Since this year is an Election Year, I must warn the Maine people that politicians have no legal obligation to be honest in their promises, campaign ads, or remarks. Some of them will say or do anything to get elected.

The worst offender is Attorney General Janet Mills, a Democrat who is running for governor. She has already proven to be disingenuous with the people of Maine, and she has already demonstrated a morally flexible relationship with the truth.

She is telling people that I tried to take healthcare coverage away from children and that she stepped up to protect healthcare for 6,000 Maine kids. It’s just not true.

She also claims she took me to court to keep them covered. She is implying that the lawsuit was about healthcare for school-aged children. Folks, it was not. Janet Mills is not telling the truth.

She did not take the Governor to court. She is referring to a lawsuit filed by DHHS against the federal government. Mills joined this lawsuit by filing an amicus brief on the side of the federal government. She went directly against the interests of the Maine people.

More importantly, this lawsuit had nothing to do with children. DHHS wanted to remove able-bodied 19- and 20-year-olds from the MaineCare system. Despite what Mills says, these are not school children. They are young adults who were old enough to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are the same age as thousands of Americans in the Greatest Generation who fought in Europe and the Pacific during World War II.

They may be under 21, but they are not children – unless you are a Democrat in Maine. Only Maine Democrats think 19- and 20-year-olds are children instead of young adults. That’s why Democrats continue to pass nanny-state laws that disrespect these young adults, like preventing them from buying cigarettes until they are 21. Democrats would rather coddle young adults than provide them with the skills they need to become productive members of our workforce.

Mills also refers to an AP article, which states the reason why the federal court denied DHHS’s request: “The court agreed that Maine can’t roll back coverage for 19- and 20-year-olds because the Affordable Care Act requires states to maintain their level of coverage for children until 2019.”

This ruling was not decided by any brilliant legal maneuvering by Mills. In fact, she had nothing to do with it. The federal court simply ruled on federal law. And nowhere in the AP article does it credit Mills with protecting healthcare for 6,000 Maine kids.

You would think the state’s highest-ranking law enforcement official would be committed to truth and honesty. In Janet Mills’s case, you would be wrong.

Thank you.

Paul LePage

Governor