Portland Press Herald Editorial Page Editor Greg Kesich, and columnists Bill Nemitz, Alan Caron and Cynthia Dill start by talking about Paul LePage's apparently fluid views on healthcare as expressed in recent radio interviews. They wonder if America can get a real independent investigation into Trump's Russia connections and from whom, How Post-Fact politics will change the country and re-shape the political center, and finish by previewing upcoming columns about tipping, casinos and reasons for optimism.
Portland Press Herald Editorial Page Editor Greg Kesich, and columnists Alan Caron and Cynthia Dill talk offer some free advice to Republican politicians. They also ponder some questions. Can Paul LePage still run as an outsider? Will Angus King talk to constituents in Maine Second Congressional District about Judge Gorsuch? Will Bruce Poliquin make a firm commitment? Can Obama sue Trump over wire tap tweets?
Portland Press Herald Editorial Page Editor Greg Kesich, and columnists Bill Nemitz, Alan Caron and Cynthia Dill talk about: What the Pope had to say about giving to panhandlers, and what Paul LePage is up to in Washington; Angus King's central role in the Russia scandal, late-night TV in the Trump era, and what they're reading.
Today on the podcast we introduce Jim Fossel, the newest addition to the Sunday editorial page crew, whose column debuts this weekend. Jim comes in with a more conservative viewpoint, and in this episode he talks with Editorial page editor Gerg Kesich about the different groups that make up the Republican Party.
After a week off due to poor weather, Editorial Page Editor Greg Kesich, and columnists Bill Nemitz, Alan Caron and Cynthia Dill return to the podcast to talk about the challenges and opportunities facing our elected representatives in Washington.
Will Bruce Poliquin ever take a stand?
Are liberals too critical of Susan Collins?
Will Angus King be on TV a lot?
and what's up with Paul Lepage?
It's a full house this week on the Portland Press Herald Podcast. Editorial Page Editor Greg Kesich, and columnists Bill Nemitz, Alan Caron and Cynthia Dill chat about what Governor Paul LePage is doing to the State and what Democrats in the state legislature can and can't do about it. They also talk about Senator Susan Collins' skillful handling of her pivotal role in a Donald Trump - led government.
Editors Greg Kesich and Sarah Collins react to online reader comments from commenters Brian Peterson, midcoastg8tor, Gadfly371, and JJFW
Columns:
Our View: Real ID law shouldn’t fly in Maine Legislature
Another View: Editorial mischaracterizes critics of eliminating tip credit
Our View: Don’t put off deadline on implementing retail sales of marijuana
Maine's Senator Susan Collins talks about how the Senate treated Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, what to do about Russian hacking, how she'll be evaluating President Trump's cabinet nominees and how healthcare might be improved. She also takes the opportunity to talk about some of her own accomplishments.
Article: Collins draws contrast with Trump on Russia, Affordable Care Act
Portland Press Herald columnists Cynthia Dill and Alan Caron join Editorial Page Editor Greg Kesich for a discussion of how the Trump transition is shaping up, and how the moves already taking shape will affect the presidential term.
Proponents and opponents of Question 1, an act to legalize marijuana, faced off before the Press Herald editorial board, highlighting their points of disagreement on the upcoming referendum.
Bobby Reynolds, deputy campaign manager for Mainers for Responsible Gun Ownership and David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsmans Alliance of Maine visited the Press Herald editorial board to explain their views on Question 3, a measure to require background checks for private gun sales.
Question 3: "Do you want to require background checks prior to the sale or transfer of firearms between individuals not licensed as firearms dealers, with failure to do so punishable by law, and with some exceptions for family members, hunting, self-defense, lawful competitions, and shooting range activity?"
A remarkable outpouring of letters to the editor have appeared across the state recently, from Mainers and outsiders alike. They’ve been part of a outcry of disgust, frustration and anger at Gov. Paul LePage’s latest offensive behavior.
In a sense, those letters – and the chatter you hear about the governor almost everywhere you go – signal a turning point for LePage. He still has the support of a core of conservative activists. But he’s lost the public as a whole.
From Pressherald.com: Gov. Paul LePage took a step Tuesday toward atoning for his recent actions, but he also sent sharply conflicting signals about how he plans to respond to mounting pressure from Democrats and members of his own party.
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The next time someone says we need to start pounding on the doors of our immigrant communities to “find out what the hell is going on,” remind them of Adnan Fazeli.
Fazeli, 38, died on a battlefield in Lebanon last year after leaving his home and family in Freeport to become a fighter for the Islamic State in Syria.
As reported in Tuesday’s Portland Press Herald, he came to the United States in 2008, became radicalized after moving to Portland from Philadelphia in 2009 and, as time passed, became increasingly isolated from his family and the local immigrant community before suddenly hopping on a plane for the Middle East in August of 2013.
And how do we know all of this now?
Because those closest to him called the FBI, that’s how.
Portland Press Herald Editorial Page Editor Greg Kesich and Sarah Collins, Assistant Editorial Page Editor, review some of the comments our pages have generated.
Our View: Poor, not rich, need help with child care expenses
Maine Voices: Give local businesses a little boost by remembering to pay with cash
Letter to the editor: Help economy by paying a living wage
Porcupong - Cool - used by permissi
The big unanswered question at the Democratic National Convention is not whether Russian hackers will sneak embarrassing text into the president’s teleprompter, or if the Bernie Sanders backers will have any voices left when it’s time to boo on Thursday night.
The real question is about Hillary Clinton: Does she know what time it is?
Music: Porcupong - Cool - used by permission
You’re more likely to be crushed to death by your wobbly bureau overstuffed with cheap clothes from China or that giant television set, where you’re glued to watching the gory details of the Nice attack, than you are to be killed by a radical Islamic terrorist from Syria.
Music: Porcupong - Cool - used by permission
As people gathered on a hot night to mourn two African American men who had been shot to death by police and five police officers in Dallas who had been gunned down by a sniper, the speaker who seemed to best capture the spirit of the moment was a cop, Portland Police Chief Mike Sauschuck.
Music: Porcupong - Cool - used by permission
Remember back in 2014, when the LePage administration had its hopes for major Medicaid reform pinned squarely on a contract, valued at just under $1 million, with The Alexander Group?
Greg Kesich, Portland Press Herald Editorial Page Editor, and Sarah Collins, Assistant editorial page editor talk about feedback the newspaper has received this week, including comments about:
Our View: Subsidies for unhealthy foods are killing us
Our View: Zipper merging by highway drivers is right even if it feels wrong
Greg Kesich: Many voters who say they value honesty are lying to themselves
Maine Voices: To fathom tourists’ impact on Peaks Island, imagine so many on Munjoy Hill
Music: Porcupong - Cool - used by permission
We say we value honesty and we can’t trust people who don’t tell us the truth. But researchers tell us that we all lie, and most people lie every day. That includes all the people that we trust. Your priest. Your mother. Liars.
Music: Porcupong - Cool - used by permission
Editorial Page Editor Greg Kesich reads the Portland Press Herald's July 4 Editorial.
Hard times have come a knockin’ at the Blaine House door.
Mainers far and wide did a double take last week when WGME-TV reported that first lady Ann LePage has taken a summer job as a waitress at McSeagulls Restaurant in Boothbay Harbor because, as she unabashedly told reporter Jon Chrisos, she could use the extra dough.
If you want to know why Hillary Clinton should pick Elizabeth Warren to be her running mate, don’t listen to either of them.
Listen to the people who think it’s a bad idea. Just about every reason they come up with makes the case for a Clinton- Warren ticket in 2016.
Read this column at the Portland Press Herald