More than three years ago, The Maine Wire ran a brief item of mine on the filibuster concept memorialized in…
Browsing: Commentary
In December 2015, the Republican majorities in Congress reached agreements with their Democratic colleagues and President Obama to increase the…
There is a bill before the legislature this session dealing with a question as old as time: what is more…
It’s a new year, and being an even-numbered year, it’s an election year, which means all 186 seats in the…
There’s no way we can know at this point, but it’s quite possible that 2015 will look like a pretty…
This article was first published April 17, 2015 at mainepolicy.org. In nearly every business transaction, customers are fully aware of the…
The Maine Republican Party is pushing a two-part ballot initiative for the next election cycle that aims to reduce the…
I have never been much fan of spiking the football. I like to let victories speak for themselves, which is…
For more than half a century, America has led the world in medical research and innovation. Health research facilities, such…
While President Obama endlessly carries on in Paris about the global threat of climate change, Americans sit at home wondering…
For the past several months, the world has witnessed the seriousness of the threat that ISIS poses to our free…
On Thursday, Maine’s Government Oversight Committee (GOC) conducted a series of interviews following up on an Office of Program Evaluation…
An effort to raise the minimum wage in Portland to $15/hour was defeated last week, representing an important victory for…
This Veterans Day, we honor the generations of Mainers who have answered the ultimate call of duty to protect our…
In 2016, Maine may become the first state to adopt ranked choice voting (RCV) for its state and national elections.…
The Political Industry had a great victory the other night. Gobs and gobs of cash flowed in to the state…
On Tuesday, voters in Portland rightfully shot down a ballot question that would have increased the city’s minimum wage to…
With a $1.3 million campaign that dominated their opponents, it was no surprise that Question 1 supporters were able to…
On Tuesday, Mainers will head to the polls to decide whether their state government should raise taxes so more money…
The debate over Question 1’s tweaking of the Maine Clean Elections Act (MCEA) has largely turned into a debate over the…
Days from stepping down as Speaker of the House, John Boehner and other House Republican leaders put forth what will…
As a Member of Congress, there is no greater honor than standing up and supporting the men and women of…
After a thoroughly objective evaluation of the many aspects and implications surrounding state TANF drug-testing programs, this series has reached…
One of the greatest challenges facing our nation today is the preservation of Social Security for those that have worked…
In the past few weeks, media outlets have slammed Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for the growing…
There are three possible answers to this question. In Greek mythology, Proteus was a prophetic old man of the sea…
Our Veterans, and their families, answered the ultimate call of duty to protect our freedoms and special way of life.…
Mainers for Accountable Elections, operating as a front for Maine Citizens for Clean Elections (MCCE), is the organization that collected…
At least a few times in presidential election cycles, we will observe a candidate changing their position on an issue,…
FIRST: HAS THE CLEAN ELECTIONS LAW IMPROVED LEGISLATION? The Maine Clean Elections Act (MCEA) went into effect for the 2000…
For too long politicians have successfully used professional lobbyists as scapegoats. They mislead constituents into believing these inaccurately stigmatized professionals…
Maine is home to some of our Nation’s most breathtaking landscapes, diverse wildlife, and pristine environments. These irreplaceable features truly…
As promised in part four, this fifth installment explores how the courts have made it impossible for states to implement…
Last week, social media was buzzing with yet another trending clickbait article, but this time, I noticed something very odd. “10…
Sean Eldridge, a major financier of Mainers for Accountable Elections, the group behind Question 1 in November, has been accused of…
One of the most common criticisms lauded against state TANF drug-testing programs is their consistent failure to effectively identify sufficient…
Maine farmers produce some of the highest quality fruits and vegetables in the country—such as our famous potatoes and blueberries. …
What we saw two nights ago at the second GOP debate was an absolute monstrosity and a disgrace to every…
This November, the people of Maine will have the opportunity to vote on a campaign finance reform proposal that advocates…
Last week , after over forty years in business, A Maine institution closed in Manchester, Maine. Ballard Meats and Seafood…
Let me be clear, I will never support any deal that leads to the likelihood of nuclear weapons for Iran…
Since June, condemnably unfounded accusations of “blackmail” and “power overreach” in regards to the LePage administrations decision to withhold a…
It was supposed to be a love for the ages. Yet, tragically, billionaire Democratic mega-donor S. Donald Sussman and Rep.…
Last Thursday I helped enhance Maine’s reputation for hospitality by hosting Carly Fiorina at the Sable Oaks Marriott in South…
During campaign season, every presidential hopeful makes promises to the electorate hoping to appeal to their interest and earn their…
There is a heavy dose of irony in the efforts of those who actively oppose policies for drug screening/testing programs…
Following the first phase of screenings in Maine’s new drug-testing program for TANF recipients with prior felony drug convictions, state…
If I had a dollar for every time a liberal professor of mine passed around hard copied handouts and quipped…
I’ve often generalized about Republican’s and Democrats by saying that the former almost always play defense, and the latter always…
Maine is home to the most skilled, honest and dedicated workers in the Country. From shipbuilding, to fishing, to teaching,…
Our Western civilization is approaching a great day. But a lot of work is still necessary to complete the reversal…
This is the first installment of a weekly series focused on discussing how drug-testing programs for TANF recipients benefit the…
As a parent, I believe the three most lasting gifts we can give our kids are unconditional love, a sound…
There has been much discussion in the media in recent years of a “GOP civil war.” Pundits describe an internal…
Maine is home to the best loggers and truckers in the Country. Unfortunately, the logging and trucking workforce is declining…
There are two common interpretations of Donald Trump’s campaign for President. The first views his campaign as little more than a…
If Maine had an Attorney General (AG) that was publicly elected, Janet Mills would, and should, be out of a…
There was a time when serving in State and Federal office was considered service. Service to one’s town. Service to…
Last week, a group of Mainers rallied in Augusta in support of a ballot initiative to make Maine elections “clean.”…
On June 29 the Central Maine Papers published a column in which I suggested the Democratic Party should officially apologize…
Late in July, Senator Angus King took a bold position on the Iran nuclear deal. The column’s title tells most…
One of the bright spots for Republicans this legislative session was the passage of a bill that protects so-called “constitutional…
Sixty years ago Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman argued that just because we finance education through government that does not…
Independent Vermont Senator and 2016 presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is making headway in the polls, climbing through the democratic ranks as…
There’s an old adage that goes “If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have…
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump represent two opposite ends of the political spectrum. Sanders, a self-described socialist, draws support…
I’m a proud Franco-American. Like many Mainers, my ancestors came from Canada to farm the land, log the forests, and…
Over the past few weeks, there has been significant discussion in the Maine political discourse on whether or not sixty-five…
Today marks the 5th anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act. On this occasion, I’d like to take a moment to discuss…
Political pundits have known since President Obama’s re-election that in 2016, a deep field of recruits, both new and old,…
Maine is home to the most skilled paper makers in the world. Our hard-working men and women manufacture paper products…
It’s no secret that politicians often rely on polls to craft their message, sometimes to a fault. Hence the saying:…
If you look up “policy” in the dictionary, you will get several options: “A policy is a deliberate system of…
I watched the speech that socialist-cum-Democrat nominee Bernie Sanders delivered to a packed house in Portland last week. At many…
In the aftermath of a tragedy, there is often an outcry for government to take swift action to prevent similar tragedies…
Honoring the service and sacrifice of our Veterans, members of the military, and their families is one my greatest and…
The headline in my Facebook newsfeed belonged to Ethan Strimling. “Decision to fire Eves deserves further investigation” Surprisingly, I agreed!…
Following secretive, last minute negotiations leading up to the compromise biennial budget, the 127th Legislature saw their budget bill, LD 1019, shot…
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator…
On Monday, Gov. LePage is expected to veto the legislature’s $6.7 biennial state budget, and force lawmakers to either over-ride…
There was much good news, along with a splash of bad news, in this week’s controversial poll from NBC-Wall Street…
Ask any average person what they hate most about their government, and you’ll get a variety of answers. Typically they…
My friend and fellow conservative M.D. Harmon wrote a June 13 column in the Central Maine papers entitled “Something Rotten…
For years, hard-working Maine companies, such as Hardwood Products and Puritan Companies of Guilford, have been penalized by ObamaCare’s medical…
“Christmas in July” came early in Maine this year, as Governor LePage used a Christmas tree and rubber pigs in…
The Maine Legislature approved a $6.7 billion biennial budget Tuesday morning, just in time to pass Governor LePage’s ten day…
For decades, Maine’s Second Congressional District was home to dozens of thriving paper, textile, shoe, and leather factories and mills…
A few weeks ago, fellow Maine Wire columnist Christine Rousselle wrote an op-ed piece about why young people are not returning…
For the last week and a half, the left has been seeking to preemptively blame an impending government shutdown on Ken…
Maine’s Second District is home to the hardest-working, most honest people that you could ever find in this country. As…
Governor LePage promised the people of Maine while campaigning for both of his gubernatorial elections that he would do his…
Recently, the Maine Legislature has been discussing whether the government should set a certain standard in marijuana consumption that would…
On Wednesday, the Maine Public Utilities Commission decided not to reconsider their decision regarding an interpretation of a statute provision…
As the first session of the 127th Legislature lurches toward statutory adjournment on June 17th, Maine people can breathe a sigh…
I love Maine. I was born there. I spent 18 years of my life there. My entire family lives there. Trading…
For several years, families and small businesses have suffered from the negative effects of ObamaCare. In Congress, I have supported…
In a state where nearly half of its population is enrolled in some form of government assistance program, welfare reform…
Jon Stewart has spent some time on his “Daily Show” scorning Paul LePage. Yet Stewart and our governor have something important…
In 2014, Maine became the second state to adopt a law requiring labels identifying all products containing genetically modified organisms, or…
There is no doubt a large number of Maine people have seen the need for real welfare reform. As Maine’s…