If there's anyone left in America that thinks Maine Governor Paul LePage is still fit to hold elected office, maintaining that position on a day-to-day basis must be quite the slog. Having won a special election on Tuesday, Susan Deschambault is the newest elected Democratic state senator in his state—or she would be, but Gov. Paul LePage has apparently locked himself in a closet and refuses to come out.
Deschambault was scheduled to be sworn in this morning before 9am, and has her family with her at the State House to witness the ceremony, but LePage’s spokesperson now says that won’t be happening because he’s mad about an unrelated vote in the Labor Committee against his nominee for labor representative to the Unemployment Insurance Commission.
It's not even related to Deschambault personally, it's just because LePage is mad at an unrelated committee for going against his will. So that's it, no more elected officials for you, state-I-govern.
While a large part of me says that it's fairly urgent that such a man so incapable of doing the basic duties of his office gets booted via impeachment so that someone more able to do the job can be brought in—for example, a well-trained service dog—this really isn't any different from the national Republican's vow that so long as Barack Obama remains president, he simply doesn't get a Supreme Court nomination and nobody can make them do it. It's the same thing, right? Oh, you other elected officials aren't doing what we want? Well no more judges for you, then. Or budget. Or paychecks for federal workers. Nope, we're going to just sit here in our pillow-fortified closet and eat chocolate until everyone agrees we're in charge of these things from now on.
Well, I'm sure Paul LePage will come out at some point. Is his mom still around? Maybe his mom can calm him down, I'm sure she's had to deal with this crap his whole tantrum-filled life.