Tag Archives: Justin Alfond

Mar 19 2013

The Two Faces of Dexter

 

 

 

The Governor has experienced a partial victory in the battle over the hospital debt.  The Democrats have conceded that it is a good idea to pay back their debts.  In most circles, this would not be viewed as any great accomplishment, as most regard this declaration as everyday common sense.  But for the Justin Alfond Democrats, such a statement of even a small admittance of a need for responsibility has sent shock tremors through the very core of the Eastern Seaboard causing even “Punxsutawney Phil” to completely foul up his forecast.

Now we must realize these are baby steps for Democrats.  They still don’t want to pay the whole debt. Just a portion, then raise your taxes and promise to pay the rest off with the new the tax revenue.  I’m sure the hospitals of Maine are confident, in light of the past track record and Justin Alfond’s comments that we shouldn’t even pay the hospital debt, that the Democrats will keep their word.  If you believe that, I’ve got some other stuff I can sell you….

Yet to this we have come as a State and as a Nation: when the Democrats can have some smug satisfaction in a partial promise to pay a portion of their debt, nearly 40 years in the making, and Republicans find a victory in forcing Democrats to admit they must pay their debts.  This leaves many of the frugal Maine residents scratching their heads in dismay.  How can so many of those elected to represent Maine become so detached from the Maine they represent?  The answer may lie in the study of two political faces from a town called Dexter.

Justin Alfond grew up on Acadia Street in the affluent side of Dexter, when Dexter had an affluent side.  His family owned the famous Dexter Shoe Company.  The Alfond family sold Dexter Shoe to Warren Buffet and one of his conglomerates. Consequently, the company moved out of Dexter costing the small town some 1500 jobs.

Another political figure also has his roots in the little town of Dexter.  Paul Davis grew up on the corner of Lincoln and Water Street, which Dexter residents will tell you are a decidedly different part of town, the other side of the tracks, if you will, or, in the case of Dexter, the other side of the stream.  Paul Davis grew up learning the value of a hard earned dollar.  He also learned from experience how hard it is to keep a dollar and how devastating debt can be.

Now the lessons of thriftiness and frugality are not exclusive to poverty nor are they exclusive to wealth for that matter.   But as a wise man once said, “By their fruits you shall know them.”  And there is plenty of fruit from both these individuals to see the standards of their fundamental core.

Justin Alfond has most infamously stated that we should ignore the hospital debt and treat it as a “meaningful cut”. He has also led the Democrats in a dogged obstruction of the Governor hoping to keep him from paying the hospital debt.  Now they have capitulated to the Governor, but only in part, still maneuvering for an opportunity to raise taxes off the backs of Maine residents.  The only candidate that the Justin Alfond Democrats have put forward to run for Governor states that, since the 40 years of mandated regulatory hell that Augusta has placed on rural Maine has pushed many towns to “insolvency”, the answer is just to shut them down and move the people like cattle to more urban locals.  This smacks of young men, who are used to having someone else’s money covering the mistakes of their poor decisions.

On the other side of the stream, we have Paul Davis along with Ray Wallace, who grew up in the same part of town in Dexter, along with many other conservative Republicans who have held the line beside the Governor demanding that debts be paid.  This columnist knows from personal experience that Davis has a dim view of debt and has lived his life by the “owe no man anything” precept.  He refuses to purchase anything unless he can pay for it.  Wallace and many of his comrades share Paul Davis’ disdain of the slipshod accounting practices of the Alfond Democrats.  They stand along with the Governor with their backs to the edge desperately trying to hold Alfond and his Democrats from pushing Maine off into the fiscal abyss.

Maine people need to decide which face of Dexter they prefer to see to their State’s affairs.  The face of accountability, honesty and “pay as you go” approach to life that you see in Paul Davis and his allies, or the make promises, accumulate debt and then “cut and run” approach of Justin Alfond and his allies.  The edge for Maine inches closer, while the Governor, Paul Davis and their allies can only hold for so long.  We must lend our voices to theirs, for be assured, that if Maine falls over the edge, Alfond will not go with us.  He will cut and run.

Mar 6 2013

Mayor Bloomers and the Vacuum

 

 

The other night I stopped at a local variety store to pick up a pizza that my wife had ordered.  As I left the vehicle to enter the store, my wife requested that I grab a 2-liter soda while I was in there.  It occurred to me, as I perused through the cooler in search of one that “everyone would like”, (which is code for “don’t get Dr. Pepper because you’re the only one that drinks it”) that if I lived in the State of New York I would be engaging in a criminal activity.  Yes, the Empire State is living up to its name and by imperious order Mayor Bloomberg has decided that pizza coupled with a 2-liter soda is such a heinous combination that it should be outlawed in the Big Apple.  (It’s rumored that the Mayor contemplated banning the large nickname until he was assured that the “big apple” weighs less than 32 ounces.)  Thank God, I live in Northern Maine!

Bloomberg’s sidekick, Governor Cuomo, has enacted some of the toughest anti-gun laws in the nation.  He now has exempted Hollywood actors from his gun laws because we all know from watching the antics of Hollywood’s finest, that only they, not law abiding citizens, have the gravitas, mental stability and down home common sense to be entrusted with those bang-shooty thingys.  Enter Lindsey Lohan…yes, the Big Apple has got a worm in it and the Empire State has fallen to the dark side.  Another sigh of thanks that I live in Maine, a strong 2nd amendment State (just ask the Bangor Daily News).

But how, you may ask, can such tomfoolery in leadership go on unquestioned?  This dance of buffoons in New York is aided and abetted by the vacuum of silence, which is the media.  Much of the chicanery that is liberal politics can only function under the cloak of silence afforded to them by the deceit of the modern-day agenda-driven media.  They are well aware that common sense Americans have little tolerance for the idiocy-gone-to-seed behavior that many left wing politicians exhibit.  So they just don’t report it.

Take the latest jewel from the gift that keeps on giving, Justin Alfond, Maine’s version of Joe Biden.  He believes that Governor LePage’s biggest problem is that he is too truthful.  Or then there is the fact that the White House has decided to use the Portland Press Herald to send its communications to Governor LePage.  We knew the President has trouble balancing a budget, but no money for stamps? We do have problems.  Well, I’m sure the Herald can keep a secret, don’t you?  This has prompted the Governor to “advise” the President that, while they are aware that the U.S. Postal Service has some issues, it is still a preferred mail carrier over the Portland Press Herald.

Left-Wing politicians have enjoyed the cover of silence for so long they don’t know quite what to do when the cover is blown.  For so long when the few tried to warn the public about the shenanigans of these individuals, citizens were hard pressed to believe anyone could be so downright foolish.  It flies in the face of all facets of wisdom, and there was no verification from the yawning silence of the media….until now.  Some have grown tired of shirking their professional responsibilities and have begun to expose the poor behavior of these leaders, prompting severe backlash from even the White House.

The extreme measures of such imperious leaders as the ones in New York have caused a backlash from many of their constituents.  This provides a certain warning to all those who pride themselves in strong-arming the American public.  “Hang on to your ‘Bloombergs’ because you may have a revolution on your hands!”

Jan 21 2013

Keeping A Promise

Recently, media outlets in Maine posted articles and pictures of the new home for the controversial mural honoring labor unions here in the State. It was unveiled in the atrium of the Cultural Building. This building houses the Maine State Museum, Maine State Archives and the Maine State Library.
In the media photos, there is a picture of three very sheepish looking Democrat leaders standing in front of the mural. I say sheepish, because as the Democrats try desperately to contrive a victory out of the mural’s public placement, its very presence is a damming indictment of the lack of vision Maine Democrats present to the people of this State.
As a few politicians mingled with a small group of media to cover and celebrate this homage to union workers, they must have become painfully aware that no one else was there. The Maine people didn’t give a rat’s “behinder parts” for the Democrat’s prized painting. Since unions make up a scant percentage of the private sector and the independent workforce, which comprises the majority of Maine’s business landscape, received nary a brushstroke of recognition amongst the dull grays and browns of the union’s forlorn masterpiece, it’s no wonder Maine residents preferred to be otherwise occupied.
But there is more to the uncomfortable disposition of the Democrat’s “Three Amigos”. It is the realization that the mural Mark Eves, Jeff McCabe and Seth Berry were posing before is a great drab verification that the Governor had kept his word. When the one sided representation of Maine’s workforce was removed from the Department of Labor, the Governor promised the prejudicial painting would be rehung in a suitable place. This was delayed when the party of those three grinning models of union loyalty attempted to tie up the LePage administration in court over this canvas of contrived controversy. (Ahh, alliteration.)
The suits against the Governor were thrown out of court. So while the Governor and the Republicans were working to balance the budget, make Maine a more suitable place for business and raising a family, Democrats were spending taxpayer money to pout over the placement of a persnickety Picasso, of sorts. Amazingly, despite all the bad behavior from Democrats, the Governor was still determined to keep his word, once all the tantrums had been thrown out of court.
His pattern of behavior, this dogged determination like a bloodhound on the trail has continually endeared Governor LePage to the people of Maine, who still call him “their Governor”. Despite his gruff, crusty and, at times, poorly thought out presentation, he continues to focus on the promises he made to the people. The majority of Maine people are a salty, weathered, hardworking lot, who are willing to forgive a wealth of fashion faux pas if they can see the man is working hard. And that he is.
When the Governor took office, one of his first priorities was to pay back the hospitals. There was a strong first attempt at doing that very thing, but it soon became evident that more would need to be done. The mistakes of forty years of spend thrifty Democrat mismanagement had taken its toll. The hospitals need more money and the Governor gave his word.
Much like his steadfastness on the mural, LePage has remained focus on his promise to the hospitals of Maine. He has proposed a plan that would pay back the hospitals. By using the liqueur revenue available, the Governor would pay back the hospitals.
But Justin Alfond and the Democrats are angry about this plan. Why? Greed, that’s why. Democrats want to continue the former forty-year cycle of taking any surplus found and using it to grow more government and government bureaucracies rather than fixing the present balance sheet. They want to funnel the money to themselves and grow their political machine. Instead of giving Maine a hope of financial freedom, Alfond prefers to repeatedly mock and attack the Governor in hopes of keeping Maine locked in the grays and browns of debt and greed, another mural of despair painted by the Democrat policies of self-preservation.
Those revenues belong to the people of Maine and to the hospitals, which were promised payment on services rendered. The Governor intends to keep those promises. Mr. Alfond seems intent on stopping him. For the Governor, promises are a means to be kept and honored. For Justin Alfond, promises are a means to an election and nothing more.