By Robert E. Macdonald

Mayor of Lewiston

State Representative Drew Gattine of Westbrook, welcome to the world of bare-knuckle politics, a world where—how do you liberals put it—words have consequences.

You have been pulled from your rosy world of manicured lawns and honey-sweet people and thrust into a more realistic world inhabited by people like D-Money and Smoothy. A world where insults will be met with something other than niceties.

This time the liberal playbook went awry.  What’s wrong with Governor Paul LePage? Doesn’t he know when he is called a “racist” he must immediately go to his corner, cease any criticism and quietly reflect on his forbidden conduct? Apparently Rep. Gattine subscribes to the adage: Republicans will run when confronted. Not in this case.

The look of sheer fear on Rep. Drew Gattine’s face, captured in photos in the newspapers and broadcast on TV, will hopefully resonate with those on the Left that not everyone they smear lacks intestinal fortitude. I wonder, do you think an ambulance and several EMTs were off camera during the TV interviews in case Gattine was overcome by fear and possibly collapsed?

This event provides those with an interest in the study of political science an overview of the evolution of politicians in this country. It has gone from once-fearless legislators to a flock of sheep, sheep that live in fear—sheep that cast votes in order to avoid criticism. It is unfortunate that a majority of our current legislators mirror President Obama’s foreign policy: don’t confront.

But what did the Governor do to cause this type of savaging? He simply told the truth. He accurately stated that 90% of the out-of-state, gang-affiliated entrepreneurs that come into Maine to sell illegal and deadly opiates like heroin and fentanyl are black or Hispanic. This, to the horror of our Liberal Democrats in Maine. In our evolving brave new world, this type of truthfulness is frowned upon.

Not to lose an opportunity to smear the Governor and law enforcement, the ACLU jumped into the fray with their all too familiar cry, “Racial profiling.” Please, give us a break. We are talking about ruthless and organized drug dealers who come up from Brooklyn and the Bronx to supply white, local dealers with product. They then distribute this poison throughout our population, killing five Mainers a week, while making a healthy profit.

The local sellers are white, while the majority of out-of-state distributors are black and Hispanic. I would further hazard a guess that the police know when these dealers leave New York and where they are heading to.

Governor LePage’s reaction to the vile degrading of his character by Rep. Gattine is that of a red-blooded American who has been defamed, not an out-of-control person. This type of thinking is because the Left has been able to sissify the population. LePage is hardly sissified, and we should thank him for standing up for the disenfranchised citizens of Maine.

The cause of this confrontation is the result of disagreement over how the current opioid problem should be handled. The Governor wants to increase law enforcement. Democrats and liberal legislators want to increase treatment—both medical and counseling. The question is: with limited tax dollars, how much will be pulled from the elderly, mentally and chronically ill and others? This will be your decision as a voter in November.

Also lost in this media-created frenzy is the TV reporter who started it by asking LePage about Gattine’s accusation, which Gattine claims was not true. Why is the reporter conveniently given a pass?

Lastly, we have the Portland Press Herald. It ran an editorial on Friday, August 26, titled “Message to America:  Sorry we gave you LePage.” This editorial asks for forgiveness of Maine voters for making a terrible mistake by electing and then re-electing the Governor, claiming he is “unfit for high office.”

Talk about editorial narcissism. When did the Portland Press Herald become a national newspaper? Last I knew, its dwindling circulation extended only to the cities and towns of Southern Maine with maybe a sprinkling in the New Hampshire border towns. If the Portland Press Herald wants to apologize for the liberals in Portland and its surrounding towns—fine. However, you do not speak for the rest of Maine.

If a governor’s election was held today, Governor LePage would win handily. Why? Because he speaks for the hard-working common people, not the wine-sipping, cheese-eating, Prius-driving Maine elitists.