 Did you know that Janet Mills once sponsored a bill to give $800,000 in taxpayer cash to her friends who said they wanted to make a film in Maine? Well she did!
As we know, one of the most important things a Governor does is balance the state budget and save money for a rainy day. In 2008, however, as a rainy day was approaching, Janet Mills was trying to “make it rain cash” on her filmmaker friends instead of saving state tax dollars for the most important needs of the state. Incidentally, despite Janet Mills' attempt to fork over $800k of your money in four $200k yearly installments to her filmmaker friends, they went and made the movie somewhere else. And the movie ended up only making $135k in the domestic box office. Janet Mills sure knows how to pick 'em. BACKGROUND: KENNEBEC JOURNAL April 15, 2008 Byline: Susan Cover "Rep. Janet Mills, D-Farmington, sponsored legislation that would reimburse up to $800,000 in expenses for the movie production. The payments would begin in July 2010, and continue for four years up to $200,000 a year.: - Legislation: LD 2319, 123rd Maine Legislature
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 It may feel like it's been forever, but not too long ago Mainers had to go to classes, fill out paperwork, and jump through other hoops to get permission to exercise their constitutional right to carry a firearm. Effort after effort failed to pass Constitutional Carry, and even when it recently passed, Jared Golden voted against it three times! Add to that Jared Golden's "D" rating from the NRA, and the picture becomes very clear. We don't need someone like Jared who will oppose our Second Amendment rights and the Maine Constitution. GOLDEN'S COMMS OFFICE TOLD MEDIA 'ABSOLUTELY NO TRUTH' TO INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST DILLON BATES
GOLDEN HAS YET TO COMMENT, PROMPTING QUESTIONS AUGUSTA - A WMTW report on the Dillon Bates story accusing him of inappropriate conduct and relationships with teenage high school girls shows that Democrat leadership was flatly denying there was any truth to the story this spring. The story quotes a Democrat communications staffer, who no longer lives in Maine, saying this spring there was “absolutely no truth” at all to the story. Speaker Sara Gideon, however, is now claiming that she had heard the rumors months ago and told Rep. Bates he would be asked to resign if any more information came to light . Only now, after an article was published on Rep. Bates’ alleged behavior, is Speaker Gideon calling for his resignation. House Democrats have only two communications staff positions. A simple deduction shows the staffer quoted was Lindsay Crete, the communications director for Jared Golden's office, as can be seen on this page, last archived from December, 2017. http://web.archive.org/web/20171221125907/https://legislature.maine.gov/housedems/Welcome.htm Crete is the only communications staffer who no longer works in the office and no longer works in Maine. So while Speaker Gideon is now speaking to the matter, it was Jared Golden's communications director who told WMTW there was “absolutely no truth” to the story. While Speaker Gideon has called on Rep. Dillon Bates to resign, Jared Golden appears to be avoiding comment. Jared Golden is seeking a seat in Congress, where an epidemic of misconduct and worse has been exposed and laws have been passed to try to crack down on the epidemic. Who instructed Golden's communications director to tell reporters there was “absolutely no truth” to this story if Speaker Gideon had warned Bates he would be asked to resign if any more came to light? Please note: the only real difference between the story published at the Bollard and the allegations that circulated through the state house earlier this year is that the accusations are now in the media spotlight. Only when it became a political risk for Jared Golden, Sara Gideon and Democrats, did Speaker Gideon say Dillon Bates had to go. We still don't know what Jared Golden thinks, except his communications director said there was "absolutely no truth" to the accusations. There is no way around it, something stinks. We are reiterating our call for someone to get to the bottom of this. We call on Jared Golden to step forward and explain how his communications office's story is so different than the story told Friday by Speaker Sara Gideon and her staff. Did Jared Golden instruct his communications staffer to say there was absolutely no proof to the allegations? What did Jared Golden know, and when did he know it? - Inaccuracies from Mills camp were reported without verification,leading to coverage that largely and inaccurately favored Mills
- This must serve as a cautionary lesson to reporters to independently verify information, not just parrot Mills campaign talking points AUGUSTA – The Maine Republican Party is setting the record straight on recent reporting that provided a much more favorable narrative for the Mills for Governor campaign. Misleading statements from the Mills campaign were repeated with no verification by the media. The following are three glaring examples of a job not well done: TOTAL RAISED On total dollars raised, Janet Mills' campaign for Governor released a statement to the media that portrayed far more favorable results than were true: Mills' campaign claimed the candidate had raised $1,052,584.67 to-date in the race for Governor. TRUTH: Mills' campaign raised $1,032, 605.76 and had counted in a campaign loan as funds raised, although they are listed separately on the report. The media reported the larger number, which allowed them to claim the Mills campaign had raised about $14,000 MORE than the Moody campaign, when the reports themselves show the Mills campaign had raised about $6,000 LESS than Moody. Had reporters worked to verify the statement from the Mills campaign, instead of just taking their word for it, reports such as these would have been very different: “Mills, the attorney general, raised just over $1.05 million through July 17, according to her latest filings with the Maine Ethics Commission. That was just ahead of Moody, a businessman whoraised just under $1.04 million in both the primary and general election campaigns combined.” - Bangor Daily News “Campaign finance figures released Tuesday night show Democratic Attorney General Janet Mills edging out her Republican opponent, businessman Shawn Moody, by less than $20,000.” - Portland Press Herald CASH ON HAND The Mills campaign originally reported they had $212,596 “cash on hand” when they actually had only $206,546 cash on hand. However, the original amount was reported, and even as of the writing of this statement, the original “cash on hand” amount reported by Mills remains in at least one news article: https://www.pressherald.com/2018/07/24/independents-report-more-than-1-5-million-in-contributions-in-bids-for-blaine-house/ “While the Mills campaign said a “software issue” prevented it from posting the full reports on the Maine ethics commission website Tuesday night, the campaign reported raising $1,052,585 as of July 17 and ending the most recent reporting period with $212,596 in available cash.” - Portland Press Herald IN-STATE VS OUT-OF-STATE The Mills campaign also got away with a pretty big spin line about Mills support from in-state vs out-of-state donors, saying in both the original and updated statements from the Mills campaign: “Additionally, nearly 80 percent of the total money raised has been from Maine...” along with a lengthy quote from the campaign about support from “thousands of Mainers.” The Bangor Daily News accurately provided context that the Moody campaign reported more than 97% of donors were from Maine. A dramatically higher number than Mills, but fair in providing the complete picture of the race. The Portland Press Herald, however, did not cover the actual numbers and instead provided the full quote the Mills camp provided and followed it up by saying that the Moody campaign “did not immediately comment on the finance reports,” even though the online PPH article shows it was updated Thursday and the Moody campaign statement was issued early Wednesday morning. Maine Republican Party Communications Director, Nina McLaughlin, weighed in,“We need to caution the press to verify the statements from the Mills campaign before publishing them. "Janet Mills was allowed to claim she raised more money than Shawn Moody when she did not. She was allowed to present herself as having very strong in-state support from donors when she actually has raised a lower percentage of her money from Maine donors than any of the four well-funded candidates for Governor, and she was allowed to overstate her cash on hand amount significantly. “All this was supposedly because her campaign reported having a software issue. What a shame.” JANET MILLS HAS TRACK RECORD OF MISLEADING THE PRESS Mills was caught lying in television ads in the primary, claiming Governor LePage had tried to take healthcare away from children, using a photo of a young child in television ads, when the issue she was discussing was actually about able-bodied adults. Mills was also caught lying to the press by saying she had never raised money with disgraced New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman shortly before a flyer of a Mills fundraiser with Schneiderman was discovered and released by the Howie Carr Show. This afternoon, the Governor of Washington State, Jay Inslee, is joining Janet Mills to talk about Medicaid expansion.
Janet Mills has been a vocal supporter of expanding Medicaid, despite the challenges it presents to our state, including the complete absence of sustainable funding. While Janet Mills is already a familiar name here in Maine, Jay Inslee is not. Let us do you the favor of introducing Governor Inslee and some of the ways he will advise funding Medicaid: "The governor’s supplemental budget also includes nearly $162 million to cover anticipated shortfalls in the state’s Medicaid program" https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/inslee-releases-supplemental-budget-proposal-including-full-funding-basic-education-2018 "Many Democrats said the plan puts too heavy a burden on Seattle-area homeowners who could see their tax bills rise by hundreds of dollars a year." https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-and-king-county-end-up-paying-a-significantly-larger-bill-here/ "To backfill the withdrawal, Inslee, a Democrat, said he’ll once again propose a tax on carbon pollution" https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/inslee-proposes-tapping-reserves-carbon-tax-in-new-plan-to-fully-fund-education/ For any Mainers and Maine press attending the event today, we have a few questions that may be helpful to ask Governor Inslee and Activist AG Janet Mills: IS IT ADVISABLE TO MAKE LONG TERM SPENDING COMMITMENTS USING ONE TIME FUNDING? WHAT HAPPENS IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REDUCES MATCHING FUNDS? IS IT ADVISABLE TO PROVIDE MEDICAID TO ABLE BODIED ADULTS WHILE THERE IS STILL A WAIT LIST FOR OUR ELDERLY TO RECEIVE MEDICAL SERVICES? HOW WILL THE STATE OF MAINE SUSTAINABLY FUND MEDICAID EXPANSION? HOW MUCH MORE CAN THE AVERAGE MAINE FAMILY EXPECT TO PAY IN TAXES? HOW MUCH MONEY WILL THIS TAKE OUT OF EDUCATION FUNDING? WASHINGTON STATE INCREASED ITS BUDGET 13.5% FROM THE LAST BIENNIAL BUDGET, COULD WE AFFORD THIS IN MAINE? HOW HAS THIS ALL BEEN WORKING OUT FOR SEATTLE? (https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/after-14-years-ive-had-it-im-leaving-seattle/) We look forward to some answers... PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: July 10, 2018 Contact: Nina McLaughlin, nina@mainegop.com AUGUSTA - Maine Republican Party Chair Demi Kouzounas issued the following statement on President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh: “President Trump kept yet another campaign promise to the American people with the nomination of strong Constitutionalist Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court. Judge Kavanaugh has a distinguished career on the D.C. Circuit Court where he has a proven record of championing the rule of law and bringing common sense to the bench. Senator Angus King sadly made his decision to obstruct the President's nomination days before a nomination was made. Senator King must put aside Senator Chuck Schumer's political games and confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.” AUGUSTA – The Maine GOP issued the following statement in light of ranked-choice voting's continued mess:
“This is a farce,” said Maine GOP executive director Jason Savage. “First we were told Friday, then Monday, and then yesterday, that ranked-choice votes would be counted. Clearly RCV is not ready for prime time,” he said. “When out-of-state forces and Democrats combine to 'experiment' with our government, this is what we get. It should come as no surprise. This is just the most visible failure in a long line of failures of out-of-state money and Democrat politicians in Maine.” “What used to be simple is complicated. What used to be affordable is now expensive. What used to require few lawyers and bureaucrats now requires many. What used to be done in hours now takes days, maybe weeks. RCV has let the people of Maine down.” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2018 Contact: Garrett Murch garrett@mainegop.com AUGUSTA - Today, Maine Republican Party Chair Dr. Demi Kouzounas issued the following statement after Senator Angus King announced his plans to run for re-election as a so-called 'independent': "Angus King was a Democrat in the 1990's before running for Governor and destroying our state's finances. He is now trying to do the same as a Senator in Washington. On issue after issue, Angus King votes the way Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi want him to. The issue here is Angus King's destructive liberal tendencies and his authenticity. He has been pretending to be something he is not for so long that he has lost touch with the needs of Maine people. Angus King is no independent--not even close. He plays an independent in election year sound bites and tv ads, but still votes like an elite California liberal in the Senate. In contrast, Senator Eric Brakey is exactly who he says he is, and it shows. Defending freedom, reforming welfare and standing up for the working people of Maine is in Eric Brakey's DNA. We are eager to expose elite Angus King's fake independent act to Maine voters, and elect a person of real integrity, Eric Brakey, to replace him." FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2018 Contact: Garrett Murch garrett@mainegop.com AUGUSTA - Today, Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage issued the following statement on the radical candidates and policies the Maine Democratic Party is considering at their convention this weekend: "From their platform to their roster of candidates, today we will see Maine Democrats embrace socialism and extremism as they make a boat load of promises they can't afford and probably have no intention to keep. A party that lacked the courage even to put forward a workable plan to fund Medicaid expansion without raising taxes or depleting emergency budget funds clearly has no plan to pay for all the 'free stuff' they will promise today. It is just a show to win votes and gain power with empty promises. What are they considering? Among other extreme and unworkable policies, Maine Democrats today are prioritizing spending more taxpayer money on state politician salaries and loosening their term limits. That's right, the Democratic Party leaders want pay raises for politicians and to keep them in office longer. On top of that, their platform says they want to make sure previous arrest and conviction records can't be used to deny people jobs. This is not just out of touch, it is dangerous. Maine Republicans stand ready to defeat another round of Democrat candidates who would prefer Venezuelan socialism to the strong, healthy and historic economic growth Republicans have brought back to Maine. Maine is in a strong position. Today will show Democrats only want to take us backward. The choice is clear: Republican advancement of freedom and economic growth, services for our truly vulnerable, and responsible use of taxpayer dollars versus the Democratic Party's socialist agenda of debt, dysfunction and economic despair." FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2018 Contact: Garrett Murch garrettmurch@mainegop.com AUGUSTA - Today, Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage issued a statement regarding Senator Angus King's opposition to Gina Haspel to be the next director of the CIA, a nominee who has bipartisan support: "Gina Haspel should be confirmed by the United States Senate. Her track record is outstanding. It is hard to fathom that Senator King would oppose Gina Haspel after voting to confirm John Brennan for the same post. The same objections raised to Gina Haspel 's appointment - awareness of the detention and interrogation program - did not stop Senator King when he voted to confirm John Brennan. In fact, John Brennan was a senior official at the CIA when the program was put in place. Senator King is playing politics to oppose the first female director of the CIA and flip-flopping to curry favor with the powerful and extremist left. Shame on him. We don't play politics with national security. Mainers deserve better." |
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