Warning: There is a PG-13 swear buried somewhere in here.
A couple of years before several national GOP candidates got themselves into hot water by waxing poetic on rape, effectively learning to, whenever possible, totally avoid talking to the media, Governor LePage learned that the less the bombastic leader talked to the press, the better.
And so LePage, who—NO JOKE—insists on more or less shunning the media and speaking to the state almost exclusively by way of recorded messages like he is Howard Hughes, is acting super emo about the fact that his opposition is sending out a tracker to find out what it is that the Governor says on those occasions he leaves his lair because, seriously, how the Hell are we supposed to know if he is even a real thing anymore and not some kind of terrifyingly hilarious illusion?
Trackers can be messy, of course, because they can capture politicians being their real selves, or worse, total jackasses. In fact, I very recently had a conversation about this with a friend of mine, who said that he understands the Governor’s position on this issue. “How will we ever get ‘real people’ in office if these trackers are always on their trails, capturing any human mistake along the way?” he asked.
But here is why my friend was wrong: It is not the moments when politicians make human errors that move the undecided; it is the moments when politicians reveal themselves to be aloof, out of touch jackasses. Mitt Romney’s 47% comment wasn’t a human mistake, it was something a deceptive asshole would say. That is what resonated with the undecided about Romney.
After all, many politicians would pay good money to appear human, right? And many remain terrified of the prospect of anyone finding out that they are, in fact, total jackasses.
I find it hard to believe that governor who proclaimed that, “Every Maine citizen has a right to know what government is up to” is legitimately concerned with actions being taken to find out what, exactly, our government is up to. Could it be that faced with actually governing during a contentious time is a frightening and off-putting proposition for LePage? I mean, boohoo for him a little bit, right? Thanks to a split ticket and Tea Party fever in 2010, he rode a triumphant wave into the Blaine House ready to shake things up. The newly Republican-dominated Legislature had his back. Governing was a lot of fun before it required taking into consideration what those on the other side of the aisle had to say, but now the tables have turned. Unfortunately for him, the State and Nation have turned their backs on the reactionary radicalism of the Right and now LePage is something of a solo operation.
What is the deliverer of a failed proposition to do but to wag a finger and blame, blame, blame every non-issue that comes along, hoping the problem miraculously disappears?
PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Bennett || BDN
