Posted on 06/09/2010 7:26:41 AM PDT by tonyome
AUGUSTA, Maine – Waterville mayor Paul LePage, a favorite of many in the conservative tea party movement, has been nominated by Maine Republicans to be their candidate for governor.
LePage, a career businessman, says he's shocked by the overwhelming backing as he handily defeated six other candidates. He says it indicates Mainers want smaller government and more fiscal responsibility.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Don't be, it's good - a Tea Party platform that delegates from Waldo and Knox counties (I believe) introduced about a month ago at the ME GOP convention, and was promptly adopted by a huge majority of delegates from all across the state. Royally ticked off the establishment insider types!
Tonyome, do you have a link to the new platform handy?
Dark blue = LePage victory >15% over next closest
Medium blue = LePage victory 5-15%
Light blue = LePage victory <5%
Green = Beardsley victory 5-15%
Red = Otten victory 5-15%
Looks like LePage didn't just win the rural counties - he appears to have done quite well in big counties like York and Cumberland!
It sounds like Maine knows what to do - along with AZ.
This is a nice surprise. The only article I read about Maine was about 3 days ago. It stated that the tea party movement was waning in Maine and that its candidates weren’t doing well!
Not yet...but that's why conservatives need to take the GOP back, like we've been doing in Maine, and a few other states, as well as counties all across the country. Take the counties, then the states, then the national. We can do it - if we try to instead of sitting on our rears grousing about how terrible the GOP is.
Paul LePage for Governor:
The 5 minute video covering his life story and philosophy on the front page is definitely worth watching.
You are right about LePage running strongly in Democrat strongholds. No one expected him to do so well in places like Portland and Biddeford. These are places that are so liberal, you see guys walking around with backpacks and flip flops.
Here is a link to the new Maine Republican Platform adopted at the State Convention in May.
http://media.kjonline.com/documents/GOP+Platform_Final.doc
I think one thing people in the MSM are overlooking is that people “changed” in Oct 2008. The Financial mess was sort of like a financial 9/11 in the sense that many people got more conservative with their finances. This is a sea change.
I bet there are a lot more “fiscal conservatives” than they used to be.
Yes, he’s the one. His bio is quite impressive.
The Democrats have controlled the State legislature for the past 50 years I think. I think Maine has only elected a Republican governor once in that time. It is a real contrast in the state. The large cities, such as Portland, Auburn, Bangor, are very liberal. The suburbs are rural areas are very conservative. There are several universities here that are very liberal. It’s basically difficult for conservatives to win statewide because there are so many people, students, etc. either working for the government or on public assistance, that they automatically vote Democrat every time. Maine is also a “sanctuary” state for illegal immigrants, and same day voter registration is allowed. Portland sometimes goes 80% Democrat in elections. SEIU, teacher’s, and other unions have a lot of clout here.
Yes.. He has an amazing story and it can’t be denied that Marden’s is a true Maine business success story.
direct link to his video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu-N2FpwGDI&feature=player_embedded#!
I also live in Maine, and I voted NO on every bond issue. The state is nearly broke, so my reasoning is that this is not a good time to be adding to our debt.
I’m glad the primaries are over. With 7 Republicans running for their party’s nomination and 4 Democrats doing the same, my heading was spinning from the endless commercials on TV and radio.
I wonder if those two senators from there got the message.
Bump to the top!
Was LePage the mayor when the Waterville PD ticketed the veterans for placing memorial mini flags on public property in Waterville a few years ago?
LePage has very strong grassroots support. Even Portland and, I believe, Bangor went for LePage. Beardsley is another solid conservative but is a minor figure compared with LePage.
I’m not at all surprised that LePage won for no other reason than the enthusiasm. He told us at a meet 7 greet (paraphrasing just a bit) - “you get me the nomination, I’ll take care of getting the Blaine House (gov’s mansion).”
His Dem opponent, Mitchell, is a nasty piece of work.
Let’s worry about him doing what he needs to win. Maine has a large independent voter base. Also let us not forget Maine voted against gay marriage. Maine is not as liberal as people believe. What has been lacking are conservatives worth voting for.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.