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Real News For Real New Mexicans.
The Chile Wire with A. Baldonado. Welcome to the Chile Wire. I'm Abenicio Boldinado, and today we're at the New Mexico Roundhouse, and I am delighted to introduce my friend and state representative, Rod Montoya. Representative, thank you for joining us on the Chile Wire.
Abenicio Baldonado:Before we begin, I have to ask red or green?
Rod Montoya:You know what, for me, it's seasonal. It depends what time of the year.
Abenicio Baldonado:That's the first response that we've gotten that way.
Rod Montoya:I love both red and green, but I tell
Abenicio Baldonado:you what, early fall, that's green chili season. Yeah, that's right. August, smell it roasting. If you can't, enjoy the smell of roasting chilies, you have not lived. Not New Mexican.
Abenicio Baldonado:That's right. That's right. That's why we're the Chili Wire. Thank you for joining us today. You've had a busy session.
Abenicio Baldonado:One thing I want to give some time to you to talk to our followers about and also provide some education. You've carried a number of bills in protecting women's sports. And so I'd love for you to highlight some of your work around that, but also some of the pushback that you've gotten. And, you know, I think we need to find a way to bring back common sense. And I think you've highlighted that many times in your approach, to the legislation that this is just plain out common sense.
Abenicio Baldonado:But please run us through some of the pieces of legislation that you've carried this year.
Rod Montoya:Well, concerning women, safe spaces, sports, there's a number of issues that we've run-in different bills. There's kind of
Abenicio Baldonado:a group of us that have signed onto a lot of those.
Rod Montoya:Rebecca Dow, the House Caucus Chair, Jennifer Jones, who's a practicing nurse. We've had Andy Reeb, who she's a retired district attorney. And then Harlan Vincent has signed on to a lot of those as well. Myself and Harlan probably come at it a little bit differently and that is, well, you mentioned common sense, but common sense from the standpoint of a father and a grandfather, this is basic safety. You have to purposely be ignorant to not realize that men are just bigger and stronger and faster and have higher bone density.
Rod Montoya:It is just dangerous for young girls and women to play in sports against men. Now there's a lot of things. So by no means do I think that women can't do what a whole bunch of what men are able to do. My wife is one of the top realtors in San Juan County. So when it comes to just out and out competition and being able to get things done and my wife's half native and female doesn't mean anything in the world of real estate, right?
Rod Montoya:Know, however, if you're talking boxing, you're talking track and field or contact sports. It just does not make sense that we would put women in a position where they can be harmed first. But secondly, women's sports are just like men's sports. There are rules around it to make sure that it's fair. That ability itself is the only thing that matters.
Rod Montoya:Which Title IX did. Yes, we so under Biden just ruined Title IX, but under Trump that's been revoked. And the reality is, we, at least at the collegiate level now have to agree with that. Why would we not agree with that in high school? Scholarships are at stake.
Rod Montoya:We're in a position, with, where men can win a scholarship as a man, biological man, or can win as a biological man in a woman's sport as well. That's just not right. As you see, Leah Thomas was what five hundred and forty eighth in the But number one in at least in the NCAA as a female. That's just not fair.
Abenicio Baldonado:And I think you can look at the pictures and see the stark differences between Leah and say O'Reilly Gaines. You see the significant advantage that
Rod Montoya:they played in that sport. Well, that, like I said, that was that one bill, which was very specific to just fairness in women's sports, just fairness in being able to compete for scholarships and safety. That was just the one bill that just dealt with that one issue but then we had another bill, which dealt with safe spaces all the way from jails all the way down to girls locker rooms and bathrooms. That once again goes towards safety, but the reality is why is it, why is that biological man? Why is it his right to be able to, let's say has not done any of the transgender transformation?
Rod Montoya:Please, this is gonna, I hope this doesn't come across as crude, but it's just reality. And I had this debate on the floor when we were passing the, when we were expanding the Equal Rights Act in New Mexico. If I, at the time I had a, I had a granddaughter that was a ninth grader when we were debating this, and she's little, she's, I don't think she's five foot tall now, but she was little, but she was playing girls sports. Assuming there was a man, a male that played and just had to declare being female. What happens to her right to not have to see male genitalia in a bathroom or why does she not have the right to not have to be in a position where she gets undressed in front of somebody who is biologically now?
Rod Montoya:Why does she no longer have rights? Why does my granddaughter no longer have any rights?
Abenicio Baldonado:She's forced to accept something without having an opportunity
Rod Montoya:to say no. And the interesting thing is the argument comes back sometimes. Well, you're a straight male. You don't have any right to talk on this. I damn well sure do.
Rod Montoya:I have, for a man you have a wife, sisters, daughters, granddaughters and I'm not going to stand up for them because I don't, I'm not, that is ridiculous. Do they take that tact with the church? Oh, you can't say anything about Christians because you're not a Christian. No, they say whatever they want to about Christians and they don't know anything about it. I'm not a cat, but I can describe a cat to you pretty well.
Rod Montoya:The illogic that you have to embrace to embrace this craziness. Yeah. Well, and I
Abenicio Baldonado:think you speak a little bit and the science, right? Like these are also the same folks who push back against us always tell us, believe the science. Well, if we believe the science, we believe biology, we know that there are stark differences. But then also to go further, I think from the family values, we are nurturers, you know, our children, you think about my parents.
Rod Montoya:We're supposed to be nurturers and we're supposed to be protectors.
Abenicio Baldonado:Yeah. You're supposed to be protectors. And so regardless if you're mom, dad, you have a right to protect your children, your grandchildren to
Rod Montoya:address this I would show further than right. You have an obligation, Brett.
Abenicio Baldonado:That's actually a better definition. Absolutely. Representative, I want to change to another subject. A couple days ago, a bill passed out of the house that would now give $2,000 a month to criminals. Can you fill us in on that?
Abenicio Baldonado:I know you coined the phrase homicide scholarships, and I think a lot of New Mexico does not understand the implications of this bill.
Rod Montoya:Well, the bill has, so we've been talking about, at least in Albuquerque, the massive juvenile crime epidemic that's going on. In particular drug cartels, folks who are wanting to distribute their product in particular, they know that youthful offenders in New Mexico are really treated pardon the pun with kid gloves. Because of that, they know that they can get in trouble, but they'll be it's short term and then there's a big payoff form at the end. So what this bill did is it threw two groups of people together, one being those who are in foster care and then others being kids who also get into trouble as youth. But the bill itself talked about incarcerated use to be incarcerated.
Rod Montoya:It goes beyond just some sort of a lesser criminal violation, but the reality is that includes all the way up to homicide. And the bill that was forwarded says that after this offender gets out of jail, after potentially committing a rape, a murder, a major violence that maybe didn't end in death, but they get out and they could apply for potentially and get this scholarship to stipend on top of the opportunity scholarship on top of the lottery scholarship. This is an extra scholarship to pay for $2,000 a month worth of expenses while they're in school.
Abenicio Baldonado:What do victims families get? Nothing.
Rod Montoya:As a matter of fact, get less than nothing in New Mexico. They're getting the middle finger because we will not hold violent offenders guilty to the magnitude of their violation, the magnitude of their criminal offense. We just, and that is the difference between progressives in New Mexico and everybody else. I talked to liberal Democrats who if their child were to be killed and it was a gang offense or whatever it was, if it was malicious intent, they want that person to pay a price. But the only word that we get out of progressives is that it's a societal problem.
Rod Montoya:In other words, society is responsible for these kids actions. The polo
Abenicio Baldonado:de cito mentality where everyone's just polo de cito.
Rod Montoya:Not my not my ejo. But the reality is what about EHOS and EHA's that are victims, right? We don't do anything for them and I don't know when New Mexicans are going to finally have enough and throw these bums out on their ear. So even the governor last year started pushing all of the same things that Sam Bregman is pushing the DA out of Dona Ana County. And that is we have got to hold criminals accountable, but the reality is all of the pushback.
Rod Montoya:I don't know if you remember Abe, but last year the governor called us in for a special session to deal with crime and the Democrats had would let me rephrase that. Progressive Democrats who run everything refused, refused. They absolutely refused. The governor is actually reaching out to Republicans and saying, how can we work together? And it's like we can work together all day long, but you there's a certain number of us in both chambers.
Rod Montoya:You're going to need a few people to break ranks with the progressives and they just wouldn't. And even those who were moderate were afraid and scared into a corner. I believe the threat is well primary, right? I think is a
Abenicio Baldonado:lot of it is that the progressives say, we're going to run.
Rod Montoya:And by the way, that's not a vain threat. I've been here for this is my eleventh year. During that time, they have gotten rid of Carl Trujillo, Debbie Rodella, Pat Ria Loba, Clemente Sanchez, Gabe Ramos. Although Gabe Ramos came back and ran as a Republican and reclaimed that seat. But the reality, last year they got rid of Harry Garcia.
Rod Montoya:They got rid of Willie Madrid. Just the list goes on. Yeah, Ambrose Castellano. Yes. The reality is the Democrat party does not reflect the Democrats that I know.
Rod Montoya:Right. Nortenos in particular are completely represented by a group of people that have California values, not New Mexico values. That's right. My family's all from Northern New Mexico.
Abenicio Baldonado:And they're making it more unsafe for us to enjoy our communities and our beautiful landscapes in New Mexico. You know, when I think you said it best, you know, it's a slap in the face to victims and their families where, you know, this juvenile, because they committed a murder or rape because they were underage, now you're giving them the pulpiticito you know, it's
Rod Montoya:not your fault. It's the world's fault
Abenicio Baldonado:that you did what you did and not that accountability. Know, I remember growing up as a kid, my grandparents, if I got in trouble, even my own parents, if I was at my grandparents and I got in trouble, my parents would say, what did he do? Vice versa, if I got in trouble, my grandparents would be like, what did he do?
Rod Montoya:I got in more trouble at home. The worst thing that I could do at school is let them reach out to my parents because not only would I get in trouble at school, I'd get in trouble at home. But this is an example. We're talking about this particular bill with juvenile offenders, but the reality is the progressive Democrats that run everything here in New Mexico, they don't want to hold anybody accountable.
Abenicio Baldonado:Right, it seems like a lot of the common sense bills that would make our community safer have been stalled.
Rod Montoya:Well, go to Target in Albuquerque. There's more packets of underwear behind bars than criminals.
Abenicio Baldonado:I never thought I'd see deodorant locked up or just toothpaste, basic essentials.
Rod Montoya:Yes.
Abenicio Baldonado:I never thought I'd see those sort of things. Well, because
Rod Montoya:the laws that are in place, the mayor and the city council in Albuquerque, they've made it to where unless it's a theft of over a thousand dollars, it's not, well, it's a crime, but we're just not going to respond to it. Why is homelessness completely out of control in New Mexico? Because we will not hold those who distribute drugs in the street responsible for their actions. So we have more people in the street. It's not because they're unhoused.
Rod Montoya:They're unhoused because they're most of them are addicted to some sort of substance that is running free across that southern border and we will not hold what they say is we cannot hold people accountable for being addicted to a substance, but the reality is we try to pass bills to hold people accountable for distributing those and they will not do that either. Right now it is a second degree felony to try and shoot a police officer. Do you know what it is if you actually shoot the police officer? It's a third degree felony. We can't, Andrea Reid right now is trying to get a bill passed and we will not be heard.
Rod Montoya:They will not, you get more trouble for trying to shoot a police officer and missing than shooting a police officer and hitting him.
Abenicio Baldonado:Wow. That's very telling of where we're at as a state. Representative, as we wrap up, what can you Mexicans do to change this? And I think we know that elections have consequences, but what steps can they take and our followers take to get more involved and come tell legislators, Hey, you need to support these bills. You need to stop the pogra cito mentality.
Abenicio Baldonado:We need to stop enabling making martyrs out of criminals. Instead, let's fill for the victims in their I
Rod Montoya:would say ultimately, ultimately the voters are responsible. I mean, you can pass the buck all you want to, but this is still a democracy and people vote. So if people are unhappy with what's going on, the first thing that they need to ask themselves, are they voting? That, are they talking to those people around them who are not voting and encouraging them to vote? And are they, let's say, are they informing their inner circle of what's going on?
Rod Montoya:As you know, Abe, I got involved in politics in right around the year February. I've been involved ever since. It ended up in me working for Lieutenant Governor Sanchez. It ended up in me running for office myself, but didn't start there. It started with me doing voter registration in my church.
Rod Montoya:It started with me going to events where I could become more informed. But the reality is the average conservative lives a conservative life and they're working and they're just trying to keep their head above water and trying to pay their bills and raise their family. But it takes a little more than that. And right now I would talk to moderate Democrats. You got to take your party back.
Rod Montoya:You're being ignored. You're being taken for granted. And as long as you continue to give away your vote without any consequence, you get what you get.
Abenicio Baldonado:It's the old Ronald Reagan, I didn't leave the Democratic party. The Democrat party left me.
Rod Montoya:Yes, my whole family was Democrat, but they were business owners. They were Christians, church goers, everything that they held dear came under assault. So there was a movement out and I have a lot of relatives that they still are either business owners, landowners, farmers, ranchers, and Christians. And they're still Democrat because they're like, no, we got here first. These invaders have come into the party, but the reality there has to be a fight.
Rod Montoya:There has to be pushback. You can't just reward Deb Haaland. If you're a moderate Democrat, you vote for Deb Haaland. You deserve what you get. That's the reality and then by what's happened is and this has happened in many, many ways, Hispanic men who are involved with their family, they've kind of stopped, they've kind of stopped that at the door.
Rod Montoya:Okay, I'm gonna be as influential in my family as I possibly can, but I'm not gonna vote. I'm not going to vote or I'm not going to push or I'm not going get involved in politics. It's let us hear.
Abenicio Baldonado:And I think one thing that I've always heard you say is, you're a public servant. You work on behalf of the people. I think a lot of New Mexicans, and I've ran into this just being a former educator and talking with students, is that a lot of people just don't know. They can contact you. They can contact their legislator.
Abenicio Baldonado:They can email you. They can send you a letter. They can call you. They can call your office and tell you if they support something or oppose something. And you all are willing to educate them on the policies that are happening here in this roundhouse.
Abenicio Baldonado:And I would
Rod Montoya:say if you have to, if you've gotten to that point and you're contacting your legislator all the time about bad policies that they're supporting, are you supporting that legislator? Yeah. You know, I saw this years ago and I'm not going to mention the politician's name, but I saw a sign that said pray to end abortion. And then the sign right next to it was for a candidate who was doing everything they could to implement abortion policies. I would say that right now, this is the fight of our generation is protecting our children.
Rod Montoya:Representative, one of our favorite phrases to say is, no seed veduensa.
Abenicio Baldonado:And it seems like we're at that point right now at the legislative session where there's a lot of things happening. And think we could say right now, no si marewenta.
Rod Montoya:I agree with that. Thing is we've given up the concept of shame and when I was young, it was the concept of shame was also an encouragement. Do things that are, that you don't have to be ashamed of. What we've done now is we've said, do anything you want to, don't be ashamed. Right.
Rod Montoya:And that is, that's I say it, but that's a shame.
Abenicio Baldonado:That is a shame. But with representatives such as yourself still defending those values, we appreciate everything you're doing and want to thank you for joining the Chile Wire So that wraps up this episode of the Chile Wire. Tune in next time.