Gov. LePage: The enemy is ‘people of color’

[IronLionZion]

http://mainebeacon.com/gov-lepage-the-enemy-is-people-of-color/

In a press conference meant to address a series of racist and violent comments he has made over the last two days, Maine Governor Paul LePage again attempted to justify his remarks about categorizing alleged drug dealers by race, arguing that doing so was an appropriate way to “identify the enemy.”

“The enemy right now, the overwhelming majority of people coming in, are people of color or people of Hispanic origin,” said LePage.

It’s not clear how LePage believes that his anecdotal, race-based scrap-booking is helpful in addressing the underlying issue of opiod trafficking and abuse.

LePage made a series of false statements during the interview, which Press Herald reporter Scott Thistle broadcast live on Facebook, including that his voicemail to Rep. Drew Gattine was meant as a private communication. During his call, LePage said he hoped Gattine would record his obscenity-laced rant and share it publicly.

He's such as straight talker. He speaks his mind. He doesn't have time for politically correct safe spaces or trigger warnings for soft liberals.

But seriously, this has been used as an excuse for discrimination in many military/government type jobs. They don't want people who "look like the enemy".

Why Maine? Why did you elect and re-elect this asshole?

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

1. I've explained why he got elected too many times already.

Try googling it if you really want to know.

[Person 2713]

2. I have heard from people who visited there the state is quite clannish. And no I did not say kkk

klan . More just closed off And of course this is only the people that vote that way . I am sure there are plenty of good people who don't give the evil eye to POC or others

They are somewhat geographically isolated , so everyone else is from " far away" and I have heard the north woods Maineahs have a lot anti government type . But this was from over the years and i don't know what is going on there now.
The sad thing is some of the people he is choosing as the enemy may be long time generational Maine families
If thier own families are doing drugs why not move as group to help them instead?

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

3. The northern Maine folks like him the most

and they are kind of cut off from the rest of us. Some of the northern Mainers don't like the Mainers in the southern part of the state. I don't think the Mainers in the southern part of the state, myself included, care so much. We don't dislike the northern Mainers and think it is kind of silly they bitch about us when the southern part of the state is really what is carrying the state financially.

One dumbass politician from Aroostook county "proposed" splitting the state in two and calling the northern part "Maine" and the southern part "Northern Massachusetts". That's supposed to be taken as a derogatory remark against southern Maine because it is so bad to be any bit like Massachusetts. That means we are "massholes" or whatever.
http://wabi.tv/2010/03/10/maine-lawmaker-proposes-maine-split-into-2-states/

[Person 2713]

4. My sympathy on your gov...he sounds like he is out there

Governor LePage remarked at a recent town hall meeting that most of the out-of-state drug traffickers were black or Hispanic. Rep. Gattine then told a reporter that those racially charged comments do nothing to help the situation. That’s when LePage retaliated.

“I want to talk to you. I want you to prove that I’m a racist. I’ve spent my life helping black people and you little son of a (expletive) , socialist (expletive). I want you to record this and make it public because I am after you,” said LePage’s voicemail.

“It made a big impression on me and again, it sounded like somebody who was capable of injuring me and violence, and then he made those additional comments to reporters later in the day about pointing a gun at me,” said Rep. Gattine.

Rep. Gattine is referring to an interview in which LePage said he wished it was 1825 so that he could challenge Gattine to a duel.
OK
Some GOP wish it was 1950, others I guess 1825..........

[smirkymonkey]

5. Yes, my sister lives on the southern Maine coast and that part of

the state seem to lean left. Of course, most people in that area tend to be well educated. Go figure.

[Warpy]

6. Ever been to northern Maine?

A lot of people up there speak Quebecois better than English. The "you can't get there from here" was invented there, that are quite a few places that require a drive through Canada to get from point A to point B. So they're foreigners in their own country, they feel dominated by city folks down east, and those city folks didn't provide them with roads that go where they want to go. It doesn't help that the average household is poor, either.

Also, when you look at Le Page in the context of a lot of wackadoodle politicians north of the border in Quebec, he starts to make a little more sense as a choice.

I don't know what to suggest about Maine, its situation is so different from other states. If you've ever had the desire to visit another planet, try the area around the border crossing at Jackman.

Conservatives all over New England hate Mass. I was never too polite to point out that our high taxes also bought us a lot of services they could only dream about, like roads that went where we wanted them to.

Taxes didn't cause me to leave. Real estate did. There was no way I could own anything in the Boston area but a grotty studio condo.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

16. I've only been up north of Bangor area a few times in my life.

There's not much reason to go up there unless you have family up there. It is pretty long drive. It actually is quicker for us to get to Boston.

[eShirl]

11. There are people who live there right here on DU.

We have internet.

[Old and In the Way]

7. In the 20's, there were a substanial number of Klan there. We even elected one Governor (Brewster).

Back then, though, the minority they were hating were French-Catholics who were moving down from Canada to work in the textle mills. These were LePage's ancestors. You would think he would know better.

[jpak]

9. My Franco grandmother witnessed cross burnings in her town in the '20's

The GOP is making everything old new again.

yup

[keithbvadu2]

8. Doofus LePage does not understand that his own French-Canadian

background was also the 'blamed' at one time.

Same if he is Catholic, in certain parts of the country.

[jpak]

10. According to law enforcement stats - 89% of drug dealers in Maine are white.

LePage is a mean drunk.

yup

[busterbrown]

12. yep he sounds drunk much of the time..

He’s so stupid that he walked into AAA for help..

[neeksgeek]

13. The enemy (of all humanity) is, in fact, people like Governor LePage.

Edited to add that I couldn't hold it in.

I emailed Governor LePage to - as respectfully as possible, in spite of my current state of anger - point out that he has effectively hung a target around my wife's neck, and mine, and my entire family on my wife's side. I'm a white man, and my wife is a natural-born US citizen, a Hispanic-American, the grandchild of legal immigrants to the US from Mexico. Her family are some of the warmest, most love-filled people I have ever known. And Governor LePage (not to mention a certain other fascist candidate for office) calls them "the enemy."

Hate! I'm tired of it! I'm sick of it! I had to say something to him. So I emailed his office through their website. I don't expect to get a reply, and maybe I'm on an enemies list now. Oh well. Anyway I don't live in Maine so I'm sure my opinion is worth less than a farthing to this guy.

I asked him what he thinks I should do if some hate-filled vigilante should commit a violent act against my wife because of his words. I don't honestly expect a reply to that, but I feel strongly that he hasn't though about it, or doesn't care.

Finally, I ended my email by telling him that he should resign and that he is a disgrace to all real Americans.

I'm just so mad right now that I had to put it down in writing.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

17. Yeah, you're an out of state liberal.

That's like the worst kind of person in LePage's eyes. In fact, he recently ranted about out of state liberals in the context of the new national monument in northern Maine. I highly doubt you'll get a response back. Let me know if you do though. That would be interesting.

[IronLionZion]

14. LePage sounds French

I don't remember seeing his birth certificate. How do we know he's American?



Yes of course, there was a time when French Canadian immigrants were considered the enemy in Maine.

A lot of the racist bigots out there would not have been welcome in America at the time their families or Drumpf's family or LePage's family immigrated here.

[meow2u3]

15. AFAIK, LePew's first language is French

Quick! Check his birth certificate!