LEPAGE JUST CAN’T HELP HIMSELF…. I’m still amazed this guy is actually the governor of Maine.
Gov. Paul LePage has ordered the removal of a 36-foot mural depicting Maine’s labor history from the lobby of the Department of Labor.
Worker advocates described the move as a “mean-spirited” provocation amid the administration’s high-tension standoff with unions.
Acting labor chief Laura Boyett emailed staff Tuesday about the mural’s pending removal, as well as another administration directive to rename several department conference rooms that carry the names of pro-labor icons such as Cesar Chavez.
The governor’s spokesperson told local reporters that honoring Maine’s labor history is “one-sided” and bothers “some” unnamed business owners.
Now, I admittedly haven’t seen the mural, but based on media accounts, it’s “simply a depiction of Maine’s labor history.” It’s reportedly not political per se, but shows the public, in 11 panels, key moments in the state, including “Rosie the Riveter” at Maine’s Bath Iron Works. The local artist responsible for the mural explained, “There was never any intention to be pro-labor or anti-labor. It was a pure depiction of the facts.”
But facts that Paul LePage don’t like apparently have to be shuttered away. Celebrating working people is now, apparently, the kind of thing that might bother business interests. We’re approaching an odd sort of political correctness that restricts messages that might somehow bother the wealthy and powerful.
What an embarrassment.
All of this comes on the heels of the buffoonish, far-right governor vowing to pursue a Wisconsin-like plan to undercut Maine’s public-sector unions
Which was preceded by LePage trying to roll back Maine’s child-labor laws.
Which was preceded by LePage paying for tax cuts for the rich by cutting services for Maine’s middle class.
Which was preceded by LePage picking a fight with the Maine NAACP in which he said, “Tell them to kiss my butt.”
The moral of the story is, electing a Tea Partier to be the chief executive of a state really isn’t a good idea.
