A good read about our dick-tater

[luckyleftyme2]

I was sent this an asked to pass it on:

It’s looking more and more like Gov. Paul LePage overplayed his hand when he ordered the removal of an 11-panel 36-foot labor history mural from the state Labor Department headquarters in Augusta.

Never mind the embarrassment of having our state ridiculed on prime-time comedy TV shows such as Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report with satirist Stephen Colbert, the fallout here in Maine is serious enough and keeps growing. The governor and lawmakers have too many more important issues on the table to have it continue any longer.

As Kenny Rogers’ hit song The Gambler” goes, “You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ‘em / Know when to walk away, know when to run.”

LePage’s cue to “fold ’em” should be Monday’s letter from Gay Gilbert, administrator of the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Unemployment Insurance, stating that in removing the mural he violated the terms of federal laws governing money used to pay for 63 percent of the $60,000 commission paid to the mural artist Judy Taylor of Tremont. If the mural isn’t re-hung in the state Department of Labor headquarters “or in another state employment security building,” Gilbert told state labor officials the federal government wants its money back.

Unless LePage pays it out of his own checkbook, there’s clearly no way Maine taxpayers should be on the hook for his impulsive decision.

But if the “put up or pay up” letter isn’t persuasive enough, LePage might consider the federal lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court by attorney Jeff Young on behalf of six plaintiffs seeking restoration of the mural to its original location.

Again, why should Maine taxpayers foot the legal bill for his defense when the governor could simply admit his mistake, put the mural back up and get back to doing the job he was elected to do?

As one protester at the State House said on Monday, art-critic-in-chief is not part of the job description.

[e-mail]
YOU WANT TO THINK HARD ABOUT THIS RASH DECISION,WAS IT BRAVO,SIMPLY SHOWING THOSE THAT SURROUND HIM WHAT A BIG BAD ASS HE IS? WAS IT A POWER TRIP OR MORE LIKELY JUST PLAIN STUPIDITY!
DO YOU TRUST HIM TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT WILL DEAL WITH SOCIAL SERVICES THAT CAN EFFECT LIFE? CAUSE BANKRUPTCY,DESTORY FAMILIES!
GIMMICK -LETS FORCE A RECALL PETITION LEADING TO THE PEOPLES RIGHT TO RECALL ANY ELECTED OFFICAL !
I DON'T THINK THAT A RADIO TALK SHOW HOST OR A THINK TANK CEO FINANCED BY OUT OF STATE MONEY SHOULD DICTATE THE GOVERNORS AGENDA!