What Congress Could Learn From Ancient Rome
By Merilee Dannemann
General election season is now in full swing, and without doubt the hottest contest in New Mexico this year is the race for Congressional District 2 between Democratic incumbent Gabe Vasquez and businessman Greg Cunningham.
While only voters in that district can vote for that member of Congress, this is a national election. Because it’s a swing district, CD2 will help determine which party holds the majority in Congress, so the whole world will be watching.
The advertising has started and we can assume it will intensify – not just ads for and by the two campaigns, but issue ads from outside groups on all kinds of topics.
So here is a little help to voters – not much, because I can’t predict what crazy topic will be featured next week. This is a modest reminder to help you interpret what you are looking at.
To put the issue into perspective: our New Mexico constitution has a marvelous little provision called the single-subject rule. It is in Article IV, Section 16. Forty-two other states have a similar rule. It says, in clear, simple language, that any piece of legislation must be limited to one subject, with a few logical exceptions such as general appropriation bills.
What this means to you, the voter, is that when a legislator votes for or against any bill, you know what the legislator was voting for or against. This simple provision has been benefitting you and me for decades.
This rule was first invented by the Roman Senate – that is, the ancient Roman Senate. Those sophisticated lawmakers understood that combining multiple provisions into the same bill would create conflicts for lawmakers and confusion for voters.
There is no such rule in Congress. Conflicts and confusion are the standard.
The bill passed in Congress in 2025 known as the One Big Beautiful Bill (officially titled Public Law 119-21) was a thousand pages long and covered a myriad of topics – a cornucopia of conflicts and confusion. It contained some provisions that were good for New Mexico mixed in with other provisions that are disastrous for New Mexico.
The immediate issue affecting New Mexico voters today is how to understand the advertising that you’re hearing. Some of the negative ads running against Vasquez refer to how he voted on specific provisions of that One Big Bill. Vasquez voted against the bill – the whole thing.
One ad, endorsed by opponent Cunningham, says Vasquez voted again tax deductions for tips, overtime and social security. Those deductions were in the One Big Bill. These specific deductions were written to last for only three years. In the same bill were tax breaks for wealthy taxpayers, which were made permanent.
The ad says Vasquez voted not just against those temporary tax increased but to increase those taxes. I’m not sure if that’s accurate.
The same bill also cuts Medicaid and SNAP food assistance, cuts that are projected to cause serious hardships for lower income Americans.
These cuts, and the harm they are expected to do to New Mexicans who will no longer have access to medical care or food assistance, have been thoroughly covered by New Mexico news. But voters might not remember they are in the same bill as the one giving temporary tax cuts to waiters and bartenders.
It is inevitable that some political advertising is going to target the record of the incumbent. Fair enough. But it’s confusing if voters hear advertising about one provision of a complex bill and are left to wonder why their member of Congress voted against it.
Don’t you wish Congress had a single subject rule?
Merilee Dannemann’s columns are posted at www.triplespacedagain.com. Comments are invited through the web site.
Of related interest: https://www.voteinfonm.org/
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