Maine Gov. Changes MLK Plans After Telling NAACP, 'Kiss My Butt'

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

Glenn Adams

WATERVILLE, Maine -- Gov. Paul LePage changed his Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend plans and showed up at a breakfast honoring the slain civil rights leader Monday, days after he said critics of his decision to skip other events could "kiss my butt." He even joined some of the participants in an African dance.

The Republican governor's appearance was organized in the days after he made the remark Friday, responding to a reporter's question about criticism he had received over his decision not to attend the state NAACP's annual King Day celebrations. He said at the time that he didn't attend events for special interests, and his spokesman cited scheduling conflicts.

"Tell them to kiss my butt," LePage said.

The comment drew harsh criticism from state and national leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Maine NAACP Director Rachel Talbot Ross said her organization is no special interest, and the group's national president and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said LePage's comments "inflame racial tension."


Read more: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/17/maine-gov-changes-mlk-plans-after-telling-naacp-kiss-my-butt/?icid=maing|aim|dl1|sec1_lnk3|36880

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FULL story and video at link.

[hobbit709]

1. What he needs is a butt KICKING, not a butt kissing

[CTyankee]

2. Sadly, there are too many people who would agree with him...

[RBInMaine]

7. Yeah, about 30% of STUPID Maine voters.

[davidthegnome]

3. He's a rude, foul mouthed jerk

As a resident of Maine, I'm deeply ashamed that this man is our Governor and that a majority (especially in rural areas, which I happen to live in) voted for him. I still have a hard time understanding how this jackass defeated two far superior candidates.

[RBInMaine]

8. He got 38% because Cutler and Mitchell split the intelligent vote. Cutler nearly beat him. Too bad.

[high density]

9. He had a plurality

The majority of people wisely voted for somebody else.

[Tx4obama]

4. n/t

[Tx4obama]

5. There much more to the story that most people are talking about - see below

Excerpt:

Paul LePage, Maine's new Tea Party-backed governor, will reportedly not attend an NAACP event to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and if the NAACP doesn't like it, LePage said, they can "kiss my butt."

"They are a special interest. End of story ... and I'm not going to be held hostage by special interests," LePage said, according to local station WCSH. "And if they want, they can look at my family picture. My son happens to be black, so they can do whatever they'd like about it."

LePage has an adopted son from Jamaica, WCSH reports.

The NAACP had invited the governor to visit black inmates at a Maine prison, according to CNN. LePage reportedly contends that the organization was upset he insisted on meeting with white prisoners as well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/14/paul-lepage-naacp-kiss-my-butt-video_n_809234.html

p.s. I think no one should be calling him a racist, because apparently he is not!

[RBInMaine]

6. However, he is a foul-mouthed knee-jerk asshat, and it is his JOB to talk to "special interests".

What is he going to do now? Not talk to the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, the Maine Chamber of Commerce, the Maine Municipal Association, the Maine Vets of Foreign Wars, various Maine environmental groups, etc. etc. etc. because they are "special interest" groups? This guy needs to get real ! If he starts talking to the right wing groups, he is now SCREWED because THEY TOO are "special interest" groups. And trust me, he WILL be called on it. He just screwed himself with his own big dumb mouth.

[duhneece]

10. Republican Gov failed to tell the truth

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/01/16/politics/lepage-willing-to-meet-with-maine-naacp/
"...But LePage insisted it had nothing to do with race, pointing out that his family took in a black, Jamaican-born teenager, Devon Raymond, who remains part of the family.

While LePage frequently refers to Raymond as his son, he was never legally adopted by the family, Demeritt said....“They invited me to go to the state prison to meet black prisoners,” LePage told reporters during the Friday interview. “I told them I would go, I’d be more than happy to go but I would meet all prisoners. And that wasn’t acceptable to them, so tough luck.”

But NAACP leaders pointed out that the event was a voter registration drive for all prisoners — not merely black inmates — and that half of the members of the NAACP chapter at Maine State Prison in Warren are white. Furthermore, prison policies would prohibit segregated events...."

Voter registration for ALL prisoners...Maine is one of the few states that allows voting from prison, even if convicted of a felony.

The Governor didn't adopt the young black man he and his wife took in, so he was not telling the truth then.
Then, he didn't tell the truth about the incident according to this story.

[jpak]

11. yup

n/t

[MaineDem]

15. No one called him a racist. He brought the racism up himself

And the young man from Jamaica was not adopted. He's not even a US citizen.

[wordpix]

12. apparently this pos didn't get the message: MLK Day is a national holiday & not an interest group's

holiday. Attending events put on by any respectable sponsor like NAACP should not be about "interest groups." geesh

[crim son]

14. He will do what's necessary to further his self interest, but he'll never

"get" anything because he's missing a few critical brain cells.

[crim son]

13. It was a pleasure to see this story on the front page of the

Bangor Daily News and to read the comments posted by readers. His supporters were at a loss to come up with an explanation as to why he "caved" and his detractors were vicious. Sweet!