Drew Gattine a profanity-filled voicemail and later threatened to shoot Gattine in the head; LePage was irate Gattine had apparently suggested he was “racist” for characterizing Maine’s drug dealers as “90-plus percent … black and Hispanic”.
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LePage apologized to the people of ME and said he and his family will be seeking spiritual guidance.
The political controversy of LePage’s statements have dominated the local news cycle for one week and once again drawn national media attention to ME in a way that Thibodeau and other leaders have said is embarrassing.
Republicans in the state’s Democratic-led House of Representatives said they accepted LePage’s apology and were ready to move on. Drew Gattine (gah-TEEN’). Gattine had described these remarks as racially charged and unhelpful. The governor generated a firestorm after stating that more than 90 percent of drug traffickers arrested for bringing drugs into ME were black or Hispanic and then left a vulgar and verbally abusive voice mail for a Democratic lawmaker who he said had called him racist. I want you to record this and make it public because I’m after you. “My family (is) behind me”, he said. Convincing voters to be afraid of people who are different has always been a staple of American politics, and politicians such as LePage and Donald Trump have taken Republican politics of the last five decades to their logical, uncoded extreme. The Q&A portion of the town hall is run by LePage’s press secretary, Adrienne Bennett, who choses among questions submitted before the start of the event. “And he quashed an impeachment effort this earlier year”.
LePage also apologised to the people of Maine, NPR reported.
“If you left a message like that at your place at work, you’d be unemployed”, Thibodeau said. “The enemy right now, the overwhelming majority of people coming in, are people of color or people of Hispanic origin”. “It’s not something that I’ve ever called anybody”, he said.
“I would like to talk to you about your comments about my being a racist, you c–sucker”.
On Wednesday morning, LePage said he spoke to Gattine and apologized, and that the legislator never called the governor a racist. I understand how hurtful statements affect a family and regret that my words have upset your lives. “What about the people in ME?”
Vehicle mechanic Al Scott, 48, said, “Absolutely not!” on whether he should resign.
Gattine said after their meeting he believes the governor should resign even though he apologized for the voicemail.
Fredette and Republican Senate President Mike Thibodeau met with LePage on Monday. “I’m comfortable fighting for the underdog”, LePage said. “I’m not going to say that I’m not going to finish [my term]”. To ask a critical question, I would have to write down a softball and go off script once I was presented with the microphone.
When asked how he plans to move forward, the governor said “I will be seeking spiritual guidance with my wife and my children”. Jamie suggested attacking LePage on his inability to grow the economy or stop a brain drain of educated ME residents leaving the state.
But Democrats say they need more than just an apology. “What I have is a backbone”.
LePage, who already had a tempestuous relationship with lawmakers, has been criticized in recent days for an obscene voicemail he left for a Democratic legislator and for blaming minorities for the state’s heroin crisis.
“That was a cheap shot and [the reporter] got my goat – and I don’t know if he researched and knows that I am very sensitive to helping black people in some of the Carribbean islands but it’s very sensitive, and he hit a wrong button”.
LePage, a second-term governor, said he doesn’t intend to talk to the media anymore, a claim he has made before.
He swore off conversations with the media.
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“And I’m serious”, he continued, according to Politico. “I’m exhausted of talking about defending those who are killing Mainers”, he said.
