AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage released the following statement today, challenging Democrats to start working together for Maine people by calling off their hired political operative who has been intrusively tracking the Governor on a hand-held videocamera at all public events, including domestic violence awareness rallies, Blaine House food drives and visits to veterans homes:
“For several months now, the Maine Democratic Party has hired a political cameraman to follow me wherever I go. I have not made an issue about this practice, nor did it bother me until Veterans Day. On that day, I had the privilege to speak with an elderly Maine veteran whose health is deteriorating. There was no need to have filmed this private discussion for political purposes.
The people of Maine are not props, and I will not allow these special interest groups to use them to score political points.
Today, I was scheduled to return to Augusta from an event, which the so-called ‘tracker’ also attended, and meet with Democrat leadership about putting politics aside and working together for all Mainers. However, until the Democratic leadership calls on its party organization to remove the ‘tracker,’ I will not have that meeting.
If Democrats truly want to work together, they will publicly call for an end to this distasteful practice. Actions speak louder than words.”
Thanks Governor!
Didn’t the Republicans have a tracker on Angus King?
Good for you, Governor. Pushy and tacky on their part. “Have you no shame?” just popped into my head!
OK. let’s see… Maine’s Governor, Paul LePage, is upset because eery time he speaks in public there’s someone there with a camera recording what he says and does?
Isn’t that a part of his job description? Doesn’t every major political figure in America face this same thing every day? Does it matter a wit whether the camera is held by a Fox “operative,” an MSNBC “operative,” or anyone else who’s paid to record a public figure’s comings and goings?
Intrusive? Most Governors would have called it a photo op.In fact, most Governors would have called the press corps to be there.
These people are reporters. They are paid to create a record of what public officials say and do. Who they report to is their business. What the Governor says is everybody’s business.
I’m stunned that the Maine Heritage Policy Center has a problem with that.
stunned ? surely you. jest.
This says a lot more about the governor than it does about the tracker. Other public figures do not make a big fuss about this, for example, Susan Collins joked with her tracker that he’d better “get her good side.” And the story about taping the private conversation with the veteran was false. Last, why did it take the governor so long to complain about this? It bothered him on Veteran’s Day, but he’s just now bringing it up? There’s another agenda going on here.