Paul LePage is seemingly leaving open the possibility of resigning after coming under fire last week for leaving a profanity-laced voicemail for a political rival.
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LePage, in the middle of his second term, appeared on a ME radio station Tuesday morning and said he “doesn’t know” if he will finish his term, which ends in January 2019.
“Look, a bad guy is a bad guy, I don’t care what color it is”, he said on August 26, during a press conference about suspected racial profiling by police. He followed up his comments by saying, “When you go to war, if you know the enemy, the enemy dresses in red and you dress in blue, you shoot at red, don’t you?” I said: “Your opponents are saying you’re emotionally unstable and you can’t govern”.
Last week, LePage, a Republican, said that in the past six months he’s been collecting photos of people arrested on drug charges in Maine.
He also apologized to that sate lawmaker, Rep.
LePage thought Gattine called him a racist, something the state representative denies. “You shoot at the enemy”, he said, according to the Portland Press-Herald.
LePage’s controversial comments and feuds have outraged his political opponents, and he is facing mounting pressure from within his own party to soften some of his positions.
At a town hall in North Berwick last Wednesday, LePage was asked about attracting minority-owned businesses to ME given “the toxic environment that you create”.
He thought Mr Gattine had called him a racist for his remarks linking ethnic minorities to the drugs trade. “And there’s no excuse, it’s unacceptable, it is totally my fault”.
Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond and Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Dawn Hill questioned LePages governing ability by pointing to the governors comment Tuesday that being called a racist made him so angry I literally couldnt breathe..
“I’m looking at all options”, LePage said in an interview broadcast by the station.
He said on a radio show Tuesday morning he is contemplating resigning and legislative Republicans are meeting Tuesday night to discuss the situation.
“A half-hearted, partial apology on a radio show does not get remotely close to addressing the core issue: ME faces serious issues and its government is not functioning”, the state’s Democratic House leadership said in a statement on Tuesday.
The governor said he plans to talk with his staff before making any decisions about his political career. He says he hopes ME residents will forgive him and say, “You clean up your act and let’s move forward'”. “It’s a fact. What, do you want me to lie?”
LePage contended most of the people bringing drugs to ME are black or Hispanic.
Maine, like other parts of New England, is in the midst of a heroin epidemic.
“I made the comment that black people are trafficking in our state”, he said. “I’ve spent my life helping black people and you little son of a b– socialist c–“. LePage later said he was joking. “People who are running for the state legislature have to be clear with their constituents whether they’re going to be a supporter of LePage or going to work with the group of Republicans who are trying to collaborate with Democrats to address some of our problems here”.
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Former council chairman and mayor Dana Sennett, a Democrat, says he thinks LePage is frustrated with the drug problem in ME and is speaking out of frustration for what he wants to accomplish when he speaks inappropriately.
