Cal Thomas

Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” has been canceled by CBS, effective next May. Critics of the decision are claiming politics is the reason. They are right, except the show has been too political. During its 10-year run it has been a conduit for Democrats to attack President Trump and Republicans. There are rumors within the entertainment industry that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on ABC may also be headed for the door. Nothing heard yet about the future of Jimmy Fallon and the “Tonight Show.”

While Colbert’s show was the top-rated broadcast late show (2.8 million viewers, but Greg Gutfeld averages 3.289 million on Fox), it had few advertisers, a staff of 100 and Colbert was reportedly paid $20 million annually.

People of a certain age will recall the name Steve Allen, who invented the “Tonight Show” format on NBC. Steve was pure entertainment. He was followed by Jack Paar, who brought an intellectual depth to the show, along with his unique brand of humor. Johnny Carson and Jay Leno followed, avoiding partisan politics.

In a 1979 interview with Mike Wallace of “60 Minutes,” Carson was asked why he didn’t do politics on the show. He replied: “Tell me the last time Jack Benny, Red Skelton, any comedian used his show to do serious issues.” He said serious issues are “a danger” for a comedian. “Once you start that, you start to get that self-important feeling that what you say has great import … you could use that show as a forum to sway people and I don’t think you should as an entertainer.”

That attitude is what kept Carson on NBC for nearly 30 years. He was beloved by Democrats and Republicans. While he occasionally had politicians as guests (Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon were among the highest profile Republicans, while Bill Clinton and then-California Jerry Brown were among the best-known Democrats), Carson let the politicians make their political points while he kept to the middle of the road.

I used to stay up late watching the monologues and some of the interviews, beginning with Allen and ending with Leno. It’s not worth it anymore, unless you are a liberal and want reinforcement of views you already hold. It’s the same with many of the award shows and why ratings for the Oscars and Emmys have fallen. After a long day that usually includes exposure to politics in conversations, or on cable TV, I suspect many people are hungry for entertainment.

There is another reason why people are watching less late-night TV. We can access excerpts of the shows on YouTube and other platforms, while getting a good night’s sleep.

Despite overwhelming evidence that people are tired of politics replacing comedy, the left is determined to keep force-feeding us the same political gruel. This includes speeches from award winners, lecturing viewers about how they hate President Trump, and Republican s, as they did Republican presidents before him. They are now suffering the consequences of their misguided decision.

On the day CBS announced cancellation of his show and the vacating of his time slot, Colbert denounced the network. He had been critical of CBS before when network owner Paramount agreed to a $16 million settlement with President Trump over a Bill Whitaker “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris before the election. Trump had claimed the interview was heavily and deceptively edited to make her sound better.

Colbert’s denunciations of his employer violated another truth: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).

Matthew Gonzales

New Mexico has a responsibility to plug orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells. That’s not in dispute.

But a recent report from the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) risks turning this shared challenge into another divisive flashpoint. It paints an incomplete picture—one that overlooks both the context behind the problem and the people most invested in solving it.

I’ve been advocating for responsible well-plugging for years. In 2021, I wrote that plugging orphaned wells is good policy. I stand by that. But I also believe strongly that we can’t fix this problem with finger-pointing and skewed narratives. We need honest, inclusive conversations—because the stakes are too high for anything else.

Let’s start with the facts. For decades, the oil and gas industry in New Mexico has paid into the state’s Reclamation Fund—money specifically designated to clean up orphaned wells. But much of that funding has been diverted over time for other state priorities. That’s not on the industry. That’s a problem of governance and oversight.

The LFC report gives the impression that industry hasn’t done its part. That’s simply not true. In reality, more than 90% of decommissioned wells are plugged by the companies that drilled them. The remaining orphaned wells—often older, lower-producing assets from decades ago—are the ones we need a unified plan to address. That includes proper funding, better coordination, and innovative approaches.

Here’s what’s often left out of these reports: the human side. When we demonize “industry,” we’re talking about real people—New Mexicans—who work these jobs, raise their families here, and take pride in protecting the land and water we all rely on. These aren’t faceless corporations. They’re skilled workers, many of them from rural communities like Carlsbad, who are just as committed to stewardship as any policymaker or advocate.

I’ve worked inside this system. I’ve seen the bureaucracy. I’ve seen how red tape slows down even the most well-intentioned efforts to get these wells plugged. What we need isn’t more blame—we need more cooperation. That includes ensuring that industry voices are part of the process. Unfortunately, key trade associations like IPANM weren’t even consulted for this report, despite representing many of the small producers most directly involved in well plugging.

That’s a missed opportunity.

The good news is we can still get this right. New technologies—like foam-based sealants, real-time subsurface imaging, and remote monitoring—offer ways to plug wells more efficiently and at lower cost. With the right policies, we can align environmental goals with practical, job-creating solutions.

We should also recommit to making sure the Reclamation Fund is used as intended. That means accountability not just from industry—but from government agencies and legislators, too.

New Mexicans deserve a full picture. Yes, orphaned wells are a real concern. But the answer isn’t to pit communities against companies, or to use selective reports to score political points. The answer is partnership.

This is a chance for New Mexico to lead—not by casting blame, but by bringing people together. That includes honoring the work already being done by those on the ground, ensuring industry remains a part of the solution, and focusing on what we can achieve when we stop treating every challenge like a crisis and start treating it like an opportunity.

Let’s plug the wells. Let’s clean up the past. But let’s also plug the holes in the conversation—so we can move forward together, the New Mexico way.

Matthew Gonzales is a native New Mexican, veteran, father and former Mayor of Cimarron, NM. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the National Hispanic Energy Council.

Dr. Jose Garcia

David Abbey’s “Forty Years in the New Mexico Roundhouse” is a remarkable book, written by one of the most experienced and capable insiders in recent New Mexico political history. Abbey spent twenty-six years as executive director of the Legislative Finance Committee, one of the few legislative bodies in the country to propose a budget independent of the governor’s budget. The LFC also evaluates the performance of state programs; it forecasts incoming revenues, an annual ritual that helps shape spending expectations; it advises legislators. The single most powerful committee in the legislature, The LFC’s manager has a ringside seat in the dark political alleyways where money, power, and ambition slug it out for their piece of the legislative pie each year.

Frequently, for example, major priorities in the annual budget are determined in the wee hours of the morning of the day the legislative session ends, as the governor and leaders of both chambers try to iron out their differences in meetings with five or six key players, under the pressure of the clock. For a quarter of a century Abbey participated in those meetings; reason enough for citizens to pick up this book.

The strongest chapters of the book deal with the complicated financial structure of state government—sources of revenue, fiscal stability, budget development, and the capital outlay and capital appropriations processes. They stand as the best written thus far on these subjects and ought to become required reading for every new legislator, wannabe lobbyist, and student of New Mexico government.

Another chapter summarizes major accomplishments and disappointments of the eight governors Abbey worked with in his long career, beginning with Toney Anaya (1983-1987) and ending with Michelle Grisham Lujan. To my knowledge, no one has published such a summary until now. Significantly, he finds each governor wanting in lasting accomplishments, except for Garrey Carruthers (R-1987-1991), who he credits as being the “strongest” of the eight.

The tone of this book suggests an insider sharing a beer with a friend after a long day during a legislative session; that is, it recounts some of the play-to-play without revealing anything other insiders might find too sensitive to let out. In this sense, throughout the book he remains a loyal member of the insider team. Irritatingly, his account of the workings of state government is almost purely descriptive, a surprising disappointment coming from one of the finest analysts of state government in New Mexico history.

This lack of analysis is not a trivial lapse. During Abbey’s forty years in the Roundhouse New Mexico collapsed from roughly the top of the bottom third among states to the bottom of the bottom third, in many of the very metrics Abbey monitored each year. LFC reports evaluated every agency and program in state government; many of these were brilliant, and Abbey deserved his reputation as a savant with a spreadsheet. He knew the shortcomings of the ship of state better than anyone.

If you were one of the key stewards on a ship that was sinking slowly during your tenure, it is helpful to let your readers know the design of the engine room, the operating procedures on the bridge, and the organization of the crew. It is also fascinating to learn how decisions were made about where the ship was headed and how fast, or some of the changes each captain made as he or she took the helm. But what people will remember is that the ship was sinking, and that none of the actions of the crew prevented it from sinking further. People will ask, and deserve to know, why this was so. It is the dominant question about New Mexico state government in our time. Unfortunately, despite his ringside seat at the fulcrum of political power in New Mexico, Abbey never offers a clue as to what he thinks might have happened, although he offers a section of brief comments by others about this.

Dr. Jose Z. Garcia is a former New Mexico Secretary of Higher Education, retired University PhD professor of political science, is active in state politics and a columnist for El Rito Media. He lives in Las Cruces and also frequently spends time in Santa Fe where he maintains a residence.