why is maine so Liberal? (Portland, Boothbay: homes, living, safe)

[flycessna]

This is not a slam on Maine or Liberals...and to be honest I have many libertarian veiws that are liberal indeed.......But

Forest had a Post earlier that basically stated that at this stage in his life he was tired of many things and was looking to focus more on "growing things" and more "personal freedoms".

I couldn't appreciate those sentiments any more. "Personal freedoms" are very importnant to me. And clearly forest has found what he is looking for.

But after living here for the past 13 years I have seen...in every election voters place more responsibility on government to problem solve and less on the individual. It is truely confusing to me as to why this is so. Has Maine always been this way?

[Bydand]

At least the last 20 years I've been here it has.

[mollysmiles]

"...more responsibility on government to problem solve and less on the individual. It is truely confusing to me as to why this is so. Has Maine always been this way?"



I don't know, but I don't like it---and that's not the way I'VE been voting.

[Bydand]

I never vote that way either, but it generally goes that way.

[KiddinAroundFarm]

It's not the way we've voted here either, but it seems that no matter how many people I speak to who feel the same way we do, it never changes.

[elston]

"The Individual" and then you have "The Community". Liberals are sensitive to the "common good" and the obligation of society to help those who are the most vulnerable where as Conservatives uphold freedom and personal responsibility. Its a matter of balance between the Individual and the Common Good. They both have their place.

Has it always been this way? I have an old family diary written in the mid 1800's by my grandmothers Aunt, so my great great aunt. The dear lady who wrote that diary was born in Stevens Plains in what is now Portland and she went to live in Saccarappa which is now Deering; she was very liberal in her views and in the way she lived her life--visiting the sick and shut ins, helping the poor, caring for the orphans. She even lamented the plight of the Arcadian farmers forced from their homes as chronicalled by "Mr. Longfellow".

My grandparents, old time mainers were life long Democrats and worked to elect FDR, who was held in near reverence in my family. So yes, there is a long standing liberal tradition, albeit a minority strand in Maine's history.

[genmomto5]

Certainly not an expert on Maine history but in researching the state before our move I was sensing a strange liberal thread running through here for quite some time. Maine was the first state to pass Prohibition. Maine was active in the pre-civil war antislavery movement. Not that either of these two things would be considered the solely the purview of the liberal today but it does show a more progressive attitude toward change. So it seems to me that Mainers have a long history of trying to make things better and an ability to take risks to do so. I guess in the pure definitions of the words (taking politics out) this would make the state more liberal if you consider conservative as trying to keep things the same.

[Parrotpaul]

Originally Posted by genmomto5

Certainly not an expert on Maine history but in researching the state before our move I was sensing a strange liberal thread running through here for quite some time. Maine was the first state to pass Prohibition. Maine was active in the pre-civil war antislavery movement. Not that either of these two things would be considered the solely the purview of the liberal today but it does show a more progressive attitude toward change. So it seems to me that Mainers have a long history of trying to make things better and an ability to take risks to do so. I guess in the pure definitions of the words (taking politics out) this would make the state more liberal if you consider conservative as trying to keep things the same.

Prohibition wouldn't be considered a "liberal" notion, but Maine has had a progressive bent over the past few decades.

Maine was also awash in bootleg booz during the prohibition era. The myriad of coves and inlets along the coast lent themselves to Canadians bringing illegal liquor into the states. My dad had lots of stories about that era...apparently he occasionally drove some of the trucks from Boothbay Harbor to wherever.

His family immigrated from Nova Scotia in the early 1800's, and his dad, my grandfather, was a sea captain who sailed the east coast carrying lumber and salt cod. They knew the coastline like the back of their hands.

[elston]

In support of the notion that Mainers have historically been open to new ideas and tolerant of ideas that were considerably out of the main stream, I reference a book I am reading entitled "Exploring the Spirit of Maine--A Seekers Guide" by Karen Wentworth Batignani. It explores the great diversity of religious thought and practice that took root and still exists in Maine, from the Swedenborgens, to Shakers, Bahai, Roman Catholic, Buddhism, Pagans and Shamans, New Thought and Spiritualists. In addition Universalists and Unitarians have fared well and at times have been "mainstream" in Maine. It is a tribute to Maine that it has been a safe harbor for all kinds of beliefs and ideas and I think that relates to a liberal attitude that has existed in Maine historically.

[msina]

Pirates!! Maine also had a bit of "piracy" in the coves and inlets that exists to some extent today. Large amounts of Marijuana have come in, in fishing boats over the years.