Randy Billings’ excellent Sept. 18 Telegram story suggests what some of us have thought for some time: that Paul LePage tried to use Maine as a path to a national stage.
He asked then-President Donald Trump to name him “national point person for welfare reform,” citing his “significant record of achievement” in his two terms as governor. He asked Trump to name him CEO of a foreign aid organization, citing his business experience and his “lifelong passion for helping the poor.”
He didn’t mention that he sat on federal funds intended for poor families, sending more Maine children into deep poverty; that he shunned such frivolous ideas as free school lunches although Maine is consistently the most food-insecure state in New England; that his Department of Health and Human Services failed to answer hundreds of phone calls about abused children as reports of abuse soared; that he refused to provide health care to thousands by failing to implement voter-approved Medicaid expansion.
Now he’s seeking the national stage again. He is trying to be “a regular guy,” but there’s no new Paul LePage. He’s got his wrecking ball out, greased and ready, to once again try to destroy everything that’s good about Maine to get national attention.
Donna Halvorsen
South Portland
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