LePage welcomes new Legislature with warning of impending economic peril

[jpak]

Source: Bangor Daily News

AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage swore in the new Maine Legislature on Wednesday, but only after delivering a short speech to both chambers renewing his call to alter tax and minimum wage proposals passed by voters in November.

It was a break for policy talk on the day of pomp and circumstance, mostly reserved for the 55 new members in the new Legislature, which has 764 collective years of legislative experience and 38 first-time lawmakers.

Democrats held a majority in the House of Representatives, and Republicans kept the majority in the Senate in this year’s election. As expected, the chambers on Wednesday elected Rep. Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, as House speaker and re-elected Senate President Mike Thibodeau, R-Winterport.

But it was LePage who stole the spotlight before swearing in lawmakers in both chambers, focusing entirely on the two enacted ballot questions that will levy a 3 percent surtax on income over $200,000 to increase state aid to public education and raise Maine’s hourly minimum wage to $12 by 2020.

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Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2016/12/07/politics/state-house/lepage-welcomes-new-legislature-with-warning-of-impending-economic-peril/

[busterbrown]

1. Its comforting to know that there is another Lunatic..

out there that is worse than Trump.

[n2doc]

2. He was the prototype. n/t

[barbtries]

3. i think i would argue that he is not worse

and it is not possible at this time for him to be worse, because his sphere of influence is minute compared to that man who is going to be the president of the USA.

not claiming that he is any more sane, just...scale.

[mtasselin]

4. worse

The jury is still out on who will be worse although Lepage is nuts just wait trumpenstein will be far worse.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

8. I think Trump is worse than LePage.

We've been dealing with LePage for a while in Maine, but he hasn't been able to get away with nearly as much as he would like because we have enough Dems in our state House and Senate to keep him under control. I think Trump on the national scene is much worse because now international relations are involved. Also, the Republicans have the majority on both the US House and Senate, so Trump will be able to get away with more than LePage ever has. I find Trump generally more offense than LePage. LePage is messed up because he came from poverty and ran away from an abusive home when he was 11 years old. Trump has been rich and pampered his whole life. Donald Trump is way worse than LePage.

[meow2u3]

9. Wasn't LePage the reason Maine passed ranked choice voting?

If that's the case, ranked choice voting needs to go nationwide to prevent another tRump from getting into office.

[Lithos]

5. How dare he disagree with Trump

The Economy is going to be YUGE!

L-

[Ford_Prefect]

6. Give it up Paul. The people have spoken...yeah, Those People.

[MADem]

7. He is Trump's Mini-Me....even though he did it first!!! nt