July 20, 2021
Did you know that your right to “freedom of speech” protects you from any negative consequences for what you say?
That’s right.
Even if you stand on your soapbox and say something willfully ignorant, or stupid, or vicious.
Until yesterday afternoon, I thought there were boundaries that you dare not cross if you want to keep your job. Whether you work in the private sector or the public sector, most of us have a pretty good idea of where those boundaries are.
What we learned yesterday is that those boundaries are non-existent in the Maine House of Representatives. At least for Democrats. They can sling racist, sexist, heterophobic barbs without fear of losing their jobs.
They can insult their employer — us — and smirk about it!
In fact, they don’t even have to worry about losing their committee chairmanships!
But it’s even worse than that.
Their bullet-proof job security has the blessing of the Republican minority leader, Rep. Kathleen Dillingham!
It wasn’t that long ago — 2015 to be exact — that the lunatic left-wing lynch mob demanded a Republican state Senator’s head on a platter for simply sharing (without comment) a cartoon that made fun of….are you ready?….Muslims!
As you may recall, GOP leaders bowed to the mob, and threw one of their own under the bus.
Bear in mind that nobody has proposed muzzling or jailing or fining Rep. Charlotte Warren, the author of a racist rant on Facebook nearly three weeks ago:
In fact, the House order that was debated and defeated yesterday would have simply stripped the bigot of her committee assignments, as well as her chairmanship of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety committee.
Believe it or not, GOP House leader Rep. Dillingham made a floor speech urging defeat of the proposed House order sponsored by assistant minority leader Rep. Joel Stetkis.
Dillingham argued that Warren’s “freedom of speech” protects her from being disciplined by her colleagues. It was a strange argument to make, given Warren’s brazen taunt that she would delete (censor) any negative comments from white men.
Free speech for me, but not for thee!
Dillingham’s floor speech cut the legs out from under Rep. Stetkis and his proposed order.
She gave wobbly Republicans in the House a green light to sprint for the tall grass. And sprint they did, even the wobbliest members of the House GOP caucus!
The House order was defeated by a lopsided vote of 105 to 21, with 24 absent Reps.
So….what conclusions can we draw from this sordid spectacle?
Clearly, we can’t afford to send just anyone with an “R” after their name to the Statehouse!
As you know, to get majority status in the House, Republicans need to hold every seat they have now, and flip ten Democrat seats in next year’s legislative elections.
But what if we get ten more Kathleen Dillinghams? What good will that do?
With ten more Republicans like Dillingham, who needs Democrats?
I can assure you that Maine First Project will be very selective in choosing which candidates deserve our support in the 2022 election cycle. You can count on it.
We will not spend our donors’ hard-earned money to fill the House with wimps, weasels, and weaklings.
Right now, we’re gearing up for a series of free Activist Trainings in September and October.
These classes offer basic training in the art of political and cultural warfare. Our objective is to mobilize a grassroots army of Mainers who are equipped to assist principled, populist, patriotic candidates for the Maine Legislature.
The first training will be in Androscoggin County on September 18th, then a second in York County on October 2nd, followed by a third in Lincoln County on October 16th.
We are in the process of confirming venues for these events, so stay tuned for more detailed information in the near future.
In the meantime, remember this: shining a bright light into the darkest corners of the swamp is what we do. Sometimes what’s revealed ain’t pretty.
But sunlight is always the best disinfectant!
We know a lot more today about who we can trust — and who we can’t — than we did yesterday. And that’s always valuable information.
Best Regards,
Hon. Lawrence Lockman, R-Bradley
Maine House of Representatives, 2012-2022
Co-founder & President
Maine First Project
PS It was really ugly, wasn’t it?
As ugly and shameful as the floor debate in the House was, don’t let it get you down!
In politics, there are no permanent victories and no permanent defeats. But there is a permanent struggle for liberty.
As always, thanks for all you do every day to make Maine such a special place!