Mural removed over weekend from Department of Labor offices

[Maine-ah]

Source: BDN

AUGUSTA, Maine — A labor-themed mural that has become a flashpoint between Gov. Paul LePage, unions and Maine artists was removed from its prominent location in a state building over the weekend, administration officials confirmed Monday.

Administration spokespersons Dan Demeritt and Adrienne Bennett would not say when, exactly, crews took down the 11-panel mural depicting the history Maine’s labor movement.

“It is safely in storage and we are anticipating its relocation to a more appropriate location,” Demeritt said Monday morning.

Friday, more than 200 protesters gathered at the Department of Labor building in Augusta to show their opposition to the removal of the 3-year-old mural. Some in the crowd said they would employ non-violent tactics of civil disobedience to block the mural’s removal. LePage responded, in an interview with WCSH6, by saying if protesters formed a human chain around the mural as they were planning, “I’d laugh at them, the idiots. That’s what I would do. Come on! Get over yourselves!”

Read more: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/03/28/politics/mural-removed-over-weekend-from-department-of-labor-offices/

[aquart]

1. Maine. A state Americans used to respect.

[Maine-ah]

.

[Maine-ah]

27. oops double post.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Symbols matter...and that mural was just that.

Shame on LePage.

This makes me sad...

[JitterbugPerfume]

3. Me too Peggy

it makes me so damn sad.

[Gormy Cuss]

7. The symbolic value of removing it was LePage's goal.

The governor's office may have received an "anonymous" letter complaining about the mural but I'd bet that the LePage camp knows exactly who authored it.

[Shallah Kali]

30. Dirigo Blue has a scan of it:

http://www.dirigoblue.com/diary/2818/the-anonymous-fax-that-led-to-the-order-to-remove-the-mural-from-the-dept-of-labor?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[Gormy Cuss]

42. Right, now it's not a fax because dirigoblue asked for the phone number

and I'll bet that the original letter is on a bond paper typically used in the governor's office.

[Maine-ah]

8. Peg, I think this comment of LePage's pisses me off even more...

LePage responded, in an interview with WCSH6, by saying if protesters formed a human chain around the mural as they were planning, “I’d laugh at them, the idiots. That’s what I would do. Come on! Get over yourselves!”

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Both Jesse Ventura and Schwarzenegger were lesser clowns than this fool.

Of course he'd laugh. He has nothing but contempt for all but the wealthy and corporations.

[xchrom]

4. Oy. Nt

[Kerrytravelers]

5. Yes, working people standing for a symbol of who they are and what they represent are idiots.

What a lovely governor Maine has. A true humanitarian.

[LisaM]

6. A more appropriate place than the department of labor?

And where might that be?

I thought, also, it had been shown that it was illegal to remove it?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Even if it were illegal...

When did that ever stop any Republican?

I swear, they look for things to do that are illegal, just so they can thumb their noses at us.

[Autumn]

9. Moving it to a more appropriate location,

and that would be? I know, the trash.

[sofa king]

35. A more appropriate location than the DEPARTMENT OF F#$%ING LABOR!

[FrenchieCat]

11. This is child's play in contrast to what the GOP really wants to do.

They are just beginning, and we ain't seen nothing yet....
But I say we just keep right on trashing Pres. Obama in unison,
24/7....right there next to our beloved media who are doing the same thing,
pointing out every single negative to be found with this admin,
and staying fixated on those till we find more,
and saying we won't work for this Prez or donate to this Prez,
etc, etc, etc....
and then for certain, what we'll be left with instead
of this President after Nov 2012....will blow minds; literally.

[Demit]

15. You're right. If we elect a Republican president in 2012, he or she would do something like

appoint GE boss Jeffrey Immelt to head a Presidential Jobs Creation Commission. Oh wait.

[displacedvermoter]

18. Or Alan SImpson to take a fair and balanced look at

Social Security and Medicare!!!

[FrenchieCat]

25. Who do you think decides who they hire?

The President? The Voters?
No.....Large Companies decide who they will hire.
Why would you even think that there's some lefty progressive job creator
out there in the wings who meets your purity standards and would get that job done?
Ain't no more government jobs to be had.....if you hadn't noticed.
Private jobs are gotten by corporations for the most part.
Pure Doh....that's what you've got.

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. Does Hallmark make a "Congrats for being an absolute idiot" card I could send LePage?

[Crusader Rabbit]

14. The Mural

Well maybe they'll replace it with a new mural the theme of which will be Hannity, Beck and Limbaugh kneeling at the Reagan alter muttering homilies.

[no_hypocrisy]

16. Working People in the Capitol to replace the murals.

We will not be moved

[bigworld]

17. That was fast -- guess this is the most pressing problem that Maine has ?

[LiberalFighter]

19. They need to change their election laws to prevent anyone from being elected with less than 45%.

[warrior1]

20. they'll

rue the day they did this

[FredStembottom]

21. That quote seems suspicious.

“I’d laugh at them, the idiots. That’s what I would do. Come on! Get over yourselves!”

I can't believe even the biggest political buffoon would say that to a reporter.

On a tapped phone-line, yes. But out-loud, no.

But... I'm not in Maine.
:shrug:

[JitterbugPerfume]

22. isn't he the same one who told the President to kiss his butt?

nothing is beneath him

[Maine-ah]

23. yes. he said it.

he has told the NAACP to kiss his butt, and said if he met Obama he'd tell him to "go to hell".

Folks, this is what 38% gets you.

[Shallah Kali]

29. watch him say it here on video. he really is that much of a jerk

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/153122/314/Governor-LePage-stands-by-his-mural-decision

[FredStembottom]

44. Wow. Thanks (?) for the vid.

This guy sets the bar lower than ever.

[gtar100]

46. Wow! That's who we elect into office? Excuse me while I go throw up.

:puke:

Well, that's what we get when working people don't vote.

Excuse me, I have to throw up again.

:puke:

[freshwest]

24. It would be over the weekend or the dead of night for this thug. Suitable storage area...

No doubt a landfill, out of sight and out of mind, somewhere.

Do any of those who 'voted Independent because of the weak Dem candidate' believe 'the weak Dem candidate' would attack labor?

[Maine-ah]

28. ok, I will have to admit, I did vote for the independent.

Cutler at one point was a member of the democratic party, and I agreed with him on more things than I did with the dem candidate. Maine has had inde's for governors before. Nothing new to us. He almost won too.

[freshwest]

33. Thanks. What did you NOT agree with the Dem candidate on? Were those social issues?

That's how a lot of Dems get defeated, because people feel that they're giving up their souls or something else based on their feeling about guns, religion, abortion, property tax levees, sales taxes, etc. and that's how the party gets split up.

But the Dems support labor, not that I'd say the DLC did in the big picture, but none of them would have done this to collective bargaining and the morale of workers in your state. Philosophically, the Democrats are just the GOP says they are:

The party of big government. Big enough to regulate, big enough to get things done with accountability with oh, no, taxes.

What the GOP doesn't say is:

They are the party of big business that intends to privatize all government functions like fascists always do. The tax liability won't go down in the micro or macro sense. The cost of things won't go down, and there is no promise the trains will run on time. It's all about keeping the bribe in effect for those who can get contracts.

And the public at large, which may not fit the social litmus test of the conservatives, or have economic power, can go to hell with their blessings if they aren't favored by conservatives or have money. This is the part I don't buy about buyer's remorse, but naturally I don't know how much people follow these candidates, their records and positions, just the ones I've argued with.

It's apparent you took an interest, and from your report, Maine has done well under Independent government before. But this movement to do what has been done in Maine is national and cares nothing about the states that they doing this in. It's a drive to lower standards nationally, and the GOP has the money from the Koch brothers and similar domestic oligarchs, as well as foreign money to force us to the point we'll accept anything.

I hope the people of Maine don't fall for the divisive social issues used to drive people away from the Democrats. The Democrats aren't trying to force people to live in a theocracy or a fascist economic system, but the GOP is. The Dems have relied on the laws created by democratic process that citizens took millions of hours working to have passed to protect them.

Good luck in Maine, looks like you guys are in for a bad time.

[sellitman]

26. This is what happens when Ed Schultz think alikes stay home and don't vote.

You get the Government you deserve.

[opihimoimoi]

31. Yup...it was bad strategy....

[Doctor_J]

37. You're blaming this on Schultz?

That's right, it's his fault and not the 1500 or so hate radio hosts who blanket the airwaves 24/7 coast-to-coast.

Jesus Aron Christ.

[Blue_Tires]

49. +1

it is NO coincidence that so many newly minted, high-profile batshit insane governors are trying to one-up each other in destroying their own states...

[Shallah Kali]

32. The Maine Department of Labor Mural Revised

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x567610

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFwhlG5eqgs

[NeoConsSuck]

34. Put those murals in a safe place

because when the next Demoocratic governor is sworn in, they're going right back up!

[Lorien]

47. Assuming it's not a DLC "Democrat".

And a "More appropriate place"? Where? The Agriculture department?

[Doctor_J]

36. Hopefully the Cock Bros won't order these governors to kill anyone

Since the govs do whatever they're asked, there will be a big pile of bodies as soon as they request one.

[fascisthunter]

38. And He Will Pay

[forty6]

39. Put this governor in jail for breaking the law...suggest GTMO

as the right place for him, for his henchmen, and any workers who were involved with this.....)workers can go for 30 days and just THINK about what they did!)

The governor, five years before a trial, held in GTMO, about right.

After conviction then he can spend the rest of his days in a US Prison.

[IcyPeas]

40. one more victory for the fascists

[high density]

41. How many years of this fucking nut do we have left?

What nonsense.

[midnight armadillo]

43. 3.75 years

He was inaugurated in Jan 2011.

[glinda]

45. Why wait? Am sure there is stuff on him out there. Each day that he is in office is bad.

[Uncle Joe]

48. What would be more appropriate than the Dept. of Labor?

To depict the history of the labor movement, doesn't Maine have a Dept. of Commerce to promote business interests?

"“It is safely in storage and we are anticipating its relocation to a more appropriate location,” Demeritt said Monday morning."

The amazing thing is that LePage apparently heeds the beck and call of a "handful of complaints" but would laugh at the wishes and concerns of more than 200 people.

The LePage administration decided to remove the mural after receiving a handful of complaints from citizens and business owners who viewed it as too pro-union and one-sided for a department responsible for working with both employers and employees. The unabashedly pro-business Republican administration released a copy of an anonymous letter — signed only by a “secret admirer” — that likened the artwork to propaganda in communist North Korea.

Thanks for the thread, Maine-ah

[Shallah Kali]

50. LePage: Freedom of Access Act used as form of 'internal terrorism'

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/lepage-freedom-of-access-act-used-as-form-of-internal-terrorism_2011-03-26.html


Rather than use this opportunity to invoke the importance of government transparency, a theme of his gubernatorial campaign and an appropriate subject for Sunshine Week, LePage blasted Maine's access law. He complained that his office has received too many requests, responding has become too time-consuming and that new limits on the public's right to know are needed.

Then, according to two people in attendance (one of whom took verbatim notes), LePage took things further, saying "FOAA is being used as a form of internal terrorism."

You read that correctly. He compared the pursuit of public documents to violent acts committed to inspire fear for ideological ends. Even for a governor known for off-color statements, that's beyond the pale.

The meeting, though open to the public, was not attended by the media. This could have been because notice about the meeting went out only hours before it was held..


March 9
Governor's advisory group
exempted from access law
The LePage administration says the council, which will advise the governor on business issues, needs to operate in private.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/advisory-group-exempted-from-access-law-_2011-03-09.html

Maine Voices: Governor's budget too kind to rich, too harsh on middle class and poor
There are other ways to bring the state's shortfall under control than these tax breaks and cutbacks.
http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/governors-budget-too-kind-to-rich-too-harsh-on-middle-class-and-poor_2011-03-11.html

The governor's budget cuts property tax relief for working families while providing Maine's wealthiest 1 percent of households, those earning more than $360,000, a $2,700 tax cut.

It freezes health care funding for thousands of working parents and prescription drug assistance for seniors to save approximately $30 million, while doubling the estate exemption to $2 million, giving away $30 million in tax breaks to about 550 large estates.

The proposed budget undermines retirement security for teachers and state employees to fund over $200 million in tax breaks, half of which would benefit households earning over $120,000.

It asks retired teachers and state workers who draw an average $18,500 pension to sacrifice cost of living increases in order to provide tax breaks for Maine's wealthiest residents.

[No Elephants]

51. How are the union or worker- led demonstrations going?