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LePage approaches full lawlessness
Gov. Paul LePage speaks with reporters outside a Portland press conference on June 3. Troy R. Bennett | BDN The LePage administration is approaching complete lawlessness. Everyday, it seems, a new...
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We all have a responsibility to call out racism in our politics
Lewiston mayoral candidate addresses a crowd Monday evening on Main Street in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham | Sun Journal Overt racism is having its heyday in politics. Oh, sure, most politicians stick...
View ArticleNo place for intimidation on Election Day
Just because something is legal doesn’t make it a good idea. Walking around downtown with a rifle slung over your shoulder is legal in Maine. But it freaks people out. They have no way of knowing your...
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Sore losers in Lewiston want fewer young people to vote
The Republican Party — and conservatives in general — have a real problem with young people. Specifically, they don’t want them to vote. The same goes for minorities and people with low-income....
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Bluster and big fights hide LePage’s day-to-day misdeeds
Gov. Paul LePage’s harsh view of the world is guided by anecdote, misinformation and half-truth. Basic, knowable information eludes him, or he can’t be bothered to get it right. He repeats information...
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For LePage and Fredette, the table gets lonely
Simply put, Maine cannot confront its heroin epidemic — or strengthen its rural economy, for that matter — without expanding access to affordable health care. Lack of health care for tens of thousands...
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Thibodeau pushes back against 2016 election ugliness
It’s not easy for me to say something nice about state Senate President Mike Thibodeau. He once voted to fire me and eliminate my job. (I know, I’m setting myself up here, but go ahead and take the...
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Want a taste of election year attacks against Democrats? Look to LePage
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has shown himself to be a much stronger candidate in the Democratic primary for president than many people expected. Sanders, after 25 years as U.S. congressman and U.S....
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Bug zappers atop the border wall? The politics of the next world health...
Be afraid. Be very afraid. That’s the message that we’re being bombarded with everyday, and it’s a consistent strain throughout the Republican presidential primary campaign. Despite living in the...
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The warped reality of LePage and Trump
All that stuff about the media twisting his words. His enemies distorting what he said. A simple slip of the tongue. All that stuff? That was a lie, or at best an excuse for the blatantly racist and...
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No single way to reverse middle Maine’s decline — but the first step is easy
Age, economics and partisan politics are creating a crisis in Maine — and rural Maine in particular. It’s no secret that Maine’s population is aging and our workforce is barely growing. Maine’s median...
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LePage misses his ‘Declaration of Conscience,’ sides with the demagogue
Gov. Paul LePage did something completely out of character and perhaps even courageous. It didn’t last. Less than a week later, he completely reversed course, showing his stripes as a political...
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Friends were made, ballots counted. Ditch the caucus anyway
By the time it was over, there were just eight of us left. Two volunteer precinct officers and six other voters, including my next door neighbor. And more than 500 absentee ballots. The Democratic...
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LePage follows Trump’s path toward violence
Gov. Paul LePage brought props to his town hall circus, this one in Bath last week. He and his staff spent their time and state resources to create fake “Wanted” posters for three of the governor’s...
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An attack on LGBT Mainers is lurking in the shadows
A new and dangerous campaign to gut Maine’s Human Rights Act, which protects people from discrimination, is ready to begin collecting signatures. Zealot Michael Heath is on the verge of launching a...
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Proof is in the numbers: LePage is failing poor children
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services and Gov. Paul LePage have withheld about $110 million of federal funding from poor families in the name of “welfare reform.” For the past four years,...
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Don’t fall for a minimum wage hike from those who thwarted past raises
Temptation — and politics — will test Democrats when they return to Augusta later this month to deal with a handful of leftover issues and anticipated vetoes by Gov. Paul LePage. In a sly move, LePage...
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LePage’s message for addicted Mainers, newcomers: Good riddance
It is a terrible shame when we lose sight of one another’s humanity. To Gov. Paul LePage, the people of Maine — the men, women and children who live, work and make our state what it is — are just a...
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LePage isn’t immune to the truth
Nobody is above the law. Well, except Gov. Paul LePage. In a narrow ruling last week, U.S. District Court Judge George Singal decided that LePage is immune from a lawsuit filed by Maine House Speaker...
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Republicans face harsh judgment of history as they fall in line with Trump
Republican leaders in Maine — and around the country — are missing their movie moment. They could be Jimmy Stewart, the earnest hero in the classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Instead, they’re...
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