Maine
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6:48 p.m.
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Sen. Collins has lectured the country about civility and cast herself as an unaligned pragmatist, uniquely situated to heal our national political culture. Earlier this month, she played the role of partisan loyalist, telling the Maine Republican convention: I stand with each and every one of you as a committed supporter of our outstanding Republican candidates at every level of government...
Collins Watch - Tue 11:51 a.m. - 11 clicks 
This shot in the arm ought to get the fundraising ball rolling! This November, Mainers will be voting on a ballot question that will allow same-sex couples to marriage the same as straight couples do. From this morning's Mainers United press release: Mainers United for Marriage , the campaign to win the freedom to marry for all loving, committed couples in Maine, today announced a major ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mon 3:07 p.m. - 16 clicks
On this gloomy day I have gloomy news. There have been fires this week in Maine at the homes and businesses of two rural heroes. These fires have devastated two families who have done it right, working the land, trying to better this world. As Peter says “Occupy the world you want to see.” At [...] ...
The Populist Farmer - Thu 9:48 a.m. - 14 clicks
Paul LePage Maine Gov. Paul LePage continues his fruitless effort to compete with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for the "Asshole Republican Governor" title. LePage's effort is fruitless because of Maine's small size and because he lacks Christie's sheer force of presence, not because he's any less of an asshole, as his comments at the Maine Republican Party's state convention demonstrat...
DailyKos (Maine) - May 7
For 'tis the sport to have the engineer Hoist with his own petard. -- Hamlet, by William Shakespeare From Anita Bryant to Maggie Gallagher, in ads spanning time from those in favor of the Briggs Initiative to those pushing Proposition 8 and Maine's Question One in 2009, one thing has remained constant: the forces of inequality have relentlessly attacked LGBT rights and same-se...
DailyKos (Maine) - Apr 29
Cross posted at Dirigo Blue Maine State Sen. Debra Plowman (R-Penobscot) is an unabashed opponent of abortion rights. Though I completely disagree with her position, I respect it and the passion she brings to it. I have seen her speak against abortion on the Senate floor several times, I would not call her a fanatic for the cause. That is, until last night. It is clear that Plowman wil...
DailyKos (Maine) - Apr 26
National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher surrounded by her grassroots supporters. (Ed Kennedy aka lostinmiami Flickr ) Get ready Washington, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and North Carolina: National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is meddling in your state and is going to break your laws. In fact, the group probably has already. In virtually every state in which NOM has operat...
DailyKos (Maine) - Apr 8
Like many governors, Maine Gov. Paul LePage issues a weekly radio address. It being a holiday weekend, today's address is short and focuses on Easter, arguably the most important holiday for Christians. The resurrection of the Son of God promises redemption from sin for all believers. So it is inexplicable as to why Gov. LePage included a message to Democrats in the Maine Legislature in his ad...
DailyKos (Maine) - Apr 7
Bass Harbor Head Light Maine People's Resource Center (pdf). 3/31-4/2. "Registered Maine voters in likely voter households." MoE: ±3.1% (no trendlines): Matt Dunlap (D) : 12 Charlie Summers (R) : 22 Angus King (I) : 56 Undecided : 10 Cynthia Dill (D) : 20 Matt Dunlap (D) : 17 John Hinck (D) : 6 Benjamin Pollard (D) : 2 Undecided : 55 Charlie Summers (R) : 28 Bru...
DailyKos (Maine) - Apr 6 - 2 clicks
I've often commented to my friends and family that my home state of Maine is one very big small town, where everyone knows everyone else and sooner or later, you find that your daughter's frenemy at school is your coworker's stepchild. Nothing, however, has brought home to me the truth of that statement like what happened yesterday. On my farm, we have a flock of 6 sheep (which hopefully will ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Apr 6
Big Talk host Steven Emmons speaks with 2 steering committee members of Maine's League of Young Voters. Ashley Phaneuf and Patrick Banks talk about what issues the League is supporting, the upcoming gay marriage vote, and how people can get involved and help make changes in politics in Maine. Dowload this episode here . Subscr...
Maine Politics - Apr 2
I was responding to a few of the comments on my earlier rant about a post by a college student regarding welfare reform, when something struck me: in my post, I'm advocating education reform, especially promotion of critical thinking, but everywhere I turn, I see politicians attacking education funding. The latest jaw-dropper in my home state of Maine was the governor's proposal to extend high...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 31
President Barack Obama made two campaign stops in Maine Friday, the first one held on the campus of Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. Following speeches by Rep. Chellie Pingree and former Sen. George Mitchell, the President was introduced by Richard Schwartz of Woolwich. Addressing a crowd of more than 1,800 supporters, President Obama repeated a mantra that will likely be a ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 31
Above, you see Marc Mutty, in a clip from the documentary film, Question 1, by Joe Fox. Mutty successfully lead the campaign in 2009 to convince voters to repeal the marriage equality passed by the Maine legislature. It is a naked declaration of the lack of ethnics and moral bankruptcy that powers the anti-gay industry. He admits their ads are filled with "hyperbole" that is "not entirely...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 29
Maine State Representative Jon Hinck (D-Portland) said today that Maine’s Attorney General, Bill Schneider, should not be using taxpayer or public funds to pay for his trip to Washington, DC to watch Supreme Court arguments. Both Hinck, a Democrat, and Schneider, a Republican, are vying for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Maine’s Senior Senator Olympia Snowe. “If he wants to...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 29
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has released documents from National Organization for Marriage (NOM) resulting from the Maine effort to ensure NOM was not an outside the state agency attempting to influence the State's elections. These court documents show that NOM was intent in creating racial animus between the LGBT community and Black and Hispanic communities, as if those communities were exc...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 27
I know very little about former Independent Governor and current Independent Senate Candidate Angus King of Maine. The only insight I have into who he is and what he believes comes from 13 years ago, when he helped pioneer (for good or for evil) the now-widespread practice of providing taxpayer-funded laptop computers to every public school student in the (district/county/state). The Maine lap...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 21 - 2 clicks
This is a short hear-say kind of diary; it is just rumor at this stage, and certainly sounds plausible enough; but I'd love some confirmation if any fellow Maineiacs are tuned in with corroborating information. Please dive below the orange Gordian Knot: ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 15
John Baldacci, the former Governor of Maine, just announced that he will not run for the open US Senate seat being vacated by Olympia Snowe. Baldacci was the last remaining Democrat with any chance of capturing this seat. ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 14
Update The Senate voted to indefinitely suspend LD1860 Thursday morning, which which will place the question on the ballot in November. The bill is very similar to the same-sex marriage law that was overturned by a people's veto in 2009. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and the Portland Dioceses have already pledged to defeat this years ballot question. :: Yesterday, Secretar...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 14
who blogs at Dirigo Blue and Kennebec Blues and has been misrepresented by Senator Olympia Snowe for many years. ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 12
There is a great mystery as to whether we should celebrate or bemoan independent Senate candidate Angus King's entry into the Maine race. Apparently he's well beloved in the area which is reflected by his immediate lead in the polls. While he's been uncomfortably coy about with whom he would caucus, I found this nugget from Politico a bit comforting: "This is more important news f...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 9
Want the scoop on hot races around the country? Get the digest emailed to you each weekday morning. Sign up here . Leading Off : • ME-Sen : Though it wasn't a surprise given the tenor of her recent comments, Rep. Chellie Pingree's announcement on Wednesday that she wouldn't run for Senate is a big blow to Democratic hopes of capturing GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe's seat. Pingree's move, wh...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 8
If Maine's marriage equality referendum were being voted on today, the ayes would carry the day, according to a new poll of voters in the state conducted by Public Policy Polling. If passed, the measure on the November ballot would reverse a 2009 statewide vote that rejected same-sex marriage by 53 percent to 47 percent: A majority of Maine voters say same-sex marriage should be legal, ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 7
The latest PPP polling shows an incredible turnaround from the results of the 2009 "people's veto" of the marriage equality law passed in 2009 by the Maine Legislature. Registered voters now favor marriage equality by a margin of 13%, 54% - 41%, whereas in 2009 they rejected same-sex marriage by 6%, 47% - 53%, a swing of an amazing 19% in three years . Of course polls are not election resul...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 7 - 2 clicks
Well this just sucks. Seems Pingree was afraid she'd lose to independent Angus King. via Greg Sargent at Wapo : In a move that could complicate the Democratic Party’s efforts to hold the Senate, Dem Rep. Chellie Pingree — a favorite of national liberals and progressives — has decided not to run for the seat of retiring Olympia Snowe, a Democrat familiar with her thinking tells me. The dec...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 7
via today's Portland Press Herald : PORTLAND — At least two more local businesses have told a local radio station not to run their ads during Rush Limbaugh's time slot because of controversial comments he made about a female law school student who urged federal lawmakers to support health care coverage of contraception. Michael Major, the owner of Cunningham Security in Yarmouth , ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 7
A long, detailed piece from National Resources Defense Council on Sen. Collins' amendment to exempt incinerators and industrial boilers from clean air standards. Some lowlights: The amendment...allows indefinite compliance delays by prohibiting EPA from requiring compliance with new standards any "earlier than 5 years" after issuance, and then eliminating the Clean Air Act's firm compliance de...
Collins Watch - Mar 7
Bishop Malone ( Diocese of Portland ) This is potentially a real game changer in the epic multi-year battle to bring marriage equality to the great state of Maine. Project manager at Marriage Equality USA Ned Flaherty posted at Bilerico Project: Catholic Church Withdraws from Maine Marriage Equality Fight The Roman Catholic church is taking no active roles in fundraising, s...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 5
Fellow Mainers - please join us in Portland tomorrow! WHAT: Jon Hinck for Maine - Congressional Campaign Kick-Off WHEN: Sunday, March 4th, 11:00am WHERE: Reiche School in Portland - 166 Brackett Street, Portland, ME WHY: Help Chellie Pingree and Jon Hinck collect enough signatures to run for US Senate and US House respectively Find our campaign on Facebook and follow Jon on Twi...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 3
Big Talk host Steven Emmons interviewed journalist and author Colin Woodard . They talk about Governor Paul LePage, then they turn to Olympia Snowe's recent decision to step out of politics. Who will get her seat? Dowload the episode here . Subscribe to the podcast here . ...
Maine Politics - Mar 3
Wow! Who could have predicted that the race for Senator Olympia Snowe's now open seat would turn into an unprecedented upheaval. In chaos, however, there is often opportunity and I welcome the potential that Maine's new political landscape offers. It is now clear that Congresswoman Chellie Pingree will likely run for the United States Senate . I applaud her decision. As I said earlier this we...
DailyKos (Maine) - Mar 2
In a move that substantially undercuts her "social moderate" credentials, Sen. Collins voted earlier today to sustain an amendment by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) that would give employers the option of refusing to cover any health benefit that violates their professed religious beliefs. I wrote about the amendment two weeks ago . Asked for comment, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England's Megan...
Collins Watch - Mar 1
Representatives Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud both say they're likely to seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Olympia Snowe. Former Governor John Baldacci has also taken out papers to run. If no one turns away, it could become one of the biggest and most important Democratic primaries in Maine history. According to the Hu...
Maine Politics - Mar 1
As of now everybody has heard the shocking news last night of Maine's senior senator Olympia Snowe announcing her retirement instead of seaking re-election. Also to mention on her way out she had some scathing words for the GOP leadership, in hence acknowledging there's is no room for folks like her in the Republican Party. Don't be surprise if the other senator from Maine, Susan Collins follows...
DailyKos (Maine) - Feb 29
Yesterday, Olympia Snowe announced she would not run for re-election. Then, just a few hours later, the National Journal broke the news: " Progressive Change Campaign Committee has launched a draft Pingree movement." In less than 24 hours, nearly 3,000 people joined the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC)'s movement to draft progressive Rep. Chellie Pingree to run for Senate in...
DailyKos (Maine) - Feb 29
Cross posted at Dirigo Blue The announcement that Sen. Olympia Snowe will not seek re-election couldn't have come at a worse time for those who would seek to replace her. Except if you're name is Scott D'Amboise. He is the lone Republican challenger already running. And while there are four declared Democrats, none of them are well known: Cynthia Dill, Matt Dunlap, Jon Hinck, Pollard. To...
DailyKos (Maine) - Feb 29 - 2 clicks
Yesterday, Senator Olympia Snowe announced her retirement. This particular bit of news sent shock waves through the political world. It was widely believed that she was going to run for reelection and that she would have crushed any one of her Democratic opponents. She was even gearing up for reelection. With her retirement, this Senate seat goes from a Safe Republican hold, to a Lean Democratic...
DailyKos (Maine) - Feb 29
There has been some talk about who will run for Olympia Snowe's soon-to-be-vacated senate seat. I'd run myself but even though I am, in a way "from" Maine, I haven't lived here full time long enough, but Bill has. Plus, I am exploring the possibility of running for Selectman in St. George, my legal residence (though I live in Portland in the deep winter). Here's why I think Bill in Portland Ma...
DailyKos (Maine) - Feb 28
So Senator Olympia Snowe has announced that she's done with the Senate and retiring. Among all the commentary of why she's chosen to walk away from a guaranteed re-election to retire, and how this will affect the Democrat's chances to pick up another Senate seat, I'm left wondering "How will this change Snowe's voting for the rest of the year?" ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Feb 28 - 2 clicks
who blogs at Dirigo Blue and Kennebec Blues and has been misrepresented by Senator Olympia Snowe for many years. ...
DailyKos (Maine) - Feb 28
Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, has an interesting blog post up providing a snapshot of a typical day's work for the organization's staff. Yesterday, they worked on everything from birth control to bloggers' rights in a variety of educational, legal and advocacy roles. ...
Maine Politics - Feb 28
Yesterday, Sen. Collins refused to rule out supporting an amendment sponsored by Sen. Roy Blount (R-MO) that would allow bosses to inject themselves into the full range of worker health care choices. For example, the amendment would allow employers to exclude maternity care for unmarried women if they believe premarital sex is immoral. And given the sweeping nature of the amendment's "mora...
Collins Watch - Feb 15
Given all the political developments in Maine in recent days, it's easy to lose track of an important wrinkle in last week's birth control debate, especially since the compromise solution offered by President Obama on Friday seems to have taken much of the air out of critics arguments. But let's not forget: Nominally pro-choice and pro-family planning Sens. Snowe and Collins are now on record ...
Collins Watch - Feb 14
Mike Tipping on Sens. Collins, Snowe and the administration's birth control compromise . ...
Collins Watch - Feb 11
Big Talk host Suzanne Murphy speaks with Caroline Teschke, Zoe Freddecco, and Darla Treworgy about Portland's needle exchange program. Download this episode here . Subscribe to the podcast here . read more ...
Maine Politics - Feb 11
I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with the compromise that Obama announced yesterday on religious-affiliated non-profits and birth control. You can read the full details here. In particular, it hits dead center on the (not-very-convincing) aguments Snowe and Collins used when they recently reversed themselves on the issue, which I outlined at Down East . It's hard to see a rhetorically-con...
Maine Politics - Feb 11 - 3 clicks
As we congratulate Sen. Collins on her engagement, it'd be a mistake not to draw attention to a telling aspect of the announcement's coverage in the media. Namely: prominent Maine outlets --uniformly, as far as I know-- followed the junior senator's script, referring to fiance Tom Daffron as a "political consultant" and "longtime Senate senior staff member" and a few other things but never ...
Collins Watch - Feb 6 - 2 clicks
Big Talk host Suzanne Murphy speaks with Alex Cornell du Houx, a Maine State Representative who served as a Marine in Iraq. Download this episode here . Subscribe to the podcast here . read more ...
Maine Politics - Jan 8
Suzanne Murphy and Alan Brewer talk with Eliza Townsend of the Maine Women's Lobby . Download this episode here . Subscribe to the podcast here . read more ...
Maine Politics - Jan 8
It's great to see Sen. Collins advocating an evidence-driven approach to evaluating and mitigating health risks to Americans: [Collins] has repeatedly questioned the use, in particular, of the backscatter X-ray machines, which emit low levels of ionizing radiation... "As a frequent flyer, I just cannot believe that it is good for people who are traveling every week, or for TSA employees who ar...
Collins Watch - Jan 5
Author, journalist and frequent Maine Politics contributor Colin Woodard has recieved a great deal of national attention for his new book, American Nations , in which he examines what he believes are 11 distinct cultural regions within North America. Woodard recently did a daytime call-in program on MPBN , now available onli...
Maine Politics - Dec 15 - 15 clicks
Yesterday an anonymous commenter drew attention to the text of the "Gang of 14" agreement to argue that Sen. Collins had committed to the "extraordinary circumstances" standard for judicial nominee filibusters only for a set period of time . Indeed, the text of the agreement specifies that its provisions are "related to...judicial nominations in the 109th Congress." So it's certainly fair to s...
Collins Watch - Dec 8 - 5 clicks
Can anyone sincerely believe that Collins' bizarre interest in pruning the judiciary meets the "extraordinary circumstances" threshold that she committed to back in 2005? Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine joined all but one other Republican today in blocking the nomination of Caitlin Halligan for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. [...] Collins told reporters on Cap...
Collins Watch - Dec 7 - 6 clicks
PPH : President Obama hopes to persuade Maine's two senators and several other Republican lawmakers to break party ranks and help confirm his nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A Senate vote is expected this week, but so far Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are apparently not budging. Both have said they are concerned about oversight of the bureau. [...] Forme...
Collins Watch - Dec 6 - 5 clicks
Sen. Collins surprises your humble narrator and does the right thing, coming out in favor of the payroll tax cut being offered up by Senate Democrats: Collins said in a phone interview tonight that her goal is to make sure "working families aren't faced with a tax increase come January, frankly at a very bad time given the fragility of our economy." And while Collins doesn't want to see small ...
Collins Watch - Dec 1 - 4 clicks
Sen. Collins : "What we've been hearing over and over again is that the reason Republicans are opposed to the surtax [on the rich] is because of the concern on its impact on job creation," she said. "Well if you carve out employers you take away that argument." ...
Collins Watch - Dec 1 - 4 clicks
Unless you're a hard right Republican, isn't the whole point of electing someone like Sen. Collins that she doesn't defer to a fringe radical like Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK)? Neither Maine Republican is a supporter of Lautenberg’s Safe Chemicals Act...Collins...hopes negotiations going on over Lautenberg’s bill will lead to an agreement large numbers of senators can support. [...] Collins...n...
Collins Watch - Nov 18 - 5 clicks
Sen. Collins : [Salam Fayyad, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority and I] discussed the PA's unilateral appeal to the UN to grant recognition to a Palestinian State, a move that I strongly oppose. He seemed to concede that this approach was a mistake. ...
Collins Watch - Oct 27 - 5 clicks
Sen. Collins : "I have never supported an open-ended and unconditional commitment of U.S. troops in Iraq. However, I do remain concerned that many U.S. military officials have repeatedly said that they believe a residual force of U.S. troops might have to remain in order to continue training Iraqi troops to help ensure that the significant gains we have made there, at great cost to American bloo...
Collins Watch - Oct 22 - 3 clicks
Via e-mail, ACLU of Maine Executive Director Shenna Bellows says that her organization is "very concerned" about Sen. Collins' vote in favor of the Ayotte amendment , which would have banned the use of civilian courts for many terrorism cases. Some more background from an ACLU prepared statement: The failure of the Ayotte amendment...should be a wake-up call to anyone who still thinks there is...
Collins Watch - Oct 21 - 5 clicks
We're excited to announce the 2012 Margaret Chase Smith Journalism Award competition. The $100 award, named after an American who spoke uncomfortable truths to powerful people, will go to a Maine journalist with the fortitude to press elected officials to answer difficult, important questions. For the 2012 round, the award will be given to the first Maine-based reporter who asks Sen. Snowe or ...
Collins Watch - Oct 14 - 3 clicks
In spite of no votes from Sen. Collins and Sen. Snowe, the nomination of Alison Nathan to US District Court was approved today by the US Senate. She will become only the second "out" lesbian to serve in the federal judiciary. It's not clear why Collins opposed the nomination--there's no explanatory press release on her website as of this writing. But given her support for truly fringe Bush adm...
Collins Watch - Oct 13 - 2 clicks
Sen. Collins, who played a pivotal role in shaping the largest Keynesian stimulus in US history just three years ago, has voted to block even a debate on the administration's jobs bill: Collins said, the administration's "take it or leave it" proposition in an effort to score political points persuaded her to vote against the bill. She added that the administration also changed the bill to reta...
Collins Watch - Oct 11 - 3 clicks
