Time for Real Change in Maine!

As much as I hate to say it, Barack Obama is right about one thing, "It's time for real change". At least here in Maine that change has been needed for a long time. It's been well over 30 years here in Maine since Republicans have controlled both houses in Augusta or at least had a legitimate say in what policies come forth. Over the years since, we have continuously seen legislation that has hurt the Maine taxpayer (I.e increases in hunting, fishing, boating, and recreational registration licenses) , small businesses (workers compenstion laws, healthcare costs and business equipment tax) and the overall economy. We have seen the most stringent environmental and workers compensation laws that have literally bankrupted companies or forced them to move out of state (Solon Manufacturing and Dexter Shoe to name a few). We have seen healthcare companies dwindle down in size and force an suspective monopoly upon the wokers in Maine with Dirigo. We must issue a change in Maine that will help sustain the future and not inhibit growth of our state. That change must start in Augusta this year by electing strong fiscally conservative candidates to the Legislature.


Since he has taken office, Governor Baldacci and his administration have not held their bargin of lowering the tax burden on the local economies. For instance, the school consolodation bill does the reverse to those municipalities that can not comply with the current legislation that was passed last year. What should have occurred was instead of penalizing those communities for not adhering to the Governors proposal of consolodation, there should have been funding incentives for those districts that did show a fiscal savings with consolidation. This administration took the bad cop approach and forced districts to comply or their funding would decrease, thus putting more of a tax burden on those communities.

That is just one area where Governor Baldacci and his administration has failed the citizens of Maine. The list goes on and on with jail consolidation, increased fees in outdoor licenses, not suspending the gas tax for a period of time as to provide relief to citizens and so on. The point of the matter is that as long as this administration keeps looking at ways to build tax revenue from its taxpayers, the more it hurts the citizens and the overall well being of the state.

At this point I am asking all citizens in the State of Maine to look past the national elections, the Presidential "Hoopla", the War on Terror, and all the other activities outside of the area to focus on what is going on right here at home. We must remember that what happens in Augusta with our local law makers impacts us more directly and more quickly that what happens in Washington D.C. The only way for Maine to get back on track now is to take control of government and not let it take control of us, like it has done for so many years. We must hold the playmakers in Augusta accountable and tell them that we have had enough of the spending and penalizing of the working families of Maine. We must elect fiscally conservative and responsible people to Augusta. This is the only way that the Maine citizens best interests will be looked after. Please support your local candidates that support you. The time is now.

God Bless America and Maine!

Romney's out too: Now what?

Well, after a very eventful time in Maine last weeknd, Gov. Mitt Romney call's it quits today. I really must admit I was a little shocked at the timing, however, his reasons were very admirable. His speech today at the Conservative Political Action Convention said it all.

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I
would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that
Sen. Clinton or Obama would win,” he said. "And in this time of war, I simply
cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

So the question comes, what now? Who is left to battle Sen. John McCain? My friend Tim commented on my previous post about Having a Huckabee / Paul ticket would bring out the conservative voters due to Huckabee being a social conservative and Paul being a fiscal conservative. He may be right, however, who will bring out the moderates to win the election? That seems to be the key to winning the election time after time.



We have never seen a president become more conservative on issues as his presidency has moved on. President Bush seemed pretty conservative to many of us when he was elected. Time has shown that his fiscal side is anything but conservative. With John McCain all but clinching the Republican nomination, if he were elected President, who would he chose for a running mate? How conservative will he be or better yet, how liberal will he act? We already know that he is for amnesty for illegals and against waterboarding of prisoners to gain information. Can he be that strong on defense with those items? I'm not sure. I hope for America's sake he is. I truly hope he understands what is at stake here...Our Freedom! Unitl the General Election I'll keep asking...Now What?



God Bless America!

Romney wins in my home state of Maine!

Well, my vote counted today in the Maine Caucus and Presidential Preference as Gov. Mitt Romney won the state by very convincing numbers. In my county of Somerset, Romney garnered about 51% to McCains nearly 26% and surprising Ron Paul got about 13% to Mike Huckabee's 9% where additionally 1% of voters were undecided. It was a great day for Maine Republicans that participated in the process.

As the poll numbers come in from around the state, Romney's lead is staying consistant with my county. My major concern of the week leading up to this was of all the support that Ron Paul was gaining. I'm not saying I am bothered by his stances and such, just that I believe him to be a low level tier candidate that cannot gain the same amount of support in other parts of the country. I did not want to see a Paul victory in Maine for the very reason of not supporting a major candidate. Now if Paul had won a primary by now I may be OK with it. However, even with Huckabee only winning a few states, he is still in my eyes a lower tier candidate.

I honestly thought that McCain would give more of a fight to Romney in Maine. McCain had the support of our ranking members of the party with Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Olympia Snowe as well as Maine House Minority Leader Josh Tardy. I really looked at it like with that much fire power, how could he not win in a moderate state? Well, that is why I do not get paid to make predictions about politics.

I did get up and say a few words on behalf of Sen. Collins and try to gain some support for her. I was asked if i would do that by her office and I accepted because I think she has a done a wonderful job representing Maine while she has been in Washington. Additionally, I also spoke of my upcoming election as a Town Selectman that is in March. I encouraged all the voters that to take part in that process of a Town Meeting. I like seeing people be involved, even if I do always agree with their view. This allows for more opinions and viewpoints to be heard as well as ideas being floated around during trying times. That is what our country was built of from ...ideas!

I will close with saying that it was very nice seeing all the people come out to my local caucus and the ones located across my county to participate in the very unique voting process. I hope those individuals continue to support the Somerset County Republican Committee and the Maine Republican Party as well as all our local candidates as they are the reason I do all the volunteer work that I do. I love politics and I truly love my State of Maine and the passion in wanting it to prosper for the future generations of Mainers.

God Bless America!

The Rebates are coming: Maine IRS Stay Away!

Well, one way to stimulate the economy is the give people back their money, or at least some of them anyway. Congress approved the Presidents package to issue tax rebaates. Is this the right way to do it though? Some say that people will just save the checks or money and not put it back into the economy, which is the initial intent of the plan. Personally, I think that if it is ours to begin with, why tell us how to spend it?

My problem lies not with the portions that are coming back to the citizens but with to whom they are going. Couples who make over $150K or individuals that make over $75K are not entitled to these rebates. What is stranage about the package is that some individuals that didn't even pay federal income tax are getting money back from the government. Is this a dip in the wrong pocket or just a way to stick it to people who do succeed in life here in this country? If a rebate is supposed to go to the ones with children and to married or even single individuals, why limit who those individuals are? Additionally, why give to the ones who did not even put into the system in the first place? That is my problem. The people that didn't even earn enough to have federal taxes taken away get a rebate. That to me looks like an income and not a rebate.

I'm all for stimulating the economy but let's be fair about it. Let's give it back to all citizens that earn an income and have children regardless of income. For those that are totally against the tax rebates in general I ask one question: How are you going to spend your money? Me, well I'm lobbying for a snowmobile or new golf clubs, but my wife has other plans. I told her the money is meant to "stimulate the economy and we need to do that by buying golf clubs". She said it was meant to stimulate our debt and retirement. Well, she did have a few explatives in there as well, so I can't argue. Only in America can we have a dilemma like this.

One last thing, more like a MEMO to the Maine IRS: Stay away from my rebate. I give you enough of my money now leave it alone. You'll get your share of taxes if my wife let's me buy golf clubs.

God Bless America!