Jonathan Pelto wrote an astonishing piece about the re-election of Governor Paul LePage of Maine. He won last time in a three-way race and had the same good fortune this year. Maine has no run-off.
LePage has made a series of insulting remarks about others, but corporate America supported him.
A few examples:
“After taking office in 2010, LePage refused to attend Maine’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast. When the Maine NAACP complained, he told them, on camera, to “kiss my butt.”
“During his first term, LePage vetoed legislation raising Maine’s minimum wage to $9 per hour and pronounced that he wanted to lower the legal working age from 16 to 12.
“LePage also vetoed a bill that would have expanded access to health care for the people of Maine and another that would have expanded Medicaid coverage to 70,000 of the state’s low-income residents.
“As an outspoken supporter of the corporate education reform industry and the expansion of privately managed, but publicly funded charter schools, LePage told Maine students, “If you want a good education, go to private schools. If you can’t afford it, tough luck. You can go to the public school.”
“LePage publicly opined that President Obama “hates white people.”
“And LePage compared the Internal Revenue Service to the Nazi Gestapo.”
Why do people vote against their self-interest?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I think one of the things that could be done is reinstate the Fairness Doctrine to the FCC, which was eliminated in the Reagan Administration. That’s how trash radio flourished and why people are inundated with so many skewed media reports erroneously passed off as factual and “fair and balanced.”
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To answer your question at the end: Because the public school system in this country has failed to properly educate the citizenry.
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This is a broad, sweeping, and inaccurate generalization.
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Rick,
I could use a little help in removing my tongue from my cheek.
Although, I believe that there is more than a grain of truth in the statement, it’s hard to counteract the 24/7/365 ACAT propaganda machine (All the Crap All the Time is the motto) to which most citizens in this country subscribe.
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People vote emotionally against their self interest. Emotion is how the fascists won in Italy and the Nazis in Germany. Racism is a strong emotion even in Maine. I don’t know the details of Maine politics but why have a 3rd party candidate running when the worst can then win? The same is especially true at the national level.
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” People vote emotionally against their self interest”.
Profoundly reductionist; and in the case of Naziism and Facsiism , just plain old wrong. I understand you are coming from a ‘good’ place, and with all due respect, you know nothing about the rise of Fascism in Italy and Naziism in Germany. As for Maine, you’d best analyze the voting patterns. In addition, LePage’s election emerges from the worst side of American Populism.
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John, you need to be careful when you accuse someone of knowing nothing, with all due respect. Maybe you need to read some of the Fascist philosophers and their antecedents. Try Alfredo Rocco. I go to Maine to eat lobster, fish, sight see and relax. I have found the people I know in Maine to be quite open minded and have never witnessed any evidence of bigotry. But, that is simply a personal observation. Lyndon Johnson nailed it with “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him someone to look down on and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” Of course not only Fascists have used this kind of thinking as we see in the US now, perhaps in Maine.
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I understand your point re Main. I lived in Maine for a number of years.. I think what we see in Maine is the remnants of the Populist impulse (and I don’t include the progressive Populist moment) and an attraction to politicians that cater to that contrary individualism. When I visit Portland and friends ooh and ah over all the restaurant, etc, I tell them to just take a good look at the working class and poor people walking down Congress Street.
Those people are far more representative of Maine then the newcomers. At the same moment, this is a population (not the ‘hip’ newcomers) that struggled against a fair welfare system. So combine a contrary individualism with a lack of vision for the collective good and then throw in some “kicking ass down, rather than kicking as up”, if you attach for my drift.. and you begin to understand how this character can get elected.
For the moment,, let’s leave out the long embedded impulses that drove entire populations to acceptFascism
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People define ‘self-interest’ in non-economic, intangible ways. Or as a form of self-expression.
Making a more-or-less dispassionate choice between policy preferences is an uncommon way to cast a ballot.
The LePage vote is tribal.
And the Eliot Cutler vote — LePage won in a 3-way race — is also tribal, but from a very different tribe. People who are above politics. People who are better than that. People, in fact, who are just too good for this earth.
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Yes, voting in Maine has not been easy the past few years. The Democrats have run lousy candidates and races, largely relying on people voting against LePage and the GOP rather than actually offering any real policies themselves.
Sure, LePage has many qualities that few want to see in any governor. But Peltro’s article fails to bring out that the governor’s worst gaffes were early in his first term. Peltro also failed to mention which corporations supported the Democrats. Today, political donations play all sides.
And Peltro fails to mention that LePage and the Maine GOP are strongly agasint Common Core, with LePage being the only candidate to state during the gubernatorial debates that he wants to abandon Common Core, possibly in favor of the old MA standards. His independent opponent, Elliot Culter, strongly supported CC; and the Democrat Mike Michaud sat on the fence but would likely not repeal CC.
So, from the voter’s standpoint, there was no simple answer to the question of how to vote in your interest. Personally, LePage’s and the GOP’s stand on CC counted for a lot, especially when you consider that CC will destroy public education. Four years of CC will ruin the teaching profession. So, sometimes you have to agree just to have a chance to fight later.
We need better Democrats. Shenna Bellows ran the sort of New Deal camapaign that made me happy to vote for her despite the overwhelming odds in favor of incumbent Susan Collins. Bellows was clear that she too was against NCLB and CC. Collins clearly favored both.
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These politicians are all the rage now – Christie, Kasich, LePage, Walker. PBS yesterday used the word “quirky”. I prefer crazy, like a fox. They are the anti-Obama. Loud, obnoxious, deceptive, abrasive. They channel conservative fear and paranoia. Fear of a changing America. Paranoia over “others” who are different. The Republicans have masterfully created a brand that these voters buy without reading the ingredients. Everyone else is the enemy – immigrants, women, minorities, youth, disabled, progressives, gays, teachers, unions, poor, college students. If you think I am exaggerating, talk (really talk) with today’s conservatives as I do in my family when they open up. Or read blog posts on conservative web sites or newspapers like the Plain Dealer. It is a disturbing experience.
In Ohio, Kasich wants to be your president. We rank 45th in job creation and have 23 consecutive months of job growth below the national average. Median income is declining. The schools have been decimated by budget cuts forcing local levies. Teachers are hammered with simple minded, harsh mandates from the GOP legislature. The governor vowed to “break the backs” of educators and referred to police as “idiot”s. On and on. Happy voting.
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And yet, the Democrats can beat them. Why? If the voters are so stupid, then apparently the Democrats can’t even convince stupid people to vote Democrat.
The real answer is that they’re all sly. Politics has become corporatist kabuki, with the supposedly rabid Tea Party holding everyone hostage so that the “middle” moves constantly to the right. Just like our corporations want it to.
Do you really find people like Obama, Duncan, Emanuel, and the Clintons to be “real” Democrats? Do you really think that they support the sorts of publibc works and policies that gave us a strong middle class? Can you really square the back-room games that enabled Bill Gates to work personally with Arne Duncan and bypass the Constituion over Race to the Top? How many combat zones and “liberations” has Obama gotten us into? How many Democrats want a “Grand Bargain” to destroy Social Security? The list of questions just goes on.
No, there is no difference between the Democrats and Repblicans; each performs a different function in pursuit of the same objective—the capture of all public functions by corporations; the transformation of the U.S. into a corporatist government; the creation of what the political philosophyer Sheldon Wolin calls “Inverted Toltalitarianism”.
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I am tired of the Clintons, Obama, Duncan. But while the Republicans are far too beholden to corporate interests and the wealthy and are incapable of responding to the issues working Americans and the middle class/poor face, there is hope with the next generarion of Democrats. Democrats are far less likely to be primaried by the far wing of their party for moderate positions. At the grass roots level, no comparison between a rapid, anti-teacher tea partier and a pro-education populist.
In Ohio, Strickland (D) was the real deal. As a son of Appalachia, he understood and could relate to working and middle class/poor Ohioans. Half the new jobs in Ohio since the recession are attributed to his policies. Kasich, in contrast, hails from Pennsylvania and spent most of his time in DC, Lehman Bros, and Fox News. His children attend private school. Very different. Despite the branding of his handlers, he is very far right.
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I too have hopes for the next generation of Democrats. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I voted for first-time senatorial candidate Shenna Bellows on her New Deal stance and rejection of CC and NCLB.
But the only way to advance the new candidates is to get rid of the current power structure. The party is controlled by the corporatist, DLC-wing of the Democrat party—the Clintons, Obamas, Emanuels, et al., all of whom are in the Robert Rubin-Wall Street camp.
We can’t continue to vote Democrat on old memories and fears of about a “worse evil”. That’s the game the current powers in both parties want us to play. A growing number of Democrats are starting to catch on to the idea of not voting for party hacks who offer nothing more than “I’m not Republican”. If we can’t find a Green or better Democrat, then vote GOP. You’ll end up in Hell either way you vote now (R or D); so at least voting R creates a chance that the current power structure will collapse and allow better candidates to emerge.
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You want a social democracy? And a social democratic party?
Start by making more social democrats.
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I think many are out there. But we’re all suffocated by the charade of our political parties.
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Social Democracy means putting the collective good above the individual good (I am not implying loss of personal rights). I do imply government sponsorship (investment.and/or control over a broad social support net work as well a much higher degree of regulation and/or control over private industries that now run rampant and destroy the common good., If you want Social Democracy, you must pay for it and think of the welfare of the whole country, not just yourself and your investment. Given such an option I would jump on board tomorrow .Do you really believe that such a constituency now or will exist in this country?
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Exactly.
Bernie Sanders needs to make up his mind and run as a Democrat in 2016 so he can participate in the debates with Hillary, and then when the corporatists that run the party rally round Hillary, he should run as an independent. It’s the only way that Progressive change will ever come.
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Good point. I’m very interested is seeing how Sanders plays out.
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Our newly re-elected “democratic” governor in NY – Andrew Cuomo – also said he would “break the backs” of public education. Sounds like some new lexicon is being pushed to these puppets.
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As with puppets, wonder whose hand is up the @$$%=÷+!! controlling the mouth movements? Maybe ALEC?
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That’s a zillion dollar question. The influx of conflicting information in the media could lead to people deciding to vote for the familiar rather than sort through the media blitz!
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Not that simple. There were three people in the race. If one of the other two had dropped out or not run, LePage would most likely have lost. My question to the other two would be: What’s more important, your ego or getting rid of a nut-job? I guess we know the answer.
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“Kiss my butt”? The apt response – where should I begin?
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Gordon, More appropriate for Klein: “kush mir tuchas”
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Why do people vote against their self-interest?
Abraham Lincoln had the answer to that question. “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
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TO GST up there–I also think you make a good point about Sanders. Sadly, however, I’m afraid that 2016 is being looked at as was 2008–evryone was gobsmacked by Obama because, in part, he would be the “first African-American president.” Same kind of thing in 2016–because Hillary might be “the first woman president.” LOTS of people are fooled by this nonsense, but it’s there, nonetheless. I would LOVE to see Bernie run–& WIN! (esp. because I just heard a VERY conservative,REPUBLICAN-type male–I’m certain he voted Republican in the last 2 national elections, at least–& also in ILL-Annoy)–state that he likes Bernie–!?). If others of that ilk feel this way–fantastic! However, let’s get back to the “first woman president” issue (& so many women are into that–I’m a woman, BTW). W/O going into all of this for the umpteenth time (w/all due respect to Duane & his Wilson comments–which ALWAYS & forever bear repeating!)–simply read Carl Bernstein’s book about Hillary (& esp. the part about the Arkansas teachers–&, again, I ask for feedback, here, from–Arkansas teachers {i.e., kick me if I’m/Carl’s wrong!})
All that being the said, if there’s a bigger motive out there RE: electing a woman president, I say: PLEASE draft Elizabeth Warren. Really, now is the time to take action, raise money & do what needs to be done.
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And Elizabeth Warren does not want to run for President. That in itself probably makes her a good choice. She has a better chance of actually being a public servant since that is what she truly is right now.
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Maybe, like Mr. Gruber said, the American people are really stupid!
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Not all of them but too many. And ignorant and foolish might be fit better.
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Read ” The Trouble with Kansas” to understand that people do not always vote their economic interest. Look at the opposition to Obamacare from people who would clearly benefit.
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Sorry this is so late. You want to talk about crazy. Just head to DesMoines, Ia Sounds like the same theme I with our own local school board , all the way up the poitical pipeline in our local and State Govt. bodies. Check WwwRiceField@Weebly.com to start the journey. Over 8 Years of research and lawsuits have gone into our groupSavetheGreen/ForFieldFriendsofRiceField.
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