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A dash of irony as state GOP condemns a tweet

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.AdvertisementRepublican Steve Pearce speaks to supporters at Mykonos Cafe in Albuquerque following a gubernatorial debate in 2018. Pearce recently criticized a tweet by the governor’s spokesman.Milan SimonichRingside SeatRepublicans in New Mexico say they’re an aggrieved party, politically and in terms of hurt feelings.They want an apology from Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s top-ranking spokesman, Tripp Stelnicki.Stelnicki tells me it won’t happen.In case you missed the backdrop, Republicans staged a news conference last week in which their state chairman and the minority leader of the New Mexico House of Representatives complained about Lujan Grisham’s public health orders during the coronavirus pandemic. They said her decision to shut down many businesses was unnecessarily harming the economy.Their criticisms and the governor’s response were front-page news.Stelnicki later wrote this on Twitter: “You don’t have to ask the death cult their opinion or publish their quotes. False equivalence now is actually life or death. There is no ‘both sides’ to this. There is one group preaching accelerated illness &amp; death because they ‘love’ ‘business’ &amp; if you can’t see through that?”The New Mexico Republican Party and its chairman, Steve Pearce, have sat in silence for years after gutter-level tweets from President Donald Trump. For example, Trump has used a substitute surname for California Congressman Adam Schiff that everyone would consider foul.But Pearce’s party had plenty to say this time, most notably about Stelnicki using the term “death cult.”“The tweet from Stelnicki is not only horrifying and insensitive, but completely false,” the Republicans said in a statement. “RPNM has always put health and safety first in this pandemic.”I asked Stelnicki if he stood by his comment, and if he had any response to the Republicans’ call for him to apologize.“Of course I stand by it. Wouldn’t expect an apology,” he said in an email.Then Stelnicki mentioned the jabs from the rival party.“Happy to keep taking all the hate on the chin but don’t really have anything else to say about it &amp; invite any more than I’ve already got! In general if you like my broader thoughts are: Criticism of the governor’s lifesaving actions to support and sustain public health comes with the territory. Everyone is upset. Everyone is having an impossibly hard time. Workers, families, everyone. No one wants to be where we are, we didn’t choose to fight this virus, but we are now fighting it and must win. That’s it.”This didn’t end the sniping.The Republican Party sent another round of complaints. This one focused on Lujan Grisham, who routed Pearce in the 2018 election for governor.“Twenty-four hours later, Gov. Lujan Grisham has not rebuked Tripp Stelnicki or even acknowledged his revolting tweet,” the GOP said in its followup statement. “Her failure to act to discipline her subordinate makes his reckless words her words: his message — her message, his slander — her slander.”This line of criticism might have been more persuasive if Pearce had criticized his crony, fellow Republican Yvette Herrell, for false claims she recently made. Herrell said Democrats stole thousands of votes in 2018 to deny her the congressional seat in Southern New Mexico.Herrell could have contested the election, but knew she would have been beaten in the courtroom as decisively as she was defeated on Election Day. Pearce has watched her sideshow without so much as a discouraging word.The Republicans’ claims of slander by Stelnicki are overwrought. But Stelnicki didn’t do his boss any favors, other than pointing out that it’s easy for the rival party to second-guess her.One straightforward message should be coming from the nation’s governors now: Restart businesses prematurely and more waves of the novel coronavirus will occur.This spring’s initial closures of businesses have been devastating. What would be worse is to make a rash move and have to shut down the economy again.Lujan Grisham has hit these broad themes. Many hear her without listening.The truth is, they’re not interested in her message. Better for them to call the governor a dictator than to consider how much worse life will be if a virulent disease is accelerated by a government that takes chances with public safety.During the pandemic, I’ve thought of what would be happening if Pearce had won the governor’s race instead of Lujan Grisham. I suspect he would have kept all businesses open, at least for a while, but that the number of coronavirus infections and deaths would be many times greater than they are today.Pearce is no more pro-business than Lujan Grisham. Through the years, he’s offered views that were simplistic, even cynical.While he was a congressman, Pearce once gave a jaw-dropping speech to the state Legislature. He said jobs paying $70,000 or $80,000 a year were going unfilled because New Mexico residents could not pass drug tests or preferred collecting welfare to working.He was talking mostly about jobs in the Permian Basin, his political base and a place where oil is king. But it should have occurred to Pearce that people from across the state would have moved in a day if landing a $70,000-a-year job was as easy as he claimed.Stopping the spread of the virulent coronavirus involves a simple strategy, but it’s not easy to accomplish.That gives Pearce a nice perch from which to throw stones. Stelnicki threw some back.Both should get a sore arm.Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at or 505-986-3080.AdvertisementSorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.Copyright © The Santa Fe New Mexican&nbsp;|Powered by from .{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.TopicsSorry, an error occurred.You are logged in&nbsp;Thank you .Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.Check your email for details.Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.×Thank you.Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.Rate:Begins:Ends:Transaction ID:A receipt was sent to your email.

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.AdvertisementRepublican Steve Pearce speaks to supporters at Mykonos Cafe in Albuquerque following a gubernatorial debate in 2018. Pearce recently criticized a tweet by the governor’s spokesman.Milan SimonichRingside SeatRepublicans in New Mexico say they’re an aggrieved party, politically and in terms of hurt feelings.They want an apology from Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s top-ranking spokesman, Tripp Stelnicki.Stelnicki tells me it won’t happen.In case you missed the backdrop, Republicans staged a news...

A dash of irony as state GOP condemns a tweet

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