So here we go again!  A political entity has completely botched an opportunity to do the right thing.  Instead of cleaning up the mess, the Republican Party’s only answer is to whine that it is far more complicated than it appears.   Hmmmm…were have I heard that….before?  Wait…wait…don’t tell me.  It’ll come to me….OH YEAH, the Democrats!!!  For some strange reason, the GOP think they can toss the  same whine and cheese, the Democrats have aged to perfection, to the populace and the voters will just eat it up.  What Augusta is unaware of is Mainers have had more than their forty-year fill of it.  Maine residents have become so well versed in liberalise that they are keenly aware that “it’s complicated” means “I’m too lazy to do anything about it , I’m going sit and pout on my fat political bum and hope you don’t make me change.”

This is an easy fix!  It remains to be seen if Phil Curtis, Andre Cushing, and the rest of the House leadership have the political strength to allow the House caucus to revote on the floor.  This boils down to a struggle between old Guard Snowe/Collins Republicans and the rise of young Conservatives who wish to reform the Party.  Maine’s ship is careening towards the cataract of fiscal insolvency.  Republican leadership must decide if it truly wants to heed the people and turn the ship around or cling desperately to few moments of power before Maine plunges into the mists of oblivion.  Mr. Curtis and Mr. Cushing must show leadership and give Maine the change they voted for or be content to be nothing more than a cheap imitation of the Democrats.  History will mark the difference!

The Republican Party is showing an innate ability to be uncommonly oblivious to the expectations of the people that elected them.   For forty years the Democrats have made it policy to completely ignore the will of the people and focus only on their own personal whims.  The populace grew tired of it and rejected the Democrats.  Now the Republicans are touting their ability to work with and accommodate the very Party that Maine rejected.  Instead of giving Mainers the change of direction they demanded, the Republicans are putting another coat of lacquer on the “same ol’ same ol’” and expecting us to believe it’s the revolution we fought for.  It took forty years for Mainers to reject the Democrats.  The Republicans have not even been sworn in and the State is crying, “Get the Bums out”!  One would assume that any strategy meetings by the Democrats to regain power have been put on hold, as Republicans seem to be doing the work for them.  Voters have come to expect corruption and deceit from the Democrats.  Its how they operate.  From Republicans, they expected something more and, once again, the Maine Republican Party is falling far short of their expectations.

I recently returned from a road trip that took me across this great Country of ours.  While trying to manhandle the stubborn steering apparatus of an old 1970 Ford one-ton stake-bed farm truck, I occasionally had the opportunity to take in the greatness of this Country I love so much.  It was hard not to make comparisons to this State Maine that I am proud to call home.

One such time was the hours spent traveling through Oklahoma.  This western State is routinely ranked amongst the most prosperous States in the Nation.  What does Oklahoma have that Maine doesn’t have or, perhaps a better wording would be, what does Maine have that Oklahoma doesn’t have?  The answer is overregulation that stifles business.  Traveling through Oklahoma, one is not struck by the exorbitant wealth glaring from community to community.  Oklahoma is primarily a rural farming State yet it ranks as one of the wealthiest in the United States.

I have come away from my little excursion out west firmly convinced that Maine simply needs some wise commonsense leadership to change Augusta’s governing approach and, with Maine’s teeming natural resources, it will quickly rise to take its place amongst the prosperous of this great Nation.  Unfortunately, the Republican Party of Maine has seized this great opportunity with all the aptitude of the bungling Keystone Kops.  With Maine’s future on the line, they have dropped the ball and stumbled out of the gate.

When the Republican House Caucus convened to vote on a Speaker, Robert Nutting was narrowly elected.  During the election process, Mr. Nutting, in keeping with business as usual politics, did not fully disclose his, at best, dubious past.  Without a full comprehension of Mr. Nutting’s character or lack thereof, many freshman Representatives could only vote with the information on hand.  Now, many are furious that they have been duped.

Many of these new young Republicans were ushered into office through the power of the Tea Party movement.  They campaigned against the corruption and arrogant indifference of Augusta.  Now, they must shamefacedly answer to their constituents and acknowledge they have been deceived and manipulated with their first act as Representatives.  It seems the Maine Republican Party is content to follow the Nancy Pelosi model of sacrificing their own to hold doggedly to their selfish agenda.  This is a disappointing irony to be sure.

The Maine Conservative Voice believes that, if Mr. Nutting truly cares for the future of the State of Maine, he will step down; in fact, we demand it.  If Governor LePage is to achieve the goals he has set forth for his administration, he must have legislative support.  With, at best, weak leadership in the Senate, it is imperative that the House shows strength and direction.

The message the GOP is sending to the voters is not a good one.  The perception of a million dollar miscue, when voters want competent leadership handling their funds, will not go away.  Mainers are livid and Republicans are starting their leadership tenure by mimicking the Democrats and not listening.  The Kevin Raye/Josh Tardy liberal wing of the Party may feel that they can dig a foxhole and this will blow over.  They will be sorely mistaken.  The Democrats did not fathom the anger of voters and, now it seems, neither have Republicans.  If Mr. Nutting does not step down, the Republicans will lose control of the Legislature in 2012 and Governor LePage will not be able to turn this ship around.

The residents of Maine can get involved in this and they need to.  It is our responsibility to hold the Republicans to the fire.  Call the Republican House leadership, Phil Curtis and Andre Cushing, and demand Robert Nutting resigns, the House Caucus reconvenes and a secondary vote is held under full disclosure.  Maine residents must demand this.  It is our futures at stake not Robert Nutting’s!

I have listened repeatedly to my father while he has railed against the complexities of the modern automobile. “It’s so a man can’t work on his own car anymore,” I’ve often heard him growl. My father, who was a crew chief on the Air Force F-100 Super Sabre during the Vietnam War, routinely expresses his frustration at the fact seemingly simple maintenance work on modern vehicles turn inevitably into a nightmarish, convoluted, inoperable mess. It is confusing, to the average man, why Detroit would take a simple trustworthy engine, easily fixed by the everyday backyard mechanic, and turn it into the computer driven, glitch prone, gadget laden monstrosity of today, that can only be serviced by an elite group of highly trained technicians. Cars used to run forever. Now they run for the duration of the warranty….hmmm….I’m sure that’s just an ironic coincidence.
Now let’s draw the comparison. We have the best functioning healthcare system in the world, but now, instead of tweaking the imperfections, our President wants to completely change the look, function and purpose of healthcare. He wants to overburden the system with gadgets, choke out its effectiveness with over-regulation and completely redirect the focus of health care. Lets have a look.
Under ObamaCare, citizens will have to show and attach proof of insurance to their tax return. You will be required by law to buy health insurance. That, in its self, is enough reason to repeal ObamaCare. It is a violation of the Constitution to force any American to purchase anything, but not only are we forced by law, we will be fined for failure to comply. Yes, fined!!! Individual fines up to $695, families up to $2,085, or….or 2.5% of your adjusted gross income, the Government will choose the greater fine (their so accommodating).
In a brilliant move to encourage job and business growth, employers who cannot afford to provide health insurance for their employees will be penalized, under ObamaCare, $2,000 per employee. Hey, now there’s a great incentive to start up a small business and provide jobs to the community. What would the government do if it didn’t have hardworking businessmen and women to pickpocket? But wait there’s more, you and your employer will not have the opportunity to decide what kind of health care you would you would like. Oh no, only the government can decide that. You ask why? I don’t know! Haven’t you heard the old adage “Those who steal the money know how to spend it best?” No, you haven’t? Well, neither have I, but the President thinks he has.
If you want to buy your own insurance, you have to buy it from your government. Do you notice a theme here? What word do I keep repeating? With the government proving itself so adept at running things like Fannie Mae, which was a huge hit, we should feel comfortable with all our everything in government control, right??? What, no takers? Yeah, so we can all buy insurance through a government regulated exchange that sells insurance that meets governmental requirements. In other words, different insurance companies, same policy. Ah, nostalgia sweeps over me. Remember the days when the word choice was still part of the English language.
You know, this columnist uses sarcastic humor a lot. To be truthful, it is a way to moderate the rage that is felt when our essential liberties are stood up and executed by political thugs. As I continue to investigate this bill. It becomes more and more scary, more and more intrusive. Americans were baited with the tempting treat of an all-encompassing, all-knowing healthcare system. Now they are ensnared in a horrible nightmare of entanglements that will literally destroy the engine of this great Nation. Next, we will peel back more layers of this smelly rotten onion and see the violations of liberties that are being perpetrated to protect it. Let us all pray that the November 2nd Revolution will signal the rise of Patriots who will reverse this tyranny.