The LePage Voicemail: Is There Finally Sufficient Grounds to Impeach Maine’s Governor?

Gov. Paul LePage of Maine has never exactly been a wallflower when it comes to courting controversy on the political stage, but has the LePage voicemail this week finally provided sufficient grounds for impeachment? As reported by CNN, in this voicemail Maine’s Republican governor left a profanity laced – and possibly threatening – message for State Rep. Drew Gattine (D). This message by LePage once again embroiled the contentious and intensely unpopular governor in yet another scandal of his own making.

Profane Phone Message Has Gov. Paul LePage of Maine in Hot Water Again https://t.co/S5KOqmixmK

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) August 27, 2016

The crux of the LePage voicemail was that the governor strongly took exception to Gattine accusing him of being a racist. Certainly, the content of the voicemail was hardly a prime example of civil political discourse.

“Mr. Gattine, this is Gov. Paul Richard LePage,” the voice message runs. “I would like to talk to you about your comments about my being a racist, you [obscenity]. I want to talk to you. I want you to prove that I’m a racist. I’ve spent my life helping black people and you little [obscenity], socialist [obscenity]. You – I need you to – just friggin’. I want you to record this and make it public because I am after you. Thank you.”

LePage made what could best be described as a halfhearted apology on Friday – perhaps he was once again surprised that people objected to governors threatening other public officials – but the controversy didn’t blow over. But will LePage weather this controversy as he has all the other accumulated missteps, scandals, and outright debacles of the last few years? Probably.

Accusations of racism, intolerance, or even threatening behavior are hardly anything new for Paul LePage. Over the years, LePage has offered comment after comment that by any objective measure could only be described as racist. When combined with his other highly controversial positions and decisions while in office, LePage has managed to make himself one of the least popular figures in the state of Maine.

Maine @Governor_LePage: People of color are "the enemy" and "you shoot at the enemy" https://t.co/e0gUIIKdY8 pic.twitter.com/cUApgBQQYt

— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) August 26, 2016

In fact, lawmakers had already considered impeaching the volatile governor long before the LePage voicemail message. As pointed out by the Christian Science Monitor, only this year in January, Democrats in Maine’s House of Representatives charged the governor with eight counts of misconduct and urged impeachment proceedings. However, the fact that the Republicans control the process meant that it didn’t move forward.

This followed an incident in which LePage suggested that black drug dealers were coming from out of state in order to impregnate young white girls. Such crude and racially insensitive comments seem to be the governor’s stock in trade. Moreover, the bellicose LePage rarely ever apologizes, regardless of how outrageous his statements might be.

For example, LePage’s response to criticism from the NAACP following his decision not to attend certain ceremonies honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. was, “Tell them to kiss my butt.” Such a comment wasn’t likely to endear him to the state’s minority groups.

In another incident in which LePage demonstrated not only his bias, but his tone deafness when it comes to social programs, the governor insisted on a program in which welfare recipients in Maine would be tested for drugs on a regular basis. He did this in spite of the fact similar programs carried out in Florida and other states proved that welfare recipients actually use drugs at a lower rate than the general population.

Will the LePage voicemail to Gattine finally be the straw that breaks the metaphorical camel’s back? With the iron grip that the Republican Party has on the impeachment process in Maine and their ability to overlook virtually anything LePage says or does, it seems highly unlikely. Just as Donald Trump was able to justifiably claim that he could shoot someone in the street and still not lose votes, Paul LePage seems to be in a similar position in Maine.

[Photo by Sarah Rice/Getty Images]