Maine's Governor Paul LePage

I got this in an email, and had to share it because here is someone who seems like they stand up for what they believe in. This is probably why he was elected. I do not follow politics in Maine, but it is amazing how someone can say something (well nothing new, I guess), and the media just reports what they want to report to make them look the way the media views them. I decided to look into it and found that I am sort of late on all this since it is old news. I wonder what the Governor is like today. I will check it out, too. Here is the email.

Meet Maine 's New Governor --- I hope this makes its way around the USA several times!!!!! Meet Maine 's New Governor --- In case you haven't heard about this guy before, his name will stick in your mind! The new Maine Governor, Paul LePage is making New Jersey 's Chris Christie look like an enabler. He isn't afraid to say what he thinks. Judging by the comments, every time he opens his mouth, his popularity goes up. He brought down the house at his inauguration when he shook his fist toward the media box and said, "You're on notice! I've inherited a financially troubled State to run. Observe...cover what we do...but don't whine if I don't waste time responding to your every whim just for your amusement." During his campaign for Governor, he was talking to commercial fishermen who are struggling because of federal fisheries rules. They complained that 0bama brought his family to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park for a long Labor Day holiday and found time to meet with union leaders, but wouldn't talk to the fishermen. LePage replied, "I'd tell him to go to hell and get out of my State." The Lame Stream Media crucified LePage, but he jumped 6 points in the pre-election poll. The Martin Luther King incident was a political sandbag, which brought him National exposure. The 'lame stream' media crucified him, but word on the street is very positive. The NAACP specifically asked LePage to spend MLK Day visiting black inmates at the Maine State Prison. He told them that he would meet with ALL inmates, regardless of race, if he were to visit the prison. The NAACP balked and then put out a news release claiming falsely that he refused to participate in any MLK events. He read it in the paper for the 1st time the next morning while being driven to an event and went ballistic because none of the reporters had called him for comment before running the NAACP release. He arrived at that event & said in front of a TV camera, "If they want to play the race card on me they can kiss my ass", and he reminded them that he has an adopted black son from Jamaica and that he attended the local MLK Breakfast every year that he was mayor of Waterville. (He started his morning there on MLK Day.) He then stated that there's a right way and a wrong way to meet with the Governor, and he put all special interests on notice that press releases, media leaks, and all demonstrations would prove to be the wrong way. He said any other group, which acted like the NAACP could expect to be at the bottom of the Governor's priority list! He then did the following, and judging from local radio talk show callers, his popularity increased even more: The State employees union complained because he waited until 3 P.M. before closing State offices and facilities and sending non-emergency personnel home during the last blizzard. The prior Governor would often close offices for the day with just a forecast before the first flakes. (Each time the State closes for snow, it costs the taxpayers about $1 million in wages for no work in return.) LePage was CEO of the Marden's chain of discount family bargain retail stores before election as governor. He noted that State employees getting off work early could still find lots of retail stores open to shop. So, he put the State employees on notice by announcing: "If Marden's is open, Maine is open!" He told State employees: "We live in Maine in the winter, for heaven's sake, and should know how to drive in it. Otherwise, apply for a State job in Florida !" Governor LePage symbolizes what America needs; Refreshing politicians who aren't self-serving and who exhibit common sense.

If you want sources for this article I found some on Snopes.com and if you click here you can find the article on Snopes. It is a bit different but basically the same. Looking into this more with a Google Search showed a lot of results for and against the Governor. One article states this: Did Maine Gov. LePage Even Speak To NAACP About Visiting Only Black Prisoners? That is an interesting read and another view point. Then in this article he did attend a Martin Luther King JR event. The Governor of Maine has a few years before he is up for re-election. He has ruffled a lot of feathers. I hope he is toning things down as far as the respect he shows to all people. There should be a better vocabulary he can use to make his point without getting into so much trouble. Living in a state where we face the highest state taxes in the nation, and in an area where people lose houses because jobs leave the state due to high taxes, one can't help but start looking at other parts of the country to see how they are handling this economy and what sort of leadership is there. Governor LePage is definitely not enough to give me the incentive to move to Maine, where I would most likely freeze during winter.