On holding LePage supporters accountable

As someone who travels outside of the state somewhat frequently, I am sick of:

a. people REGULARLY asking me if our Executive is mentally unstable
b. having to explain the behaviors of our governor, who can easily be confused by someone who is mentally unstable, away.

I was recently watching a comment thread in which this question was posed: “would you rather see LePage run for the office of Governor or US Representative?” As these sorts of threads are typically dominated by outspoken conservatives, I was surprised to see only a handful of supportive comments peppered throughout the 100+ comments. Seeing that the only people who were defending him in the thread were positing whole nonsensical lines of thought that didn’t even make sense IN context, like “OBAMACARE STUDENT LOANS AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS sold us out to the commie progresives,” I suppose that there is something reasonable explanation for LePage’s behavior. At the end of the day, there remains a sizable enough bloc of totally batshit people who appreciate and endorse the exploits of this governor. They are a minority, sure, but an erratic and vocal one.

And then there are fake reporters, like Stevie Robinson of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, who double down on the Governor’s most outlandish statements. They, however, exist in a twisted class of their own.

But what of the supposedly moderate former Sen. Snowe, who injects money into LePage’s electoral efforts? (Was one of the chapters on her book on how to change polarized discourse about funneling money into the campaigns of megalomaniacal bullies?) Or the Republican Party that continues to stand by him? Or the Representatives and Senators who act annoyed with his behavior, but don’t go out of their way to denounce it?

LePage’s base of diehard support is simply crazy, yes, but it is thanks to those who  remain implicitly supportive that he remains relevant and empowered. These are the people we must hold accountable, as they are the influencers. There is nothing, after all, that can be done about the attention-starved, unstable, out supporters of this bullshit. The Flavor Aid has been swallowed and that is the end of that.

I joked the other day that I would run against LePage in the GOP primary if he were to run for Congress and a bunch of people, believing it to be the joke that it was, cheered the idea on. I want nothing more than to get into that ring and ask other Republicans, “Why aren’t you standing up against this? Why have you been letting this happen? Why are you supporting this behavior?” Someone asked, “Why wait? Why not run against LePage in the 2014 Gubernatorial Primary if he happens to run in that?”

That is a very good question indeed.

Photo Credit: Troy Bennett

Alex Steed

About Alex Steed

Alex Steed has written about and engaged in politics since he was an insufferable teenager. He has run for the Statehouse and produced a successful web series. He now runs a content firm called Knack Factory with two guys who are a lot more talented than himself.