A blogging battle over what domestic partner benefits would mean for New Mexico and what it means to be a progressive is one of the hottest topics in the New Mexico blogosphere today.

Albuquerque Journal columnist Jim Scarantino authored a piece published Thursday setting off the battle by claiming that, while he supports the concept of domestic partner benefits, a bill sponsored by Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, would “deprive others of their right to practice a religious faith that condemns homosexuality.”

Barb Wold of Democracy for New Mexico responded on her blog with a lengthy rebuttal in which she calls Scarantino “another garden-variety extremist bent on twisting the truth into a fiction that supports his prejudices and biases.” Scarantino fired back on the blog New Mexico Liberty, which he runs for the Rio Grande Foundation, in a posting titled “Fascism for New Mexico”, decrying “Democracy for New Mexico’s call to censor me.”

Click here to read Barb responding a second time, and here to read NMI’s Matt Reichbach, on his NMFBIHOP blog, jumping into the fray.

Oh, I’m sorry, you wanted something on GRIPgate instead? OK. Click here for a picture of Gov. Bill Richardson’s newly reborn beard, an apparent child of the controversy that led to him withdrawing his nomination to be commerce secretary earlier this month.