Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Opinion: Tuesday good day to cast votes for small government

Tuesday is Election Day throughout New Mexico. Decisions we make today will impact public policy for the next two to four years.

Our newspaper for nearly a century has used this space to champion smaller government. Today seems a good day to make that argument again.

Most of our local candidates are running under the umbrella of the Republican Party. Most Republicans claim to support smaller government. Unfortunately, not all of their stated polices reflect the concept.

It’s been interesting to hear local Republicans argue among themselves about who is the “most Republican.”

But it’s important to point out that the “most Republican” candidate is not necessarily the biggest proponent for smaller government. The same is true for those who claim to be the “most Democratic” candidate on the ballot.

It’s true that more Republicans than Democrats prefer states make laws, as opposed to the federal government. And given the choice of two evils, the more local is usually better.

But that’s hardly an argument for smaller government … it’s just a different Big Brother deciding how we should live our lives.

It’s a safe bet that a large number of area residents believe

• abortion is never an option,

• we need to step up the war on some drugs,

• private businesses should not have the option of mandating masks during a pandemic.

But when government creates laws outlawing individuals’ rights to live independently, that’s not small government. That’s just big government that a majority prefer today; that majority will likely flip in two years when we’re reminded, again, that government has been the problem, not the solution.

Less government is almost always the long-term solution to a better quality of life.

This isn’t aimed at any particular candidate on local ballots, but intended to plant a thoughtful seed in all of their minds: the smaller government’s footprint, the greater our individual freedom.

That applies to Democrats and Republicans alike, even if they’re promoting laws we like.

Today is also a good day to remind why our newspaper does not endorse political candidates. That policy goes back to 1929 when the paper was owned by R.C. Hoiles and his Freedom Communications family.

Hoiles believed in limited government and civil liberties. From a 2008 editorial in this space:

“(Hoiles) believed, simply put, that the newspaper’s endorsement of a candidate amounts to an endorsement of a political system that too often is a concentrated application of force, wielded by a majority or a party or an incumbent to deny an individual’s freedom rather than protect it and enlarge it.

“… And, when a newspaper endorses, it to some degree can become invested in that candidate and his or her success.”

Our newspaper’s allegiance still lies with our readers, whom we believe prefer smaller government.

— David Stevens

Publisher

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