It’s been a whole week since Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) made offensive comments that spurred a broader controversy, so I suppose we were due for another.
Gov. Paul LePage told a group of Republicans last week that President Obama “hates white people,” according to two state lawmakers who say they heard the remark directly.
The governor made the comment during a Maine Republican Party fundraiser on Aug. 12 at the home of John and Linda Fortier in Belgrade…. The lawmakers, both Republicans, confirmed the comment when asked by a Portland Press Herald reporter but asked that their names be withheld for fear of political retribution….. One of the lawmakers who confirmed LePage’s comment said he supports the governor’s policies but is tired of being asked to defend controversial statements.
According to the Portland Press Herald’s sources, LePage argued that President Obama should highlight his biracial heritage, but he chooses not to because — you guessed it — Obama just hates white people.
Ordinarily, it’s best to be skeptical of second-hand quotes from anonymous sources, but in this case, it’s awfully easy to believe the accuracy of the report. Even if we put aside incidents such as LePage telling the NAACP to kiss his “butt,” the Portland Press Herald’s sources are Republicans, not LePage’s partisan critics.
And in an interesting twist, this wasn’t the worst news for Maine Republicans yesterday.
Rather, this was. One of Maine’s three voting members of the Republican National Committee and six other members of the Maine State Republican Committee have resigned and left the party, lambasting Gov. Paul LePage, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans for abandoning what they said are key principles for libertarians and conservatives. […] They criticized Republican state lawmakers for supporting a budget containing tax increases, charged Boehner with “cowardly leadership” and said recent decisions by the LePage administration show that “the Republican Party has lost its way.” […] The decision by Willis and the others to “unenroll” from the Maine Republican Party reflects continuing discord among Republicans in Maine and nationally as the party tries to rebuild after stinging losses in last year’s elections. The state GOP is clearly in great shape going into statewide elections next year, isn’t it?
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