|
Submission Deadline 11:59 PM Sunday Night
email secretary@dptc-nm.org with your submission
| |
Democratic Party of Torrance County Newsletter
December 29, 2025
| | |
Hello Fellow Democrats and Antifa Thinkers,
If you follow things on Facebook at all you may have seen supposedly “factual” tidbits that claim that after the last big imposition of tariffs in 1930, Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate for 50 years. Some posts will say 60 years. For Democrats looking forward to taking back our constitutional form of government as a result of Trump’s crazy tariffs, I’m sorry to report that this is at least partly wishful thinking on the part of Democrats. But the good news is that there is an element of truth to the slightly exaggerated claims. So, here’s the real information:
In early 1930 Republicans were in firm control of the White House and both houses of Congress. Some people were concerned because of the crash of the stock market in October of 1929 and some banks failing as a result of that crash, but those events were viewed by most Americans as problems for rich men that didn’t directly affect them. But by late spring of 1930, Americans were becoming increasingly aware of what we now call the Great Depression. Businesses began to fold, which put large numbers of people out of work.
Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis Hawley, both Republicans, drafted what became known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 to try to protect American farmers and businesses. President Herbert Hoover signed Smoot-Hawley into law against the advice of economists. That might sound familiar to those who noticed that every reputable economist in the country advised Trump to not start imposing tariffs, but his narrow mind had been made up years before.
Smoot Hawley backfired badly. It set off trade wars, much like the tariffs of Trump’s that haven’t been temporarily blocked by the courts have done, and basically killed almost all international trade. That turned the American Recession of 1929 into a worldwide depression. A few months later, voters responded during the election of 1930, when Republicans managed to retain tiny majorities in both the House and Senate, but due to some special elections made necessary by the deaths of some Representatives, Democrats soon found themselves in control of the House with Republicans clinging to the Senate by a few seats.
In 1932 Democrats achieved huge majorities in both houses of Congress with Franklin D. Roosevelt being elected President. Republicans wouldn’t regain control of either chamber of Congress until 1947 when they won both houses for just two years and then again for another two years in the mid-1950s. Other than that, Democrats held both houses of Congress until 1981 when Republicans won the Senate. Republicans wouldn’t win the House again until 1995.
So, the reality is that the Democrats’ longest unbroken streak for holding the House is 40 years and only 26 years for the Senate. While the Facebook memes exaggerate a bit, it’s true that Republicans put a knife in their own backs with the 1930 tariffs and it twisted there for many years. Let’s hope that history repeats itself. It does tend to do that.
Stand Up! Push Back! Continue the Fight!
Bill
| |
|
TRUMP LIES ABOUT EVERYTHING!
Refute the Republican Rhetoric
By Bill Peifer
This past week has been a quiet week for Trump lies. Mostly he’s just been re-posting the lies of his faithful cultists on his Untruth Social platform in between rounds of golf. I guess he’s having a relaxing holiday at Mar-a-Lago with Melania back in New York. But on Sunday he did put his thumbs to work to post one relatively short (for Trump) brag piece:
“I am pleased to announce that the breakout fighting between Thailand and Cambodia will stop momentarily, and they will go back to living in PEACE, as per our recently agreed to original Treaty. I want to congratulate both great leaders on their brilliance in coming to this rapid and very fair conclusion. It was FAST & DECISIVE, as all of these situations should be! The United States of America, as always, was proud to help! With all of the wars and conflicts I have settled and stopped over the last eleven months, EIGHT, perhaps the United States has become the REAL United Nations, which has been of very little assistance or help in any of them, including the disaster currently going on between Russia and Ukraine. The United Nations must start getting active and involved in WORLD PEACE!”
Now, there is a good bit of controversy surrounding Trump’s claims of stopping eight wars, since some of them are still going on, others never really existed in the first place, never progressing beyond diplomatic disagreements, and still others were settled by the parties involved with Trump having little to nothing to do with the peace agreement beyond laying claim to it.
This conflict falls into that last category and is important because he’ll likely claim to have ended the same war twice, to “pad the stats”, when his involvement in both truces has been limited to one phone call to the leader in both countries. Both times. The real work of brokering both truces between Thailand and Cambodia was done by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who invited representatives of both governments to Kuala Lumpur for peace talks, mediated the negotiations, drafted the truce documents and oversaw the signing ceremony. Ibrahim did this for BOTH cessations of hostilities. All Trump did was call the leaders of both countries to ask them to accept Ibrahim’s invitations and then show up to ham it up at the signing ceremony the first time so that he could claim that HE brokered the end to a war where only HE could achieve peace.
| | | | |
Help Us, Help Bethel Feed our Neighbors!
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dptc-bethel
Donations made through that special page will NOT be used to fund party activities. Every dollar that we get, and every dollar that gets matched, will go to Bethel*.
*Minus any donation processing fees.
| |
|
EVERY SATURDAY - 12 PM - 1 PM
Save Democracy! Protest - Moriarty
Corner of Rt. 41 & 66
THIS A RECURING EVENT - EVERY SATURDAY
EVERY SUNDAY - 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Solidarity Sundays Protest - Tijeras
Corner of Old 66 and Rt. 337
THIS A RECURING EVENT - EVERY SUNDAY
WALK OUT AMERICA - 2PM Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
More info to come.
DPTC WARD MEETINGS AND PRE-PRIMARY CONVENTION 11AM - 1PM Saturday, February 14, 2026
Watch for Call. More info to come.
| | | |
Donate to the Billboard Fund!
We want to put several billboards on I 40! We need $10,000 to do this!
More information will be coming.
Please DONATE to the
Democratic Party of Torrance County!
| |
OR
You can mail a check to:
Democratic Party of Torrance County
PO Box 2206, Moriarty NM 87035
(make check payable to Democratic Party of Torrance County)
| |
Our Office!
Still Looking for Help!
Did you know that we have an office in Moriarty? It is in the same shopping center as Moriarty Foods. Stop by some time and check it out. We are CLOSED for the Holidays and will reopen January 3, 2026.
We are currently looking for a volunteer to take the Tuesday and Saturday shift - If you would like to help email Millie.
Help Wanted!
The DPTC has a need for a Certified Licensed Electrician. We have some minor issues in our office that we would like to have addressed. If you can help email Millie.
| | Electronic Signature on Candidates Petitions! | | You have probably received emails asking for your electronic signature on petitions from various candidates. Here is a link to do just that. It is easy and keeps track of who's petition you've already signed! CLICK HERE | | |
Looking for Democrats to run in 2026
With the 2025 non-partisan elections behind us, the DPTC is now looking at the 2026 Torrance County elections. These elections are partisan, but in the recent past there have only been Republicans on the ballot for the General Election since it’s been difficult to persuade Democrats to run in a county where it’s perceived that only Republicans can win. Because of this perception, there have been times when Democrats want to run, but feel that they have to change their party affiliation to “Republican” to get elected. In 2026 we’d like to change this perception, but we need brave Democrats to step up and “put their hats in the ring”. Here are the positions that will be up for election in 2026 along with the estimated annual salary:
County Commissioner District 1 – Pays $27,570.
County Commissioner District 2 – Pays $27,570.
Sheriff – Pays $72,164.
Assessor – Pays $70,031.
Probate Judge – Pays $24,180.
Magistrate Judge – Pays $79,537
All of the salaries shown are the current salaries which will likely go up slightly with a “cost of living” increase at the first of the year. The DPTC stands ready to assist you as much as possible, should you choose to step up and run for one of these positions! Contact Bill Peifer if you have any interest in running.
| | |
| This is an independent group protest. By participating in a protest each individual agrees to respect the principles of non-violence and acknowledges that they are personally responsible for their actions and safety. | |
-
Torrance County is currently accepting applications for a Data Analyst Cama Appraiser, Bureau of Elections Admin Clerk, an Uncertified Deputy, Equipment Operator, a Code Enforcement Officer, a DWI Coordinator, a Sheriff's Deputy, an Appraiser Apprentice, a Seasonal EMT Firefighter, a 911 Dispatcher, and an EMT/Fire Fighter.
Click Here for more information.
- Moriarty is accepting applications for a Police Officer and a Maintenance Worker.
Click Here for more information
- Mountainair is accepting applications for a Certified Police Officer.
Click Here for more information.
| | Commission, Council and Board Meetings | |
| | |
Torrance County Commission
Meeting January 14, 2026 9AM
205 S. Ninth Street, Estancia, NM
meeting is available via Zoom
Click Here for Zoom
| | | | |
Moriarty
City Council
2nd & 4th Wednesday
Moriarty Civic Center
201 Broadway Street
7:30 PM
| | |
Estancia
Board of Trustees
1st & 3rd Monday
Estancia Town Hall
513 Williams Avenue
6:15 PM
| | |
Mountainair
City Council
1st & 3rd Tuesday
Council Meeting Room
107 1/2 N. Roosevelt
5:30 PM
| | |
Claunch/Pinto Soil & Water Conservation District
1st Friday, 8 AM
1206 NM 55, Mountainair
ZOOM Meeting ONLY
Click here for more information
| | |
East Torrance
Soil & Water Conservation District
3rd Wednesday, 6 PM
715 S 5th St, Estancia
| | |
Central Tri-County
Soil & Water Conservation District
1st Thursday, 10 AM
2506 US 66, Moriarty
| | |
Estancia Municipal Schoolboard
2nd Monday, 6 PM
300 N 9th St, Estancia
Van Stone Room 02/03
| | |
Moriarty-Edgewood Schoolboard
3rd Tuesday, 6 PM
MESD Board Room
2422 E. NM-333 Moriarty
| | |
Mountainair Public Schoolboard
4th Tuesday, 6 PM
Central Office
512 North Ross, Mountainair
| | |
Vaughn Municipal Schoolboard
3rd Wednesday, 6 PM
District Office
101 East 4th Street, Vaughn
| | Your Democratic Party of Torrance County Executive Committee | | |
DPTC Chair - Myra Oden- chair@dptc-nm.org
DPTC Vice Chair - Bill Peifer - wpeifer@peifercomputing.net
DPTC Secretary - Millie Peifer - secretary@dptc-nm.org
DPTC Treasurer - Bill Peifer - wpeifer@peifercomputing.net
Ward Chairs
DPTC Ward A (Pcts 1,2,7,14 & 16) - Ronnie Ray - imronnieray@gmail.com
DPTC Ward B (Pcts 5,13,17, 20 & 21) - Jonathan Pedersen - jpgencon@hotmail.com
DPTC Ward C (Pcts 3,4,8,9,10,11 & 12) - Available. Interested? Email Myra Oden.
DPTC Ward D (Pcts 6,15,18,19 & 22) - Bill Peifer - wpeifer@peifercomputing.net
Don't know your precinct? Click here.
Democratic Party of Torrance County Website: DPTC-NM.org
| | | | |
