In the spirit of full disclosure, Ditre's organization is certainly "left-leaning" to say the least. Want to label? Let's label throughout the article, shall we? I am so sick of liberal bias in the media.

Just to set the record straight because Dan keeps complaining about my cushy job with the Maine Turnpike Authority:

I am pleased to serve the patrons of the Maine Turnpike as a board member. A staff member hands me a $55 check to cover gas, tolls and wear & tear every month. That's a real cushy job alright! :)

At Bruce Poliquin's urging, changes were made in the Pension account that will save the taxpayers of the state of Maine $1.7 BILLION dollars in taxes.

All the while, guaranteeing a very generous defined benefit plan to the many people depending upon it for a good part of their retirement income.

Pensioners and taxpayers alike should be pleased with Mr. Poliquin's fine work.

1. Reads like an Op-Ed.

2. Apparently, there were no Republicans willing to talk to Steve today. Nice balance in the reporting.

3. Peggy is like Rutherford Hayes...looking backward. The days of free and easy General Assistance are so over.

what are the chances?

He presided over the largest expansion of Maine government ever. I'll pass on him this time. I supported him in his first run, but he really disappointed me.

Margaret Thatcher said "Socialism is great until other people's money runs out." Liberalism and socialism are very close cousins.

Other peoples money is running out all over Europe. I am sure you have been paying attention.

Because Obama and friends are printing money like it is going out of style, and it won't be long before we are out of other people's money on this side of the great Atlantic.

What are we going to do then, Kim?

Angus presided over the largest expansion of Maine government in history. I shudder to think of Obama and King in Washington at the same time. We'll be going to Dunkin' Donuts with a suitcase of money to buy a coffee.

Oh well, at $104 trillion in unfunded liabilities piled on our kids and grandkids shoulders, let's party like it's 1999!

OJ and Jock have accumulated millions. Time to enjoy it. It's 5 O'Clock somewhere.

Now the scramble begins to accumulate 2,000 signatures, have them certified and in to the SOS by March 15th. This is a cheap seat and will be heavily sought after.

Pop some popcorn and break out the diet coke. This will be interesting.

Rex... LePage's proposal seeks to bring spending, now out of control, into line with revenues, now declining rapidly in Maine. You need to understand that debits have to equal credits in state government financing. We cannot print money like Obama and the Congress can. The budget, by law, must be balanced in Maine. All of your hollow rhetoric about the uninsured wont get credits to equal (or exceed) debits.

It is easy to castigate LePage because a politician that wants to take free (as in "other people's) money away from any group is always going to be demonized. Pols that want to give other people's money to a group are going to heroes and heroines. It's human nature, like kids are to candy.

The reality is, Rex, that there are many thousands of Mainers who could have employer paid health insurance, where they have to kick in part of the cost, but chose not to. They would rather have the free Peggy Rotundo-Margaret Craven supplied brand. Why pay a monthly premium when you can get "Peggy Care" for nothing? The 65,000 that would have been "cut" from the Peggy Care rolls had an interesting average demographic...they were 41 years old, male and had no kids.

You have long championed the likes of Peggy and Margaret for leadership rolls in Augusta. You have championed the "Grand Experiment" of loading up our welfare rolls with thousands of "New Mainers." Well, the chickens are coming home to roost. The Grand Experiment is not working. It blew up in your face. High taxes and onerous regulation is not working. There are now 361,000 people getting free health care, and rising.

Lewiston and Auburn have the largest number of Maine's TANF recipients terming out after 5 years on "temporary" assistance. And yet millions and millions of state and federal aid have been poured into L-A since the "Great Society" came in to being and poverty is worse here than ever before. Why isn't it working? Why isn't the paper asking that question?

Taxpayers are leaving Maine in droves. Soon, there will be 400,000 on MaineCare and the Editorial Board will be wondering where the taxpayers went because you won't be able to hide it any longer. If the Democrats return to power this fall, we might as well turn out the lights because there will be no stopping the train to fiscal hell.

I've noticed that the last three Democrats coming out to campaign for legislative seats in Androscoggin County have not disclosed that they are running as Democrats in their press releases. There was a time when a Democrat label was a free pass to elective office in these parts. Things have obviously changed.

Interesting coordinated strategy.

The people that the governor proposed "slashing" have an average age of 41, are male, and don't have any kids. They can get health care through their employers, but would rather have the taxpayers of the state of Maine give them FREE care. Only saps pay for health care. Why not get it for FREE?

Peggy and Margaret are not telling you this.

Before tapping away at your keyboard, did you think, for a moment, about the circumstances that the deceased were in when they encountered the police? Many are at the end of their rope, usually carrying a weapon, and are a threat to themselves, the public, and the police encountering them. It's not TV or the movies.

15m for a male and about 10.5m for a female. At or below that number and your are living with heavy government subsidies.

Count the damned Washington County votes, for cripes sake. It is a straw poll and means nothing, technically. How about a little common sense?

Thanks for the insight.

Don't put words in my posts. I believe that the AG has provided appropriate legal guidance. I am certain that the Treasurer will follow that guidance.

Trained lawyers haven't prosecuted either Nutting or Poliquin. They obviously disagree with your reading of the law.

Bar room lawyers are a dime a dozen.

1. The MTA board is an unpaid position. In other words, my work is free to the MTA.

2. The "cushy" benefits consist of gas money to meetings. It is precisely $55 a meeting, held about once a month.

3. If he had to rely on the $55 a month, I believe I would be anything other than secure.

Hope that adjusts your view of service as an MTA board member. And what does this have to do with the subject matter of this thread?

To leftist causes? Rooks totally ignores all of that "outreach."

Sorry, Doug, your bias is showing. Using taxpayer money to fund political agendas in just plain unethical.

Ethics in government is far from theater.

When Peggy first went to Augusta, there were less than 200,000 Mainers on MaineCare. There are now 361,000 (and counting) Mainers who report income low enough to be "on the state." Peggy makes it a habit to show up at meeting late. Perhaps she's busy. More likely to draw attention to herself. Good politics, indeed.

So, where is the $220 million (and counting)going to come from? Soak the rich Mainers for more taxes? Soak the middle class for more taxes? 82% of the Maine budget goes to MaineCare and Education. Cut out the state police? How about eliminating the warden service?

Peggy, Craven, Carey, Wagner and their friends should be ashamed to show their faces around town. What an abject failure to support the basic prosperity of their fellow Mainers. Wait! Maybe their game is to keep us all groveling for state aid. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Sad case, indeed.

Look at the "vendors" on the list. Dale has been caught with her hand squarely in the public's pockets. You'll never agree, and will fight back like a cornered rat.

It was well past time for the citizens that have been dreaming about a marketplace or casino see the actual conditions inside Mill No. 5. The Sun-Journal provided a solid service to the community by presenting this video. It is, and always has been, the "Weave Shed" and it has outlived its economic life.

Bruce Damon's personal comments are right on the money, in my opinion.

You are a real card.

Wonder where Lewiston Senator Craven works?

...what I think? I have lived with people who have little money all of my life. I have a family member (who I adore) who needs care 24 hours a day.

Don't believe everything you read in the Sun-Journal. They have a political agenda and have no idea as to what the Governor is up to.

In office while MaineCare grew from 200,000 to 360,000 and now they are blaming LePage for a system that will be out of cash on April 1st?

Upside down world.

...but I've never tasted caviar. Fish eggs are not my "cup of tea." EEEWWWWW!

I'll pass your warmest regards to the Governor when I see him next week. We are going to sit down and hatch yet another plan to kill poor people.

They ought to offer you a job in the newsroom. Your fantasy of the day could be a great story idea.

Its like talking to a wall, but here we go again with Dan. We can always count on Mr. Breton complaining about Governor LePage and those greedy Republicans, most of of those greedy people being the same who are now getting ready to go to work to pay taxes to support the very people Dan is saying they want to "abandon."

How about solutions, Dan? Instead of complaining and knocking a Governor that is faced with a $120 million dollar budget deficit that has to be filled by June 30th, how about telling us how he should go about filling that hole.

Let's help Dan understand the enormity of the problem we are asking Dan to solve.

1. He has 6 months to solve the problem.

2. He is looking at $120 million if things hold as of now. That is $20 million a month.

3. The problem is growing at $4 million a month. Translated, the problem will be a $144 million problem by June 30th if nothing is done.

4. Unlike Obama, LePage cannot just print money to solve our $144 million problem.

5. 5% of the people on MaineCare consume 55% of the dollars spent.

6. MaineCare and education aid to K-12 students account for 82% of the state budget.

7. People continue to lose their jobs. Immigrants continue to stream in. People continue to age and need help. We now have 360,000 of our fellow Mainers on MaineCare.

So what does Dan want the evil LePage to do?

1. Raise taxes? How does he collect $120 million by June 30th?

2. Borrow to cover the deficit? That's like putting this week's groceries on the credit card.

3. Cut school aid immediately?

4. Shut down the rest of state government and re-open on July 1st?

5. Ask Obama for help? Many states are in the same boat as Maine.

The problem is not LePage. The problem is legislators, like Craven, Rotundo, Wagner and Bolduc who have "lived for today and hoped that tomorrow would never come" by adding more and more people to MaineCare to the point where they painted us right into a financial corner. Well, tomorrow is here.

Margaret Thatcher said it best. "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." Not only have Rotundo, Craven, Wagner, Bolduc and Lajoie run out of money, but they are now running out of "people." Thousands of former Mainers have taken up residence in warmer climes, and no longer stand for supporting the hundreds of thousands of people who are now "on the state." Keep raising taxes, and that fact of economic reality will get nothing but worse.

So, bitch all you want, Dan. Let's hear your solution to the $144 million problem.

I'm sorry to keep correcting you, but is was Jordan.

Let's look at his assertion:

Here are the candidates for Governor...and here is reality.

Cutler - not given a job
Moody - not given a job
Scott - not given a job
Mitchell - not given a job

Primary

Mills - hired by the MTA
Abbott - hired by U Maine
Poliquin - hired by the Maine Legislature
Scott - unknown

They are playing a game. They are playing at not playing a game. If I show them I see they are, I shall break the rules and they will punish me. I must play their game, of not seeing I see the game.

Shane, Bob is a long friend of Sue and I. I think you know us well enough to know that if Bob was the racist ogre that the media and certain facebook people claim he is, we would have never befriended him and remained close friends for nearly 20 years now.

Bob will be attacked for the next two years, those of us that are friends understand this. Whatever he does will be attacked. We talked for quite a while about that press conference yesterday, and we felt that it was best for Bob to face the media and apologize for his outburst. Bob was not at all reluctant to agree and I thought he made a strong effort to set a different tone.

Apparently, that was not good enough for some. At some point, we just have to move on and discharge the duties of mayor. And everyone, everyone, needs to be honest with all of us and become contributing members of the Lewiston community. The time for baiting and petty insults is past.

Bob Macdonald has called for a moratorium on 'affordable' housing. He never called for the ***elimination*** of affordable housing, plenty of which now exists in Lewiston. It is that kind of misinformation and innuendo that is so sickening.

Housing does not exist is in a linear vacuum. There are many variables that need to be considered when considering any activity in an economy and 'affordable' housing is not exempt.

Bob wants to convene a community conversation on housing after he is elected. He wants to include the new Mayor of Auburn, Jonathan Labonte, in that conversation because Auburn is a variable that does impact "affordable" housing in Lewiston.

Bob is warning that we are entering a new economic era of government austerity that cannot be ignored when talking about 'affordable' housing.

We are indeed in a global economy. Europe is in deep trouble, despite what the breathless headlines proclaimed in the Sun-Journal Saturday. I fully expect a large European bank to fail shortly, causing ripple effects right into L-A.

Washington is broke. So is Augusta. Money that cascades down into L-A is about to dry up.

Welfare is going to be cut significantly soon. The MaineCare reduction proposed by LePage is just the first step in a major reduction in welfare benefits. While LePage will be demonized by this newspaper and their embedded insider friends, the Obama administration is actually going to be cutting funding, leaving LePage little alternative but to gut Maine's generous welfare system. Education funding is next.

The situation is not going to be cured soon. Certainly not for the next 20 years.

Lewiston had damned well better start thinking about stress testing this community and preparing the citizens for what lies ahead. What are we going to do with our New Neighbors, seniors, the disabled when fed funding and state funding goes away or is cut substantially? Do we shut homes down? Do we let the disabled fend for themselves? Do we keep "welcoming" people to free housing who are needy in many ways? When is enough, enough?

To the liberals around this community, Bob Macdonald seems like an ogre that can easily be dismissed as any sort of name he can be called. I believe those same liberals, after the taxpayers have been forced to move out of town and the waves of freeloaders continue to pour in, might some day regret that Bob Macdonald was not listened to.

The storm clouds are clearly visible on the horizon. The foolhardy will ignore them and think that the land of government milk and honey will go on forever. But the emporer truly has no clothes.

Mark Paradis was a gentleman. I last talked to him as we gathered for the debate at the Lewiston Public Library. He was cordial even though he knew that I was supporting Bob Macdonald.

The performance of Bernier and Gilbert at the press conference was sickening. It was within a few hours of Mark's passing, and these two are out there, playing cheap, sleazy politics with Mark's death. I noted that Gilbert took the opportunity to tell the audience who great a job he has done at Mayor. A true narcissist.

We, in the much maligned Macdonald camp, are truly shocked and saddened at Mark's passing. We have pulled ads scheduled to run Monday and Tuesday out of respect for Mark's memory. We tried to change the content of the ads from politics to rememberance, but we were unable to, on Friday afternoon, change words that were scheduled to run on Monday morning, so we just pulled the ad entirely.

What can we do? When the newspaper is playing politics, it is an uphill task all the way.

It's all up to the voters now. God help the city of Lewiston.

worked in the kitchen or swept the floor after lunch. This cut into their recess time. Could you imagine that happening now? The ACLU would sue.

I guess if I read the comments section, name calling will be part of the experience and something I'll have to endure. There is a difference between disparaging and posting facts, by the way.

Have a very merry Christmas!

http://www.ci.lewiston.me.us/archives/48/12-06-2011-CouncilMtgPacket.pdf

Politics is messy. The politics of personal destruction is ugly. I've known Attorney Elliot Epstein for a number of years and was more than a little surprised at the name calling in his latest column. Bob Macdonald, despite what the opposition is trying to make Lewiston citizens believe, is none of the names spewed forth in the unfortunate column.

Bob is running a campaign where he is stating his belief that Lewiston will not reach its potential until the huge welfare problem that is clearly dragging Lewiston down is addressed. If the insiders don't feel that there is a problem and it is something that we all should ignore, then stay the course and vote Bob down. But you will not find Bob Macdonald tearing down his opponent with name calling and innuendo.

Bob is not hiding behind anyone and is his own man.

Sad.

Well, it appears that the local intelligentsia, embodied in the form of Portland attorney Epstein, have come out to do some character assassination and wild-eyed demagoguery of their own in the above op-ed. One of the oldest political tricks in the book is an attempt to define a candidate for the electorate in on the pages of a sympathetic media publication. The name calling and attempts to smear the name of Bob Macdonald are, indeed, unfortunate and not becoming of Mr. Epstein.

Elliot admits, in his gratuitous rant, that he has never met Bob Macdonald. Yet, in an amazing feat of psychic capacity, he tells us what Bob is thinking. One would think that he would have sat down with Bob over coffee and actually conversed with Bob as part of the research for his long-winded piece. But Elliot already knew what Bob thought so what would be the point, right?

One would also think that a well-skilled “Officer of the Court” could also get by with less name calling. Let’s look at what Elliot called Bob:
- A demagogue
- Xenophobe
- Back-handed racist
- Offensive
I know Bob Macdonald, and he is far from a racist. In our hundreds of conversations while he was an Ed-Tech at Lewiston Middle School, he often talked about working with all kinds of kids and once told me that a Somali young lady was the best student he had at the school and how impressed he was with her. She demanded excellence of herself and would be upset if she missed a question. He would rail about the parents of (very white) youngsters who told their children that school wasn’t important because they could always collect welfare to get by in life.

If Elliot had done his research, he might have visited Bob’s Facebook page and viewed a photo of Macdonald surrounded by a very diverse group of school children. Everyone was smiling. It might have done Elliot’s heart good and warmed it on these chilly November days.
It seems that the leftist elite are always thinking about who they can brand as a “racist.” It is getting tiresome. What Bob is an equal opportunity opponent of generational welfare…better known as lazy people who think working people owe them a living.

Here’s a bulletin for Elliot and the other Lewiston-Auburn name callers. Bob Macdonald wants to turn Lewiston around. There is no pride in noting that the two poorest census tracts in Maine are smack dab in the heart of the “All-America City.” As long as Lewiston’s elite keep the welfare flowing and affordable ( as in projects) housing growing, Lewiston is going to have a not a chance at returning to the vibrant community it once was.

Epstein speaks with pride about his father who came and flourished in America. My guess is that Elliot’s father came to America to work, full well knowing that work would provide opportunity and prosperity for he and his family. Work probably had a great deal to do with getting little Elliot to law school.

But enough with the moral equivalence of our ancestors to today’s garden variety welfare recipient. My ancestors where Irish and Acadian. The Irishmen dug the canals and built the mills. The Acadians worked in the mills. They didn’t come to Lewiston for the welfare.

There are little or no parallels to be drawn between our ancestors and the generational welfare recipients of today.

Macdonald stands with open arms to welcome all comers who want to work for a living in Lewiston. Macdonald is a threat to the industry that has flourished in Lewiston to oversee
the generational welfare recipients who have no intention to ever get off government assistance.

I would suggest that Elliot Epstein come up from Portland and have a coffee with Bob before writing his next rant.

Every payday, a portion of my earnings goes to the state to fund our very generous public assistance. I expect that those on public assistance are not going to use a portion of my earnings to purchase illegal substances. Accordingly, the Governor and, hopefully, our legislature, will install a rigorous testing program to prevent my, and hundreds of thousands of other working people's salaries, to go to the drug dealers from Maine and away roaming our streets. Let's see if the legislature has the collective backbone to get this done.

This is not grandstanding. It is good government.

My guess is that Tarren is still Governor LePage's "buddy." Tarren is a very impressive fellow.

I am 60 years old( retired because of health issues-- I paid into both Social Security and , the Maine Reirement systems because I worked several jobs besides teaching to make ends meet like many others .
***Hope you have a long and happy retirement. With that defined benefit plan, you won't have to worry about outliving your retirement. Good for you.

-- I started paying Social Security at age 14 and Maine State retiremnt at age 23 when I earned my degree which I worked to pay for. I paid 34 years to Maine retirement and 20+ off and on to Sccial Security.. I Paid over 7% of each of my checks to Maine retirement so a lot of the money you are calling MAINES in MINE and other retires --we paid it in just like you paid in to Social Security.

***There is no equivalence between MAINEPers and Social Security. Your contributions were quite wisely and properly invested, and earned interest (9.5% average return over the past 30 years). There was no such investment of your (and mine) social security contributions.

***Note: Interested readers can click over to www.maineopengov.org and see your retirement date, your wages in the year you retired, your contribution into MAINEPers and the projected payments that you will receive during your projected retirement. It is quite instructive.

Social Security has money in the form of Billions in US BOND -- so you will lose your money only if the USA defaults on it BONDs.

***Not true: The pols in Washington can change the rules of the SS game at any time, and have. They can raise retirement age (now 67); they can means test; they can default. Many ways to move the goalposts, and more and more likely with the passing months.

I am sure you will work to make sure this does not happen.

***I have one vote. I will try.

If your are in Socail security you have an earned benefits agreement with the USA -- you paidabout 6% per check and have earned a benefit based on the agreement- you should be holding your US SEn. and Reps to the agreement.

***Ha ha. Good attempt at humor. Michaud is down there, spending like a drunken fork lift driver. ANd Snowe and Collins have been busily spending my contributions for years.

I will not be able to collect my earned Social Security like you -- because I paid into the Maine system the Federal govt' will take 2/3 of my earned benefits from the money I paid in for years to Social Security . So I am so lucky I have the Federal govt taking away my social security (Social Security OFFset Law) and the State of Maine taking MY COLA --

***Why is that fair? You should be getting a return on your invested social security contributions like the rest of the contributors. Call your congress person! The recent adjustments to COLA are deminimus in comparsion to the screw job you are getting.

By the way, MAINEPers had to dip into principal recently to cover payments OUT that exceeded payments IN. I think to the tune of $181 million. That might give you an idea as to why some corrective action was necessary by the legislature. (see 'taking MY COLA)

I really hope you fair better with your Social Security .

***Another good laugh. No chance, Ms. Ward.

Maine does not reserve money for the private sector because you did not pay into the maine retirement system.

***Nor do I expect that any money would be reserved by Maine. I did expect that my contribution would be reserved, and they were not. I wonder how many working Mainers have any idea that what they have put has been spent?

As citizens discuss school buildings, it might be helpful to understand a little about Auburn's debt status. We aren't going to get that perspective from the Sun-Journal where money showers down from the yum-yum tree in the "Land of the Grand Experiment."

The taxpayers of the city currently are on the hook for over $80 million of debt. While it pales considerably from Lewiston's $180 million, just remember that the full faith and credit of the City of Auburn is collateralizing all of this debt.

Full faith and credit means that, in the event of a default, all of the real estate within the city limits is pledged and available for aquisition by the bondholders. All means "everything." Not just the library, but also "your house." So, as we discuss building new schools and "going it alone" on a "new EL", just rememember the stakes involved.

Don't think a default is realistic? Ask the people of Central Falls, RI or Harrisburg, PA about reality.

Maine law doesn't permit a technical default. It does require the state to step in and operate the municipality. It will, as a matter of first priority, keep citizens safe. But financial steps will have to be taken to pay off the crushing debt.

Proceed cautiously.

work well in your mind. Have fun!

I can recall seeing JFK speaking on the city park Gazebo. It was a cold night in November and Kennedy was very late arriving (4 hours or so). My brother and I were hanging around the Lisbon and Chestnut corner with my Dad. Despite the cold, the air was electric with anticipation.

There were thousands of people in the park.

I can recall thinking how red JFK's hair was under the spotlights.

Meanwhile, out in Chicago, the dead were rising from their graves to vote...for a fee, of course.

The next day, Henry Cabot Lodge appeared on the Gazebo. There were about 50 people there. Talk about a waste of av gas to fly him up to Democrat laden Lewiston.

I missed LBJ's visit.

The Gazebo represents a Lewiston long since faded away in mists of history. The street names are the same, but instead of being the "Industrial Heart of Maine", it is a service center community, whatever the heck that is.

Here is why:

1. He has served his city well. A Lewiston Police Officer. An Ed Tech at Lewiston Middle School. He has been in the trenches and knows the city well. While on the Lewiston PD, he was a DARE Officer. He has a special gift for working with Lewiston's young people.

2. Bob has served his country well. He is a Vietnam veteran who enlisted in the United States Marine Corps out of high school. He was "boots on the ground" in Vietnam. He has continued to serve his fellow vets in a number of veteran organizations...in leadership positions...to this day.

3. Bob has a high powered campaign machine working very quietly in the background. He will come out of nowhere to win this race.

I am sorry that Judith feels that my lawn, which I work very diligently at mowing, treating, raking, policing (as in picking up stray paper and sticks), is a sign that I have "nothing more to do." I work full time, volunteer for the betterment of the community, and recreate to fill my days and evenings. I have precious little time to take care of my lawn, but I manage to get it done. I have a feeling that many of the lawn owners in the Twin Cities are in my situation as well, and Judith insulted us in one fell swoop.

Who is being negative?

Most people that frequent our great outdoor lands in Maine were taught to carry out our trash and dispose of it in proper containers. It is a very simple concept, actually.

In warm weather, anyone driving by Kennedy Park in Lewiston can see hundreds of "newcomers" enjoying the facility. If you go by early enough the next morning, you will observe a pig pen of trash. If you wait for a while, you will see a crew of city employees descend on Kennedy Park and police the park in earnest.

There is apparently a shortage of trash barrels in Kennedy Park. Another explanation may be that the trash is dropped onto the verdant grass by the park goers. You decide.

I can recall walking down Park Street one day and a van full of apparent "newcomers" approached. Lo and behold, a soiled diaper must have blown out of the van and scaled through the air, plopping in the gutter. As the van passed me by, it was apparent that the many occupants thought this to be quite a humor-filled event.

As a person who lives and works in the Twin Cities, I found this to be a bit disheartening. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and dispose of your trash the American way... in a trash can.

My folks would ask me when, as a youngster, I was less than quick to pick up any trash that I had created, "Were you born in a barn?"

Even a dog doesn't sleep where s/he poops for God's sake.

All of the block parties in Christendom won't teach people basic sanitary practices. Perhaps Catholic Charities could provide a class in how to use a trash barrel and proper disposable diaper techniques.

Just about 10 years ago, I organized a group of about 20 working people to pick up every scrap of trash in a two block area bordered by Pine, Park, Chestnut and Canal Street. We used latex gloves for protection from haz mats and filled numerous trash bags full of the most unholy collection of offal that you'd ever want to view. Not one person came out of an apartment to assist. One woman yelled out of her apartment "Don't bother!" We had hoped that our efforts would spread throughout the downtown and the tree street area. It is just awful today.

At least Kennedy Park gets picked up.

The "intelligent Democratic voters" of Lewiston and Auburn deserve Chellie. She votes for larger government, higher taxes and more government spending, all values of the intelligent Democrat. It will be a thrill to see her hubby's gaz guzzling corporate jet on final approach to the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal airport when she comes up to make a campaign stop in the Lew. Maybe she'll be able to bring more affordable housing to our fine cities.

You should thank those pesky Republicans for proposing to give you the chance to make an intelligent choice for an intelligent uber leftist. You'll love Obamacare, high inflation rates, the devalued dollar, soaring grocery prices, expensive gas and heating oil...all brought to you by Chellie and Barack.

I read a press release from a Peter Chandler this afternoon. It was a plea for money for the Michaud campaign. There were at least two obvious typos in the release. I am embarrassed to have a congressman with the lack of skills that Michaud displays.

In the press release, the was a rant about "gerrymandering." The GOP map hardly looks gerrymandered.

Take a look at Barney Frank's gerrymandered district:

http://assets.realclearpolitics.com/images/districts/MA4.gif

Now, there is classic gerrmandering.

Why do you insist on lying?

$12 trillion of debt is the responsibility of Republican Presidents and Republican Congress?

$17 trillion is only a problem if we refuse to pay for it? Ever heard of debt service costs?

The top 1% have received 100% of the benefits of economic growth? The other 99% have received no benefits?

99% of the tax burden on the top 1% is "fair"?

The downgrade of US debt was as the result of too much debt with no plan to retire said debt. The fact is the only people clamoring for an end to the "spending orgy" are the very people you routinely trash.

Why put yourself out there as a bald faced liar?

You didn't answer my question. How is $15 trillion in debt good for America?

There was no heart attack. The debt limit (a silly concept)has been increased 95 times. How is this good?

Don't forget that federal debt is not the only debt that Americans are saddled with. We have state debt. We have municipal debt. We have school debt. We have utility debt. We have pension obligations. It all adds up to over $100 trillion in debt.

On top of that, we have personal debt for cars, boats, snowmobiles, houses, time shares, vacation homes and every other toy known to Americans.

When does it stop?

Mr. Albrecht:

Our national debt is racing toward $15 trillion, headed for $17 trillion. How can that be good for America?

Where are we going to get the money to repay $17 trillion? The top 1% of taxpayers now pay 38% of all federal income taxes paid. The top 10% pay 69%.

I guess we could always print the money to pay it off.

Please, Mr. Albrecht, be serious. Our debt ceiling has been raised, by Congress, 95 times.

Kerry says it's the Tea Party. Obama says it's Standard & Poors. Barney Frank says it's the military. No...wait...now it's Ayn Rand.

LOL

The proponents of last minute registration, as in strolling in on Election Day to register when you have had about 250 days in the previous years to register, write with smug certainty that everything is on squeaky clean in Maine elections. I am not so sure.

Who checks to see if a Maine college student hasn't, in fact, voted absentee in their home town? The correct answer: No one.

How easy would it be to cross check? The answer is: Very.

How many senior citizens register to vote on Election Day? The answer: Very few.

If I approach a polling place and I am unknown to the voting clerk, what do I have to do to prove that I am, in fact, the person I say I am? The answer: Not a blessed thing.

Are Maine's voter lists free of dead or re-located registered voters? The answer: No.

Do the Democrats have access to the voter lists? The answer: Yes.

What is to keep the Democrats from sending people from city to city, armed with a name they know won't be voting in a city due to death or relocation, and instructing them to vote? The answer: Nothing.

How often are fraudulent voters detected? The answer: Almost never.

There is one reason why the Democrats are so upset about voter ID and losing same day registration. Easy votes.

LePage is looking for $100 million a year.

If we were all working hard to make our own way, this fiscal mess that is the USA would be a different environment. But, sadly from my perspective, we are not. The "Great Society" of LBJ spawned an entitlement class that has grown to include nearly 50% of Americans.

It's grown to an extent that it is too large to disband. We are headed to oblivion, that I am absolutley certain of.

I expect to lose Social Security, Medicare, my 401-k, my job and likely my life to the "system."

As to the myth that more taxes will solve our national mess, I urge the reader to study the "Laffer Curve." We are over the top of the curve and on the way down the parabola.

And, remember, 45% of Americans contribute nothing to in income taxes to the tax rolls.

Over to "Tron"

I think the loose system more than counter balances subtracting 2 days from the registration window.

It is a fact that many dead or re-located remain on the voter rolls. The voter lists are available to anyone who wants to pay for them.

A person, who wants to vote in place of the decedent or re-located, can approach the election clerk and claim to be a person s/he is not. The clerk will check the voter list, check off the registered voter, and hand the fraudulent voter the ballot(s).

Where are the controls? The hole is large enough to drive Lewiston Ladder One through it.

knuckleheads, rogue, tyrannical, sycophants, Gestapo, zealot, ideologue, dough boy

Waiting in breathless anticipation for the next screed, I'm learning many new words.

My interest is in verifying that everyone votes ONCE. Vote in the college town, but not at home. Or vice versa. No one is checking on this, and that is a shame.

There is no evidence that there is no voter fraud in Maine. Just because the Editorial Board thinks (and writes) that there is no voter fraud in Maine, doesn't mean it is factual.

I don't know about busloads of fraudulent voters showing up to register on Election Day. What I do know is that there are thousands of 18-22 year old college students showing up to register every Election Day, especially in "Presidential Year" elections. And I do know that there are no cross checks between votes cast here in Maine college towns and against votes cast in their "home" towns.

I would like to see the Sun-Journal hire an independent firm to cross check the Lewiston votes cast against the votes cast at the "home" towns of Bates College students during the past election. The city of Lewiston records every voter casting a vote in Lewiston elections. I am sure that many of the "home" towns also keep records of who showed up at the polls or who voted absentee.

It would be swell if it was verified that every college student voting in Lewiston cast but ONE vote in the last election. It would also be satisfying to see voters who cast two or more votes charged with voter fraud and do time in the "big house."

That would be a great community service by the Sun-Journal. Voting is sacred, paid for by the blood of many, many Americans. We all get to vote ONCE per election. One violation is as bad as 10,000.

I am only dreaming, of course. Such a study is beneath the liberal mind set, because it could "never happen." So it is written.

I am not laughing because Obama's transformation of America is hurting all income levels in America. Someday you will understand it all, Tony. It turns out the Obama has zero executive experience as my conclusively proves. I don't operate under the various "derangement" syndromes that many liberals embrace.

It might shock you to learn that I am not a Palin sycophant. I am hoping the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, steps in, wins the nomination, and runs against Obama. Go ahead and tear Governor Perry apart now.

As to your lame ending paragraph, I will bet that I have done more in my adult career for "the poor" than you could ever imagine. I started my adult career with an honorable discharge and 45 bucks in my pocket. I could have stayed there, wallowing in poverty and whining "Poor me." But I took on some personal accountability, moved to where the jobs were, and made my way in life. Three concepts I would recommend to any "poor" person: 1. personal accountability 2. Find a job...it likely won't be in L-A 3. make your own way. Don't keep waiting for someone else to hand it too you. That is pure compassion.

I don't "put poor people down." I encourage them to get their butt into a job and move up and out of their doldrums. Finding work is a full time job and starts with them.

...Dan. Using adjectives like moronic and stupid imply behavior that a moron or a stupid person might display. Paul and I are in sync. He's a moron and I'm stupid in your bizarro world. So be it.

I don't know much about Bachman but I don't think Palin has made much money off of the government. And LePage left home at 11, so he never benefited from the largess you speak of for very long.

The truth of the matter is that life in Maine hasn't changed very much after the first few months of the LePage administration. Income taxes a bit lower and some things to look forward to, but the sky is not falling on the liberals.

The "morons" you have labeled in your reply have done fairly well in life. Indeed, some would say that they are winners in the game of life. All are well off, comfortable, and very successful in their public careers. I am amazed at the the left and their quickness to write off someone as "moronic" when they don't agree with the socialistic political/economic model. A model, I will dare say, has failed where ever it was attempted, especially in Maine.

It was well known to many, prior to the last presidential election, the Palin, even as Vice President, was very much more qualified than a community activist state senator from Chicago, who has been handed just about anything he ever attempted in life.

I give much credit to LePage, the "moron" who made it from the hallways of Lewiston to the Blaine House. Quite a journey for such a moron, oui?

Paul LePage does not have the speaking skills of the great orators of our time. Certainly not a Churchill, Moynihan, Hubert Horatio Humphrey or Barack Hussein Obama. Some people, including this writer, votes not for the windbag, but for someone who can run a government executive department. LePage is LePage and, once again, has delivered in face of adversity.

For those who want the orator, LePage is not your man. And doesn't claim to be.

Very appropriate on this important holiday, Independence Day.

To compare our Governor to the Taliban is just brilliant.

I think we have worn this thread out. See you on the next one!

...but find your positions interesting.

1. Paul's daughter, Lauren, is quite busy, thank you. Perhaps she would let you job shadow for a day?

2. Are you saying that ONLY the governor and first lady can reside in the Blaine House? That is news to me.

3. The Speaker of the House is elected by the legislature and not appointed by the governor. Your beef is with the legislators.

4. Perhaps you should contact the AG's office and see if they will hire you to prosecute Mr. Speaker. I am sure that the case has been roundly discussed by the previous administration and nothing has come of it. Perhaps you can shed new light on it?

5. Perhaps you can call the intrepid reporters at the Sun-Journal and get them on the case of that "stolen" mural? That sounds like a big theft.

6. Again, the Whoopie Pie fiasco happened in the legislature. The governor got to sign the bill. You seem to be repeatedly mixing up who is responsible for what in Augusta.

7. And what did the governor have to do with the allegedly psychotic legislator roaming the halls?

8. It seems to me that our high visibility President has had some nice trips. He's had them because he can afford to take them. What does his work schedule have to do with our Governor?

9. ACA, know to most as "ObamaCare", is current law. And there is nothing I can do about it. My feeling is that it will be relegated to the dust bin of failed and unintended consequences before it really kicks in during 2014. But it is up to the American people.

...are not paying attention to the substantive matters that Governor LePage is addressing in Augusta. There are many, but I won't waste your time or mine because you are not letting the important stuff sink in.

1. Health care reform. Note that most Democrats voted to maintain the status quo. Status quo means huge monthly premiums for the people in Maine who have to purchase their own health care coverage. Among those voting to drain the working people's wallets were Craven, Rotundo, Wagner, Bolduc. The health care reform passed by those fat cat Republicans will enable many Mainers to have a bit more, a lot more, cash to spend every month. Better cars, better food, better shelter, etc. That's real dollars that you are choosing to ignore.

2. Income tax reform. Our wonderful Governor has proposed major changes in the State Income tax. Now, working Mainers pay the top rate on earnings around 20,000. Under LePage's changes, Mainers working and earning less than $35,000 will not pay taxes. While Maine's liberals like to talk about how the GOP is all for the 'fat cats', they remain silent when reminded of this tax break for struggling working Mainers. Will the local Democrats vote against the pocketbooks of working Mainers on this bill? I would bet that they would vote against keeping taxes in place for 70,000 Mainers in this income bracket.

As to the other sad points you made:

1. Relatives hired. What's new?
2. Crooks - who?
3. Murals stolen - where?
4. Whoopie pies - LePage had nothing to do with this.
5. Psychotic legislators - the man is sick and appropriate security was enacted
6. Jamaican vacation - if he can afford it, why not? Your man Obama is off on vacation often. I don't read about your concerns in his case.
7. Obama's ACA - it won't be around very long. Enjoy it while you read the bill.

I'd have let that sad work of "art" hang right there, to remind folks of the Maine the Paul LePage is trying to improve upon. What part of the "turmoil" did Laura Fortman experience. She's depicted on the mural quite clearly.

1. I know all about the Heritage Foundation and the "Koch brothers money." The right has its donors and the left has theirs, such as Soros and the Tides Foundation. That is the way politics work.

2. Why do you insist on using words like "wacko?" In my view, the left wants to manage government one way...which I happen to disagree with. Socialism doesn't work. Socialism only works until you run out of other people's money. I think reasonable people should be able to discuss politics with out using insulting terms.

3. All of the tools and schemes used to launder money is not unique to the right, Dan. Your argument there is a non-starter.

4. The irony of the class card is that many of the labor unions and pension funds that are loaded with leftist members are heavily invested in the same companies that leftists castigate so readily. You know why Dan? Because the make money and pay dividends. Those are two attributes that you might want assets in your portfolio to do. So, your complaining about "big oil" and CMP doesn't move this writer. It's all so, well, empty in its sad rhetoric. Methinks you protest to much.

...that some on the left consider this a matter of mirth and amusement. Theft is wrong, or at least WAS wrong, the last time I looked.

For those on the left: Business includes ownership, management and staff. I know that business is a much maligned term in Maine leftist circles, but being "open for business" keeps people employed. Maybe that's a bad thing in today's Maine.

those of us who actually pay for our health insurance appreciate the effort. Our current rates are obscene.

Of course that is not one-sided. LOL

He invested $100,000 = Fact

He sold his investment 18 months later for $18,000,000 = Fact

He is a bright investor = Fact

He lost in a 3 way Democrat primary = Fact

He is planning to run again = speculation

One of the advantages of a newspaper running a comments section is to enable readers to fill in other readers with facts that are not included in the story. Reporter LaFlamme did his job...he reported on what went on in the room. I was pleased to learn that we have one of the best mayors in America in Larry, for example.

Terry had kind of dropped off my radar screen. It is great to see him back and in circulation again. I thought some readers would like to learn more about Terry's past and to see how he is really for the "little guy." Kind of like Rahm Emmanuel is for the "little guy."

someone got the bright idea to add the teachers to the Pension plan. They figured they could collect nice cash from the teachers and make it easier on the state employees. And off they went, undercollecting, all the while structuring some unbelievable retirement deals.

A little fact that we never hear about it that non-teacher municipal employee pensions are about 98 percent funded. That must really be ticking the teachers off.

Taxing the "rich" is not the answer. Giving Congress more revenue is like giving an alcoholic a case of Chivas. Let's stop borrowing and let's have meaningful cuts to spending. We have way too many spending "programs."

1. 66 million over payment. "We knew about that." - Brenda Harvey

2. 4.5 billion short UAL. "We've been working on that." - Emily Cain

The drumbeat continues.

1. I am not certain of this, but I believe Maine's governors are not part of the state employee pension system. I think they have a pension that is set by Maine statute. So, if LePage, Baldacci, King, and other surviving governors or spouses would care to "share the pain", then they could write a check for 2%. I doubt any one of them would do so, but you might write to them and suggest same.

2. I just did some figuring. I noticed that Governor LePage is proposing that the 10 furlough days be eliminated. If the state worker is paid for about 250 work days, the elimination of furlough days will add 4% more to their gross pay than they enjoyed under the Baldacci administration. Baldacci is a Democrat and LePage is a Republican, I pause to note. So, this would leave the state employee with 2% more than under Baldacci. As we know, it has been proven, beyond a doubt, that 4 minus 2 equals 2. Funny how we never hear about the 2% net increase.

3. I am also a fan of voluntary contributions to the Maine Treasury. Folks that want to see more taxes, or more programs, or preserved programs, should be encouraged to write a substantial check to support these programs. I'll bet not many of the 61 percent that voted for Mitchell or Cutler sent an extra $5,000 in to the Treasurer on last year's tax return. I'll be not many sent an extra buck in. That would be people, who want the pain, actually sharing the pain. I want less pain.

Have any other ideas?

The liberals have their panties in a bunch over LePage's supposedly banning BPA in children's sippy cups, for example. The truth is that the industry has already stopped using BPA in such items. The law that LePage seeks to correct is a law passed by the Democrats gives the DEP the right to ban ANY consumer product used in Maine.

The law allows the DEP to ban all kinds of consumer products, including but not limited to: cell phones, computers, alcoholic beverages (yes, that’s right: wine, beer and liquor), refrigerators, roofing materials, insulation, gasoline, car seats, helmets, cleaning products used in hospitals to disinfect surfaces from deadly viruses, nicotine, soap, toothpaste, bullet-proof vests, fishing poles, protective eyewear, solar panels, bicycles, radios, fuel cells, fire hoses, carpets, mattresses, building materials, heart valves, prosthetic devices, plastic containers. The list goes on, effecting thousands of products that have nothing to do with children or children’s toys. This all according to Dana Connors in a recent column available locally.

That's the true story about the LePage proposal. The libs picked one product from a list of 1,750 chemicals and ran with it. That one product was already discontinued in the manufacturing process.

I suggest that when you look at the actions of previous state administrations, you should also follow the money. Facts are inconvenient truth to liberals, who seem to love to play the "class card." It get's old.

So far, Governor LePage has been roundly trashed for addressing issues head on, such as the unfunded liability crisis and the state's crushing debt load. You are one of the premier trashmasters, and I will call you on it. I know you don't like defending "feelings", but we live in a world of facts AND feelings.

Governor LePage is not a "front" man for anyone. I know the man, and I can assure you he isn't doing this for his financial health. For you to imply otherwise is cheap talk...coming from a person who has no idea where the Governor is coming from or how he is motivated. So, if you feel trashed, how about backing up your assertions with facts?

...spend as little as possible. Here is a little fact that has everything to do with just about everything: $14 trillion in accumulated debt. Has to do with rising commodity prices. Things like: Gas, oil, food, durable goods, soft goods.

I guess the guy on the street has a tough time understanding such concepts.

Let's get out of Afghanistan now as well. OBL is taking a long dirt nap in Tora Bora and we are losing fine young Americans for the most God-forsaken pile of rocks on earth to what end? All on borrowed money.

This is some sort of record. I am in agreement with the Editorial Board 3 days in a row!

Well written and spot on. Thank you, Judy Meyer.

$157,000 missing and the guy walks away?

What about the board? Where was the oversight?

Nice work, if you can get it.

"The message is clear. In any collision between the laws of government and the laws of arithmetic, arithmetic wins." - Richard Fernandez

I wish you good luck and good fortune. If you win, you keep the gold plated benefits intact and the remaining taxpayers in Maine, a dwindling lot, will fork over handsomely. If you lose, you pay the price of the fiscal malpractice of governors and legislators past.

No sense going around in circles.

The article fails to identify Ms. Ward as a long time kingpin in the local teacher's union and Democrat activist. Two facts conveniently left out of the story.

1. Instead of focusing her ire at Paul LePage, I would suggest Ms. Ward re-focus on Peggy Rotundo, darling of the unions, and ask her why the Democrats in Augusta did nothing to solve this problem during their 40 years in power under the Dome. Nothing. Nada. Now Lepage wades in to attempt fix (the unfixable) with modest changes, and the Sun-Journal and the Democrats start whining.

2. Many of my age group, who work in the private sector, have no hope of retiring until we are 70. We get no government provided health insurance, have no assurance that we will have any social security because the Congress has spent our social security contributions unlike those of Ms. Ward's that were invested for her benefit. So Ward's bleatings tend to be held in low regard by those of us in the private sector who are paying her bills.

3. The fact is that a 4.5 billion dollar shortfall is going to be almost impossible for a Maine that is losing it's more affluent older folks and many productive younger workers to fund. It is start to make the necessary financial adustments now or have the well run completely dry later.

But there are somethings nobody can really fix. And one of them are inexorable sums of positives and negatives. All of us wished we could make the totals read what we want. But we can’t. The day comes when the fires of financial hell cannot be held back.

The sooner Ms. Ward understands that, the better.

1. Showing a photo ID is common in our lives. Travel on aircraft, cashing a check, buying items at BJ's, on and on. Voting is one of our most important responsibilities and we certainly can extract a photo id from a wallet or purse without much an effort. There are more driver's licenses issued in Maine than there are voters.

2. Our voter registration lists, by my observation, are not up to date. There are numerous instances of voter records on file for people who have moved or have passed away. These are vulnerable to fraud.

Someone once said a democracy only lasts as long as the citizenry realizes that it can pilfer the public treasury for its own purposes, or words to that effect.

For years, we voters have sent irresponsible people to represent us in Washington. It is a great job: wonderful pay, the best in free healthcare, perk upon perk. On top of it all, you get to spend OPM "Other People's Money". You don't have to pay for the spending...you can just borrow the money from yet another group of "Other People."

No sense governing or making the tough choices. Just throw money at the problem. Send OPM all over the world while you are at it.

Now, we are in debt to the tune of $14 TRILLION. This will not end well.

America, you have no one to blame but the voters. And the sad fact is that the folks that dug us into the hole are still digging in D.C.

Dan... Check out how much Soros and Sussman spent in Maine in the last couple of years. It is not a one way street.

Can't tell from the editorial. Is the cut 7.9 / 8.5 or .06 of 8.5?

Servers make 1/2 of minimum wage. They depend on tips. We have enough people around here that are poor tippers. I know of one joint where they "pooled" tips and, after the money was divided, there was a percentage missing. Greedy bastards.

This Republican State Senator should be ashamed of himself. This a quick way to get bounced out of office after one term. If I lived in Hancock County, I'd vote against him even though it means getting a job-killing Democrat back into office.

Great exposure ... keep shining the spotlight on this organization. It's a money pump for the Democrat politicians.

If you have a few minutes, read the OPEGA report. It is located here:

http://www.maine.gov/legis/opega/GOC/GOC_meetings/Current_handouts/1-21-...

It is "Corrupt Government Defined."

Over a hundred thousand dollars worth of "gift cards", handed out by the Executive Director, with no documentation as to "who", "when" or "why." Our toll dollars at work.

Contributions, again hundreds of thousands, to hack friends. What the hell does Kit St. John's ultra-leftist Maine Center for Economic Policy have to do with the Maine Turnpike?

The donation list looks like a program for leftist causes in Maine.

I'll bet you the OPEGA report is small peanuts to some of the inside deals that the have taken place behind the scenes. Why do I think that the Democrats tapped the MTA time and time again for their pet projects? Choo choo trains, crafts at West Gardiner, on and on.

What we have here is a big cash cow with no internal regard for oversight, basic accounting controls and disregard for the mission of the turnpike, which is to get people from point A to point B, safely. The board was sound asleep at best, and complicit at worst.

I think the Editorial Board is letting the MTA off the hook lightly because some of their "faves" are involved and we wouldn't want to upset the leftist apple carts, would we, Rex?

We all have a responsibility to contact our legislators and see that they board and management of the MTA is removed...and quickly. It is time the citizenry stand up to this crap and end it.

I think the Governor is off to a great start. He's made some great choices for his cabinet. He's got the leftists yakking and entering into a Lepage Derangement Syndrome... always fun to watch. He's cleaning up the slop the Democrats left...such as paying the Medicaid aging payables off. He'll be submitting a realistic supplemental and biennial budget for legislative consideration.

We are in for some very tough times in Maine, and I am so pleased that we have a skilled financial man in the Governor's office.

I am amazed (not really) that 'tron', cloaked in anonymity, is calling people out for "hiding." Who IS this person we know as 'tron?'

What do you mean by "mostly now?"

this new policy and of the editorial board summarily replaced by the actual writer of the editorial. Let's make this a fair playing field.

Voisine, you call Governor LePage an "unaccomplished buffoon", oui?

Let's see if your name calling stands up as "truthful."

1. He graduated from Lewiston High School.

2. He graduated from Husson College.

3. He is a graduate of the University of Maine's Masters in Business Administration.

4. He has enjoyed a very successful business career, culminating said career as General Manager of one of Maine's major retailers.

5. He was repeatedly elected as the Mayor of Waterville.

6. He has just been elected Governor of the State of Maine.

Those are the facts. Now, defend your statement that LePage is unaccomplished.

Stuff them in their bedsprings? They invest it.

What Bush wanted was to enable social security contributors the opportunity to actually put away some cash in their retirement accounts. Unions have pension funds. Government employees have pension funds. (They are heavily invested in the stock market, by the way)

We workers who are contributing at the rate of 6.2% of gross wages are sending money to Washington and the money is being spent on lots of things. It is not being saved for us. I wish people would understand what is happening to their social security contributions.

Appears the reporters at the Sun-Journal are going to have to learn some Republican names.

Couldn't handle himself in front of all of those "smart people" and "balanced media types."

Paul, the dumb frenchman with a Masters in Business Administration followed up by dozens of years of successful business experience, has more smarts than you'd give him credit for. A fact dismissed by the liberal elite who salivate at their stereotype of the typical Maine Franco.

Paul is smarter than you give him credit for. He knows there are no votes in that den of liberalism and he knows that "this ain't bean bag" so he'll go where the votes are. As Paul is quoted this morning in the New York Times..."I'm not running for pope..."

He's doing fine. He'll be a great Governor.

Paul LePage is an experienced, successful business man who leads one of Maine's most successful retailers. He is a practiced, successful executive of a small Maine city. He is a wonderful father and husband. I count him as one of my friends.

For nameless, leftist journalists to call him names without substantiation in a large Maine daily is typical, but sad. I really didn't expect any more from Rhodes or Myer, but it is still disgusting to see. Kind of like a drive by shooting. Shoot and run.

Paul LePage is going to win this and he will be a great Governor. The media jackals will be on his back starting on November 3rd, but Paul will be putting people first.

It is easy to call people names from the safety of your office. It is also spineless.

1. He voted for Cap & Trade, that will add $100 to the average Mainer's monthly electric bill by current estimates. He tries to hide from that fact by talking about "coal".

2. He voted for the Stimulus, which will cost billions upon billions of interest. Since the stimulus was enacted with Mike's help, the unemployment of Americans has increased. We spent a trillion for what?

3. He will toe the line and vote to remove the "Bush Tax Cuts" because Nancy Pelosi will tell him to. Let's not give him a chance.

4. If he is a "conservative leaning", I am going to ride the winning horse in next year's Belmont Stakes.

5. Mike punched the clock for a full 6 hours in his last year at GNP, according to reports I've read. The reality is that he doesn't have much "fork lift time" over the last two decades because he spent it as the designated union rep in Augusta and Washington.

Go Jason!

Nice puff piece by the Lewiston Sun-Journal.

tron...

I was making a lame attempt at a joke. Did you read the post I responded to?

As to fundraiser, you are spot on and I was very pleased to be able to help Mr. LePage out. Not too late to contribute, tron! :)

Last time I looked, most of Michaud's cash originates from outside Maine and from the 1st district. That fact conveniently left out of the story.

Amazing to see him included. There are other declared write in candidates but they must have fallen short by some measure and were excluded.

As bizarre as this is, I sense the Jenkins will siphon some votes from Mitchell. A few.