Wilson Speaks to Economic Forum; Martinez Appears

You could cut the many layers of irony with a knife at the Economic Forum in Albuquerque this morning. Heather Wilson was the speaker. Wilson, the former U.S. Representative and now a candidate for Senate, was to talk about federal fiscal matters. A surprise attendee was Gov. Susana Martinez who sat next to Wilson at the breakfast. Martinez did not speak.
Yesterday, Lt. Gov. John Sanchez announced his candidacy for the Senate. Also yesterday, Martinez said she would give Sanchez no tasks beyond his limited constitutionally mandated duties, which mostly consist of presiding over the state senate. Remember that Martinez spent two years running for governor, a full time task, while remaining on the government payroll and district attorney in Las Cruces.
More layers of irony come from history. Jay McClesky, Martinez 2010 campaign strategist and still her political adviser, was one of three people who invented Sanchez back around 2000. The other two were John Dendahl, then NM GOP chair, and Sanchez himself.
During her time at the podium, Wilson said nothing about Sanchez.
One man at my table wondered, “What is Sanchez thinking?” The man, a bit confused, actually said Garcia.
The Economic Forum describes itself “as a non-partisan business leaders group founded in 1982 which is funded entirely by membership dues and is dedicated to the continued improvement of our community.” See http://econ-forum.com.
Wilson mostly stuck to her assignment of discussing fiscal matters, but touched on foreign affairs at the end of her talk.
“America must always stand for freedom,” Wilson said. She “was stunned” at President Obama’s suggestion (or whatever it was) that Israel should retreat to its 1967 borders. “I find that (Obama’s suggestion) inexplicable.” Wilson has been to the Golan Heights, the area that overlooks the main part of Israel and which was controlled by Syria until 1967. She has looked across Israel and understands the small size of the country, which she related to Albuquerque. Guns on the Golan Heights compare to having guns on Albuquerque’s heights able to shoot into the valley. Scary.
Wilson said she came “to talk a little bit about the federal budget… so that we can educate ourselves about the challenges.” As a topic, she said the budget is a bit geeky, but talking about it is necessary.
“Government does not create wealth; it can create the conditions…”
“Washington’s current policies have turned a fiscal challenge into a fiscal crisis.” The public debt is an adjustable rate mortgage, but which she meant that the interest on the debt is certain to increase. She sees a potential national security problem because China owns a large proportion of the debt.
Wilson supports raising the federal debt ceiling, but “not without taking dramatic steps” to reduce spending. “We do not have a revenue problem in the federal government. We have a spending problem in the federal government,” she said.
Vigorous applause came when she said that besides the Obamacare health plan being incredibly expensive, “that health care bill is unconstitutional.”