Tag Archives: Gov. Paul LePage

There is a lot to like about Gov. Paul LePage

My first impression of Paul LePage was that he talks way too much. It was the summer of 2010, and the then-mayor of Waterville had run away with the GOP nomination for governor. I had just moved home to Maine, and got roped into bar tending a fundraiser for him. Like every campaign event, the […]

Can we make the next election better?

Are you ready for the next election? No, I’m not talking about 2020 and the chaos of a presidential year. To all of our chagrin, that will start far too soon. Rather, the next election is the “secret” race for Maine’s constitutional offices. We’re an outlier in the United States. Our attorney general, secretary of […]

Democrats won, but voters still hate taxes

For all the (not incorrect) talk about “blue waves” and “Republican rebukes” in the election results, there is one undertow which has been under-reported: Voters still hate taxes. In Maine, one of the biggest winners on Nov. 6 was not Angus King. Or Chellie Pingree. Or Janet Mills. It was the “No on 1” campaign, […]

Is Shawn Moody stronger than compound interest?

What is the most powerful force in the universe? If you’re a Harry Potter aficionado, you might say “love.” Understandable, as it saved his life from the villain of the series. If you’re a physicist, you’d probably go with the “strong nuclear” force. It holds atoms together, literally creating the material world. Or, if you […]

Want to get back at Donald Trump? Simplify the tax code.

You have to give The New York Times credit. Their 13,000-word expose on the inner workings of the Trump family business is fascinating. How much of it is true is a different question. And the boundary between bias and objectivity is unclear; much of the piece uses words with loaded connotations, such as describing certain […]

Shooting the messenger

“Ready, aim, fire!” “We’ve done it, sir. The messenger has been shot.” That seems to sum up the current state of political discourse. This past week, a libertarian-leaning think tank released a report about Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare For All” proposal. The bottom line of the study? “Medicare For All” would cost the federal government […]

Interesting times in the 1st Congressional District

Did you miss it? With all our attention on the primary, there was some other big political news in Maine over the past few weeks. The gubernatorial race is shaping up as a contest between Shawn Moody, Alan Caron, Terry Hayes, and a Democrat to be named later. Those on the left are salivating at […]

Want to bet on what Tuesday’s election will bring?

It’s prediction time. While the Supreme Court invalidated federal laws preventing gambling on sports a few weeks back, placing a wager on elections remains illegal in most American jurisdictions. So there is no money on the line as I try to predict the outcomes of next week’s election, just bragging rights (or a lack thereof). […]

Vote ‘yes’ on regionalization, LePage’s gift to Maine students

It’s a beautiful time of year. Things are getting green, songbirds are singing, and the annual votes on school budgets are before us. It has led to robocalls against the budget in Lewiston and Portland’s City Council trying to pare back a proposed 5 percent property tax increase, while the voters of SAD 1 have […]