Should NM’s congressional delegation have a say on “right to work? (UPDATED)

As the “right to work” legislation continues to stir up debate and discussion, there has been input from members of Congress of both parties. The four liberal Democrats weighed in against it in a published opinion piece and Udall went so far as to decry “right to work” in an ill-advised and inappropriate speech to the entire Legislature.

Democrats were not the only ones weighing in, however. According to former Republican state senator and blogger Rod Adair, Republican Steve Pearce may or may not have had direct input in the recent vote on “right to work,” but to his credit (unlike his Democrat colleagues), he has not published op-eds on the issue.

Whatever one’s feelings are on “right to work,” I would like to see New Mexico’s Congressional delegation (or Congressmen and women in general) to stay out of the issue as best as possible and not weigh in strongly and publicly on what amounts to an exclusively state level issue over which they have no say. We elect the Governor and legislators to make decisions on issues like “right to work.” Congress is supposed to represent New Mexico’s interests (or the interests of their respective districts) in Washington, DC, not attempt to persuade New Mexicans of their views on state issues, no matter how strong those feelings may be.

Congress has enough to deal with in Washington (like reining in an imperial presidency and overreaching, unelected bureaucrats).

*UPDATE: A representative with Congressman Pearce’s office contacted us to clarify that Rep. Pearce did not weigh in with Republicans in the New Mexico House to influence floor votes on the “right to work” bill and this was confirmed by two Republican House members. Kudos to Pearce for his understanding the separation of federal and state powers.