AUGUSTA – The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), a liberal think tank, is asking applicants for its latest job opening to respond to a recent column from Rep. Lawrence Lockman (R-Amherst) as part of the application process.
To be considered,” the job posting reads, “applicants must submit a sample blog post (no more than 400 words) that responds to or addresses the issues raised in the op-ed linked here.”
The link points to an Lockman’s op-ed on Medicaid expansion published by The Maine Wire and the Lewiston Sun Journal: Preserve the Safety Net for the Truly Needy.
MECEP regularly produces research and talking points for liberal lawmakers. The think tank has been a top supporter of nearly every progressive policy under the sun, from raising taxes to expanding Maine’s medical welfare program, Medicaid.
The op-ed MECEP needs staff capable of responding to is Lockman’s argument that expanding Medicaid is not smart public policy. In his op-ed, Lockman writes, “The notion that we can count on the feds to finance another Medicaid expansion is an article of faith among liberal Democrat re-distributionists. But given the stupefying ineptitude of the Affordable Care Act launch on Oct. 1, why would anyone in their right mind want to lock Maine into another reckless, irresponsible expansion of this federal entitlement program? Why are Maine Democrats so hell-bent on chaining us to the caboose of the Obamacare train wreck?”
Lockman said MECEP’s use of his op-ed in their hiring process shows his arguments are posing problems for the liberal think tank.
“I’m glad they’re having an effect,” he said. “My objective is to expose liberalism’s utter failure for the past four decades of one-party rule in Maine, and highlight the real progress that’s been made under Republican leadership at the Statehouse.”
“The only ‘economic policy’ advanced by [MECEP] and their Democratic friends in the legislature has been to turn the safety net into a hammock,” he said. “And now they have the nerve to lecture us that we have a moral obligation to make the hammock bigger and more comfortable.”
