I saw my first “LePage 2022” bumper sticker late last month, and on September 4, I heard the man himself declare his intention to run for governor again. His formal announcement awaits fulfillment of both requirements Ann LePage has laid down as conditions for her support. He has already bought her the pick-up truck she demanded and expects to nail down her support by developing a taste for Country and Western music in time for the next gubernatorial election.
He is feeling fit and energetic these days and foresees no problem, but acknowledges that he has reached an age where good health is always a little contingent so he will wait until he’s sure he will be fit when the time comes. His active support for Republican causes over the last two months have encouraged the hopes of his most ardent supporters, so his declaration of intent last week will not come as a shock.
Paul does not reciprocate Janet Mills’ personal hostility and has enjoyed a more relaxed style of life tending bar in Boothbay. He is motivated by Janet’s reckless expansion of governmental power at the expense of the private sector. She has led a life wrapped in government and politics. Discounting his terms as mayor of Waterville, during which his day job as general manager of Mardens occupied most of his time, Paul has spent his life as a private citizen. With his MBA and careers as business consultant and Mardens general manager Paul has learned how to read a balance sheet. Janet, with her major in French literature, is unfamiliar with balance sheets and ill-equipped to control the state’s budget.
What’s worse, as a habitual and incurable liberal Democrat, our current governor understands “progress” as something government does while ordinary citizens watch and adapt. The current legislative majority shares that understanding. There’s plenty of evidence that the Maine People’s Alliance and the freshman Democratic legislators are to Janet’s left but personal ambition makes it difficult for her to defy their wishes. She declared at the beginning of her term that she had no plans to reverse Paul’s tax cuts and even suggested that she hoped she would be able to cut income taxes some more. So far are there’s no evidence that the Democratic Party’s legislative majority has a taste for tax cuts, or any other measure that might shift power from the government back to the people. I know from the time Paul and I both served on the Maine Taxpayers United board that he thinks the constant aggrandizement of government power is unhealthy for Maine and its people.
It’s immaterial whether Janet thinks tax increases are a bad idea or not. The liberals’ instinctive desire to expand government has already undermined the LePage administration’s fiscal restraints. The inevitable rainy day will arrive with no reserve funds and the Mills administration will have to either cut programs or raise taxes to make up for declining revenues. Paul does not expect it to give any serious thought to cutting programs. This would run against the liberal idea of progress, and it would be unpopular with their constituencies. There may be some attempts to uphold the ‘no new taxes’ promises to the general public by passing laws and establishing regulations that burden business. From Paul’s perspective the outcome is the same.
There will be a long interval before a new campaign can start so other Republicans may aspire to a lease on the Blaine House. Paul, however, will not be stepping aside for a candidate who is not determined to reclaim lost ground for the private sector. Nor will he be inclined take a softer and more friendly tone toward Republican legislators who just want to get along by going along.
John Frary of Farmington is a former candidate for U.S. Congress, a retired history professor, an Emeritus Board Member of Maine Taxpayers United, a Maine Citizen’s Coalition Board member, and publisher of FraryHomeCompanion.com. He can be reached at jfrary8070@aol.com
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