Paul LePage

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Paul LePage is the inexplicably red (not that kind of red) governor of one of the bluest states in America: Maine. And he's been elected twice: once in 2010 and again in 2014, due to vote-splitting between his Democratic opponents and independent Elliot Cutler. What the hell, Maine?

LePage is your typical Republican with Teabagger sympathies, and has positions reflecting this precisely. He is staunchly opposed to abortion, committing the emotional appeal of referring to the practice as "killing babies".[1] He doesn't like dem gays, of course, saying he has "no personal opinion", but would veto a potential same-sex marriage bill if it came to him. But he has gay friends, so it's all good![2] His more foaming hatred, however, is directed at transsexual and transgendered people. He is against allowing them to even get an education, spewing out this gem: "[I do not understand] how people, at least sane people, would want to allow transgender in our primary schools and our high schools."[3] Real nice. He also hired his daughter as assistant to his chief of staff. Family values in action!

As far as economic issues go, LePage really doesn't like taxes all that much. He is in favour of abolishing Maine's income tax,[4] and referred to the Internal Revenue Service as "the new Gestapo". That last remark caused quite the uproar in the saner community. Nevertheless, he rationalized it by claiming that the Gestapo "killed a lot of people" and that the IRS would too, with ObamaCare at its side. Speaking of ObamaCare, it doesn't take much imagination to guess what LePage's opinions on it are. Yeah, it's evidently pretty evil. In fact, it'll make the United States more akin to the much more widely loved Soviet Canuckistan![5] God forbid!

Environmentally, LePage is simply atrocious. He thinks that 3 million acres of Maine wildlife habitat would be better off in the hands of industrialized humans, recycling is too much of a burden on manufacturers to be trifled with, and that monitoring potentially hazardous chemicals that could be disseminated to the general public isn't worth the government's time.[6] Also, while not a full-on global warming denialist, he is under the impression that it might not be as bad as the libruls are making it out to be. But for the most backwards reason ever. What the man exactly said is that since all that ice in the Northern Passage is melting, we now have room to stick an oil pipeline in there![7] All so we can exacerbate climate change even more in the long run! Great plan, Pauly!

[edit] References

  1. http://bangordailynews.com/2014/09/26/politics/elections/lepage-courts-women-voters-blasts-planned-parenthood-for-killing-babies/
  2. http://www.centralmaine.com/2012/11/03/most-maine-top-elected-officials-steer-clear-of-gay-marriage-issue_2012-11-04/
  3. http://web.archive.org/web/20101012170415/http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/13807/Default.aspx
  4. http://www.centralmaine.com/2013/05/20/lepage-eliminate-income-tax-to-increase-maines-competitiveness/
  5. http://www.centralmaine.com/2012/07/12/lepage-repeats-and-elaborates-gestapo-comment-at-vermont-fundraiser/
  6. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/16/science/earth/16enviro.html?_r=0
  7. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/paul-lepage-global-warming_n_4392751.html
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