Maine politics question (Portland, Bangor, Augusta: transplants, credit, houses)

[papafox]

Can someone explain why Maine has reliably gone Democrat in the last several presidential elections, but on the other hand has a Republican governor and also Republican control of the state senate?

I'm not here to start a political fight, but am genuinely curious as to why there is a split like this.

Thanks

[Last1Standing]

I've been wondering about that as well. For a number of years I viewed Maine as a state that cares about its people and works hard to create quality of life for them. Then I started hearing things about cuts to social services. And I've been astounded at the governor's behavior. I'm wondering whether my original impression was wrong, or the state has changed in the last 10 years, or something else has happened. I associate different values with Domocrats and Republicans, so I'm wondering which is the real face of Maine, or is it both?

[mainebrokerman]

politics is when mud gets thrown back and forth


but I will try to answer the question

lepage is a maverick, no matter if you love or hate him,,,he is not a slick and glib career politician...

he is a breathe of fresh air to many mainers ...that despise politics..... he came from nothing,,,,,was abused by his dad was homeless,,,and worked his way to what he has had.....

he motivated many to vote ......that probably don't normally vote..


maine has many left leaning factions....
the states largest employer is the state ...and most lean/vote left (teachers, town clerks, dot dmv and on and on and on )
another large employer is union (biw) and other union workers usually vote left..
maine is a high % welfare state....and most of the welfare folks vote left

maine is the oldest state...surpassing florida and the old folks I know lean left ...

maine has its share of pot smoking hippies..... and artists that usually lean left

maine has thousands and thousands of prius and Subaru drivers,,,which ...looking at the bumper stickers ,,,are most all leaning left



whats that leave??

the independent - mainer that wants government out of their lives, and out of our wallets
the hard working mainers that are trying to make a living ...and hope to push back the party of redistribution



a democrat politician knocked on my door two weeks ago shenna bellows if I remember correctly..
she had nice legs so I let her in..
she introduced herself and we sat and had a good talk.... the first thing she said is she was for lower taxes

I asked her to look out my bay window to the lake and guess how much I pay per yr in property taxes,,,she said around 4 thousand...

I said it would be in the 3 neighboring towns because they are run by tax and spend liberal democrats,,,i told her I paid 1200 a yr...she couldn't believe it - I told her it was because the town fathers are very conservative and kept the taxes in check. Now we are a target town for people to move to and guess what with 20 more houses in town last year,,,thats what expands and grows the tax base,,,not people leaving because taxes are too high

I give her credit she did listen ...... and she was quite pleasant
I'm guessing she needed a drink when she left....

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

...
lepage is a maverick, no matter if you love or hate him,,,he is not a slick and glib career politician...

Truth.

... maine is the oldest state...surpassing florida and the old folks I know lean left ...

... maine has thousands and thousands of prius and Subaru drivers,,,which ...looking at the bumper stickers ,,,are most all leaning left

I am a retiree and I drive a Prius. I have been called 'liberal' because I chose to own a vehicle that gets 55 to 60 mpg. I really do not see why that label gets stuck on anyone who wants an efficient car.

... a democrat politician knocked on my door two weeks ago shenna bellows if I remember correctly..
she had nice legs so I let her in..
she introduced herself and we sat and had a good talk.... the first thing she said is she was for lower taxes

I asked her to look out my bay window to the lake and guess how much I pay per yr in property taxes,,,she said around 4 thousand...

I said it would be in the 3 neighboring towns because they are run by tax and spend liberal democrats,,,i told her I paid 1200 a yr...she couldn't believe it - I told her it was because the town fathers are very conservative and kept the taxes in check. Now we are a target town for people to move to and guess what with 20 more houses in town last year,,,thats what expands and grows the tax base,,,not people leaving because taxes are too high

I give her credit she did listen ...... and she was quite pleasant
I'm guessing she needed a drink when she left....

Young girl with nice legs, omg, this thread is going to be shut down quick

Taxes and spending do vary a LOT from one town to the next town. It is all about town selectmen wanting to provide more services and cost be damned.

I have a friend who has been trying to get me to attend some of her protests. She [and her group] want more metro bus routes to connect more Maine towns. Who cares if fares only cover 1/10 of the cost of operating these buses. The towns print money, the state prints money, so they can afford to provide free buses to every welfare recipient. I politely refuse to attend her protests.

A few years ago, a different friend roped me into attending a dinner. Half way through that dinner a slick politician showed up. So they herded us into a line-up to stand behind him as he faced four TV camera crews and he gave a speech.

It was supposed to be about a mill closing, but he was running for governor. So this bonehead in his speech made a string of promises if elected. Each promise was based on yet another bond. If only he could raise taxes high enough then he could save Maine and provide a long list of free services to all the poor people.

[seasallyttle]

LePage is a bit of a Yosemite Sam and appeals to a lot of people in Maine who view themselves as being independent and without the need of government help. Somehow these folks connect LePage's surly demeanor and distaste for the poor with one who can take care of him or herself.


An interesting statistic, though, would be to see how many people voted for him that actually themselves receive some form of government assistance - be it through subsidized housing, food assistance, tanf, medical care subsidies, child care assistance, or what have you. Maine, overall, is quite a poor state, meaning LePage actually dislikes a good percentage of his constituency.

[maineguy8888]

And we're off and running with the arguing.....
The truth is that southern and mid coast are VERY leftist, partly because of the many transplants there. Augusta and suburbs are quite leftist....as the capital area relies on state jobs/state government and their unions. (In other words, blood sucks off the rest of Maine.....)
Bangor is leftist too.
The other areas are pretty conservative.

[EugenieB]

Last election had a 3rd party candidate on the ballot to split the vote a bit and a referendum question about bear baiting that possibly brought more conservative voters to the polls.

[jeremywolf81]

Originally Posted by papafox

Can someone explain why Maine has reliably gone Democrat in the last several presidential elections, but on the other hand has a Republican governor and also Republican control of the state senate?

I'm not here to start a political fight, but am genuinely curious as to why there is a split like this.

Thanks

When it comes to politics, in many ways Maine is crazy backwards land; Maine isn't really a blue state so much as a "purple state." Maine is blue because Portland (mostly comprised of transplants from Mass and NY it seems) is blue. Go outside of the Portland area and a few other enclaves (like college town Orono or wealthy hippie MDI) and you'll find Maine is more like the deep south than the rest of the Northeast. As for why Maine always goes blue in the Presidential elections, I think a lot of it is low turn out in the more rural areas. You feel like you can make a difference on a bond issue or for governor, but most of us have long since realized our 4 electoral votes don't mean crap.

[boiselover]

as an outsider who relies on news reports he seems a bit hot headed and politically incorrect and perhaps a bit racist and biased against the poor and drug addicted but he can make some sense to honestly taking out drug dealers white or black would be a good idea and then perhaps some compassion for the addicted and poor and id say you might have a pretty good thing going

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by boiselover

as an outsider who relies on news reports he seems a bit hot headed and politically incorrect and perhaps a bit racist and biased against the poor and drug addicted but he can make some sense to honestly taking out drug dealers white or black would be a good idea and then perhaps some compassion for the addicted and poor and id say you might have a pretty good thing going

Just a note, most of his family is poor, and a few of them are even in jail. He also has adopted a black child. Doesn't excuse some of his actions, but since you aren't from here, just some more news.