if he runs for a second term next year. If he doesn’t seek re-election, Gonzales could pioneer an exit slogan based on his failed attempt to impose a tax on sugary drinks: Mayor — How Sweet It Isn’t.
The best political slogans make voters smile or they emphasize competence instead of generic promises of change.
Fred Harris was just 33 when he became a national figure by defeating America’s most famous college football coach, Bud Wilkinson, in their race for the U.S. Senate in Oklahoma. Harris, who was a state legislator, used Prepared for the Job as his slogan, a jab at the 48-year-old coach whose knowledge of government was minimal.
Harris moved to New Mexico after two failed campaigns for president in the 1970s. Now 86, he still focuses on competence as a requisite for those seeking public office.
Albert Gore Sr. had the wisdom to use humor when he ran for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee in 1952. Gore’s opponent in the Democratic primary was incumbent Sen. Kenneth McKellar, who had been in office since 1917.
McKellar was a force in government, notably for his public confrontations with J. Edgar Hoover, self-promoting director of the FBI. The senator’s campaign slogan was “Thinking feller vote for McKellar.” This inspired Gore to answer with a slogan of his own: “Think some more and vote for Gore.”
Gore won, showing more flair for campaigning than his son would in 2000 when he lost one of the closest elections for president in U.S. history.
In New Mexico, more candidates for governor are likely to emerge early this summer. Most, or perhaps even all of them, will say the Martinez years can’t end soon enough, and that her program of Bold Change belongs in the trash bin.
But Martinez’s successor can’t just be different in style. The next governor needs a work ethic, not a slogan, and a commitment to good government instead of advertising campaigns.