Maine Gov. Paul LePage -Photo: Matt Gagnon, via Wikimedia.
“I’m not shying away from what I called him, because everything that came out of my mouth, everything I said to that man is less insulting than being called a racist, in my mind.”
–Maine Gov. Paul LePage, addressing a controversy stemming from a vulgar voicemail he left for Rep. Drew Gattine (D-Westbrook), calling Gattine a “son-of-a-bitch, socialist cocksucker.”
LePage made the comments in response to reports that Gattine had criticized his use of racially-loaded rhetoric when discussing the problem of heroin overdoses and prescription drug abuse. LePage thought that Gattine had called him racist, which prompted the governor to leave the voicemail, the Portland Press-Herald reports.
After LePage was subsequently criticized by other lawmakers, members of the media, and even fellow Republicans, he issued an “apology” for insulting Gattine without expressing remorse for having said the offensive terms.
“I apologize for that to the people of Maine, but I make no apology for trying to end the drug epidemic that is ravaging our state,” LePage said. “Legislators like Gattine would rather be politically correct and protect ruthless drug dealers than work with me to stop this crisis that is killing five Mainers a week.”
As a result of his over-the-top reaction to criticism, thousands of Mainers have signed an online petition urging the governor to step down. Some Democratic legislative leaders are calling upon their Republican colleagues to either persuade LePage to resign, vote to censure him, or even impeach him.
“Such behavior is inappropriate for a governor and he appears to be unfit to hold office at this time,” Democratic leaders said in a letter. “His actions have become increasingly erratic over the last several years, but he has now crossed a line and we must act.”
Senate President Mike Thibodeau (R-Winterport) is expected to address the issue in a press conference on Tuesday. But Sen. Amy Volk (R-Scarborough), who is up for re-election this year, wrote in a Facebook post that she is concerned about the governor’s seemingly erratic behavior, and believed that “some sort of censure would seem appropriate.”
That censure vote would allow LePage to remain in office, while allowing legislators, including his fellow Republicans, to distance themselves from him and his controversial comments.
A lawsuit has been filed challenging a proposed referendum that would bar transgender athletes from competing on public school teams based on the sex listed on their original birth certificate.
The measure, slated to appear on the ballot this fall, would also require public schools to maintain sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing spaces based on students' birth sex, and allow students who believe they were denied athletic opportunities by a transgender competitor to sue for damages.
But three Maine residents filed suit, claiming supporters of the referendum failed to gather enough valid signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the ballot. In their complaint, they say they identified hundreds of duplicate signatures and hundreds more lacking required date information. They also allege that some signatures came from unregistered voters or omitted required residence information.
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“I’m not shying away from what I called him, because everything that came out of my mouth, everything I said to that man is less insulting than being called a racist, in my mind.”
–Maine Gov. Paul LePage, addressing a controversy stemming from a vulgar voicemail he left for Rep. Drew Gattine (D-Westbrook), calling Gattine a “son-of-a-bitch, socialist cocksucker.”
LePage made the comments in response to reports that Gattine had criticized his use of racially-loaded rhetoric when discussing the problem of heroin overdoses and prescription drug abuse. LePage thought that Gattine had called him racist, which prompted the governor to leave the voicemail, the Portland Press-Herald reports.
After LePage was subsequently criticized by other lawmakers, members of the media, and even fellow Republicans, he issued an “apology” for insulting Gattine without expressing remorse for having said the offensive terms.
“I apologize for that to the people of Maine, but I make no apology for trying to end the drug epidemic that is ravaging our state,” LePage said. “Legislators like Gattine would rather be politically correct and protect ruthless drug dealers than work with me to stop this crisis that is killing five Mainers a week.”
As a result of his over-the-top reaction to criticism, thousands of Mainers have signed an online petition urging the governor to step down. Some Democratic legislative leaders are calling upon their Republican colleagues to either persuade LePage to resign, vote to censure him, or even impeach him.
“Such behavior is inappropriate for a governor and he appears to be unfit to hold office at this time,” Democratic leaders said in a letter. “His actions have become increasingly erratic over the last several years, but he has now crossed a line and we must act.”
Senate President Mike Thibodeau (R-Winterport) is expected to address the issue in a press conference on Tuesday. But Sen. Amy Volk (R-Scarborough), who is up for re-election this year, wrote in a Facebook post that she is concerned about the governor’s seemingly erratic behavior, and believed that “some sort of censure would seem appropriate.”
That censure vote would allow LePage to remain in office, while allowing legislators, including his fellow Republicans, to distance themselves from him and his controversial comments.
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