The Founders’ intent for the United States House of Representatives was to be the chamber “closest to the people,” which is why members of the lower chamber were given 2-year terms, where representatives have to talk to constituents on a consistent basis to keep the public’s trust and to ensure they are working in the well-being of THE PEOPLE.
Throughout Congressman Ben Ray Luján’s tenure in the House, he has consistently shown the voters of Northern New Mexico what his highest priority is: holding onto power, and doing whatever necessary to fulfill his opportunistic goals.
The casino croupier-turned PRC commissioner, then congressman has been in Congress for a decade, but rarely travels back to the home state, except when necessary. To give him credit, he does rarely join annual events, such as the Santa Fe plaza’s annual Christmas tree lighting.
As a member of House of Representatives, not a single bill of Luján’s own has been passed into law, and the bills which he has co-sponsored that have become law tally a meager 57, many of which are co-sponsored with 100+ members. Although he has had 10+ years in Congress, he doesn’t have a single accomplishment to show for it.
Although throughout time, Ben Ray has frolicked in the media with his campaign messages of “family values,” and election videos featuring his mom, the son of the highly-accomplished long-time House Speaker Ben Luján doesn’t seem to have fought very hard for the people he claims he represents, especially with such a dismal record. For a man who holds a safe Democrat +8 seat, he doesn’t really need to campaign that hard, so he doesn’t.
During the 2018 midterm election, Ben Ray could not even bother to show up for his own re-election victory party in New Mexico, choosing instead to stay in Washington DC to claim victory with his swamp friend Nancy Pelosi. It’s unclear if the Congressman even voted for himself since it’s unlikely he sent in an absentee ballot.
If I were in Congressman Ben Ray Luján’s place, I honestly could not justify asking thousands of New Mexicans to vote for me, and to stand by me, if I am not even willing to stand by them, especially on election night when I am on the ballot. Since Ben Ray was vying with Nancy Pelosi for an assistant majority leader post, he put his career above his constituents and chose to seek power over seek representation for the people of Congressional District 3.
We see other members of New Mexico’s delegation, such as Senator Martin Heinrich, who blatantly flaunts the fact that he doesn’t live in New Mexico, and instead chooses to live in Silver Spring, MD. No one, no matter if they are elected dog catcher, or a United States senator should ever disrespect their constituents by not living in the district they represent.
Especially since Ben Ray Luján has represented New Mexicans as a member of the House of Representatives (the house intended to be closest to the people), he has once again shown the citizens of New Mexico that his goals supersede his constituents’ needs by choosing to run for an even higher office, although he has accomplished ZERO in Congress.
The people of New Mexico and America, in general, are fed up with politicians who only visit whenever they have to and have to hold town hall meetings to try and re-connect with forgotten constituents. A REAL congressman who REALLY stands for their constituents should not need to have town hall meeting because they are just that accessible to anyone who wants their voice heard: that means being present in the community as much as possible.
Ben Ray Luján is a nice guy, I’ll give him that. However, he is not fit to serve in the “most deliberative body,” as he will be even less present for the people of New Mexico. He hasn’t proven any accomplishments in the U.S. House, and we should not reward him by replacing one deadbeat Senator (Tom Udall) with another.
New Mexicans deserve better. And that person sure as hell is not Ben Ray Luján.
What is there to say. Northern New Mexico keeps on voting STUPID! Like you said, they vote for this person just because he has a big D next to his name. In return, Northern New Mexico also gets nothing in return. This is voter ignorance and a large dose of low information in this part of the state. In other words, they know no better. We keep digging the hole deeper folks! That is NOT April Fools…
Does Lujan even have a NM residence? I was under the impression that representatives were required to live in their home state.
Is Lujan being paid per diem to fly back to NM to meet with constituents? I know that NM’S legislators are paid to travel to their districts. If he is then he’s collecting thousands, while NM’S are jobless causing poverty to rise.