First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
This is the type of lie Democrats are known for. They get caught red-handed and still try to make you feel stupid for noticing. That is exactly what played out Friday night in Albuquerque, where Rep. Gabe Vasquez faced Republican challenger Greg Cunningham at the KRQE News 13 debate for New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District, anchored by Dean Staley.
Cunningham — a retired Marine and former Albuquerque police detective who won President Trump's endorsement on October 3 — asked Vasquez point-blank if that was him calling to defund the police. Vasquez had just told voters he does not support defunding the police. Then came the admission.
"Yes, it was me."
Then comes the cleanup. Cornered by his own words, Vasquez wants to talk about his "record" now — the money he claims he brought home later, like it somehow erases what he said on camera. His campaign points to a $250,000 appropriation for the Carlsbad Police Department and $3.4 million in law-enforcement appropriations, and claims he has secured more than $7 million for police and public safety.
But if he has to keep pointing at a cleaned-up record, it means what he's saying right now isn't the record. The two men also clashed heavily over ICE and immigration enforcement through the night, but it was the defund exchange that cut through: a sitting congressman denying a position, then admitting it seconds later, in front of the voters he is asking to re-elect him.
For Cunningham, the moment writes itself — a law-and-order challenger, backed by Trump, catching the incumbent in a contradiction on the issue voters in the district rank near the top. For Vasquez, the funding numbers will now follow him all the way to Election Day, attached to five words he cannot take back: "Yes, it was me."
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