# Gov. Lepage goes even farther off the rails **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 26, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012 "2016-08-26T14:16:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/81 "2016-08-27T23:11:19Z")
I only ask that you don’t judge all people from Maine by the insane antics of Crazy Unca’ Paul LePage, he’s a complete nut job Even we conservative _true_ old-school republicans\*\* are embarrassed by his insanity \*\*small government that stays out of people’s lives, strong military, respect for ALL the constitutional amendments ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/82 "2016-08-27T23:37:13Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > **I only ask that you don’t judge all people from Maine** by the insane antics of Crazy Unca’ Paul LePage, he’s a complete nut job > > Even we conservative _true_ old-school republicans\*\* are embarrassed by his insanity > > \*\*small government that stays out of people’s lives, strong military, respect for ALL the constitutional amendments Just the ones who voted for him. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/83 "2016-08-28T00:54:18Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You’re not quite getting it, are you? Yes, he’s adept at redefining or limiting the topic to an area where he can claim victory… Yes. That’s what he does. But unlike, say, 6 (?) years ago, he leavens his narrow focus with acknowledgement of the central issue. That’s good form. Examples: > [@Bricker](#): > > Interestingly enough, Lepage’s grasp of history is as fractured as his temper. Hamilton’s duel with Burr was at Weehawken, New Jersey in 1804. Maine didn’t exist at that time, of course; when it became a state in 1820 it adopted anti-dueling laws, including a $1000 fine for challenging someone to a duel or accepting a duel challenge. > > Maine actually lost a sitting U.S. Representative to a duel eighteen years later… > [@Bricker](#): > > The main – no pun intended – point is beyond dispute: the governor’s an idiot. > > But that’s no reason at all to pass over, without correction, inaccurate claims like **boffking** ’s. Lepage is correctly called an idiot, but he’s not an arsonist. He’s not a smuggler. He’s not a armed robber. He’s not a counterfeiter. … > [@Bricker](#): > > I don’t think there is any serious dispute to what you’re calling the gravamen of the issue: Lepage made at best racially insensitive comments and at worst unfounded, unhinged racist comments and has been caught on tape in a rant filled with homophobic slurs and what is at best unprofessional behavior and at worst signs of serious psychiatric disorder. > > I certainly agree. I can’t see anyone in this thread that’s taken a contrary position. > > Is it your view that discussion here should consist of simple repetition and expansion upon those observations? I admit that best practice might have included an acknowledgment in the first of 2nd post by Bricker. Though frankly I’ll concede that it wouldn’t have made a difference in terms of the responses, based on past experience. A dissenting view: > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > No, my view is that this is the pit and the point of this thread is the usual hurling of insults and expressions of outrage appropriate to that venue and not a reasoned discussion of the legal merits of a minor point of contention. > > This pedantic digression arguing of the distinction between the legal and practical difference of whether or not something was a death thread simply distracts from that purpose. There are other venues more appropriate for that discussion. As you likely well know, as it really isn’t anything new to derail Dopers by nitpicking at some minor point to distract from the larger point. > > Then again, you are all free to do whatever you want. The age old SDMB habit of feeding the trolls just happened to get to me this particular time. I disagree with the **Great Antibob**. The pit is a safety valve for the remainder of the board. It permits insults and observations of a personal nature. But it has never _mandated_ insults, or expressions of outrage for that matter. It is wholly appropriate to fight ignorance in a venue whose minimum bar is lower than the remainder of the board. Just because vulgarity is permitted here, doesn’t imply that there is any sort of ceiling on the level of discourse. I suppose we could have a venue where people could spout bullshit without challenge. Oh, actually we do: it’s called the remainder of the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2016, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/84 "2016-08-28T12:13:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No, he has to not hijack the thread into discussing the one area that fascinates him and lets him feel like he’s winning a game no one else is contesting. I had thought you grasped that concept. > > And ancillary, not central or even necessary. > > \*You \*don’t have to play his game either, yanno. This has more to do with your personal views of Bricker instead of what he has said which in this thread has a) addressed directly a major point of the OP and b) been 100% correct. The fact that you do want him to be right is your problem not mine. And I’m not playing his game, I brought it up first. It was a glaringly stupid statement in the OP. I didn’t know we were supposed to perpetuate factual inaccuracies now. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/85 "2016-09-01T06:43:05Z")
The problems have been solved: 1. **To quell uproar, Maine governor seeks ‘spiritual guidance’** [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/to-quell-uproar-maine-governor-seeking-spiritual-guidance/2016/08/31/822c9054-6fd8-11e6-993f-73c693a89820\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/to-quell-uproar-maine-governor-seeking-spiritual-guidance/2016/08/31/822c9054-6fd8-11e6-993f-73c693a89820_story.html) 2. **Maine Gov. LePage says he will not speak to reporters anymore** [Maine Gov. LePage says he will not speak to reporters anymore](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/08/31/paul-lepage-maine-reporters/89652732/) ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/86 "2016-09-01T09:57:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Here are some public statements made by Governor LePage: > > “Let me tell you something: Black people come up the highway and they kill Mainers. You ought to look into that!” > > “You know and I know and everybody in the state knows that the overwhelming majority of the people that have been arrested this year, coming out of Connecticut and New York, have been black and Hispanic, it’s not a matter of race, it’s a matter of fact. Are there some white ones? Yes, there are some white people.” > > “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.” > > “If I am a racist for trying to get black people and Hispanic people and white people and Asian people who come up with heroin that will kill Mainers, then I plead guilty. I do plead guilty.” > > It’s not just talk either. The Governor says ninety percent of the people being arrested for drug crimes in Maine are black or Hispanic. Demographically, Maine is 95% non-Hispanic white. On a nation-wide, whites commit more drug crimes than blacks or Hispanics. This is not surprising - this country has a much larger white population than its black or Hispanic population. This effect should be even more pronounced in Maine due to its demographics. > > So it’s virtually certain the overwhelming majority of people who are committing drug crimes in Maine are white. But ninety percent of the people being arrested for drug crimes are black or Hispanic. The conclusion must be that Maine law enforcement is targeting black and Hispanics for arrest while ignoring white people committing the same crimes. > > And that’s racist. Out of curiosity, was he saying that sort of stuff _before_ he won reelection? I’m wondering if the people of Maine elected a racist by accident, or knowing fully what he was. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/87 "2016-09-01T11:37:04Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > 1. **Maine Gov. LePage says he will not speak to reporters anymore** > [Maine Gov. LePage says he will not speak to reporters anymore](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/08/31/paul-lepage-maine-reporters/89652732/) That explains it. It was the reporter’s fault. Nothing to see here. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/88 "2016-09-01T12:24:02Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > …“Blaine from Maine” must of been a helluva slogan! (Stephen King inside joke) MONO syllabic. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/89 "2016-09-01T16:58:33Z")
> **[Legislative leaders can’t agree on action against Gov. LePage](https://www.pressherald.com/2016/09/01/legislative-leaders-will-meet-to-review-action-on-lepage/)** > > Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves surprisingly endorses Senate President Mike Thibodeau as a replacement for the governor, a notion the Winterport Republican dismisses. The state legislature is looking at options to remove Lepage from office. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/90 "2016-09-01T17:06:52Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > The state legislature is looking at options to remove Lepage from office. The solution is obvious: when Trump is elected he can offer Lepage a high administration position. How about head of the Drug Enforcement Administration? ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/91 "2016-09-01T17:14:17Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > Out of curiosity, was he saying that sort of stuff _before_ he won reelection? I’m wondering if the people of Maine elected a racist by accident, or knowing fully what he was. His re-election was in 2014. In 2012, he called the[IRS the Gestapo](http://www.pressherald.com/2012/07/07/governor-says-irs-new-gestapo-in-radio-address/). His first week in office, in 2011, he went off the deep end about the[NAACP](http://www.pressherald.com/2011/01/14/lepage-tells-naacp-to-kiss-my-butt/). ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2016, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/92 "2016-09-05T10:55:49Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > … Like I said. Acadia National Park, you ingrate. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2016, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/93 "2016-09-05T12:25:48Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > Out of curiosity, was he saying that sort of stuff _before_ he won reelection? I’m wondering if the people of Maine elected a racist by accident, or knowing fully what he was. It’s my understanding (an understanding I acquired by reading about him here on the Dope) that both of his electoral victories were won through pluralities, the majority let’s-not-elect-LePage vote having been split between two more liberal candidates. IOW, if the various progressive factions could have gotten their shit in one sock and kept their eyes on the No-Republican-Governor prize, they would likely have been able to prevent even his first term. The second time they screwed that up strikes me as inexcusable. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/94 "2016-09-05T13:58:37Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It’s my understanding (an understanding I acquired by reading about him here on the Dope) that both of his electoral victories were won through pluralities, the majority let’s-not-elect-LePage vote having been split between two more liberal candidates. > > IOW, if the various progressive factions could have gotten their shit in one sock and kept their eyes on the No-Republican-Governor prize, they would likely have been able to prevent even his first term. > > The second time they screwed that up strikes me as inexcusable. This is 100% correct. It is also the reason why Question 5 on the Maine ballot is to implement ranked choice voting for Gubernatorial elections. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012/95 "2016-09-05T22:43:33Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > Out of curiosity, was he saying that sort of stuff _before_ he won reelection? I’m wondering if the people of Maine elected a racist by accident, or knowing fully what he was. Both times, LePage won by a plurality, not a majority, fyi. He won because he was the only right-winger on the ticket, whereas there were two left wingers that split the votes. A majority of us voted for _someone else_, it’s just that we couldn’t agree on who that someone else should be, so he won by default. > **[Maine gubernatorial election, 2014](https://ballotpedia.org/Maine_gubernatorial_election,_2014)** > > Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics > **[Maine gubernatorial election, 2010](https://ballotpedia.org/Maine_gubernatorial_election,_2010)** > > Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gov-lepage-goes-even-farther-off-the-rails/764012.md?page=4)