Rick Ungar: Opponent's Remark on NM Gov. Martinez 'Ridiculous'

An ethnically insensitive comment about New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez by her Democratic opponent has been roundly condemned by a Newsmax panel.

"We have a word for this guy: putz,'' Rick Ungar, co-host of the SiriusXM radio show "Steele & Ungar,'' told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alan Webber told supporters at a rally that they needed to help him make Martinez a one-term governor and "send her back to wherever she really came from," according to a video obtained by The Weekly Standard.

"I suspect it's Texas. And that would be good for Texas and that would be good for New Mexico," Webber — co-founder of the business magazine Fast Company — is heard saying.

Martinez, a Republican, is the nation's first female Hispanic governor and grew up in El Paso, Texas.

"What a ridiculous thing to say,'' Ungar said Tuesday. "If he meant anything other than what it appears that he meant, he ought to step up and tell us what, because that's outrageous what he said."

Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute, who appeared with Ungar on the panel, said:

"I'm from New Mexico originally, and Susana Martinez is a terrific governor. She sold the state governor's plane to fly around the state and decided instead to buy books for kids so they'd have something to read in the summertime.

"She's connected with the state of New Mexico and with what the people need, and for this person to make implications about her . . ."

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