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Real News For Real New Mexicans.
The Chile Wire with Abe Baldonado. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to The Chile Wire. We are here today with state director of Americans for Prosperity, Sarah Hetimi.
Abe Baldnoado:Sara, thank you so much for joining The Chile Wire.
Sarah Hetemi:Thank you so much for having me on. I'm so excited to be on, one of my favorite podcasts.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. And I gotta ask because this is something we usually do. You've been in New Mexico now for what is it?
Abe Baldnoado:Are are you near a year or
Sarah Hetemi:A little just
Abe Baldnoado:under a year?
Sarah Hetemi:A little over a year and a half.
Abe Baldnoado:Okay. So red or green?
Sarah Hetemi:I'm all the way Christmas, baby. Christmas. The way Christmas. Alright.
Abe Baldnoado:A lot of people say Christmas. Well, Sarah, so you have a year in now here with Americans for Prosperity here in New Mexico. I know that you all have started, like, a new rebrand. That's kind of been your big effort right now to rebrand AFP in New Mexico, build those relationships. But I'd love to hear more about Americans for Prosperity and some of the efforts that you're working on right now.
Sarah Hetemi:Absolutely. So just just to take it a step back for those who haven't heard about us, we are active in all 50 states, operate in all 50. We have chapters with full time staff like here in 37 states. And we are a national state based organization, and what that means is where there is federal issues, we will work to advance. We also look at each individual state uniquely.
Sarah Hetemi:And here, that looks very different than what, you know, Texas faces or Illinois. So in that way, we are national but state based, and we can advance our our own agendas as long as one common goal. And the the main work we're looking for here is really making it the true land of enchantment, I don't know if we can claim that yet, for all New Mexicans. So really looking to empower the individual, the family, small businesses, and unleash energy production as we are the second largest oil producing state in the nation.
Abe Baldnoado:That's right. And, Sarah, so you brought up a good point that, you know, right now, you don't see us technically being the land of enchantment just yet. And and rightfully, I think geographically, we absolutely are. We have the most stunning scenery across the state. But our business practices, our politics here have have kind of held New Mexico back.
Abe Baldnoado:And I'd just love to get what your thoughts on what you've seen coming to New Mexico. Like, you're an outsider. You're new to New Mexico. But from other states that you've been in, how does it look in New Mexico? Like, what have you seen?
Abe Baldnoado:Because I I feel like New Mexicans a lot of times, we become very tolerant of our surroundings of crime, of education statistics. We just kind of say, yeah, it is what it is. It's always been this way. We want to always keep it that way, and we just kinda shrug it off and move along. But as someone coming new into New Mexico, what have you seen?
Sarah Hetemi:Yeah. Let me let me start with why I fell in love with The States because I think it is we joke that it is a hidden gem. Right? A hidden secret. But I really, really think it is.
Sarah Hetemi:I don't think it's a joke. I have never been to a place that has better better weather. We have the four seasons, and they're really forgiving. Like, you're not really dealing with the elements. You get over three hundred days of sunshine, three hundred and ten if you're in Albuquerque.
Sarah Hetemi:But no matter where you are in the state, you're getting the sunshine. You're getting the the happiness, the joy. The people are some of the most hardworking, genuine, community minded people I have ever met. You've got to work hard to find better people. And we have the best food.
Sarah Hetemi:I do think
Abe Baldnoado:Amen to that.
Sarah Hetemi:Right?
Abe Baldnoado:Amen to that.
Sarah Hetemi:But I think the massive issue here is we have a leadership problem. We have a leadership problem in not representing the interests of New Mexicans. They have been forgotten and I think it's easy to get down on your self and feel like, oh, well, things aren't going well, and and and lose hope and and lose kind of kind of the goal of what's bigger. Yeah. New Mexicans have a lot more power than they realize.
Sarah Hetemi:And I can't wait for New Mexicans to wake up, and that's part of why we're here, to help them make them more aware of what's really going on in Santa Fe. It's really easy to get lost in the shuffle and in the headlines. But what are these people actually doing? What are the bills that are bringing forth? What kind of policies are they bringing forth?
Sarah Hetemi:What are they voting on? How does that affect your family, yourself Yeah. Your job, your community? If we start looking at those things, New Mexico could be dangerous.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. I I agree. And I think you make a good point that we need to get New Mexicans to know what their elected leaders are doing and what they're voting on, you know, who they're getting money from, who they're giving money to. It's vital. And I think you you make a good point that, you know, a lot of these families are working hard and sometimes they don't have time to know everything that's happen happening in the political world.
Abe Baldnoado:And so I I've always said that an elective elected leader's job is to educate their constituents. So if you take a vote on a particular bill, whether you're you support it or you oppose it, it's your duty to educate your constituents as to why you voted the way you did. And I feel like we don't see a whole lot of that anymore. We don't see that statesman or stateswoman mentality that we used to see where, you know, elected leaders actually had a conversation with their folks to understand the policy aspect. And policy is could be very complex, and sometimes it could be very boring.
Abe Baldnoado:And so you have to be able to give it to your constituents in a way that's digestible, and that way they can understand, hey. Okay. Now I understand why you voted this way. But I I think you're spot on there that so many of our people in New Mexico just are unaware of what's happening. And, you know, when they talk to someone, they'll realize like, oh my god.
Abe Baldnoado:I didn't know that. And I've had many of those conversations. But it takes those conversations for people to become aware of, I did not know that was what was happening.
Sarah Hetemi:And and it's not easy. Right? You know? With the political theater that is out there with busy lives from nine to five, you come home to kids. I mean, it's it's tough.
Sarah Hetemi:So I I'm certainly not sitting here and putting the fingers on the Mexicans. I think it's our leaders who have not made that easier, not transparent enough.
Abe Baldnoado:Yep.
Sarah Hetemi:And that's part of why we're having this big initiative statewide called our protect prosperity and defend taxpayers initiative. Part of that initiative is having events in person across the whole state. We started out in Santa Fe. We went up to Farmington. We just wrapped up Hobbs in Artesia, and we have another event coming up here in Albuquerque next Tuesday, November 18 for for our tour.
Sarah Hetemi:And we're featuring two special guests. We have former gubernatorial candidate and podcast host of No Doubt About It, Mark Roncetti. And then we have our regional vice president and podcast host of our podcast, the American Potential podcast, David Fromm, to come speak. And what we've been doing at these events is really bring both community leaders, business leaders, elected officials, and talk about the issues at the federal and state level and the solutions to them. Yeah.
Sarah Hetemi:And a lot of this portion has been focused on, one, first, we pushed for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act because it would make a big difference for New Mexicans. And now we've been celebrating it and and talking about if our leaders embrace some of those big elements, like the lower taxes, unleashing our energy production, finding some solutions to our education and health care system, we would be, I mean, cooking with gas.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. Cooking with gas. And I love that you brought up the statewide tour. I had the privilege of hosting in Farmington in our San Juan Basin where oil and gas reigns, and they are a great leader in producing oil and natural gas. But the turnout there was great, and the conversation around the one big beautiful bill about its positive contributions.
Abe Baldnoado:And unfortunately, I think what we've seen nationally is there's been a lot of misinformation on the One Big Beautiful Bill. And I think we've seen as you said, it hasn't been celebrated enough, especially by our own delegation here in New Mexico, which they actually voted against it. It's unfortunate because, you know, they're telling folks that this bill actually hurts middle to low income earners, which that is not true. It actually protects them and makes sure that they get more money in their pocket and that it's not going to Uncle Sam. It's going to you.
Abe Baldnoado:And so I appreciate the work that you have done through AFP to educate New Mexicans about the impacts of that bill. Because through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that passed in 2017, I mean, had it sunset and we had not passed the one big beautiful bill, I'm sure you know the exact number, but it would have been a significant tax increase for the middle class.
Sarah Hetemi:Yeah. New Mexicans on average, the average family would have faced up to $1,800, if not more. Wow. That's just the average family. So those numbers look a little different.
Sarah Hetemi:And $1,800 is no joke.
Abe Baldnoado:That's a lot of money.
Sarah Hetemi:It it would it would really end.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah.
Sarah Hetemi:And the the American dream or life for some New Mexicans and certainly small businesses in The States. And that's the kinda tone deafness we see out of our leadership in Santa Fe and DC. Right?
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah.
Sarah Hetemi:This past session, instead of focusing on real solutions for New Mexicans, like education solutions. We fall dead last in education for the ninth year in a row in both math and reading. And that's that's not only embarrassing, but it's a shame. New Mexicans deserve way better. Our health care problem.
Sarah Hetemi:I don't know one New Mexican who who has a doctor and not a nurse practitioner and nothing wrong with a nurse practitioner. We love them. But there's something wrong when I don't meet one New Mexican who has a regular family doctor.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah.
Sarah Hetemi:And we don't see these kind of solutions being passed. Instead, what did we see? Over 20 bills attacking our energy production, our oil and gas, our economic engine, over 50% of our budget. We saw one of the largest tax hikes in New Mexico history being introduced through the Paid Family Medical Leave Act, And that's insane. I mean, it would have put out it would have put small businesses out of business, especially in certain districts.
Sarah Hetemi:And that's where our initiative protect prosperity and defend taxpayers is larger than in person events. We also have a digital campaign going across 12 districts in the state. We have mail going across 12 districts in the state, and we have door to door conversations going on in all of Albuquerque and all of Las Cruces and the areas in between. Now we can't hit every single part. Right?
Sarah Hetemi:Yeah. So we focus on swing districts. We focus on districts where certain policies would either mean it could it could really be troublesome for those districts. Like, I have a hard time seeing District 12 surviving the paid family medical leave act. And so we're certainly making them aware of how their legislator voted.
Sarah Hetemi:Reversely, we're also thanking legislators that are often going unheard. And it's hard to see their work as some of their bills aren't making it to committee, and they're not always being treated fair. So we're trying to amplify their voices and show constituents that these guys are actually voting the way you would like.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. Absolutely. And, you know, I think about had we not passed the one big beautiful bill, and we would have seen those $1,800 tax increases happen on just the average family in New Mexico. But on top of that, you start taking out a PFML tax. And I know the the far left progressive side of the Democrat party try to say it's it's not a it's not a tax.
Abe Baldnoado:It's a premium. I'm like, well, you're not an insurance company, so it can be a premium. When government takes money from individuals, it is a tax. And so now you're gonna tax them when they already saw their taxes. Thankfully, their taxes didn't increase from the federal level because we passed the one big beautiful bill.
Abe Baldnoado:But I think about the repercussions that would have occurred had they been double taxed now. You had paid family medical leave, now you have the sunset of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I mean, that would have just really driven poverty even further in New Mexico. And it's just something, like you said, just oftentimes falls on deaf ears at the in Santa Fe and also nationally. But kudos are to be given for the legislators who are stepping up and actually taking the hard votes and saying, this isn't good for New Mexico, and I'm okay with that.
Abe Baldnoado:And unfortunately, those legislators have seen their own party attack them and try to primary them and run someone against them who's gonna push these farther left policies that that they're just not feasible for New Mexicans. I mean, New Mexico is already struggling as it is. And, you know, we keep driving our state to be more of a welfare state. I think there should be a wake up call on what we're seeing in New Mexico with the amount of people on our SNAP food programs, on our Medicaid programs. And like I've always said, the these programs are good programs for people who fall on hard times because we know people oftentimes fall on hard times, but they're meant to be a trampoline, and they're meant to be a hand up.
Abe Baldnoado:They're supposed to help people get back up on their feet. But when you have people living on these programs for generations and for decades, I mean, at some point, that system becomes unsustainable.
Sarah Hetemi:It's it's not working. Right? No. I I mean, you said it. It's been for generations.
Sarah Hetemi:That's never the intent of it. And when we look at just how the percentage of our population that are entered in these programs versus other states. Yeah. You can see that there's a clear issue here, only on the entitlement programs, but the abuse of it. Yeah.
Sarah Hetemi:And the abuse of it is a shame because there are people who truly need them. And, you know, we do support those entitlement programs for those who truly need them. Right? That's why they're there. So we gotta take out the scam and abuse so people who truly need have those available.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. And I know it's been said by the legislative finance committee that potentially out of the 400,000 folks on SNAP, that there is a risk that because we also have one of the highest error rates as well on distributions for SNAP. And it was said that it could potentially be that half of those folks, of the 400,000, 200,000 of those are incorrect and potentially fraudulent. Like, that's a lot. Like, that is a lot.
Sarah Hetemi:That massive. That is a lot. And then, you know, looking at to to go back to the federal level, but looking at the one big beautiful bill, I'm I'm not surprised. No. We found billions in scam, abuse, and fraud in Medicare and and Medicaid.
Sarah Hetemi:So, I mean, I'm not surprised.
Abe Baldnoado:Is it common set? Because I think a lot of the conversations I've seen out there have been that there's been a lot of pushback on work requirements. But to me, that sounds like a common sense thing. Like, yeah, if you have free time, you're unemployed, and you're receiving benefits, and you're able-bodied, and you're healthy You don't
Sarah Hetemi:even you don't even have to be employed. That's a wonderful I mean, it's not wonderful. I I recommend you get employed, but the only requirement is that if you're able-bodied, that you were volunteer
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. Volunteer.
Sarah Hetemi:Twenty hours a week. So if you need a place to do that at, feel free to come to Americans for Prosperity New Mexico. We'll help you with those twenty hours every week, and then you'll get your benefits.
Abe Baldnoado:They have a great grassroots program. No. Absolutely. But I I think you're spot on. I I I kinda wanna shift gears to education because I've been seeing a lot of misinformation out there about the tax credits inside the one big beautiful bill.
Abe Baldnoado:And I saw it with the Albuquerque Public Schools school board election. They asked a lot of school board candidates, you know, if they supported the vouchers within the One Big Beautiful Bill. The tax credit in the One Big Beautiful Bill is not a voucher. It's a tax credit to provide struggling families and even just middle class families who feel that their school district is not providing high quality education or tutoring to be able to send their kid to a private school or to receive private tutoring and to be credited for that expense. So it's not a voucher.
Abe Baldnoado:It's ultimately saying, hey, parents, we support your decision to ensure that your child gets the high quality education that you believe they deserve. And every child, regardless of zip code in our state, deserves high quality education.
Sarah Hetemi:That's exactly right.
Abe Baldnoado:Unfortunately, that is not happening. And it is a reality that's happening is, you know, the instruction that someone gets in Northeast Heights, Albuquerque is not the same instruction that they're perhaps getting in South Valley, Albuquerque. And that's just reality. And it's not just here in New Mexico. It's across the entire United States.
Abe Baldnoado:It's in rural and in urban areas. So, it it it's not choosing who gets high quality, who who gets, not high quality, but it's just truth of the matter, is that you have some schools that are providing higher quality education than others. And we're now empowering families to make the decision best decisions for themselves and their students. But I've been very frustrated when I see school board candidates saying, yeah, I don't support that voucher. Well, it's not a voucher.
Abe Baldnoado:It you should actually encourage your constituents that if you feel that that your middle school, high school, elementary school is not delivering for your child, take advantage of these tax credits. Get them tutoring because you will be credited for that on your taxes. Like, the government will give you back your hard earned money, which is your hard earned money. It's not the government's money, but they will Exactly right. Return your money to you to take care of your family.
Sarah Hetemi:Yeah. And honestly, you know, Abe, I think it's confusing because there's nothing to be against. What we're doing is, I guess, is ending discrimination in education. Yeah. Right?
Sarah Hetemi:And who's against that? Who's against every child having the best class education they could get, the most opportunity they could get? We know that if it's just up to the kids, that's not gonna be the same opportunity for all. So I I don't know who could be against, you know, the single mom in the South Valley having the exact same educational opportunities as someone up in Northeast Heights around Rio Rancho. And I think that's how it should be.
Sarah Hetemi:I would love to see who comes out who comes out against that, who comes out against our kids.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. Well, and just, you know, you should be advocating for kids. If you're on the school board, you should say, you know what? That is actually a great program. And, unfortunately, you know, we see school board members I was a charter school governance board member, and I support school choice.
Abe Baldnoado:Charter schools are public schools in New Mexico, but I still support school choice. I think parents should have every opportunity to send their kid where they believe that they're gonna get the best education.
Sarah Hetemi:And I think there's a misconception when people hear school choice. Somehow they think that means supporting only one type of choice. Mhmm. School choice means supporting all choice. That also means public schools.
Sarah Hetemi:One of the main reasons why I'm so for school choice is I think it actually betters the results in public schools where the majority of kids will be anyway. So I want those schools competing, getting better, and and not getting away with just the bare minimum. Right?
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. That's just right. It's a free market mentality. Right? That when you have competition, you tend to compete and you tend to say, no, we want the students.
Abe Baldnoado:We want to provide them the best high quality education. And that's when you create prosperity is you create it through a free market, mentality is that you're going to have to compete for the best. And if you want to be the best, you got to be the best. And that's where and we've seen it in other states that have passed universal ed choice is that public schools then have no choice but to compete, that if you want to keep those kids.
Sarah Hetemi:So behind. We're behind our neighbors in so many ways, but yet another way we are. Texas just passed educational savings accounts. Arizona passed them. This year also, Tennessee did.
Sarah Hetemi:And here we are, we're at the bottom, and we're not looking at new solutions. We're not even looking at school choice for the disabled.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. Yeah. That's just right. I actually interviewed Megan Rosser from the May Center for Learning, which they work with neurodivergent and dyslexic students. And they provide instruction that is critical to those students who are diagnosed as neurodivergent or dyslexic.
Abe Baldnoado:And, again, they receive a lot of pushback as well from a lot of the public schools. But let's be real, many of the public schools do not have the resources to address those child's needs, and that's just the reality.
Sarah Hetemi:Yeah. And we we should look at who's being protectionist and who has the best interest in mind for our kids.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. Well and what we've seen is it's it's the adults. Right? The adults are self serving. The teachers' unions, you know, they're all putting adults over students.
Abe Baldnoado:There's not a students' union or a parents' union that is united to say, no. We're standing for students. We're standing for for parents. You know? Instead, you have the adult centric organizations that are saying, we're looking out for the best interests of adults here.
Abe Baldnoado:Like, we want our teachers you know, any teacher the best teachers I ever met put students first. I've never heard a great teacher say, it's all about me. Because the reason they went into teaching was they wanted to teach children. They wanted to create the next generation of astronauts, of scientists, of doctors, and that's the reward as a teacher. And that and I I've I've had the pleasure of experiencing that.
Abe Baldnoado:I've had former students tell me, I went into political science because you got me really into political science, you know, being my teacher. And I realized I could make a change. I'd never thought I could, but I realized I could be part of the process that drives change by having conversation, having dialogue, and speaking with people who oftentimes think differently than you.
Sarah Hetemi:I love that you say that. This is so random, but actually, there was many little steps that got me involved in politics. But one of the main things was my college professor who we had very different ideals and beliefs, but she really just got me motivated and she loved that I had a different perspective to give and empowered me on that.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah.
Sarah Hetemi:So it's like crazy what one teacher, what one professor can do for your whole life.
Abe Baldnoado:Absolutely. And those type of teachers are selfless. The you know, they really put students first. But, we have organizations like teachers unions who put the adults and the money ahead of everything else. And children shouldn't be looked at as a number.
Abe Baldnoado:They should be looked at as a future doctor, as a future lawyer, as a future physicist, whatever it may be, and also a future teacher. Hopefully, you create another teacher to to give back because it's a really selfless thing to do. And I you know, all my friends who have stayed in the classroom and have stayed the course, God bless them because they are doing something truly amazing that, you know, a lot of teachers burn out, they they move into other careers. I moved into other careers. There's other teachers that I've worked with who have moved into other careers.
Abe Baldnoado:But the ones who stick in it for the long haul are truly amazing.
Sarah Hetemi:They are.
Abe Baldnoado:They, you know, deserve all the credit. And I agree. Yeah. They they should get paid. And, you know, I I think that our best teachers should actually be incentivized.
Abe Baldnoado:Like, they should have some merit system to where if you are driving results as an educator, there's no reason you should be shouldn't be paid more than another teacher. And we've unfortunately made that such a terrible thing in New Mexico. We've seen a lot of pushback here from incentivizing our best teachers.
Sarah Hetemi:And too often, I think education spending actually doesn't have anything to do with with the teacher salaries. Very often, it's this administrative cost and sunken cost. No one understands where it goes. We need more money. Right?
Sarah Hetemi:But the results aren't following. Right. And that's a really interesting story in for too many states. In rural states like New Mexico, I think it's almost a crime that we haven't embraced educational choice. Think about all the communities that could really benefit from that.
Sarah Hetemi:And what are leaders doing to meet those needs?
Abe Baldnoado:Yep. Exactly. You know, I worked for the last administration. And at the tail end, I had the privilege of sitting down with our public education secretary. And at that time, the lawsuit of Martinez Yazzi was really moving forward, and we knew the next administration was gonna run with it.
Abe Baldnoado:But he said something to me that sure enough played out to be true was money doesn't fix the problem. And the new administration came in under governor Michel Lehon Grisham, and they threw tons of money. Like, okay, Yazzie Martinez says that we have not put enough money towards education. We're going to throw a bunch of money at this problem.
Sarah Hetemi:Is spending enough, like, 70%?
Abe Baldnoado:Significantly. Yes. We're on 70%. Yes. That's a lot.
Abe Baldnoado:In education. And our results actually backtracked. You know? There you go. There There you there was the proof that and I remember sitting there saying, it came true.
Abe Baldnoado:Like, he was spot on that we have this idea that money fixes the problem, and it doesn't. It takes programs. It takes buy in. It takes actual work. And, you know, it's the teachers.
Abe Baldnoado:It's it's providing them with the resources that they need. And previously, when I worked for Think New Mexico as their education reform director, what we found was that instruction and student support over the last decade had only grown by 20% in spending, but central office administrative expenditures grew by 50%. So where's the problem?
Sarah Hetemi:And then that's where I say sunken cost. I see education spending kind of being like that in general in in far too many states, but New Mexico is getting no results.
Abe Baldnoado:Yeah. I mean, look at a p I don't know if you ever had a chance to go to APS, but I'd encourage you to visit their Twin Towers here in Albuquerque. And it is shocking when you see the directory of staff that they have for the district. It's like, do you really need all these staff members? Like, do you need a esports director to oversee all esports programs?
Abe Baldnoado:Know, probably army. And probably making a really good salary. And, you know, not to say that that person but I really think we got to stop treating education as a jobs program. And that's what it's become is that, you know, we're treating it as a jobs program versus actually what is needed. You need the teacher.
Abe Baldnoado:You need to invest in teachers. You need to invest at the local school level, not at the central office, not in administration. You need to put it down to where it is, and that's the classrooms.
Sarah Hetemi:Yep. I couldn't agree more.
Abe Baldnoado:So on that note, let's talk energy. You saw firsthand how New Mexico is our our leadership is always bashing oil and gas, but it's our bread and butter. Like, had if we did not have oil and gas, we would not have the surpluses to pay for universal childcare, to make the SNAP benefits appropriations that they recently made this last special session. But yet again, we have lawmakers who are in the majority that continue trying to bite the hand that feeds them. Has that been shocking to you since you've been in New Mexico?
Sarah Hetemi:I think it's really tone deaf, you know, and it's almost like, you know, sometimes in politics things get tricky, right? They make sure to not say the quiet part out loud. But it's surprising both on the federal level, we've heard the quiet part out loud with this government shutdown. They've said, oh, this is leverage, which is crazy to say out loud.
Abe Baldnoado:Out loud.
Sarah Hetemi:Yeah. We're talking about the most vulnerable population that truly needs these entitlement programs, and you're talking about leverage. That's that's nuts. And, you know, also, the the American electorate spoke up, and that's that's the makeup of the house and the senate and the president that we have now. Yeah.
Sarah Hetemi:So I don't know how you can talk about leverage that way.
Abe Baldnoado:And old clips of Obama came out during a government shutdown under his term where he said, if you want to change it, go win elections. And that's what he said. He said, you may not like it, but we won, you didn't, and this is where we're at. And Exactly. Trump has kind of said the same thing, and now it's like, how dare he?
Abe Baldnoado:He's you know, we had a state senator from Las Cruces during the special session say that Trump wanted to intentionally hurt SNAP recipients because they're Democrats. And we had to show a video that that's not what he said. He he said that I want to help these folks, but the party that claims to be representing them is actually hurting them. Like, he they're saying I'm using them as a pawn, but technically, they're the ones that are saying, we have the leverage. Like, we have the leverage because now we can push, you know, what we want because we will hold Americans hostage.
Abe Baldnoado:We will hold their entitlement programs hostage until we get what we want. And we're gonna turn around and just say, it's Trump's fault. And a lot of people are gonna buy into that, unfortunately, but the reality
Sarah Hetemi:is dignity.
Abe Baldnoado:It really is. It it really is. And it's unfortunate because what Trump said was snap recipients, and welfare recipients usually tend to vote Democrat, which is true. There's data to prove that out of registered voters that folks on welfare programs tend to vote Democrat, and that's just a reality. But what he said next was, I wanna help Democrats and Republicans.
Abe Baldnoado:I wanna end the government shutdown. Like, they are the ones using them as leverage when I am trying to provide them the programs that they need and to open the government and pay our government employees. And, you know, of course, they're using the health care subsidies, which I've had to have many conversations with folks saying, those subsidies don't impact you. Those are that's money that goes to the insurance company, not you. We are making insurance companies rich off government subsidies, and that is not capitalism.
Abe Baldnoado:Like, I cannot support that. And I don't know why you would support that, that you would say, yeah. You know what? The Democrats have a good point. Like, we should make sure these insurance companies get these government subsidies.
Abe Baldnoado:No. Because that does not help you. Like, that does not help you at all.
Sarah Hetemi:It's it's crazy. You know? It's it's not going to people. It's going to the big insurance companies, not the small guys. And that's really also without that, that would drive up the premiums.
Sarah Hetemi:It tells you it's a failed program. Right?
Abe Baldnoado:And who is this? Admit that. Right? They don't want to admit that Obamacare is a failure. But No.
Abe Baldnoado:Anyone who has ever been on the exchange to shop for insurance post Obamacare will tell you that they saw health care costs rise significantly pre Obamacare.
Sarah Hetemi:Absolutely. They did. Yeah.
Abe Baldnoado:Well, Sarah, just want to open it up to you. Are there any other initiatives that you all are working on right now? I know next week you all will be hosting your statewide tour here in Albuquerque. We'll provide information to our viewers if they'd like to RSVP and attend that with Mark Ronketti and David Frum from AFP. I think that's gonna be a fabulous event.
Abe Baldnoado:I'm looking forward to the conversation that they have.
Sarah Hetemi:Free event. If I failed to say that earlier, it's a free event. We got free food, free beverages, and a great time. So That's amazing. You just need to RSVP so we can plan for you.
Abe Baldnoado:Awesome. Sarah, anything else you'd like to know from AFP before we wrap up?
Sarah Hetemi:No. We would love for you to follow us on social media. We're Americans for Prosperity New Mexico, and we would love for you to get involved with us. And we're just excited to to be here and for 2026 to come. It's a big year, and we're hoping to be the solution to changing some of the leadership problem we have here.
Sarah Hetemi:Absolutely.
Abe Baldnoado:Before we wrap up, though, I just had I I reminded myself the Libra program that that you all have as part of AFP. Yeah. Can you just elaborate a little bit on what Libra does? I think Libra is a fantastic organization, and I know they're a partner organization of yours. And so just would like our folks to learn more about Libre.
Sarah Hetemi:I'm so glad you brought that up. So here, I I really should always say AFP Libre because we're one team. And Libre is exactly what Americans for Prosperity is, but with a focus on the Hispanic and Latino families and community. And so they're really going into those communities and fighting for those communities specifically. So that's the exciting part, and our team is expanding.
Sarah Hetemi:Two, we are bringing in a new Libre strategic director, actually, this Monday. Her name is Christy Martinez. Awesome. And I couldn't be more excited.
Abe Baldnoado:That is exciting. One thing I will note that what I love about Libra is the dedication to, our folks who are moving in from other countries, gaining their citizenship here. You all help them with studying for their citizenship test, but you also are always there when they go through their naturalization ceremony. You all host a big celebration for them as well.
Sarah Hetemi:We do. And we even do English classes. So we will we will really be with you the whole way of the journey from day one till day when you're naturalized, like Absolutely.
Abe Baldnoado:So if there's any of our viewers out there who are in the process or need any assistance, I'm sure they can reach out to attend these classes.
Sarah Hetemi:Absolutely. And for anyone who's interested in our events or to just get involved with us, feel free to reach out to me personally, and I will get you in touch with our staff. My number is (907) 841-5970.
Abe Baldnoado:Awesome. Well, y'all, that wraps it up this week for the Chile Wire. Sarah, I'd love to thank you for joining the Chile Wire. I'm sure we're gonna have plenty more conversations as you all get ready for 2026. I'm sure we're gonna have a lot of election coverage next year.
Abe Baldnoado:We're gonna be talking a lot about the elections and also what transpires at our twenty twenty six legislative session, which should be, probably make for a doozy is what I'm guessing. So
Sarah Hetemi:That sounds great. And thank you so much for having me on the podcast. It was an honor.
Abe Baldnoado:Thank you, Sarah. Well, awesome, y'all. We'll see you next time on the Chile Wire. And if you haven't subscribed already, please do. Please follow us on Instagram, X, TikTok, and all social media channels.
Abe Baldnoado:And be sure to like this podcast. We'll talk to you soon.