Is it the food or the company?

As Paul LePage continues to avoid the press and mainstream Maine voters, one might ask…is it the food or the company?

Paul LePage seems most comfortable when talking with those who agree with him. Here is a little feedback on his tea party fundraising BBQ with the Refounders on Sunday, August 15th:

Comment by David JP 3 hours ago
Pete, thank you so much for hosting the "BBQ" event. It was a pleasure meeting you and the others that attended. Paul LePage was very IMPRESSIVE. That he remained at the BBQ for approx. 3 and 1/2 hours says a lot about how he values grass roots support. I thoroughly enjoyed the one-on-one talk as people created a circle of lawn chairs to have a Q&A with Paul and to discuss issues facing Maine.

Maine voters do not object to one-on-one opportunities to meet candidates. But it cannot be all one-on-one and one-on-none. Being available to Maine voters requires a healthy mixture of in person campaigning, connecting with voters through a variety of forums and debates, and being available to the press rather than hiding. Concentrating 3½ hours of time in a lawn chair circle chatting with those who echo your views while elsewhere denying a few hours to be engaged with the citizens you expect to serve as Governor is not a good example of the leadership needed and respect deserved by all Maine citizens.

Maybe at the next forum, Libby Mitchell, Shawn Moody, Eliot Cutler, and Kevin Scott who all seem quite able to make time for Maine voters should bring along a grill, some juicy ribs, a delicious salad, and a few cold beverages to entice Paul LePage to speak to the people of Maine. Unless it is the company...

LePage's Mainizona?

A press release from the Maine Republican Victory Campaign made the rounds over the weekend, excerpts follow:

MAINE REPUBLICANS STAND WITH ARIZONA

AUGUSTA - A resolution in support of Arizona's right to enforce existing federal immigration laws was passed last week at the Republican National Committee meeting in Kansas City. The resolution was introduced by Maine GOP Committeewoman Jan Staples, and received unanimous support.

"Maine Republicans stand with the people of Arizona," said Staples. "As a border state, we understand the gravity of this issue. The safety of our citizens is of paramount importance, and Arizonans have the right to protect themselves in light of lax federal enforcement."

The resolution cites specific support of S.B. 1070, a bill passed by the Arizona legislature and signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer.

and

A recent Rasmussen Reports poll showed a majority of Mainers support the passage
of an Arizona-like law in Maine, with only 39% supporting the Obama Administration's decision to sue the state of Arizona.

"We are proud that Maine is leading the way in support of Arizona," said Maine GOP Chair Charlie Webster.

I am struck by the reference to "passage of an Arizona-like law in Maine". Is this part of what the Maine Republican Victory Campaign hopes to achieve in the future?

After all the concern and exceptions extended to businesses and families who enjoyed decades of cross border relaxed exchanges between Maine and our Canadian neighbors during the move to new passport requirements, do Republicans now want to have local law enforcement officials during stops to attempt to determine a person's immigration status given some sort of suspicion that the person is an "illegal alien"?

At the heart of the Arizona debacle is that profiling of Hispanics will necessarily take place in actual police practice despite how the law is written. What type of profiling in Maine would take place? Perhaps a French accent would prompt a demand for papers. Can we expect Paul LePage to reject this resolution and to speak out forcefully in opposition to such a law and the malpractice of it in Maine on behalf of border communities and Franco-American Maine citizens? Of course this would occur only if he is a truly common sense thinker he purports to be and not just another rigid right-wing politician.

The Republican Party resolution referenced follows:

WHEREAS, the United States has a rich tradition of extending the promise and opportunity of America to immigrants who legally enter her borders; and

WHEREAS, America recognizes the contributions of generations of immigrants legally entering the country have made to the economy and culture of the United States; and
WHEREAS immigration that is both legal and controlled allows immigrants coming to America to openly assimilate into the culture of their adoptive home and, therefore, more readily reap the benefits available to all who reside legally within the borders of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the federal government, through lax enforcement of the federal immigration laws, has failed to protect our nation's borders, our citizens and legal residents by stopping the flow of illegal border crossings; and

WHEREAS, the State of Arizona, to protect its citizens, legal residents and visitors, has therefore passed S.B. 1070 to enforce standing federal statutes concerning immigration; and

WHEREAS, the Arizona law mirrors federal immigration law and does not provide any additional burdens on any person legally present in the United States; and

WHEREAS, enforcement of the Arizona law explicitly prohibits profiling; and

WHEREAS, the rule of law has been, and should continue to be, the basis of governance in this country; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that The Republican National Committee supports the State of Arizona's right and responsibility to provide security and stability for its citizens; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Republican National Committee supports the State of Arizona's effort to protect its citizens, residents and visitors through the passage of S.B. 1070.

Waking Up to Reality

In today’ Press Herald, Scott Kauffman, former vice chairman of the Maine Republican Party, endorsed Libby Mitchell for governor:

I respect the long history of the Republican Party. I admire Lincoln's vision, Eisenhower's leadership and Reagan's common sense. However, the values of self-reliance and rugged individualism which guided these men would have no place in today's Republican Party. I am one Republican who will still embrace individualism and will not blindly follow the new tea party GOP.

The entire left – right extremist - we are dying for a centrist, fairy tale is very aptly punctured by Scott Kauffman’s sensible endorsement of Libby Mitchell.

Many in the Maine media and punditry are in love with the “two-sides to every story” lazy way of looking at the gubernatorial race. The formula is that if there is a right wing extreme GOTP candidate that the opposing Democratic Party candidacy must therefore be an extreme left wing offering. And this false tale also works even better when the storyline includes a moderate hero to break in between the extremists.

Kauffman gives us a dose of reality and ought to wake us up from the bedtime story above that put us to sleep.

Paul LePage is an extremist and bent on dismantling the very pillars of this state’s foundations without regard to neither present need nor future progress to satisfy the extreme anti-tax crowd overjoyed at his hijacking of the Republican Party.

Elliot Cutler is a fairly wealthy independent burning a lot of cash in pursuit of the Blaine House. While not an extremist, he really is a conservative who seems to be image fiddling primarily to fit into the storyline above in order to eek out a plurality victory by default. Yet it seems unlikely that he will be able to poll above 20% and his candidacy may really only serve to deliver the governorship to Paul LePage.

Libby Mitchell is not a leftist extremist in way. Is she generally more progressive that the rest of the field? Yes and Maine’s citizens are more progressive than the rest of the field in a very pragmatic way. Libby Mitchell is a exactly the type of leader that will give us a no-nonsense, get the job done for Maine, set egos aside approach that Maine citizens expect.

Kaufman’s accurate portrayal of Libby Mitchell is based on facts that transcend the fiction in this tale:

As Senate president, Libby Mitchell got things done. She worked with Democrats and Republicans to pass legislation that helped create jobs, improved our education system and moved the state towards energy sustainability.

She is not afraid to make the tough decisions that will be necessary to lead our state. Libby Mitchell stands solidly in the mainstream and is the type of leader Maine needs to move forward.

Libby is ready to govern.

Hide & Seek LePage

There are two in a row public forums or debates that Paul LePage will not attend due to “scheduling conflicts”. But of course, candidates for Governor ultimately decide what is important in their schedules. Apparently, speaking to Maine citizens in a substantive and in an informative way on issue positions is not a priority of Paul LePage. So he will blow off (as of this writing, we rather hope to shame him into appearing) the August 13 gubernatorial forum sponsored by The Island Institute in Rockland and the August 19 candidate debate at the University of Maine at Machias.

These “schedule conflicts” are unknown and we hope to find out eventually what events are more vital than these important public forums. It does not seem as if Paul LePage will be completely away. On August 12th, he will be at the Skowhegan Fair from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, on August 14th he will attend the Pal Hop Reunion at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston at 9:00 PM, and on August 15th he will be at a BBQ with Pete the Carpenter to raise money from the right wing tea party group the Refounders.

It is unknown if it is the press or the professors asking questions that are the concern of Paul LePage. To his defense, Dan Billings has posted As Maine Goes:

In Paul's case, he is not taxpayer funded and is not self-funded. He has a busy schedule of fundraisers all summer. He needs to raise money to win. If he has a fundraising event on the books, I would expect that would be a priority.

Chasing cash over connecting with voters is a poor choice and with Paul LePage’s much bragged about win with little cash in the primary because of his supposed ability to connect with grassroots voters, it would seem that priorities would be just the opposite of Mr. Billings musings.

There do not seem to be any pressing events of a ceremonial nature for the ceremonial Mayor of Waterville according to the city’s website. Perhaps it is pressing private sector business interfering? LePage did announce that he would be taking a leave of absence from Marden’s and according to the Bangor Daily News on June 24 already is on leave. At any rate, he seems to be able to make a great deal of other events, again it all boils down to priorities.

Perhaps Paul LePage is getting the makeover after his gaffe, gripe, and groan start to the campaign. That may not be unusual. A number of extreme tea party candidates from Rand Paul in Kentucky and Sharron Angle in Nevada needed to get an overexposure break from their radical messages in order to emerge later with a hopefully little more Republican constraint and toned down rhetoric.

Yet Paul LePage is hiding and we are left seeking. He is ducking substantive issue forums but seems out and about doing backslapping retail politicking and tax bashing at fairs, dances, and picnics. It almost seems like LePage wants to dine, sing and dance rather than debate, speak, and discuss.

Paul! Paul LePage! Game’s over! Ally, ally, in free!

UnAmerican Amendment Adjustments

So now Republicans are jumping on the bandwagon to look at repealing the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

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The ultra right are in love with Amendments 2, 9, and 10. Amendments 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, of the "Bill of Rights" are just liberal drivel overkill. In their minds, Amendments 11 and up, and now especially 14, should all be repealed as too many constitutional concessions to modernity.

Maybe the best way to go is: Ditch the 14th Amendment? Why stop there?

Best read with a nice cold glass of raw milk and a heaping plate of organic Lindsey Graham crackers.

She's Ready to Govern

While the Grand Old Tea Party nominee tries to figure out how to make the Governor’s race an angry referendum on taxes, social issues, throwing bums out, states rights, federal overreach, or anything else that might fire up his right wing base, Libby Mitchell has been quietly and competently building consensus toward solutions to Maine’s challenges.

Libby is working hard and demonstrating the one trait that Paul LePage lacks completely, the ability to govern. Today’s Kennebec Journal reported on each of her primary opponents joining her team in a substantive role:

The three rivals who lost to Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell in the Democratic Party primary will lead policy subcommittees in support of her gubernatorial campaign.

Former Attorney General Steven Rowe, Stanford Management Chief Executive Officer Rosa Scarcelli and former Department of Conservation Commissioner Patrick McGowan have agreed to solicit input from people across the state on topics such as jobs, energy, and education, the Mitchell campaign announced Wednesday.

Each of these individuals brought unique perspectives and diverse backgrounds and supporters to the quest for the Democratic nomination. Each one had a positive vision and proposed solutions to Maine challenges worthy of further consideration.

Libby Mitchell’s tapping into this talent base demonstrates a commitment to bringing people together to tackle tough issues. It demonstrates a commitment to consensus building over gridlock. And it offers a glimpse into how she will lead Maine.

At the end of this campaign we are not looking for an obstructionist to obstruct nor an administrator to administrate but a Governor to govern. Libby Mitchell is not thrashing around like Paul LePage nor craftily tuning a message like Elliot Cutler; she is engaging her energies in working on jobs and business development with Rosa Scarcelli, energy and the environment with Jim McGowan, and education with Steve Rowe. And many other people with all kinds of experiences and backgrounds are working with her too.

The Governor’s office is for governing and serving the aspirations of Maine’s citizens. It requires consensus building and input from all facets of Maine’s society. Without doubt, Libby, as Governor, will include leaders from across the political spectrum beyond the Democratic Party, just as she did as Senate President. This is a no-nonsense, get the job done for Maine, set egos aside approach typical of her that Maine citizens expect. Libby is ready to govern. She gets things done.

Paul LePage Paranoia Pandering

You are invited to go over to Dirigo Blue and read this post,
Paul LePage Paranoia Pandering,
that exposes his connections with Maine's ultra-far right.