Cross posted at Dirigo Blue
On his whistle stop tour this past Saturday, Maine Republican candidate for governor Paul LePage accused Arden Manning, Coordinated Campaign Director, of makng anti-Franco-American and anti-Catholic attacks.
Susan Sharon of MPBN did an excellent job of pressing LePage to support his claim:
Paul LePage says: "My opponents are saying I"m not fit to be a governor because I am French Catholic."
Reporter: Which opponents have said this?
Paul LePage: "The blogs. If you read the blogs...I think they have D in their name."
Reporter: Any particular blog?
Paul LePage: "The guy's name is Arden Manning. He's the guy that's spilling this garbage."
Reporter: He's saying that because of your French Catholicism you're not fit?
Paul LePage: "Yeah."
I spoke with Manning and asked him about the claim. He told me that he turned over all of the press releases generated by the Maine Democratic Party as well as his personal facebook page to WGME-TV Channel 13 in Portland, which ran this story on its 5:00 news:
News 13 contacted the LePage campaign and Chief of Staff John Morse said he had not seen the news releases from Manning or the Maine Democratic Party. When we offered to send him the news releases, he refused them and said the campaign has no comment at this time.
I also asked Manning if he has a blog, and he told me that he does not, and that he had no idea on what LePage is basing his claim. (I cannot remember reading any such attacks on LePage's ethnic roots or his religous beliefs.)
Amy Fried (Associate Dean for Research Associate Professor of Political Science at UMO) had this interesting tweet, linking to the Canuck letter that killed Ed Muskie's presidential bid in 1972:
Accusing a ME campaign of anti-Franco bias w/no proof. Deja vu all over again.
This claim by LePage comes after his accusation that the campaign of independent Eliot Cutler stole his garbage and this threatening phone call to a supporter of a primary rival.