Maine

Portland, Maine Mosque Vandalized In Suspected Hate Crime Following Bin Laden Death

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 2, 2011, 4:58PM

On Monday in Portland, ME the walls of the largest mosque in town were spray-painted with "Osama today, Islam tomorow [sic]" and other phrases, sometime following morning prayers on the day after American forces killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

The police chief is calling the incident at the Maine Muslims Community Center a hate crime.

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Maine

Maine Gov. LePage Admits 'Timing Was Bad' For Removing Labor Mural

Eric Lach | April 1, 2011, 10:25AM

Maine Governor Paul LePage (R)

In an interview with The Portland Press Herald, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) admitted that his decision to take down a mural from the Maine Department of Labor building was poorly timed, saying it should have been done "later on."

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Unemployment

Weak Job Market Forces Maine Legislator to Leave the State

Benjy Sarlin | March 17, 2011, 10:07AM

State Senator Lawrence Bliss (D-ME)

Larry Bliss couldn't find work in his home state of Maine so, like many unemployed, he broadened his search and located a job elsewhere in the country. Unlike most unemployed, however, Bliss had "state legislator" listed on his resume as his current title during his entire 16-month job hunt.

A Democratic member of the House of Representatives and then the Senate, Bliss was laid off from his position as an administrator at the University of Southern Maine in late 2009 after two decades with the school. Maine legislators work only part-time, collecting about $13,000 a year for their service, leaving Bliss raising three children on only his partner's full-time work as a low-income housing consultant.

"It's certainly not an easy decision," Bliss told TPM. "I really wanted to stay. My partner and I love it here and Maine is a very special place."

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Paul LePage

LePage Dismisses Dangers Of Chemical BPA: 'Worst Case Is Some Women May Have Little Beards'

Jillian Rayfield | February 23, 2011, 11:27AM

Paul LePage, 2010 gubernatorial candidate in Maine.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) has dismissed the dangers of the chemical bisphenol-A, the effects of which are being debated in the state's legislature this session, saying that as far as he can tell, the worst side effect is that "some women may have little beards."

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Andrew Ian Dodge

Maine Tea Partier Announces Snowe Challenge At CPAC, Flaunts Birth Certificate

Jillian Rayfield | February 11, 2011, 5:45PM

Andrew Ian Dodge

Andrew Ian Dodge, a Maine tea party activist, announced at CPAC earlier today that he will challenge Sen. Olympia Snowe in the Republican primary in 2012, touting his slogan "Snowe has got to go" and flaunting his birth certificate, which he said was a response to accusations by his opponents that he is not a U.S. citizen.

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Paul LePage

Did Maine Gov. LePage Even Speak To NAACP About Visiting Only Black Prisoners?

David Taintor | January 20, 2011, 8:38AM

Maine Governor Paul LePage (R)

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) apparently never spoke with local NAACP organizers over visiting black prisoners in jail, the Portland Press Herald reports. That conversation had served as the supposed justification for LePage's eventual "kiss my butt" diss to the NAACP.

LePage says the NAACP invited him to meet with black prisoners at a state prison on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, an offer he declined. He said he would only go if he could meet with all prisoners, but that it wasn't acceptable to them. When the NAACP criticized his non-participation, he told them to "kiss my butt."

But Maine NAACP director Rachel Talbot Ross told the Press Herald that the invitation fiasco never even happened.

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Maine

Maine Gov. LePage: NAACP Can 'Kiss My Butt'

Jillian Rayfield | January 14, 2011, 2:15PM

Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME)

Maine Gov. Paul LePage said that the NAACP can "kiss my butt" for criticizing his non-participation in Martin Luther King Day events.

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Republicans

Tea Partiers Write Maine GOP Platform -- Does It Matter?

Eric Kleefeld | May 10, 2010, 6:01PM

Tea Party activists in Washington, D.C.

Tea Party activists have now taken control of the official GOP platform in even the blue state of Maine -- but it remains to be seen whether this will have any actual influence on the state party's politicians.

At the Maine GOP convention on Saturday, Tea Party activists succeeded in substituting their own platform, stating that "The Tea Party movement is reminiscent of the principled revolt that led to the birth of the Republican Party in 1854," in place of the party establishment's original draft.

Among the policies the new platform calls for: "Direct the State of Maine to join with other states in asserting our 10th amendment sovereignty rights which protect us from unconstitutional federal government intrusions"; "Return to the principles of Austrian Economics, and redirect the economy back to one of incentives to save and invest"; and "Pass and implement Fed bill #1207 (Introduced by Ron Paul), to Audit the Federal Reserve, as the first step in Ending the Fed."

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Health Care

Maine Legislator Leaves The GOP Over Health Care Reform

Evan McMorris-Santoro | December 21, 2009, 9:44AM

Rep. Jim Campbell (R-ME)

Democratic leaders in D.C. weren't the only legislators frustrated by Republican party efforts to block health care reform last week. After watching his party promise to stonewall any Democratic reform efforts, Maine state Rep. Jim Campbell decided it was time to drop the (R) from his title.

From Campbell's statement announcing his decision to leave the GOP and become an Independent (h/t Ben Smith):

I have been very frustrated with the Republican Party in Maine, and nationally, for their failure to address the health care crisis in a meaningful way. Nobody has all the answers, but the Republican Party has none when it comes to health care reform.

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Maine

Maine Sees Late-Day Poll Rush As Gay Marriage Question Draws Voters

Rachel Slajda | November 3, 2009, 9:02PM

The Bangor Daily News reports that Bangor's consolidated polling place saw a crush of voters after 4 p.m., pushing the turnout past 50 percent at 6 p.m., two hours before the polls closed. The big draw is a vote on whether to uphold the state's gay marriage law.

"This is bigger than a gubernatorial election," said City Clerk Patti Dubois.

"We staffed for an off-year election with a 35 percent turnout," she said. "By six o'clock, we'd already had a 50 percent turnout."

With 14 percent of precincts reporting, 52 percent have voted no on Question 1, meaning they voted to uphold gay marriage.

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