this is a need to read

[luckyleftyme2]

It’s a tough job to be Governor of Maine, whether Republican or Democrat. How to address the plethora of issues that concern our Maine citizens is a job for a Wizard. Yet, my jaw dropped last night at the “Town Hall” forum when our current Governor Paul LePage swiped a chubby hand across the most crucial issues facing the Oxford Hills.

When Jerrold Mason, from West Paris, stood up to speak about the well-known death of his daughter Rebecca, who was the victim of a drunk-driving accident, the crowd fell silent. Without remorse or acknowledgment, LePage cleanly shifted the conversation to recent rumors concerning his own drunk-driving adventures. To get everyone laughing as Jerrold Mason sadly took his seat, LePage created a fantastical tale about handcuffing his security guard, taking the wheel of the car, and “swerving to avoid Bigfoot and Elvis Presley” as he did 100mph down the highway. Somewhere in the disconnected and uncomfortable silence, he incited the Easter Bunny (that is not a joke).

When the best of our local educators, Doris Ray, stood up with a question about adult education and the loss of funding for MPBN, Le Page again joked his way out of responsibility and credibility by pointing his hammy hand of guilt at “welfare.” His old, tired line was that he had to cut funding for adult education because he had to “pay for welfare.” There was no discussion of the systematic oppression of minorities, or the poor working class of Mainers (the majority). As an 11th generation Mainer with a college education, and still poor, standing up alongside retired Naval Veterans, educators, and ministers, all of who also wanted policy change, boy did I feel the pulse of Republican classism coming from the welfare son himself, Paul LePage.

I am all for reforming welfare. As a social worker, I have personally watched junkies buying flat-screen televisions and video games from their welfare and unemployment checks. I get it, and so do you. But that does not represent all of us, the working class majority, who still need support during tough times, who are not able to afford adequate health care, who are not trying to get rich by exploiting our children’s land, but are actually planning for a sustainable future for our children. LePage clearly doesn’t give a fraction of interest about the real Maine working class, and certainly not those doing the hard work towards sustainability with little or no funding at all.

At this “Town Hall” forum I sat one row down from cigar-drenched belly-laughs, and when Le-Page mentioned General-Assistance offices in Maine that were being unexpectedly closed by his order, I got a full whiff of condescension. As the forum ended, one of these same well-dressed attendees, who had identified themselves as politicians, mentioned to his colleagues, “that was fun.” Were they referring to Jerrold Mason standing to speak about his dead daughter? Were they talking about me, sitting in front of them, in my own threadbare jacket as I endured abuse about not having a real job? Were they talking about LePage’s intention to cut our own well-loved superintendent Rick Colpitt’s job, along with all other superintendents in Maine? I was unsure what the belly-laughs were about, but no doubt that they were well-funded belly-laughs. And that’s why we can’t afford welfare.

I copied this from a person who attened the town hall meeting in oxford last week. I agree with her observation that welfare reform is needed;but that a saftey net is needed always. The brashness of our governor is nothing new.( I sent my kid to college but all he did is party and squeak bye) comes to mind.
My heart goes out to the parent who lost a child to a drunk driving accident, but the all about me attitude needs to go.. supposedly he has these meetings so he can hear what the people of maine want. but if your tone deaf why waste their time and yours!
this state will always need to be watchfull of its tax dollar. we have a land size larger than the other new england states combined. we have a population one fifth that of boston! We have several rural counties that are poverty ridden. We depend on a highway system for our food,jobs,saftey and commerce! But we have nothing if we can't protect the sick,the elderly and our pride!
do we need welfare reform? I think always. but we also will always need welfare of one kind or another!