[BREAKING] The Maine Event: Governor LePage Call People of Color ‘The Enemy’ in Leaked Press Conference Video
Earlier today, recordings were leaked of Maine Governor Paul LePage harrassing a political opponent, begging him to “prove [LePage] a racist.” So, with BREAKING new footage, we did, tying him into the tide of this election to boot.
In my state of Maine, we’re known for a few things. Eating more lobsters than anyone pictured imaginable and having more trees than the average human has cells, just to name a few. (Also, some would argue that it’s cold.) Unfortunately, after today’s comments, we in Maine will probably be known for having a Governor willing to demonize entire demographics of the American population in order to satisfy his own personal agenda. In a press conference today, in an attempt to apologize for his outburst filled with homophobic slurs and profanity towards a State Representative (which was means for coverage in its own right), Governor Paul Lepage suggested that, in regards to Maine’s drug problem, those of African American and Hispanic origins in the state could be deemed the “enemy,” blanketed together by the color of their skin . While we can all agree these comments certainly have no place anywhere in the American political realm, on the state or federal level, we also can’t ignore the fact that the Governor’s statement follows a horrifying trend in the 2016 cycle. Here is why the Governor’s comments have only proliferated the path of hatred and discrimination already paved in this election cycle.
Maine’s 74th governor is no stranger to controversy. Whenever faced with opposition, Governor LePage does not act as a typical politician, and the events leading up to today’s precipice are no exception. State Representative Drew Gattine, a vocal opponent of Governor LePage, had recently made a statement criticizing his rhetoric regarding the racial profiling of drug trafficking suspects, particularly with LePage’s comments about how those with constitutional carry could wipe out drug dealers. The Governor responded to these statements by leaving a voicemail on the Representatives cell phone, using a multitude of inappropriate comments about the Representatives criticisms, also stating that the legislator has done nothing to advance Maine politics. LePage later commented that he wished it were 1825. He went on to explain his reasoning by boisterously explaining how, “And we would have a duel, that’s how angry I am, and I would not put my gun in the air, I guarantee you, I would not be [Alexander] Hamilton.” (Ironically, this lack of eloquence would also set him opposed to Hamilton.)
After significant media backlash regarding the voicemail, Governor LePage held a press conference today in attempts to clarify his comments towards Representative Gattine. After apologizing for his crude remarks towards the legislator, LePage made an attempt to explain and fend off the criticism regarding his racially charged comments, the same comments Mr. Gattine slammed him for. In doing so, Governor LePage said the following: “You shoot at the enemy. You try to identify the enemy. And the enemy right now; the overwhelming majority of people coming in are people of color and of hispanic origins.” These comments by the Governor continue the troubling trend of offensive, inappropriate, and discriminatory remarks that do not have any place in our government. Discourse is supposed to be utilized in order to reach a common ground, not to alienate and insult an entire group of people.
A former general manager of Marden’s Surplus and Salvage and mayor of the small former mill town of Waterville, LePage succeeded Democrat John Baldacci to the governorship as part of the Tea Party wave in 2010. The Republican quickly carved out a unique, often abrasive political style similar to the one Donald Trump employs today. He rejected Baldacci’s conciliatory personal style, fighting Democrats in the Maine State Legislature tooth and nail over budgetary resolutions. Maine’s Democrats currently hold the State House of Representatives, but have controlled both houses, and been completely in the minority, at various points in LePage’s tenure. Sometimes, these fights grew personal. Angered by Democratic State Senator Troy Jackson’s opposition to his 2014 budget, LePage said that Jackson was “the first person to give it to the people without providing Vaseline,” and suggested that the former lumberjack “go back in the woods and cut trees,” instead of responding to the actual policy of the hour. LePage was later sued for abuse of power by Mark Eves, the Democratic Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, who charged that the governor had threatened a charter school with a cut in state funding were it to hire Eves, a former therapist. Given this history, his attacks on Gattine were, if not predictable, certainly not uncharacteristic.
LePage’s comments about “the enemy” also fall into a familiar pattern. Maine is on the front lines of the nation’s opioid epidemic, which the Republican has frequently attributed to outsiders, such as immigrants and minority groups. His administration has faced criticism for rejecting implementation of methadone clinics, which use a semi-opioid substance to wean people off heroin, in favor of a law and order approach to the solution, the same approach that has led to iffy results to the on the federal level. While LePage had previously come under fire for telling the NAACP to “kiss my butt” and comparing the IRS to the Nazi SS, it was his 2015 comments about drug dealers coming into Maine that truly put him on the national political map. At a press conference on the opioid crisis, LePage stated that “These are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty — these types of guys — they come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home. Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road.” With no offense meant to our Assistant Editor, Trent Kannegieter, this is exactly the form of “corruption of white womanhood’s ideals” argument that would’ve been deemed abhorrent by the rest of the world when used in the Deep South during the Jim Crow Era, let alone when it was used in Maine, and people took notice. MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow, who had noticed LePage’s verbal antics well before rest of the nation picked him up, devoted several segments to this analysis. Maine Senate President Mike Thibodeau, the state’s second most powerful Republican (as well as the first in the line of succession under the Maine Constitution) distanced himself from the governor. LePage even caught Hillary Clinton’s attention. The former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign stated that “LePage’s racist rants sadly distract from efforts to address one of our nation’s most pressing problems,”
This doesn’t start with LePage, nor does it end with him, but that doesn’t excuse him. Through his demeanor, LePage manifests the revolt against “PC Culture” that our nation is enduring (most prolifically at the miniscule hands of Donald Trump), always willing to speak his mind on an issue or an opponent. Unfortunately, what is wrong with LePage is exactly what is wrong with the rest of the movement: he forgets that there is a difference in being able to say things to address issues and slinging hate speech. LePage’s comments about minorities being the “enemy” simply because of the color of their skin are dangerous, dividing our nation along racial lines in the way that we can only pray are fading behind us. It is unacceptable in any sense, for a high official, particularly someone representing the interests and needs of an entire state, to make horrendous comments that only serve to divide the people that he is supposed to unite. As a public official, you are supposed to hold yourself, and your actions, to a higher standard of critique and oversight when compared to your constituents. Governor LePage has thrown those codes of ethics out the window, preferring a more brash, insult-based approach.
Worse, by saying such things, he leads others to believe that speech like this is acceptable, a cycle which will only end with internalizing these toxic ideas. We, as readers, as neighbors, as sisters and brothers as a nation, cannot let this happen. This doesn’t start with LePage, nor does it end with him. That responsibility falls on us.
Special thanks to Trent Kannegieter.
