From the Great State of Maine and the ultra-conservative county of Knox (where the John Birchers roast their smores over burning effigies of Chellie Pingree) it's... Awards Edition Plus, your one-stop snark shop filling in for Cheers and Jeers Monday!
Lenin Cat has an editorial about Maine governor Paul LePage's Godwin moment and AEP brings you the News of Dubious Veracity Department, your Mark Twain Moment and the Golden Douchenozzle Award.
Follow me over the fold for a splash in the cesspool of snark...
Awards Edition Plus Editorial
by Lenin Cat
Everyone in Maine knows what a mean, offensive little toad Gov. LePage can be. Now, I know I shouldn't engage in name-calling. Just because the occupant of the Blaine House once told the NAACP to "kiss my butt", threatened to assault a public radio reporter and mocked women who were concerned about an additive in some plastics which can cause hormonal disturbances is no excuse to call him a toad. But yesterday, Gov. LePage crossed the line when he compared the IRS to the Gestapo.
Blasting the ACA and the insurance mandate in his weekly radio address on Saturday, His "Excellency" said:
"We the people have been told there is no choice...You must buy health insurance or pay the new Gestapo -- the I.R.S."
The Gestapo? Really, Governor? Let's see here. The IRS is charged with collecting taxes. The Gestapo was charged with crimes against humanity. I suppose if you're Paul LePage that's the same thing. Here's a man who's wife famously attempted to
avoid paying taxes in Maine and switched her residency to Florida to get in-state tuition for their daughter so I suppose LePage knows quite something about taxes--he doesn't like to pay his fair share and thinks it is perfectly OK to scam Florida for in-state tuition. That's the very definition of good character, right? However, no matter what you think about the IRS, it is no Gestapo. The comparison is not only false, it's offensive to the memory of millions of Jews, Socialists, dissidents, students and other ordinary Germans persecuted, tortured and assassinated at the hands of Nazi Germany's secret police. Here's what the Democratic leaders of the Maine House and Senate had to say about the Governor's remarks:
“The Governor’s language is intentionally offensive,” Rep. Emily Cain (D-Orono) said. "This goes beyond political rhetoric. The experience of the Holocaust survivors and the veterans of World War II who witnessed the true terror of the Gestapo should not be trivialized for political shock. The Governor must apologize. We urge our Republican colleagues to join us in condemning this language.”
“The Governor’s comparison of the IRS to the Gestapo is shameful and ignorant,” Sen. Justin Alfond (D-Portland) added. "His comment trivializes an historic atrocity and mischaracterizes Obamacare for the sake of political divisiveness. This is yet another instance of the Governor choosing hostile language over substance. He’s gone too far and owes not just the people of Maine an apology for his degrading language but to the families who were the victims of the real Gestapo.”
We agree. It couldn't have been said better.
Governor LePage, it's time to take some of that personal responsibility you love to talk about and apply it to your own filthy mouth. It's time to apologize to the citizens of Maine. In the meantime, congratulations, Governor. You've added insulting Holocaust survivors to your long list of shameful behaviors. I hope you are proud of yourself.
--Lenin Cat
and now a word from our sponsor...
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Your Mark Twain Moment
It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. --Mark Twain
News of Dubious Veracity Department
from the Boston Evening Standard:
Scott Brown Weighs In On ACA
Boston, MA. Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, speaking at a town hall in Brocton yesterday responded to a question about the recent Supreme Court decision on the tax penalty in the ACA with his usual bluntness, saying "I don't think it is a tax, because Mitt Romney doesnt say it is a tax, except for when he does say it is a tax, which is when I also think of it as a tax. I'm not really sure what it is, but I know I'm against it until the polling tells me otherwise..."
The Golden Douchenozzle Award
The GDN is awarded periodically to politicians and public figures for rank hypocrisy and general asshattery. Today's Golden Douchenozzle Award goes to:
Maine Governor Paul LePage for anti-semitism and clueless insensitivity to survivors of the Holocaust.
Thanks for reading. The kiddie pool is now open. I'm giving a great big Cheers to meetups. We had a great one on Saturday. Thanks, mayim, for hosting and preparing all the tasty food, to LoreleiHI for the home brew, Debbie in Maine for the blueberry pie (it's the best!) and to Molly for shinning me with a stick right on cue. Cheers also to my sweetie, GreenMountainBoy02 for just being here and being you and of course, to all splashing in the pool today. What are you cheering and jeering about today? Happy Monday!