State GOP chairman loses a bout with the truth
New Mexico Republicans reelected Steve Pearce as chairman of the state party, proving they wanted to waste time throwing mud against courthouse walls.
Pearce used his platform to become a cheerleader for a frivolous lawsuit filed by the attorney general of Texas. The pleading sought to overturn President Donald Trump’s losses to Joe Biden in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
What business the Texas attorney general had in other states’ elections was a logical question. Pearce’s policy was don’t ask, don’t learn.
“We stand by the Texas lawsuit in an effort to really examine what happened in many states on Election Day,” Pearce said. “There are too many instances where Biden votes suddenly appear.”
Discredited conspiracy theories advanced by Pearce were no match for the truth.
All 50 states have certified their election results. The collective numbers show Biden defeated Trump by wide margins in the Electoral College and the popular vote.
A mandatory recount in Georgia confirmed Biden’s victory in that state, which went for a Democrat for the first time since 1992.
Trump’s boosters spent $3 million on a partial recount in Wisconsin, focusing on two counties where they claimed voter fraud must have occurred.
With all this extra scrutiny, Trump’s margin of defeat in Wisconsin grew by 87 votes. Put another way, Trump’s camp spent $34,483 for every vote Biden gained.
The U.S. Supreme Court, including three of Trump’s appointees, rejected
the Texas lawsuit intended to negate Biden’s victory.
Pearce’s response was predictable. He said the justices were wrong.
As a congressman, Pearce criticized lawsuits claiming malpractice by physicians. Frivolous filings drove up the cost of medical care, he said.
Now Pearce vouches for legal malpractice.
Not all fake news in Washington last week sprang from Trump and his lawyers.
The Hill published a story claiming Biden had selected Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico to lead the Department of the Interior.
No sources were listed in the story, not even the anonymous kind with knowledge of moles roaming at all hours in Biden’s basement.
All news stories are unfinished. They can always be clearer, more thorough, more interesting.
But the Hill’s piece on Udall receiving a coveted appointment was so vague it didn’t seem authentic. The Hill eventually deleted the story. I asked the Hill’s news staff for an explanation. Bob Cusack, editor-in-chief, responded on Twitter.
“Like other outlets, we have prewritten articles on various candidates for Cabinet posts,” Cusack stated. “We have several prewritten stories ready to go on interior secretary. The article that was posted was mistakenly published by an editor. We apologize for the error.”
At least it wasn’t Udall’s prewritten obituary. He lives on with the possibility of serving in Biden’s administration.
Pearce presided over a dismal showing by GOP candidates in last month’s New Mexico elections. They lost three of four congressional races. Republicans also remained the minority party by large margins in both houses of the state Legislature.
But Pearce knew it could get worse for him, and it did Friday.
Democratic state Rep. Willie Madrid of Chaparral won reelection after a recount.
Madrid defeated Republican Ricky Little by 38 votes in a race where 6,684 people cast ballots.
This was the third time Madrid and Little have run against one another in House District 53, which includes parts of Otero and Doña Ana counties.
Little won in 2016. Madrid has taken the last two elections.
Madrid’s victory gives Democrats a 45-25 advantage in the House of Representatives. Democrats control the Senate 27-15.
Madrid was conciliatory in victory. He told me he would treat Republican lawmakers as colleagues rather than rivals.
“I have to listen to both sides. I live on that principle,” he said.
Madrid did not receive a concession from Little after the threeday recount was completed.
Soon after the November election, when Little saw how tight his race was, he said he feared voter fraud had occurred. As for proof, he had none. Little still might have a future in state politics. With his false alarm about cheating at the polls, he is a logical successor to Pearce.