Cactus Crossfire

Sisto Abeyta & Eddie Ableser
  • 5.0 (2)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Spicy takes, prickly debates and sharp Southwest flavor—Cactus Crossfire dives into politics, culture, and the issues shaping our region and beyond. Whether you agree, disagree, or want to add your own perspective, we want to hear from you. Join the conversation & let's get prickly! Shoot us an email (info@cactuscrossfire.com), or visit www.cactuscrossfire.com to stay in the loop on future episodes. Catch more insights on our blog: https://www.cactuscrossfire.com/blog Sign up for exclusive updates: https://www.cactuscrossfire.com/contact-8 Follow us: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CactusCrossfire TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cactuscrossfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cactuscrossfire/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cactuscrossfire Hosts: Sisto Abeyta, Tri-Strategies | NM Eddie Ableser, Tri-Strategies | UT, NV & AZ www.tri-strategies.com Producer: Mandi Nunez, Tri-Strategies | NM www.tri-strategies.com Auto Engineer & Editor: Gabe Narcisco Baca, eightySIX88 Studios | Albuquerque, NM www.8688.productions

  1. Interview with Deb Haaland: Be Fierce About Families, Safety, and Schools

    MAY 10

    Interview with Deb Haaland: Be Fierce About Families, Safety, and Schools

    Deb Haaland on what New Mexicans are asking for right now On this episode of Cactus Crossfire, Sisto Abeyta sits down with former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, now a Democratic candidate for Governor of New Mexico. Eddie Ableser is out for this one, but the conversation stays sharp and personal, rooted in the kind of organizing stories that built New Mexico politics long before social media ever did. Haaland says the number one issue she hears across the state is affordability. In her words, New Mexicans need a raise. She connects the dots between wages, health care, and stability for families, arguing for stronger supports like the child tax credit and working families tax credit and a public option for health care that could also help small businesses cover employees. From green chile stew to running a federal department One of the most memorable parts of the conversation is how Haaland describes organizing in Indian Country and across New Mexico. She talks about registering voters at Pueblo feast days, visiting Navajo Nation chapters, and yes feeding people because in New Mexico food is community. The stories aren’t just nostalgia. They’re her argument that the work has to be grounded and that leadership means doing whatever the moment requires. Haaland also shares her background growing up in a military family, moving schools often, and learning how to stretch a dollar. She talks about raising her daughter as a single mom and starting a salsa business when child care wasn’t available. That experience becomes her case for universal child care as an economic driver and a real life difference maker for working parents. Safety, behavioral health, and rebuilding CYFD Public safety comes up fast and Haaland frames it as both enforcement and systems. She talks about giving law enforcement the tools and technology they need to address violent crime and illegal drugs, while also creating an Office of Community Safety that can route non crime calls to behavioral health professionals instead of police. On CYFD, she doesn’t tiptoe. Haaland says it needs to be rebuilt from scratch, staffed up, and stabilized with consistent leadership. She also emphasizes recruiting foster parents and restoring morale for state workers doing difficult work under intense pressure. Education that actually inspires kids Haaland’s education priorities are practical and specific. She wants kids reading sooner, reading coaches in classrooms, and more listening to teachers about which students need one on one attention. She also lays out an Every Child Outdoors vision that treats New Mexico’s landscapes as part of the classroom, plus a major push to bring trades back into schools starting in middle school and leading into paid apprenticeships after graduation. Immigration enforcement and transparency Sisto shares a personal story about being detained by ICE as a teenager, and Haaland responds with a clear stance. She argues New Mexico should require transparency from any law enforcement operating in the state, including visible identification and clarity about who they’re targeting and why. She says fear based enforcement in schools, hospitals, and courthouses is wrong and that New Mexico should push back. The closing message Haaland ends with a simple claim: a better New Mexico is possible. She points to her experience managing a large federal department and implementing laws she helped pass, and she says she’ll hold the federal government accountable to its obligations to New Mexico. If you have a take on what you heard, send it in. Disagree with us? Great. Tell us why.

    32 min
  2. Integrity on Trial: Friends, Fallout, and Foreign Fires🌵❌🔥

    APR 23

    Integrity on Trial: Friends, Fallout, and Foreign Fires🌵❌🔥

    In this episode of Cactus Crossfire, Sisto and Eddie pull on one thread that keeps showing up everywhere right now: integrity. What happens when trust breaks in public, when the people closest to the story stay quiet, and when accountability looks suspiciously timed. They start with the resignation of Congressman “Solwell” and the political fallout that splashes onto Senator Ruben Gallego, including the uncomfortable question everyone is asking out loud: what did he know, and when did he know it. Eddie calls it what it looks like from the outside, friendly fire inside Democratic politics, and Sisto zooms out to the bigger issue: in the West, relationships still run on handshakes and reputation, so what happens when someone’s word stops meaning anything. From there, the conversation widens into the culture of misconduct in politics, why some behavior gets treated as disqualifying while other abuse gets brushed off, and why speaking truth to power is easier to demand than to actually do. They also dig into the double standard in how misconduct is discussed across gender, and why men reporting harassment is still treated like a punchline instead of a problem. Then the show pivots global. Eddie breaks down the political transition in Hungary and the American tendency to project our own ideological fantasies onto foreign elections. The episode also tackles the U.S. Senate vote to restrict arms sales to Israel on Holocaust Memorial Day, the internal identity crisis it’s triggering for Eddie as a Democrat, and Sisto’s pushback on what the vote was meant to accomplish. Finally, they close with a headline making its way through the Southwest: Pope Leo vs the President, and the deeper fight underneath it about faith, war, diplomacy, and what peace actually means. Sisto brings in statements from Southwest archbishops, Eddie counters with the “just war” tradition, and they land the plane the only way Cactus Crossfire can: with spicy, prickly, and quickly.

    40 min
  3. Cracks, Crossroads, and Culture Wars

    APR 6

    Cracks, Crossroads, and Culture Wars

    🌵❌🔥Cracks, Crossroads, and Culture Wars🌵❌🔥 Detailed episode description In this episode of Cactus Crossfire, Sisto and Eddie bounce from global conflict to local political strategy, unpacking what happens when political brands start to crack under pressure. They dig into the fallout from Joe Kent’s resignation, rising gas and oil prices, and the political risk those realities create for Trump and Republicans heading into the next election cycle. The conversation then shifts to the Texas and Illinois primaries, where the hosts argue that voters are rewarding candidates who sound grounded, practical, and connected to everyday life. They highlight how Democrats in the West are finding stronger footing by talking about the economy, community identity, and common sense instead of ideological performance. Bobby Pulido, James Talarico, Speaker Javier Martinez, Ruben Gallego, Ben Ray Lujan, and Martin Heinrich all come up as examples of Democrats shaping a more relatable and effective message. One of the heaviest segments centers on the revelations surrounding Cesar Chavez. Sisto and Eddie wrestle with what it means when a movement icon is exposed as deeply flawed and abusive. They talk about hero worship, Latino identity, labor history, Dolores Huerta’s role, and why movements must be bigger than any one man. It is one of the most emotional and morally serious conversations in the episode. They also tackle the Graves Amendment and the debate over rideshare liability, asking where responsibility should fall between drivers and the companies behind the apps. From there, the show closes with the usual “Spicy, Prickly, and Quickly” segment, covering everything from the Brady Bunch house and Walter White’s home to Mormon reality TV, the Epstein Truth Commission in New Mexico, and UNM basketball loyalty. This episode is wide ranging, funny, sharp, and loaded with real debate about power, accountability, political messaging, and the stories shaping the Southwest and the country. 🌵❌🔥

    58 min
  4. State of Imagination: Trump, Texas, Iran, and the Southwest Reality Check

    MAR 23

    State of Imagination: Trump, Texas, Iran, and the Southwest Reality Check

    Cactus Crossfire is back with another sharp, fast moving episode packed with politics, policy, and the kind of debate people are actually having across the Southwest. This week, Sisto and Eddie break down Trump’s latest State of the Union, the spectacle around it, and the difference between political theater and real economic pain. They get into what actually matters to working people: affordability, housing, healthcare, public safety, energy, and whether elected leaders are dealing with reality or just selling a performance. The conversation also moves through the Texas primaries, the role of populism in both parties, the politics of faith, and the growing tension around foreign policy and Iran. This episode does not stay on the surface. It digs into fraud and waste in government, energy independence, data centers, New Mexico’s oil and gas revenues, and the long term risks that come with short term booms. Sisto and Eddie also wrestle with what leadership should look like when institutions are under stress and voters are tired of canned talking points. If you want a conversation that is blunt, funny, informed, and rooted in what these issues mean for the Southwest, this episode delivers. Have a take? Send it in. Do you disagree with us? Great. Tell us why. That's the whole point. 🌵❌🔥 👇 Watch, listen, and join the debate: YouTube: https://youtu.be/lcUIQ7hznsc Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cactus-crossfire/id1859717200?i=1000756793288 Website: https://www.cactuscrossfire.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cactuscrossfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cactuscrossfire/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cactuscrossfire Sisto Abeyta on Instagram: @sistoaabeyta Sisto Abeyta on TikTok: @sisto.abeyta Eddie on Instagram: @ezableser Eddie on TikTok: @eddie.ableser Reach us on socials or email info@cactuscrossfire.com NM STUDIO: www.8688.productions AZ STUDIO: https://www.instagram.com/podcaststudioaz #CactusCrossfire #NewMexicoPolitics #SouthwestPolitics #PoliticalPodcast #HotTakes

    1h 8m
  5. Boots, Brims, and Bregman: ICE, Crime, and New Mexico’s Governor Race🌵❌🔥

    MAR 9

    Boots, Brims, and Bregman: ICE, Crime, and New Mexico’s Governor Race🌵❌🔥

    In this Cactus Crossfire episode, host Sisto Abeyta sits down with Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, a candidate for Governor of New Mexico, for a candid conversation about civil rights, public safety, healthcare, education, housing, and what state leadership looks like when chaos out of Washington hits home. They open with personal history and political roots, including the influence of Sam’s father and the lessons that shaped Sam’s approach to public service. The tone stays real and familiar, with stories from campaigns, the racetrack, and Sisto’s own experience navigating bias in New Mexico politics. A major focus is immigration enforcement and constitutional policing. Sam argues that no one is above the rule of law, including federal agents, and criticizes stops and detentions without reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or warrants. He frames this as both a civil rights issue and a public safety issue, warning that fear based tactics can keep victims and witnesses from coming forward, making it harder to prosecute violent crime. From there, the conversation moves into crime and law enforcement coordination. Sam emphasizes that violent offenders will be prosecuted regardless of immigration status, while also describing cooperation with federal partners on operations targeting people with violent felony warrants. Healthcare is a central policy section. Sam highlights New Mexico’s reliance on Medicaid and pushes back on federal threats to cut funding. He calls for urgency in strengthening the state’s healthcare system by removing gross receipts tax on medical services, expanding licensing compacts to support telehealth, and creating stronger incentives to recruit and retain doctors and nurses, including medical school debt relief for providers who stay and practice in New Mexico. Education is discussed through accountability and chronic absenteeism. Sam argues for clear goals, frequent progress reporting, early literacy intervention, and treating absenteeism as a statewide crisis that undermines every other reform. On housing, Sam argues homeownership remains a key pathway to the middle class and proposes state supported down payment assistance structured as an interest free second mortgage repaid when the home is sold. Asked about first 100 days priorities, Sam lists law enforcement coordination, staffing and recruiting, behavioral health system coordination with real time bed availability, education urgency, and healthcare workforce growth. The most pointed governance section centers on CYFD, which Sam says he would overhaul first due to chronic understaffing and burnout that put vulnerable kids at risk. The episode closes with lighter moments and personality, including cowboy hat talk, media jokes, and baseball, while keeping the focus on accountability and delivering real results for New Mexicans. Join the conversation: www.cactuscrossfire.com

    59 min
  6. Schools, Safety, & City Hall: Councilwoman Berdetta Hodge on Leading Tempe🌵❌🔥

    MAR 7

    Schools, Safety, & City Hall: Councilwoman Berdetta Hodge on Leading Tempe🌵❌🔥

    Tempe is one of those cities that forces you to get creative. You cannot just sprawl outward forever. You are landlocked, sitting in the middle of everything, and if you want to grow, you have to grow smarter. That is why this episode matters. We sat down with Councilwoman Berdetta Hodge from Tempe, Arizona, to talk about what it looks like when someone leads from both sides of the pipeline: the school board and the city council. Her foundation is education. She started on the Tempe Union High School District governing board and later ran for city council because she saw something most people miss. Schools do not operate in a vacuum. Cities shape what schools can do, what students can access, and what pathways exist after graduation. Tempe Drive: a real K through career pathway One of the biggest initiatives she shared is Tempe Drive, a collaboration between multiple school districts, Arizona State University, and the City of Tempe. The goal is simple but ambitious: make the transition from elementary to high school to college or workforce smoother and more intentional. If you want young people to stay in Tempe, build in Tempe, and lead in Tempe, you cannot just talk about opportunity. You have to design it. Safety is not just physical Berdetta also walked us through why Tempe became the second city in the country to adopt Sandy Hook Promise at the city level. The point is not just physical security. It is emotional safety, prevention, and making sure schools have the resources to be proactive instead of reactive. And when youth violence headlines hit close to home, she did not wait for someone else to act. She pushed a brass knuckles ordinance to outlaw them in Tempe after seeing how real the damage can be. Google Fiber and the future of learning We also got into something that sounds like a tech issue but is really an equity issue: internet infrastructure. Berdetta shared that Tempe is in the final stages of bringing Google Fiber to the city, with benefits for businesses, neighborhoods, and schools. When classrooms run on laptops and platforms, connectivity becomes part of the learning environment. If the internet fails, learning fails. Homelessness and the hard work of trust On homelessness, Berdetta’s approach is not about criminalizing people. It is about building trust and connecting people to services. Tempe’s park rangers, paired with CARE 7 and the HOPE team, are designed to de escalate and engage, not just push people from one corner to another. She also said the quiet part out loud: you can care deeply and still need rules that protect children walking through parks to school and protect unsheltered people from being victimized. Leadership that refuses the easy labels As an African American woman and a mother of African American sons, Berdetta addressed the expectation that she should be anti police. She rejects that binary. Her focus is safety and trust, and she highlighted programs that bring officers into schools to mentor and build relationships. This is what real local leadership looks like. Not slogans. Not purity tests. Actual systems, actual partnerships, and actual accountability. If you care about how cities can do better on schools, safety, infrastructure, and homelessness, this is the conversation. Have a take? Send it in. Do you disagree with us? Great. Tell us why. That's the whole point. 🌵❌🔥 👇 Watch, listen and join the discussion: YouTube: https://youtu.be/snJw2UNiY_c Website: https://www.cactuscrossfire.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cactuscrossfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cactuscrossfire/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cactuscrossfire Hosts: Sisto Abeyta on Instagram: @sistoaabeyta Sisto Abeyta on TikTok: @sisto.abeyta Eddie on Instagram: @ezableser Eddie on TikTok: @eddie.ableser Reach us on socials or email info@cactuscrossfire.com.

    36 min
  7. WHO ARE WE? Outsiders in Our Own Party🌵❌🔥

    FEB 16

    WHO ARE WE? Outsiders in Our Own Party🌵❌🔥

    Cactus Crossfire is back for a new season, and Sisto and Eddie open with the usual mix of warmth and chaos: studio banter, bad internet, and a Valentine’s Day detour that turns into a surprisingly relatable debate about those giant Hershey’s Kisses and how they always end up half stale but still somehow get eaten. From there, they set expectations for Season 2. The big shift is more interviews, more listener feedback from the Prickly Pack, and more focus on stories they believe mainstream media is missing. They preview upcoming guests and conversations, including Tempe city councilmember Bredetta Hodge, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman (also described as a gubernatorial candidate), and Reno councilwoman Brandy Anderson. They also rattle off the broader list of topics they plan to hit this season: ICE shootings, the Epstein files, a government shutdown, a Texas special election, a winter storm, detention and release issues tied to ICE, the Grammys, and Super Bowl fallout. The heart of the episode is a who are these guys conversation: how they each found their way into Democratic politics, and why both of them still feel like outsiders inside the party. Eddie’s story centers on Arizona and Tempe. He describes being politically activated by the Pat Tillman narrative and the anger many people felt when the public story shifted to friendly fire and the way leaders used Tillman’s death to support a broader war narrative. He explains that he wasn’t driven by ideological purity so much as a desire to make change, and that running as an independent wasn’t realistic, so he joined the Democratic Party to run for office. He says his first experience walking into party headquarters was a blunt purity test: are you pro choice. Eddie answers yes, but emphasizes that the issue is nuanced in real life and in legislative voting. He then describes additional pushback he faced for being religious and for volunteering with churches, saying some party voices treated faith as incompatible with being a Democrat. He also recounts sponsoring Equal Rights Amendment related legislation and then being criticized that a woman should have run it, even though no one else had stepped up. Sisto’s story is rooted in rural New Mexico and a family tradition of practical politics. He describes his father as a trusted community voice, less focused on national litmus tests and more focused on local delivery: roads, public safety presence, substations, and support for volunteer fire departments. When Sisto tried to step into party leadership, he says he ran into insider gatekeeping and what he describes as possible hanky panky around a county party vote, which pushed his father toward distrust of party leadership. Sisto describes learning to blend political worlds: the rural, working class, door knocking culture he grew up with and the insider structures of party politics. He recounts being told to learn how the party works and being criticized for not having the right pedigree. His response was to build a coalition outside the room and bring people in, which helped him win Young Democrats leadership by a wide margin. He also reflects on how labels shift depending on the audience: for years he was treated as one of the more moderate Democrats in New Mexico politics, but in the podcast format he’s now often perceived as the more progressive voice. Both hosts connect these origin stories to what they’re trying to do with the show: debate issues directly, keep friendships intact, and resist the constant purity tests and trolling that dominate social media. The conversation then pivots into a broader critique of the current political climate, using immigration protests as the example. Eddie argues that rational dialogue is getting muted and that protest culture has become more aggressive, including incidents of people spitting on law enforcement and using racial slurs. They compare today’s environment to protest movements in the 1960s and 1970s, inc

    1 hr
  8. Minnesota's Mess, Iran's Uprising, Venezuela's Oil & NYC's Communist Manifesto🌵❌🔥

    FEB 2

    Minnesota's Mess, Iran's Uprising, Venezuela's Oil & NYC's Communist Manifesto🌵❌🔥

    🌵❌🔥 CACTUS CROSSFIRE SEASON 2: LET'S GET PRICKLY 🌵❌🔥 Minnesota's daycare centers are a mess. Iran's uprising is being ignored. Venezuela's oil is about to flood the market. And NYC's mayor quoted the Communist Manifesto. This is Cactus Crossfire Season 2. We're back. And this season, we're doubling down on what makes us different. Civil discourse without demonization. Debate without tribalism. Listening to people who disagree with you. And we're doing it with the understanding that good governance requires people who can disagree—sharply—and still find common ground. This season, we're inviting politicians, policymakers, and community leaders to join the conversation. We're featuring listener questions. We're tackling the stories mainstream media is missing or ignoring. We are getting prickly. Have a take? Send it in. Do you disagree with us? Great. Tell us why. That's the whole point. 🌵❌🔥 Subscribe now on all platforms: Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook www.cactuscrossfire.com

    1h 7m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Spicy takes, prickly debates and sharp Southwest flavor—Cactus Crossfire dives into politics, culture, and the issues shaping our region and beyond. Whether you agree, disagree, or want to add your own perspective, we want to hear from you. Join the conversation & let's get prickly! Shoot us an email (info@cactuscrossfire.com), or visit www.cactuscrossfire.com to stay in the loop on future episodes. Catch more insights on our blog: https://www.cactuscrossfire.com/blog Sign up for exclusive updates: https://www.cactuscrossfire.com/contact-8 Follow us: YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CactusCrossfire TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cactuscrossfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cactuscrossfire/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cactuscrossfire Hosts: Sisto Abeyta, Tri-Strategies | NM Eddie Ableser, Tri-Strategies | UT, NV & AZ www.tri-strategies.com Producer: Mandi Nunez, Tri-Strategies | NM www.tri-strategies.com Auto Engineer & Editor: Gabe Narcisco Baca, eightySIX88 Studios | Albuquerque, NM www.8688.productions

Information

  • Creator
    Sisto Abeyta & Eddie Ableser
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Cactus Crossfire