More and more, Gov. LePage’s behavior reminds us of President Nixon’s “enemies list” and his use of official powers against perceived opponents. The White House in August of 1971 generated the following:

“This memorandum addresses the matter of how we can maximize the fact of our incumbency in dealing with persons known to be active in their opposition to our Administration; stated a bit more bluntly – how we can use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies” in matters such as grant availability, federal contracts, litigation and prosecution.

In making budget threats that cost the jobs of John Fitzsimmons earlier this year and Mark Eves recently, Gov. LePage has acted far more effectively against “enemies” than Nixon ever did.

He has repeatedly flouted the will of the voters (not acting on bonds), and the intent of legislation (holding up funding for Efficiency Maine).

He has called some state workers “corrupt” and strong-armed others whose work didn’t please him (and was cited by federal authorities for “endangering” fair unemployment hearings). We have a clear problem.

Maine has no provision for recall of a governor, but the state constitution (Article IX, Section 5) allows for “removal by impeachment” for “misdemeanor” in office.

Impeachment is typically reserved for willful failure to execute the duties of office, or for misuse of the powers of office for personal or political gain. The actions of Gov. LePage fit these clearly. The Legislature should act.

Joseph O’Donnell

Portland

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