Interesting discussion we had this morning on Rand Paul. Is he a racist because of his comments about the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Basically, it is his view that a private business should be able to discriminate against a black man because it is a private business, as opposed to a business which receives public funding. As one of our callers pointed out (Bernie), private business eventually extends into the public sector: When the black man does not leave the business, who will the business owner call to enforce his “right” to exclude him from the business? The police. The bottom line is that what Rand Paul said was stupid. Do I think he is racist? Not really. But words are powerful and when you start down this path you are bound to spend all of your time to defend what you shouldn’t have said in the first place.

So a recent Critical Insight poll shows that 42% of Mainers could not name one person running for governor. That’s not a great statement about Maine votes. However, as pointed out by one of our listeners, the poll was taken at the end of April, before the Republican convention and before television ads began to run (except for Les Otten’s, of course, which may explain why more people recognized his name than anyone else’s). All that being said, by the time the primary rolls around most voters will know most candidates and will vote accordingly. We shall see if that prediction is true.

Last week we co sponsored the debate among the democratic candidates for governor and this Friday we will be participating in the debate of the republican candidates. I found that Rosa Scarcelli and and Pat McGowen basically tied the debate (as if there could really be a winner or lose), with Libby Mitchell as close third and Steve Rowe a distant fourth. Which is really a shame for Steve, because, frankly, I probably agree with his politics the most. But his presentation is just so bland it is hard to garner the necessary enthusiasm for his campaign. I still believe Pat is the man to beat (and for purposes of full disclosure I will reiterate that I have endorsed him). Butl Libby, apparently, is still ahead in the polls. Let’s see what happens when the television ads start hitting the airwaves.

So if the pundits are correct John Richardson will drop out of the race to be the democrat nominee for Governor today. Who benefits from his exit? I think Steve Rowe. I think Steve is the candidate most likely to benefit from the unions which has supported Richardson through the present time. I don’t think this is enough support for Steve to win the nomination (I still firmly believe that Pat McGowen is the man/woman to beat), but it will even the playing field a bit. Actually will probably hurt Libby more than any other candidate, because I think Steve and Libby compete against each other for the same votes. Your thoughts?

As much as it pains me to agree with Mike, the dems boycotting Channel 13 because of a labor dispute seems silly to me. It would be one thing if the employees were on strike. Most of the time I support people not crossing picket lines. But the employees aren’t on strike! They are simply working without a contract. If I was the advisor to a dem candidate I would tell him/her to buck the trend and be the only one advertising on Channel 13. Of course, once one advertises they will all follow suit. But at least that would show leadership!

So here is my quandry about guns. If Mike is going to have a gun I would prefer it be on his hip than under his coat. So even though I would prefer him to not have a gun at all, if he has to have one, I want to know about it. So I do not support the movement to outlaw the “open carry” of guns. If you’re going to carry, carry it openly!

So we’ll be talking about guns today and I am convinced we pick this topic just to rile me up. I really am not anti gun. I just think it is too easy to get them and there really is only one practical purpose for guns - killing people. Yes you can’t eliminate all guns because then a rogue government could easily take over a country. But is asking for more scrutiny and restrictions unreasonable? I think not!

Yes I am back to do battle with the evil conservatives. My thanks to Ethan Strimling for keeping Mike at bay while I was gone. And despite the fact that many of you think that lawyers don’t have hearts, I didn’t leave mine in San Fran.

I tried to pay homage to my philosophical roots of Haight / Ashbury, but didn’t have the time to do so. But San Francisco is a great city. Despite the view that it is a haven for liberals, I had spirited political discussions with pundits across the spectrum. But it is nice to be back in Maine, the way life should be!

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