Author: Steve Robinson

In 2013, minimum-wage increases were associated with increases in unemployment and decreases in job growth, with teenagers hit especially hard, according to a new research paper from the American Action Forum. “[T]he analysis finds that in 2013, a $1 increase in the minimum wage was associated with a 1.48 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, a 0.18 percentage point decrease in the net job growth rate, a 4.67 percentage point increase in the teenage unemployment rate, and a 4.01 percentage point decrease in the teenage net job growth rate,” writes AAF researcher Ben Gitis. “Consequently, high state minimum wages…

It Begins: Is Obamacare going to be used to recruit voters into the Democratic Party? In La Mesa, Calif., a couple received a voter registration card – pre-marked with an “x” in the box next to Democratic Party – after signing up for Covered California, the state’s Obamacare exchange. The letter and voter registration card came directly from Covered California. The couple has always registered to vote Republican. — White House to Target Bovine Flatulence: From DailyCaller.com: “The White House has proposed cutting methane emissions from the dairy industry by 25 percent by 2020. Although U.S. agriculture only accounts for about 9…

From House Communications Director David Sorensen:  AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives late Monday afternoon voted 77-57 in favor of LD 1794, a politically-motivated bill to nullify a contract between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Alexander Group, a Medicaid consulting firm hired to reduce costs in the MaineCare system. Six House Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the unprecedented measure.  They were Reps. Terry Hayes of Buckfield, Brian Jones of Freedom, Bryan Kaenrath of South Portland, Stanley Short of Pittsfield, Steve Stanley of Medway, and Arthur Verow of Brewer. “I’m glad that several of our Democratic…

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife wants Maine fisherman to know about an important policy change. Here’s their from Friday: AUGUSTA, Maine — While many Mainers may be lamenting the length of this year’s winter, ice fisherman should be relieved to know that come April 1, the traditional start to Maine’s open water fishing season, you can still legally ice fish on many waterways throughout the state. No matter what the weather was like, ice anglers used to have to put away their ice fishing traps and ice augers come April 1. But thanks to Old Man Winter’s refusal…

Maine Democrats, including U.S. Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Michael Michaud, have mischaracterized a liberal think tank’s report to attack Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s economic policies. “First of all what the governor’s talking about – him creating jobs, actually the private sector’s jobs in the state of Maine – Maine ranks 50th in the country as far as the creation of private sector jobs,” Michaud said in February. “So that is not is factual, what the governor says.” Michaud’s claim, which has been echoed by Democrats in Augusta and liberals around the state, has its roots in a report from the Maine…

AUGUSTA – The Maine Republican Party will conduct a 2016 presidential election straw poll during the party convention in April, a party spokesman announced Friday.  “The #Gen207 Presidential Straw Poll provides a casual outlet for Maine Republicans to voice their opinions on the 2016 election. It provides an opportunity to see where the party appears to be headed,” said Ashley Ryan. According to the GOP press release, the following potential candidates will be included in the straw poll: Kelly Ayotte – New Hampshire Senator Jeb Bush – Former Florida Governor Ben Carson – Neurosurgeon and author Chris Christie – New Jersey Governor Ted Cruz – Texas Senator…

Abortion advocates with NARAL Pro-Choice America on Wednesday announced its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud’s gubernatorial campaign. Michaud, a Democrat, developed a pro-life reputation while representing the more conservative voters of northern Maine, but he earned the support of the pro-abortion super PAC as the result of his “evolution” on public policies regarding the termination of pregnancies. “[Michaud’s] evolution on the issues of reproductive freedom and abortion access comes as a result of taking the time to hear the real stories of women and families who have grappled with these personal decisions in his state,” said NARAL President Ilyse Hogue…

Maine Wire Editor Steve Robinson joined Howie Carr on Wednesday to talk about Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s welfare reform bills. Robinson told Carr: “There’s no limit to the imagination of liberals when it comes to figuring out how welfare reform will hurt people.”

Last November, South Portland voters defeated the “Waterfront Protection Ordinance,” which aimed to stop the reversal of a pipeline that will carry Canadian tar sands oil from Montreal to South Portland harbor.  In response, defying voters, the city council passed a 6 month moratorium, and the debate continues.  If not for the actions of the city council, oil could start flowing immediately, and South Portland, Maine could establish itself as a vital oil transportation hub, bringing with it development, jobs, and economic growth. The opposition to the reversal of the pipeline is based the false premise that stopping the flow…

The following op-ed originally appeared in the the Downeast Coastal Press, a weekly newspaper based in Cutler, Maine. By Rep. Larry Lockman By the time this column appears in print, the 126th Maine Legislature of 2013-2014 will be in the home stretch toward statutory adjournment on April 16. It’s crunch time in Augusta. The House was in session just two days a week when we reconvened back in January. During these last three weeks before adjournment, the House will be in session Monday through Friday, with double sessions and evening sessions when needed. As we wrap up our work, I…

AUGUSTA – Democrats on the Health and Human Services Committee gutted two of Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s welfare reform proposals on Wednesday, voting against two of the bills and turning two others into study resolves. “It is incomprehensible that Democrats on the Health and Human Services Committee would vote to reject these common-sense proposals,” LePage said in a statement. L.D. 1815, sponsored by House Republican Leader Ken Fredette of Newport, would have required welfare applicants to apply for three jobs before receiving cash benefits. Democrats voted this proposal down because it would provide unnecessary hardship for poor families. L.D. 1842,…

A poll released Wednesday by opponents of Medicaid expansion found support for the proposal decreases significantly when voters are made aware of certain facts about the proposal. The poll, which was released by Americans for Prosperity Maine and the Foundation for Government Accountability, measured respondents’ support for Medicaid expansion before and after they were asked questions informing them of key facts related to the proposal. “The results of this poll confirm why supporters of Medicaid expansion have been so hostile toward efforts to educate Maine patients and taxpayers about the true costs of this ObamaCare scheme,” said AFP Maine State Director Carol…

From House GOP Communications Director David Sorensen: AUGUSTA – Maine House Republicans spoke out strongly against LD 1710, a Democrat-sponsored bill that would crush a major sector of Maine’s economy and an increasingly-prolific provider of good jobs.  The measure passed its initial vote in the House, 78-63, with bipartisan opposition. The bill would impose massive fines and grant claw-back provisions on call centers that move any operations out of the state.  These investment-prohibitive measures would likely prevent any new call center jobs from coming into the state, according to the industry. “This will kill the Maine call center industry,” Jason Levesque, owner…

On Tuesday the usual cast of welfare industry characters came out to attack the bipartisan effort to fix Maine’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash welfare program. Their shrillest complaints centered on the Parents as Scholars (PaS) program, a program Gov. Paul LePage has placed on the chopping block. While liberal Democrats point to PaS as a shining example of social safety net success, all they have as evidence is anecdotes. Compelling anecdotes, yes, but anecdotes nonetheless. The liberals’ PaS argument highlights an interesting nascent double-standard in the welfare reform debate. When conservatives argue in favor of welfare reform…

AUGUSTA – The talk was all about welfare Tuesday as the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee debated four bills that would reform Maine’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. All four bills were introduced by Republican Gov. Paul LePage, though two were originally introduced by House Minority Leader Ken Fredette (R-Newport). “Maine’s welfare system is broken and something must be done,” Fredette said in his testimony before the HHS committee. His testimony focused on L.D. 1815, An Act To Require a Work Search for Job-Ready Applicants for Benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, which was…

The U.S. Supreme Court heard cases regarding the Affordable Care Act’s infringement on the religious conscience of American business owners Wednesday. State Sen. Emily Cain (D-Penobscot), a Democratic candidate for Congress in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, took the opportunity to let her supporters know that she stands with Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on issues of religious conscience. “Inside the Supreme Court, oral arguments are being heard in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius,” Cain campaign manager Levi Knapp wrote in an email. “In both cases, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will argue that no employer or politician should be…

From House GOP Communications Director David Sorensen: AUGUSTA – The Maine Legislature’s Labor, Commerce, Research, and Economic Development (LCRED) Committee on Monday afternoon held a public hearing on LD 1835, Governor Paul Lepage’s proposal to create “Open for Business Zones” that offer tax incentives, reduced energy costs, right-to-work, and training programs to attract large employers to Maine. “This is a bold and innovative proposal to bring lots of well-paying jobs to Maine, and I think Mainers would agree that it’s time to give ambitious ideas a chance,” said Rep. Amy Volk (R-Scarborough), ranking House Republican on the LCRED Committee.  “The testimony offered…

State payroll data for 2013 is now available to the public at www.MaineOpenGov.org. Here are the top ten recipients of overtime pay last year: 10. Richard Reaser II – Department of Public Safety, State Police Trooper – Base Salary: $57,463.19, Overtime: $44,370.51 9. Lance M. McCleish – Department of Public Safety, State Police Corporal – Base Salary: $58,121.51, Overtime: $48,364.15 8. James H. Urquhart – Department of Public Safety, State Police Sergeant-E – Base Salary: $66,689.86, Overtime: $48,590.22 7. Marcia N. Gilpatrick – Department of Public Safety, Emergency Communication Specialist – Base Salary: $59,485.88, Overtime: $48,794.98 6. Tadeusz Kajkowski –…

AUGUSTA – After heavy resistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last year, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is moving forward with an initiative to curb welfare fraud and abuse. The USDA’s Associate Administrator of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has told DHHS Commissioner Mary Hayhew that the state can add photo identification to Electronic Benefit Transaction (EBT) cards so long as certain federal guidelines are met, according to a letter obtained by The Maine Wire. Although Jessica Shahin of the USDA related several concerns about the initiative, the letter indicates that adding photo…

AUGUSTA – Republican leaders gathered at the State House on Monday to call on Democrats to support an effort to reform the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash welfare program. Gov. Paul LePage and House Minority Leader Ken Fredette (R-Newport) emphasized their own struggles with poverty as they introduced four bills aimed at reining in welfare abuses and orienting the TANF program toward work. “Welfare reform has been a priority in my administration and it’s time that we really start taking it seriously here in Maine,” said LePage. [RELATED: Maine Welfare Cash Spent in All 50 States, Puerto Rico…

Former Maine Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, condemned the Maine Democrats’ Medicaid expansion mudslinging campaign during a Thursday morning segment of WGAN’s Ken and Mike Show. The Maine People’s Alliance, a Democratic political activism non-profit, launched a website (157Mainers.com) that suggests Republican Gov. Paul LePage and many GOP legislators are killers for refusing to support an expansion of Medicaid. On the basis of two thoroughly debunked articles, MPA claims that 157 Maine people will die unless Medicaid eligibility is expanded to 100,000 able-bodied adults. The Maine Democratic Party, several Democratic elected officials, and the Democratic Maine Center for Economic Policy…

AUGUSTA – Public hearings have been scheduled for a full slate of welfare reform proposals introduced by House Republican Leader Ken Fredette (R-Newport) and Gov. Paul R. LePage. Hearings on four bills will be held on Tuesday at 1:00PM in the Health and Human Services Committee room. The bills to be heard include Fredette’s proposal to enact a frontend work search for those who apply for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash welfare program. Based on similar laws enacted in other states, the bill would require welfare-seekers to prove that the have applied for three jobs before receiving benefits.…

The Maine State Controller’s office has released state payroll data for 2013. Here’s a list of the top ten highest paid state employees: 10. Sheila G. Pinette – $163,480.96 – Department of Health and Human Services, State Health Officer and Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention 9. Leigh I. Saufley – $177,244.62 – Judicial Department, Maine Supreme Court Chief Justice 8. Hugh T. Corbett – $188,154.45 – Maine Military Authority, Executive Director 7. Stephen D. Sears – $188,154.45 – Department of Health and Human Services, Public Service Coordinator III 6. Judy A. Burk – $194,774.00 –…

From David Sorensen, House GOP Communications Director: Popular bill to let teens work in bowling alleys, theaters shot down by nanny-staters in House AUGUSTA – A bill introduced by the Department of Labor with the support of the Maine School Management Association to expand work opportunities for high school students was rejected with a party line vote of 85-58 in the Maine House on Wednesday morning.  Not a single party testified in opposition to the bill during its public hearing before the labor committee. The bill, LD 1698, would simply allow teens to work in movie theaters and bowling alleys…

From David Sorensen, House Republican Communications Director AUGUSTA – The Maine Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA) Committee agreed early Wednesday morning to approve L.D. 1807, the Governor’s bill to restore $21 million to the state’s rainy day fund, with a clean vote. Late last week, Democrats in a party line committee vote added an $18 million spending amendment to the Governor’s bill.  Republicans quickly warned that the added measure would not find bipartisan support. “Working together last night, we were able to convince our Democratic colleagues to restore the rainy day fund and allow the Governor to release the bonds without adding…

Gov. Paul LePage was featured in the Republican Governors Association’s “American Comeback” video series.

The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), a Democratic think tank, is spreading misinformation about the Medicaid expansion proposal currently under consideration in the Legislature. In a brief entitled, “Debunking Myths About Health Reform Dollars for Maine,” MECEP’s Christy Roix Daggett says Republicans only oppose Medicaid expansion because of “overall ideological opposition to President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.” “Fierce and unremitting political and legal battles over this 2010 law have spread many myths. As Maine lawmakers once again debate accepting federal health care dollars to expand Medicaid, dubious claims cry out for careful consideration in light of the facts,” says…

AUGUSTA – A proposal to expand Medicaid pursuant to the Affordable Care Act passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday, but failed to garner the two-thirds support needed to override Gov. Paul LePage’s inevitable veto. The vote, 97-49, comes after backers of the proposal failed to get a super majority in the Senate to approve the bill, introduced by Sens. Roger Katz (R-Kennebec) and Tom Saviello (R-Franklin). The Katz-Saviello proposal (L.D. 1487) faces further enactment votes in the House and Senate before LePage can veto it. Unless something has changed in the Senate, it is expected to die there. But…

AUGUSTA – Republican Gov. Paul LePage and Energy Office Director Patrick Woodcock outlined an energy policy at the State House on Tuesday that contrasts sharply with a Democratic initiative to provide rebates for solar power equipment. “The United Way last month received 1,300 calls looking for emergency assistance for heating. The Aroostook Community Action Program is directed callers right now to towns, to churches, to non-profits, to avoid the bitter cold,” said Woodcock. “These are the ramifications of a failed energy policy,” he said. Woodcock said Maine pays some of the highest energy bills in the country and cannot rely on…

AUGUSTA – For the first time since 2006, the Maine Republican Party will contest every state Senate and House of Representative seat. That’s 151 candidates on the House side and 35 for the Senate, with many sitting lawmakers running for reelection. “Having candidates in every seat not only speaks to the urgency Republicans feel in the need to put Maine’s economy back on track and protect the individual freedoms of Maine people,” said Maine GOP Chairman Rick Bennett in a press release. “It also speaks to the strength of our party organization as we evolve and grow into a full-time,…

PORTLAND, Maine – Entrepreneurs from northern New England gathered at at the Portland Sports Complex this weekend for a chance to sell their wares in stores and shops across the country. The 30th annual New England Made Giftware & Speciality Foods Show brought together products from 275 Maine companies with more than 2,000 buyers representing small mom and pop stores as well as retail giants like L.L. Bean. For store owners, the trade show offered an unparalleled panorama of unique New England products – from Moxie flavor jelly and moose dropping earrings, to handcrafted jewelry, driftwood home decor, and locally…

AUGUSTA – Maine’s unemployment rate stood at 6.2 percent for the first month of  2014, according to labor statistics released by the Maine Department of Labor on Monday. The rate of unemployed Mainers dropped from a revised December 2013 rate of 6.4 percent to 6.2 percent in January — down from 7.0 percent one year ago, according to MDOL. The state continues to see a workforce participation rate (61.2 percent) higher than the national average (58.8 percent). MDOL reports the following: “The U.S. unemployment rate estimate was 6.7 percent, little changed from 6.6 percent in December and down from 7.7…

Writing for Forbes.com, Chris Conover thoroughly debunks the studies Maine Democrats have used to call Gov. Paul LePage and GOP lawmakers murders for not agreeing to expand Medicaid. Conover points up myriad problems with the Harvard/CUNY and American Journal of Public Health studies and how both have been taken out of context for use by Democratic political groups, including the Maine People’s Alliance: What the Harvard/CUNY researchers failed to report is that the Sommers study showed that the only statistically significant mortality decrease occurred in New York (by 22.2/100,000). In contrast, an apparent increase in mortality in Maine (by 13.4/100,000) and an…

By. Prof. John Frary – Last week Rep. Deborah Sanderson (R-Chelsea) surprised herself and her friends by becoming a sudden national sensation. Sanderson’s fame began in Maine’s front yard with a March 13 Portland Press Herald report by Joe Lawlor entitled “Medicaid expansion vote has real-life impact for low-income Mainers.” The Chelsea Republican appeared in the middle of the story: “Rep. Deb Sanderson, R-Chelsea, said adding that many Mainers to a government program would be too expensive for the state, and some may prefer subsidized private insurance through the health insurance marketplace”.  (This comment and the following were part of a…

Kerry Gives Putin Monday Deadline: Secretary of State John Kerry has given Russian President until Monday to alter course in Ukraine or face “serious” consequences. Will the latest Obama administration redline be as meaningful as the others? — Jim Fossel on Open for Business Zones: “This is exactly the kind of reform Maine’s economy needs to make our economy more competitive. Making it easier to do business here is what will attract businesses, not recycling a plethora of big-government ideas… It would be nice if the governor had willing partners in the Legislature, from both parties, who were interested in sitting…

By Michael Ciampi, M.D.  — As the Maine Legislature and the public debate Medicaid expansion, there an aspect of the equation that has not been mentioned, but needs to be considered. Because the Medicaid system is so inefficient, because it puts so much administrative burden on doctors, and because their payment rates are so low, most private doctors have made the difficult decision not to accept Medicaid patients.  They came to the realization that they were actually losing money for each patient they saw who was covered under this government program.  If you are losing money with each patient, you cannot…

More than one-third of individuals covered under the Affordable Care Act’s proposed expansion of Medicaid have criminal histories, according to U.S. Department of Justice. In 2011, President Barack Obama’s DoJ estimated that “at least 35 percent of new Medicaid eligibles under the Affordable Care Act have a history of criminal involvement.” According to Forbes writer Avik Roy: “They arrived at this number by noting that approximately 10 million Americans are either in jail or released from prison each year; if approximately 60 percent of these individuals are uninsured enrollees in the appropriate income range, and the Medicaid expansion was originally…

A report from an Obama appointee puts the lie to Maine Democrats’ charge that Gov. Paul LePage and Republican lawmakers are killers for opposing a Medicaid expansion bill. “Adjusted for demographic, health status, and health behavior characteristics, the risk of subsequent mortality is no different for uninsured respondents than for those covered by employer-sponsored group insurance . . . The Institute of Medicine’s estimate that lack of insurance leads to 18,000 excess deaths each year is almost certainly incorrect,” Dr. Richard Kronick wrote in an August 2009 Health Services Research paper. (Emphasis added) Kronick was appointed by the Obama administration to…

AUGUSTA – The Maine Senate approved a Medicaid expansion proposal Wednesday, but the vote, 22-13, fell short of the two-thirds total needed to surmount an inevitable veto from Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Absent something extraordinary, Medicaid expansion now has no path to become law. The bill under consideration, L.D. 1487, was introduced by Republican Sens. Roger Katz (R-Kennebec) and Tom Saviello (R-Franklin). Dubbed a compromise, the legislation includes last year’s Democrat-backed Medicaid expansion bill plus a provision that would outsource management of the state’s Medicaid program to private companies. Every Democrat voted in favor of the Katz-Saviello proposal along with…

Maine has exceeded the Obama administration’s  enrollment goal for the HealthCare.gov insurance exchanges thanks, in part, to the Republican reluctance to expand Medicaid pursuant to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Nationwide, a total of 4.2 million people have selected a plan on the Obamacare exchanges — a number which still significantly trails the Obama administration’s initial goal of having 7 million enrollees by the end of March. According to numbers released by the Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday, 25,412 Mainers have selected health insurance plans at federally run exchange website. The HHS brief does not…

The Democratic activist group Maine People’s Alliance is calling Gov. Paul LePage and Republican lawmakers killers for opposing a bill to expand Medicaid. “157. Number of Mainers estimated to die this year if Gov. LePage and the Legislature fail to accept federal health care funds,” screams the landing page of a new MPA-funded website, 157Mainers.com. Within hours of the website coming online, the Maine Democratic Party, the Maine Center for Economic Policy (a Democratic think tank) and liberals across the state rushed to endorse the harsh message on social media. The website links to a HealthAffairs.org blog post which estimates adverse…

Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart blasted Fox News for reporting on welfare abuse. For Stewart, it is beyond the pale to suggest welfare is spent on anything other than food. Fox News host Eric Bolling jabbed back at Stewart by citing reports of welfare cash being spent on alcohol and strip clubs. Technically, Stewart and Bolling are both right: Food Stamps can only be spent on food, but the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program offers a cash benefit that can be spent on anything and is also loaded onto an EBT card. In January, The Maine Wire’s exclusive investigation revealed…

Since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mysteriously vanished over the Indian Ocean, investigators have uncovered little to suggest why. The Internet has responded with numerous conspiracy theories, but no one really knows what happened. Where is the plane? Its passengers? Why did it disappear without a trace? Here are 9 odd facts about the missing flight, courtesy of Breitbart New’s Ben Shapiro: “The Plane Probably Sank in Shallow Waters. According to Bloomberg News, the plane “seems most likely to have gone down [in waters] about 50 meters (165 feet) deep.” So why hasn’t it been found? The black boxes have almost undoubtedly survived,…

Solidarity: It’s common knowledge that Maine Democrats march in lockstep with labor unions. But Senate President Justin Alfond (D-Portland) showed just how strong that commitment really is on Tuesday morning when he told Ric Tyler he’d rather Maine workers remain unemployed than take a job that doesn’t require them to pay fees to a union. — Math Is Hard: Putting their impeccable math skills on display for the world to see, staffers in the Senate President and House Speaker’s offices crafted an eyebrow raising press release regarding the Maine Chamber of Commerce’s decision not to endorse Medicaid expansion. The headline…

The top Democrat in the Maine Senate espoused a controversial idea regarding employment on Tuesday morning’s broadcast of WVOM’s George Hale and Ric Tyler Show. The exchange came about is regard to Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed Open for Business Zones (OFBZ). The zones would be located at the now-defunct Loring Air Force base in Limestone and Brunswick Naval Air Station in Brunswick. “I don’t see why our chief executive thinks that the best strategy he can come up with around the economy is to pay workers less,” said Senate President Justin Alfond (D-Portland). Host Ric Tyler responds: “One of…

AUGUSTA – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) on Monday released a poll showing a majority of its Maine members oppose Medicaid expansion and believe it will lead to higher state taxes. “The survey, released Monday morning by the Maine affiliate of the nonpartisan, nonprofit National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), finds that 93 percent of its Maine members believe Medicaid expansion would lead to higher state taxes within five years,” the House Republican Office said in a press release. “A total of 88 percent of respondents opposed the proposal to add over 70,000 able-bodied adults to the state’s medical welfare program under…

A Portland Democrat said on Monday she would “rather be Santa than Scrooge,” referring to her party’s unwavering support for growing Maine’s welfare system. Rep. Diane Russell (D-Portland)’s comment followed an exchange between Maine Democratic Party Chairman, Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage, and The Maine Wire Editor Steve Robinson: Just as food stamps are not “grocery insurance” -> RT @Stevie_Rob: @ChairmanGrant Medicaid isn’t health insurance. #MEpolitics — Jason Savage (@jsavage207) March 10, 2014 @jsavage207 @Stevie_Rob You got me. Meant to say “health care.” Glad you’re all so United in denying it, & the jobs it creates. #mepolitics —…

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce (MSCC) will remain neutral with regard to Medicaid expansion legislation (L.D. 1487) introduced by Sens. Roger Katz (R-Kennebec) and Tom Saviello (R-Franklin).  The decision follows a vote of the MSCC board in which only a plurality of members, 18, voted to endorse the legislation, while 9 voted against and 10 abstained, according to an email MSCC President Dana Connors. Connors’ email appears here in full: I wanted to take a moment to update you on recent board meetings regarding proposed legislation to expand the MaineCare program.  After several meetings and many hours of thoughtful discussion,…

Medicaid Expansion Back Again: Lawmakers in Augusta will likely consider a bill to expand Medicaid this week, although there is some uncertainty which bill will be considered. While recent focus has centered on the compromise proposal introduced by Sens. Roger Katz (R-Kennebec) and Tom Saviello (R-Franklin), Majority Democrats may move House Speaker Mark Eves (D-North Berwick)’s non-compromise expansion as a standalone item. The Katz-Saviello proposal has failed to attract more Republican supporters – quite the opposite, actually. — Union Slams Obamacare Costs: Unite Here, a national union that represents 300,000 low-wage hospitality workers, has said the Affordable Care Act will…

The Maine Questioner, “A Voice in the Wilderness”, is pleased to share with you an interview we had recently at our offices in Bangor with Thermal A. Phollie, PhD, esteemed Senior Climatologist at the National Institute of Confabulation. MQ  Good morning, Professor.  We are so pleased that you agreed to take time from your busy schedule to meet with us. TP  Thank you for the invitation. You may just call me “Doctor”. Yes, we have been very busy, especially in my field of expertise, the Department of Elucidations. We have been flooded lately with requests to speak to various citizens’…

The following editorial was published in the March 4-10 edition of the Downeast Coastal Press. It is reproduced here, with permission, in full.  — A controversy surrounding conservative Rep. Larry Lockman erupted last week after liberal pundit and blogger Mike Tipping published a series of public statements on hot-button issues made years ago by the Amherst Republican who is serving his first term in the House. Lockman can defend himself (see his nearby op-ed), but to pull intemperate moments and inartful wording out of context to embarrass a political foe raises a more salient question. The controversy is either an exposé of…

The following op-ed originally appeared in the March 3 edition of the Downeast Coastal Press, a weekly newspaper based in Cutler, Maine.  – By Rep. Larry Lockman (R-Amherst) – I appreciate the opportunity to address the controversy swirling around liberal blogger Mike Tipping’s recent post detailing my long paper trail as a commentator on social and political issues. As your readers know, I am a passionate advocate for the issues I believe in, and I’ve been writing opinion columns for Maine newspapers for nearly 35 years. Make no mistake: Tipping’s blog wasn’t prompted by anything I wrote 20 or 30 years ago. This political fight…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Maine Sen. Susan Collins introduced a bill Wednesday to crackdown on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s abuse of Americans’ Constitutional rights. The Maine Republican’s Taxpayer Protection Act of 2014 follows the high-profile scandal of the Barack Obama administration in which high-level IRS employees targeted nonprofit groups aligned with the tea party movement for heightened, and some would say illegal, scrutiny. “Mr. President,” Collins said Wednesday night in her Senate testimony, “It has been said that the power to tax is the power to destroy. The American people cannot and will not tolerate any abuse of that power.” The legislation Collins is…

$800 Million or a Big Mac?: Critics of a plan to expand Maine’s Medicaid program pursuant to the Affordable Care Act held a press conference at the State House on Wednesday. Republican leaders Sen. Michael Thibodeau (R-Waldo) and Rep. Ken Fredette (R-Newport) reiterated their concerns about the cost of the program, while The Maine Heritage Policy Center’s Joel Allumbaugh highlighted the virtue of free market-based reforms like the GOP’s Public Law 90. — 27 U.S. House Democrats support GOP Measure to Delay Obamacare Penalty – Guess who didn’t?: When more than two dozen Democratic representatives in Washington, D.C. join with…

Warning the Granite State: House Minority Leader Ken Fredette (R-Newport) has been a strong voice against Medicaid expansion here in the Pine Tree State, but the Republican leader took to the pages of New Hampshire’s Concord Monitor and Union Leader this past week to warn our neighbors against their own Medicaid expansion scheme. Several weeks ago it was almost a certainty that New Hampshire was going to expand Medicaid, but now, like in Maine, the momentum appears to be shifting. — Media Mutt Growls at Tipping: Al Diamon, Maine’s top media critic, says Mike Tipping, a progressive blogger for the…

AUGUSTA – In a 5-7 party line vote, the Legislature’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee voted Monday to recommend passage of a Medicaid expansion bill, but the ‘nay’ vote of a key Republican lawmaker may foreshadow a momentum shift in the year’s most high-profile policy debate. “It’s like we learned nothing from the last time we expanded Medicaid in 2002. Enrollment skyrocketed beyond projections, resulting in more than $700 million in hospital debt,” said Sen. Jim Hamper (R-Oxford), a member of the HHS Committee. “We just paid that debt off and now we want to go down that same road…

AUGUSTA – A Sangerville Republican has asked the Democratic chairs of the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee to begin a State House-wide investigation of the partisan activities of nonpartisan staff. “It is necessary for the integrity of our Legislature and the trust between parties and between elected members and staff to investigate the extent to which nonpartisan staff has engaged in partisan activity,” said Rep. Paul Davis (R-Sangerville), in a letter to GOC co-chairs Sens. Emily Cain (D-Penobscot) and Rep. Chuck Kruger (D-Thomaston). “This kind of activity shakes the public’s confidence in our ability to maintain a wall of separation between…

LEWISTON – The Mayor and City Council of Lewiston have asked the Maine Charter School Commission to reject a charter school application from Lewiston-Auburn Academy Charter School, Inc. (LAACS) over what they say are deficiencies and misrepresentations in its application. “[The] applicant identifies supporters who are not supporters and seems to be oblivious to Maine educational requirements,” Mayor Robert E. Macdonald and all seven members of the Lewiston City Council wrote in a Feb. 11 letter to members of the charter school commission. “The unsubstantiated, if not false, representations in this application are an affront to what we expect of…

When doctors discovered that Jeff and Kirsten Martin’s child would have serious medical complications, they urged her to terminate the pregnancy. When the Martins decided abortion was not an option, they began a lifelong journey of living with, loving, and caring for, their disabled daughter Emily. “My daughter was born in 1997,” said Martin. “We knew there were going to be issues, but things turned out to be worse than we thought.” Emily was born with dislocated hips, hydrocephalus, a condition more commonly known as water on the brain, and other brain abnormalities. She had a stroke when she was…

(Editor’s Note: The Portland-based Press Herald newspaper refused to publish this opinion editorial, written by Rep. Deb Sanderson (R-Chelsea), the top Republican on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee. It appears here in full. For an explanation click here.)  I don’t blame many people for thinking expanding Medicaid in Maine under ObamaCare sounds like a great idea at first glance.  Free money from the federal government?  More people covered by free health insurance?  Where do we sign up? However, when you dig deeper and examine the fine print, as well as Maine’s past experiences with welfare expansion, you quickly…

Faking Sick: Sen. Dawn Hill (D-York), at last night’s meeting of the Appropriations Committee, told the audience that Sen. Emily Cain (D-Penobscot) couldn’t make the meeting because she was feeling ill. But it turns out Cain wasn’t too sick to enthusiastically fundraise for her congressional campaign. Cain put out this photo on social media at the same time she was supposedly too sick to be working in the State House. National Republican Campaign Committee Spokesman Ian Prior leaped on Cain’s playing flunky with a press release likening her to Ferris Bueller: “Emily Cain should be absolutely ashamed of herself for…

AUGUSTA – Members of Gov. Paul LePage’s cabinet gathered at the State House on Wednesday to deliver a message to the public: Expanding Medicaid will undermine funding for natural resource management and environmental protection. The cabinet members, surrounded by LePage supporters and Republican lawmakers, delivered the message one day after Assistant Senate Minority Leader Roger Katz (R-Kennebec) and Sen. Tom Saviello (R-Franklin) unveiled a new effort to push Medicaid expansion legislation as an amendment to a bill that would establish state contracts with managed care service providers. Many Republicans fear the purported compromise legislation will undermine attempts by conservative lawmakers…

AUGUSTA – Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew delivered the Paul LePage administration’s weekly address, focusing on Medicaid expansion, difficult decisions and priorities within DHHS’ target populations. Here is her address: Difficult decisions must be made in Augusta.  Tough choices are needed to ensure that state government can live within its means and that we can support and care for those who need us most. Hello, this is Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew. Currently the Legislature is debating whether to add another 100,000 people to MaineCare, the state’s tax-payer funded healthcare program,…

AUGUSTA – Maine’s nonprofits are expecting to see a decrease in donations after the Legislature last year limited the tax deduction for charitable giving. Brenda Peluso, director of public policy for the Maine Association of Nonprofits, told WCSH that the $27,500 tax deduction limit imposed by last year’s budget bill is expected to have a cooling effect on donors. “I have heard some people say they are going to double down, reduce their contributions to make up for their losses in 2013 in 2014,” Peluso said, according to WCSH. “Our conservative estimate is that the non-profit sector will lose $20 to…

AUGUSTA – Top Republicans in the House of Representatives have rejected a bill from Assistance Senate Minority Leader Roger Katz (R-Kennebec) and Sen. Tom Saviello (R-Franklin) that would expand eligibility for Medicaid while simultaneously contracting with managed care service providers. The measure was unveiled Tuesday as an apparent compromise between pro-expansion Democrats and Republicans. “ObamaCare’s welfare expansion would be so devastating for Maine’s economic future that we simply cannot support it or anything that’s attached to it,” said House Minority Leader Ken Fredette (R-Newport).  “We have reached many productive compromises with our Democratic colleagues over the past year, but Medicaid…

Medicaid: After early indications that Democratic leaders were attempting to move a Medicaid expansion bill out of committee Wednesday and schedule House and Senate votes Thursday, it appears Sen. Roger Katz (R-Augusta) has put the brakes on. The expansion package is now expected to move out of committee this week and to the floor of the House and Senate next week. It will include Medicaid expansion, a managed care contract bill sponsored by Katz, and host of other compromise provisions. Read more about the bill here. — Public Resists Obama IRS Crackdown: The Barack Obama administration, vis-à-vis the Internal Revenue…

AUGUSTA – Republican Sens. Roger Katz (R-Kennebec) and Thomas Saviello (R-Franklin) on Tuesday released a draft of a “compromise” Medicaid expansion bill along with talking points designed to sell the measure to wary Republican lawmakers. Katz and Saviello are expected to present their bill to the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Commission on Wednesday. Below are talking points and details of the bill. The talking points, entitled, “A Republican Vision for Mainecare Expansion,” outline a bill that would both expand eligibility for MaineCare, as Medicaid is called in Maine, and order the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After intense backlash from mostly conservative circles, the federal government has backed away from the Federal Communication Commission’s plan to survey America’s newsrooms. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Tuesday delivered a letter to Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC, condemning the so-called “Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs” (CIN – pronounced – sin).  “I cannot recall a regulatory proposal more offensive to the principles of the First Amendment,” wrote Collins. “A free press is central to American liberties, and allowing the executive branch to attempt to influence the news the public receives is chilling and completely…

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released a report Friday which estimated that health insurance premiums will increase for 11 million people who work for small businesses. Nationally, CMS is “estimating that 65 percent of the small firms are expected to experience increases in their premium rates while the remaining 35 percent are anticipated to have rate reductions.” In terms of the number of workers the rate hikes will affect, CMS writes, “Specifically, we have estimated that the premium rates for roughly 11 million people will increase…” The report quotes an independent 2011 analysis of the Affordable Care…

UPDATE: Following the publication of this story, sources say Sen. Katz objected to the timeline set by Democratic leadership. Medicaid expansion will come out of the Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday and be scheduled for House and Senate votes Tuesday. AUGUSTA – Multiple State House sources have confirmed that a bill to expand Medicaid may move forward this week as an amendment to an Augusta Republican’s bill. By tying House Speaker Mark Eves (D-North Berwick)’s Medicaid expansion bill to Assistance Senate Minority Leader Roger Katz (R-Augusta)’s L.D. 1487, backers of the expansion proposal can float a “compromise” expansion bill…

Cumberland County GOP: Talk radio legend Howie Carr headlined the Cumberland County Republican convention Saturday. Carr told an audience of more than 100 Republicans to make sure their “moonbat” friends know that independent gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler is a viable option for progressive voters. The Portland native also told the crowd that the Federal Communication Commission’s recent push to monitor newsrooms across the country would have the unfortunate consequence of forcing news readers in other states read the local equivalents of the Portland Press Herald and Bangor Daily News. Carr also plugged The Maine Wire and praised our exclusive investigation…

PORTLAND – The Maine Heritage Policy Center (MHPC) on Thursday released a study of the pending proposal to expand Medicaid which predicts disastrous results for Maine’s private sector should the bill become law. “Many of Maine’s policymakers have already fallen for the siren call of Medicaid expansion as provided for under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare),” writes MHPC Chief Executive Officer and Chief Economist J. Scott Moody. “At first glance, expanding Maine’s Medicaid program looks like free money since Uncle Sam has promised to pick up the entire tab for the first three years,” writes Moody. “Who…

Big Brother in the Newsroom (update): After learning yesterday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is sending researchers into newsrooms across the country to investigate how editors and reporters select newsworthy content, more details have come to light regarding the “critical information needs” review. President Obama’s administration will send government contractors out with the goal of assessing whether news outlets are meeting the public’s “needs” – which needs are defined by the administration. Now we know the scheme will be managed by the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep James Clyburn. From the Washington Examiner: “Advocates promote the project with Obama-esque…

Big Brother FCC Enters Newsrooms: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is preparing to send spies researchers into newsrooms across the country to investigate how news outlets decide what to report. The so-called “Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs” is scheduled for a field test this spring in Columbia, S.C. The FCC report will explore how Fox News decides to report on presidential scandals while MSNBC is content to investigate Justin Bieber’s latest shenanigans. Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders annual ranking of countries’ press freedom just ranked the U.S. 46th – behind Germany (14th), Australia (28th), and El Salvador (38th). — In…

AUGUSTA – A non-partisan analyst on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee engaged in partisan activism to push a Democrat-backed Medicaid expansion bill last year, according to emails obtained through a public records request. The emails surface one week after top State House staffers held a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers in an attempt to convince them that the HHS committee analyst, Jane Orbeton, is not inappropriately advocating for the Democratic Party’s policy agenda. “I was thinking of 70,000 people and trying to put faces on them,” Orbeton said in a May 20 email to Sen. Margaret Craven…

AUGUSTA – Lawmakers on the Taxation Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a proposal that may give state government the power to collect property taxes, but with only a hollow concept draft to consider, it’s unclear what the bill would do. Democrats say the concept bill, L.D. 369, would provide funding equality between schools in poor and wealthy areas. But Republicans see the bill as a throwback to the failed statewide property tax bill that Maine voters repealed in the 1970s. “This bill is a phantom bill, it’s just a title and sentence. And yet we’re having a hearing on it,”…

Minimum Hike Wage Kills Jobs: The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office is quickly becoming a thorn in the Obama administration’s side. First it dropped a bombshell report showing how the Affordable Car Act’s mandates would cause workers to work fewer hours – the equivalent of 2 million jobs lost by 2017. Now the CBO says President Obama’s call to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 could cost the American economy as many as 500,000 jobs. CBO’s rationale is simple: If you raise the cost of a good (labor), people (employers) will buy less of it. — U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan…

Liberals rush to protect the Sweetser Speaker: After 26 House Republicans signed a letter asking House Speaker Mark W. Eves (D-North Berwick) to recuse himself from the Medicaid expansion debate due to a potential conflict of interest, the main stream media has finally caught notice. (It might also help that the Speaker’s crude attempts at intimidating his GOP colleagues became public: Report: Speaker Eves coming unglued over conflict allegations.) Rather quickly liberals have emerged to protect the top advocate for expansion. The reliably left-wing Ethan Strimling and somewhat less opinionated Steve Mistler both brought forth their best defenses for the…

“There is no precedent in human history for economic growth on declining human capital – and that’s before anyone invented unsustainable welfare systems.” – Mark Steyn,  America Alone The Maine Heritage Policy Center has done considerable research and exposition on Maine’s ‘demographic winter’ in recent years.  To date however, we see precious little policy emphasis to do anything to reverse it.  In many ways, we see just the opposite: continued opposition to most development; unyielding pressure for greater spending and taxes; inability to understand fundamental economic vitality; and continuance of a multi-decade, multi-generational welfare oriented culture. Most troubling is that…

Once again, like a recurring nightmare, another gaping hole has been ripped in the state budget. And once again, it’s the same hungry beast ripping the biggest budgetary holes in the state’s checkbook: Medicaid, the profoundly broken and dysfunctional medical welfare program we call MaineCare. The estimated Medicaid fiscal gap is approximately $78 million, which must be resolved by the time the Legislature adjourns in April. The nightmare gets worse. Another $40 million budget holemust be filled somehow. That $40 million total was booked as “revenue” when the Democrat-written budget was passed last year over a veto by Gov. Paul LePage.…

BRUNSWICK, Maine – Bowdoin College officials have banned a local lawyer and his wife from leading campus Bible studies with students after the couple refused to sign a non-discrimination agreement they say violates their Christian faith. “The college has terminated us,” said Robert B. Gregory of Damariscotta. Gregory, along with his wife Sim, are volunteers with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a charitable organization that promotes Christian ministry on American college campuses through Bible studies, social gatherings and leadership training. The Gregorys, both graduates of Colby College in Waterville, have been providing Christian ministry at the Brunswick campus for almost a decade…

AUGUSTA – Twenty-six Republican state representatives delivered an open letter to House Speaker Mark Eves (D-North Berwick) Wednesday morning asking him to recuse himself from any vote on Medicaid expansion due to his potentially conflicting role as director of business development for a major Medicaid beneficiary. “We, the undersigned members of the Maine House of Representatives, write to respectfully request that you recuse yourself from all votes pertaining to Medicaid expansion, and order your staff in the Speaker’s office to halt all activities promoting legislation to expand Medicaid enrollment in Maine,” the letter states. “Mr. Speaker, you are a good and…

AUGUSTA – The Maine House of Representatives on Tuesday took up LD 1762, the bill that forestalls $40 million in revenue sharing cuts with a $21 million raid on the rainy day fund, a $4 million sweep of the income tax relief fund, and $15 million in revenue surpluses. Republican lawmakers offered floor amendments to provide structural alternatives to the budget gap that would not jeopardize the state’s credit rating or shut the door on future tax relief. House Minority Leader Ken Fredette’s floor amendment would task the Governor’s Office of Policy and Management with finding spending reductions to equal the $40 million needed…

AUGUSTA – A top Republican lawmaker on the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee is questioning the objectivity of non-partisan legislative staff after emails obtained by The Maine Wire show one senior analyst engaging in questionable activity.  The Maine Wire’s request for public records revealed extensive correspondence between Jane Orbeton, senior analyst on the Legislature’s HHS Committee, and employees of Maine Equal Justice Partners (MEJP), a left-wing advocacy group. Committee analysts work under the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis (OPLA) and are tasked with conducting research on bill proposals and drafting bill language under the direction of the committee.…

Obamacare Chaos: President Obama has once again unilaterally changed his signature health care law without Congress. From CNSNews.com: “President Barack Obama’s Treasury Department issued a new  regulation today that for the second time directly violates the plain and unambiguous text of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by allowing some businesses to avoid the law’s Dec. 31, 2013 deadline to provide health insurance coverage to their employees.” U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) says Obama is interested in exempting corporations, but not families. Charles Krauthammer says, “This is the kind of stuff you do in a banana republic…” Despite…

Maine Wire Editor Steve Robinson joined Harold Pachios for an hour-long interview to be aired on the Community Television Network in the greater Portland area. Watch the interview below. Part I: Becoming conservative at Bowdoin College, Big Labor, Governor LePage and Welfare Dependency  Part II: Economic freedom, Welfare Abuse & Reform, and Minimum Wage

The Daily Catch is a new daily post The Maine Wire. It will feature top local and national news stories of interest to conservatives. If you have a story you would like included in the Daily Catch, please send an email to Editor Steve Robinson at serobinson@themainewire.com.  — Conservatives Unveil Alternative to Obamacare: A coalition of conservative leaders have assembled under the banner of The 2017 Project to offer a proactive alternative to President Obama’s troubled health care overhaul. Weekly Standard editors William Kristol and Jeffrey H. Anderson describe the project as follows: “It would solve the three core problems that…

AUGUSTA – Maine House Republicans on Friday panned an anti-jobs bill that targets call centers in the state and had its public hearing before the legislature’s Labor, Commerce, Research, and Economic Development (LCRED) Committee Thursday. The bill, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Troy Jackson (D-Allagash) would inflict a virtual “death sentence” on businesses who move some operations out of state, revoking all state tax incentives and grants retroactively.  Both the Maine Chamber of Commerce and the Maine Department of Labor testified against the measure. “Senator Jackson’s bill punishes call centers for factors beyond their control and asks them to make a promise…

AUGUSTA – State legislators on Monday will consider a proposal to give government employees $5 million in merit and longevity pay increases. L.D. 1639 is “emergency” legislation sponsored by Sen. Thomas Saviello (R-Somerset). According to the fiscal note for the bill, it will cost approximately $5 million through fiscal year 2014-15. Through fiscal years 2015-16 and 2016-17, the package will cost taxpayers an additional $8 million in General Fund and Highway Fund revenues.

AUGUSTA – The Maine State Workers’ Compensation Board announced Friday that rates will decrease by nearly 8 percent to 7.7 percent. The largest decrease in the rate since 1998 will save Maine employers more than $15.2 million in 2014. “Maine employers and employees should take credit for the improvement in the workers’ compensation system,” said Governor LePage. “Maine claim frequency is relatively flat, lost time is stable, and the average medical costs per case are down. There has been a concerted effort in the state to improve safety in the workplace, promptly return injured workers to employment as soon as…

Could we puhleeease stop abusing common English for political purposes?  This week I read another opinion item by a progressive carrying on about a number of their favorite priorities, like equality and women’s rights, and ‘increasing access to health care.’ If you look up the definition of access, you find this: ac·cess [ak-ses]  noun 1.  the ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use; admittance: They have access to the files. 2.  the state or quality of being approachable: The house was difficult to access. 3.  a way or means of approach: The only access to the house was a rough dirt road. Which affirms a long held view that everyone has ‘access’ to health care.  The issue is not ‘access,’ but how the care is paid for.  Anyone can walk into the same Doctor’s office I use; ‘access’ is not constrained.  And…

AUGUSTA – A labor union boss for the AFL-CIO Maine demonstrated an impoverished understanding of basic public policy on Wednesday in an interview with Maine Public Broadcasting Network. Commenting on Gov. Paul LePage’s recently unveiled Open For Business Zones, AFL-CIO Maine Executive Director Matthew Schlobohm said, “This is the Maine Heritage Policy Center’s free Maine zones.” LePage’s Open For Business Zones, which he announced during his State of the State address, have little in common with MHPC’s  Free ME. Indeed, the only commonality seems to be a focus on stimulating economic activity within a geographic designation, without raising taxes. But…

Join The Maine Heritage Policy Center via livestream for an in-depth presentation and discussion about the recent report,What Does Bowdoin Teach? How A Contemporary Liberal arts College Shapes Students. Dr. Herbert London, Dr. Peter Wood, Dr. KC Johnson, and Dr. Michael Poliakoff will discuss how higher education has transformed from strong intellectual traditions, a core curriculum, and a commitment to Western Civilization, to a new focus on race, class, gender, and the environment. Out went the old style of scholarly generalists as teachers, and in came the new style of research specialists as faculty members. The new liberal arts dedicated…

AUGUSTA – Republican Gov. Paul LePage delivered his third State of the State address Tuesday night, using the opportunity to outline his plans to promote private-sector job creation with “Open for Business Zones”, reform Maine’s welfare system, and crack down on drug-related crime. “I love my state. I am proud to call myself a Mainer. I want every Mainer to succeed and prosper,” said LePage. “But Maine is at a crossroads. We have huge challenges.” “Higher taxes and bloated government have not improved our lives. Higher energy costs have not attracted major investments to Maine. More welfare has not led…

Senate President Justin Alfond (D-Portland) delivered the Democratic address in a video released roughly 30 minutes before Gov. Paul LePage’s State of the State address.

AUGUSTA – Democratic leaders threw bipartisanship and compromise by the wayside Monday night as they deceived their GOP colleagues into leaving the State House and subsequently voted on a $40 million budget bill without a single Republican lawmaker present. Republican lawmakers reacted to the maneuver, which involved Democratic members of the powerful Appropriations Committee, with disgust and astonishment. “Democrats had met with their Republican colleagues on the budget committee earlier in the evening, agreeing to take the matter up during Tuesday afternoon’s work session.  All Republican appropriators left the State House with that agreement.  Democrats then assembled in the committee…

AUGUSTA – The Augusta-based Maine Health Access Foundation announced Wednesday it has given awards worth nearly $670,000 to liberal political activists, a money bomb the foundation hopes will increase legislative support for a bill to expand Medicaid. MeHAF, a charitable foundation with more than $110,000,000 in assets, was formed following the sale of Blue Cross of Maine, a non-profit charitable health care insurer, to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, a for-profit insurer; MeHAF was legally incorporated in April of 2000 using proceeds from the sale as an endowment. When charities dissolve, Maine state law requires that their assets be…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) criticized U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud on Monday over the Democratic candidate for governor’s vote in favor of a “Cap and Trade” carbon tax scheme. “Maine, like many other parts of the country, has been gripped by freezing weather and soaring heating costs. If U.S. Congressman and Democrat candidate for governor Mike Michaud had his way, the cost to heat your home would be even more expensive,” RGA Communications Director Gail Gitcho said in press release. Gitcho said Michaud voted in 2009 to pass Cap & Trade, “a national energy tax that would…

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and Fox News host Bill O’Reilly traded barbs Sunday during a pitched pre-Super Bowl interview. O’Reilly, a top critic of the Obama administration, probed the president about the flawed rollout of his signature health care law, the IRS’ targeting of conservative non-profit groups, and the 9/11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Here’s video of the interview:

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and Fox News host Bill O’Reilly traded barbs Sunday during a pitched pre-Super Bowl interview. O’Reilly, a top critic of the Obama administration, probed the president about the flawed rollout of his signature health care law, the IRS’ targeting of conservative non-profit groups, and the 9/11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Here’s video of the interview: