Invited to MLK event, Maine’s GOP governor tells NAACP to ‘kiss my butt’

[babsbunny]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/maine-gov-lepage-naacp-kiss-butt/

By Sahil Kapur
Monday, January 17th, 2011 -- 1:05 pm

There may be more graceful ways to handle an invitation from the NAACP to celebrate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's legacy.

Maine's new Republican Gov. Paul LePage was invited by the civil rights organization to attend ceremonies on Monday, a federal holiday, to honor Dr. King. He declined, upsetting the group.

"They are a special interest. End of story," LePage said of the NAACP, according to Maine news station WCSH6. "And I'm not going to be held hostage by special interests. And if they want, they can look at my family picture. My son happens to be black, so they can do whatever they'd like about it."

[csziggy]

1. He needs a lesson in civility

All he had to do was tell them he had a prior commitment - or if that was not true, that he declines, no reason given. The tone of his remarks was completely uncalled for.

[dionysus]

2. my mom told me the backstory on the "black son". It's the son of lepage's jamacian golf instructor.

not even his adopted kid.

[drm604]

3. We need to watch him.

He's basically said that he'll only attend events given by organizations he's willing to be held hostage by. We need to keep an eye on him and see what events he attends.

[Hannah Bell]

4. wtf?

i'm sure he's alread hostage to special interests: money.

[Hannah Bell]

5. ...

Homestead Exemption controversy
On September 10, 2010, the LePage campaign confirmed that Ann LePage, wife of Paul LePage, received permanent resident tax exemptions on homes in both Maine and Florida, a violation of state law in both states.<11> In late September 2010 Florida's Volusia County property appraiser ruled that Ms. Lepage had improperly claimed as her primary residence a home she had purchased there in 2008, ordering her to pay back taxes and penalties as a result of the improper filing.<12>

However, several weeks later an attorney for Ann LePage found that Florida law allows an out-of-state resident to claim a permanent resident exemption if the home is occupied by a dependent. The LePage's Florida home has been occupied by Ms. LePage's ailing mother since its purchase in 2008, making them eligible for this exception. In October 2010 Ms. LePage corrected her Florida filing to indicate Maine as her state of permanent residence, but claimed the Florida property tax exemption as allowed by the dependent exception. By claiming the Florida exemption, the LePages were forced to give up their Maine property tax exemption for 2008 and 2009, and in October paid back taxes due on the family's Maine home.<13>

Governorship
Before being sworn in, LePage announced the appointment of his 22-year-old daughter, Lauren, as assistant to his chief of staff. Maine's rules against nepotism do not apply to this and other political positions. Under LePage's predecessor, people in such administrative positions earned from less than $30,000 yearly to more than $60,000. LePage's daughter, holding a position described as "entry-level," will be paid approximately $41,000.<14> His decision was criticized on the basis that entry-level salaries for teachers and police officers in Maine are only $30,000 and $36,000, respectively, after specialized training.<15> The decision was further criticized because Lauren LePage has a limited work history, consisting mainly of retail and food service work.<16>

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qwac7pLwdAcJ:www.ask.com/wiki/Paul_LePage+Paul+LePage+campaign+contributions&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us


poor liddle paul, so poor he had to shine shoes in his youth; only a special intervention by olympia snowe's husband got him into college.

some backstory on that, i bet.

[Canuckistanian]

6. Bbbbut, he has a BLACK KID!

"LePage is married to Ann LePage and has four children: two from his first marriage, who live in Canada, two with Ann, and a young man from Jamaica who LePage has called his adopted son"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage

So he can say anything he wants about black people!