Forbes may be a favorite magazine of America's 1%, but at least it adheres to standards of journalistic integrity. In the most recent issue, Forbes ranked the 50 states in terms of fostering business growth and career opportunity. Maine came in dead last - 50th out of 50. Governor Le Page immediately seized on the survey results as an excuse for pushing 65,000 Maine residents off of MaineCare (Maine's Medicaid Progrom). LePage told a town hall meeting that Forbes had cited Maine's "high welfare and energy costs" as the basis for the state's poor showing.
Governor LePage's exact words below the fold:
““[Forbes] said, ‘You made some efforts and you’ve done some good things in some areas, but you absolutely ignored the structural problems.’ Which are our welfare and our energy. We did nothing,” LePage told the crowd. “And they said, ‘Unless you get your fiscal house in order, and you address energy, you address work force development, and you get yourself (so) that you spend within your means, you’re in the cellar.’ This mission here this year, you’re going to hear an awful lot of education, energy and the economy. Unfortunately, we’re starting out with welfare, because we’re going broke.”
With those words, LePage presented Maine's 99% with a Tea Party Christmas present: he promised to end their health covereage under MaineCare.
Only problem is that the Forbes reporter - Kurt Badenhausen -told LePage's staff no such thing. Welfare and energy costs were not even considerations in ranking Maine or any other state:
Sorry Governor, but I didn’t say any of those things. Welfare? Not even a part of the rankings. Getting your “fiscal house in order” is sound government, but once again has nothing to do with our ranking of business climates. Energy costs are 31% above the national average in Maine, but they are high across the northeast and I never said that was how to improve Maine’s standing.
Badenhausen is somewhat naive in his surprise that LePage would lie about what he said:
The level of deception and confusion in politics has seemingly never been higher. Is it a function of politicians getting scrutinized more closely by an increasing number of outlets? Or maybe the partisanship that has seeped into every political debate?
No, Kurt, it's in the DNA of the Tea Party. It will do anything - including tell outrageous lies - to destroy what is left of the middle class and do the bidding of the 1%.