Paul LePage: Maine Gov. Compares IRS to Nazis, Blasts ObamaCare
Paul LePage is clearly not happy with the Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act.
The Maine governor used his weekly radio address to blast the ruling, which he said “made America less free,” the Portland Press Herald reported. LePage also said the requirement that Americans purchase health insurance or risk paying a penalty (known to Republicans as a tax) turned the IRS into the “new Gestapo.”
Maine Democrats noted that comparing legislation extending health insurance coverage to all Americans to one of the most ruthless forces behind the Holocaust was just a little extreme. The Gestapo were Nazi Germany’s secret police force, which operated under Adolph Hitler with authority to imprison and murder thousands of people without cause.
“We’ve come to expect a bunch of nonsense from Gov. LePage, but this is a step too far,” said Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant. “There appears now to be no limit to the extreme language he will use to misinform, degrade and insult people. Somebody needs to explain to him that he’s the governor of a state, and not a talk radio host. I demand a full apology on behalf of all those who suffered at the hands of the real Gestapo.”
LePage also became the latest in a string of Republican governors who refused to implement all or part of ObamaCare. He said Maine won’t take any action on insurance exchanges, which are marketplaces where individuals can shop for health insurance from private companies, until the $800 million needed to pay for them passes Congress, the Portland Press Herald reported.
“With these looming uncertainties circling around this issue, Maine cannot move forward right now with Obamacare,” LePage said.
The Tea Party-backed governor is not a stranger to controversial remarks, The Huffington Post noted. During his 2010 run for governor, he vowed to tell Pres. Obama to “go to hell,” and in 2011 he skipped an NAACP event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day, saying that the organization could “kiss his butt.”
Do you think Paul LePage went too far with his “Gestapo” comment?
