Political spats in Maine are threatening free press rights, and a bad law is at the source of it all. The casualty will be new sources of news. The Maine Democratic Party recently filed a complaint with the Maine Ethics Commission demanding an investigation into the Maine Examiner website and its ties to the Maine Republican Party. Democrats suspected the online publication was operated by their counterparts to help defeat a progressive Lewiston mayoral candidate last year. On Feb. 22, the Maine Ethics Commission voted 3-2 against the motion to investigate. Aside from this spat, the law itself, at least…