A paraphrased and misquoted aphorism commonly bandied about in recent days goes along the lines of “absolute power absolutely corrupts.” It’s a powerful trope, and the phrase warrants original credit and context.
John Dahlberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, a Catholic, wrote a letter to Anglican Bishop of London Mandell Creighton in 1870, challenging Papal infallibility and the divine right of kings. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” He adds, “There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.” That’s an important counterpunch.
If we hold these statements to American politics in the current era, it is hard not to flinch. From our elections, carefully managed at every step from redistricting forward to favor incumbents, to current legislative agendas at the state and Federal levels, it is hard to see government “For the People, By the People” so much as calculated machinations to assure continued rule by the majority party. Neither party, Republican or Democratic, turns away from this lure. One might say Republicans are merely more candid about their goals in 2025.
Political moderates have waited for Congress to check the ever-escalating power grabs by the executive branch in 2025. The few voices of concern from the majority caucus of that body have ventured to point out that the gross assumption of limitless power by the White House could come back to bite the GOP if the Democrats win the Presidency in 2028.
Not that the Constitution is in the abattoir. Not that their own appropriation and budget process – one of Congress’ core powers – has been decimated. Not that freedom of speech and freedom to pursue lawful business are inherent rights of Americans. No, their primary worry is that the gains from these fundamental wrongs might only be short-lived.
If some Congressional Republicans are concerned what it would look like if a too-strong executive branch were paired with a one-party majority in both chambers of the legislative branch, but all run by Democrats in the current era, they should come to New Mexico for a glimpse of the possible.
It’s true that our state is taking some important steps to restore balance. The Legislature joining forces across party lines to eliminate the pocket veto was a tremendous step forward this year.
And the Oct. 1 special session of the Legislature, despite partisan rhetoric, showed some consensus between parties. The main items on the governor’s agenda passed with wide bipartisan support: stabilization of healthcare funds for rural healthcare and healthcare insurance, and criminal competency court standards.
But then the GOP caucus introduced an agenda worthy of consideration – child welfare, medical malpractice, and medical licensure reform – and these were not heard in the two-day session. Republican legislators sounded a lot like Congressional Democrats these days, complaining that they just aren’t heard, while the Democratic leadership in the state Legislature calmly said that simply wasn’t true. Sound familiar?
I’m not going to pretend that American or New Mexican politics will ever be free of the machinations of ambitious men and women. Nor should we forget that targeting political enemies in the courts and the press has been a Presidential habit dating back to Thomas Jefferson going after Aaron Burr more than two centuries ago. Our country and our core freedoms survived that and a civil war and many other existential challenges since then.
In 2025, an unstable world and ever-evolving technology heighten the challenges for Americans and our global primacy. Many of us question our long-term stability. And there are those who would prey on our uncertainty. But we are not powerless.
If our next elections will be firmly in the era of the algorithm, let’s shape a better algorithm. Look for polls and real information about what your fellow voters think. Let’s like those stories rather than the AI-generated shock memes from political leaders.
Let’s also like stories about voter turnout and election information, candidate forums, and getting out the vote. Scroll past the scripted outrage and manipulated “calls to action.” Think about what you want in the election – is it a better economy, better schools, more opportunity? Look for those stories and who is saying what about those topics. Follow them. Be active instead of waiting for content to find you.
While the consolidation of power in our government systems is a fundamental concern, it is not beyond repair. 2 million New Mexicans, with 333 million other Americans, also have tremendous power: not only have we generated the greatest economy the world has ever seen; we populate the world’s greatest military; operate the most unique and varied national park system in the world; maintain a massive network of higher education and research institutions; and vote in regular free elections.
New Mexicans and Americans study the planet and its systems, celebrate it, defend it, and prosper on it to support ourselves and our families. What we can’t forget as we follow all these pursuits is that we deserve good government.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and one of cat. She can be reached at news.ind.merritt@gmail.com.
