Maine Republicans face an important choice on Tuesday. The Obama administration is bearing down hard on the business community and Maine is feeling the pinch. This election to succeed Olympia Snowe as a voice for Maine in the U.S. Senate could be the deciding factor in the future of our nation. Republicans need to make sure the candidate they choose is up to the task.
From my vantage point, this GOP primary comes down to three top-tier candidates: Bill Schneider, Charlie Summers and Bruce Poliquin. I personally have decided to support Attorney General Schneider. Schneider is honorable, a veteran, a family man and a leader among his peers. I believe he possesses the integrity, the intelligence and the leadership that this country needs to set the Senate back on the right path.
I also believe Summers to be a man of integrity and I think he’d serve Maine well. I think many of the other candidates are of the highest caliber. The candidacy of Poliquin is the one that gives me pause though.
I ran against Poliquin for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010. I want to voice some sincere concerns about the choice Republicans will make on Tuesday, not based on personality or old scores but based on my belief that Poliquin is not the right candidate to lead us forward.
Our Republican nominee will face a tough fight in the general election. Our candidate will need to distinguish himself from both the Democrat and the independent. This may be difficult for Poliquin.
We know that Poliquin was on the board of directors of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. This group was the lead environmentalist organization to campaign against the widening of the Maine Turnpike. Poliquin’s $10,000 was the campaign’s single largest donor.
Many believe that for Republicans to win this year we will need to show the Maine people we are in touch with the majority of voters, not part of the elite 1 percent. Poliquin will have a very hard time. Schneider will not.
Unlike Poliquin, Schneider did not use a helicopter to build his house on a island.
Unlike Poliquin, Schneider never used his time and money to sue to keep his neighbor from expanding his business. When Ocean Park Campground wanted to grow, Bruce fought them for years, putting them through what they described as hell.
Poliquin didn’t like Ocean Park’s customers because they “disturbed his enjoyment of his beachfront cottage.” Suing legitimate businesses to keep vacationers out of your neighborhood is not exactly the kind of behavior you’d expect from a pro-business conservative.
And there is the question of consistency. Poliquin made a donation of $500 to Hand Gun Control Inc. and in January 2010 was the only Republican that favored mandatory background checks. Amazingly two months later he said he would not support new gun restrictions.
Schneider, a disabled West Point graduate, still can shoot the lights out on the target range and supports our Second Amendment rights.
In January 2010, Poliquin said of a negative ad in the gubernatorial primary: “In the strongest possible terms I deplore the … advertisement … there is no place for this type of attack ad.” Yet 60 days later he attacked with the same false ad he previously condemned.
I don’t think Poliquin is a bad person. I respect his service to our state. I simply believe that these points are too important to ignore as Republicans decide who our Senate candidate should be. We do, after all, have a choice.
My choice is a man who has served his country, his family and his state. Schneider has not spent his life trying to get ahead of his fellow citizens; he has spent his life in the service of his fellow citizens. He is a proud, true conservative who believes in our country first and himself second. That is the kind of person we need to put forward so we can show all of Maine what being a Republican means.
Les Otten of Bethel competed in the 2010 Republican primary for governor.
One need not be a dedicated follower of political fashion to recognize the author’s mastery with the straight razor as applied to Mr. Poliquin’s whiskers.
Bill Schneider is indeed an honorable man. Bruce Poliquin, on the other hand, is a dishonest, self-serving politician who will only make the Republican party look bad in November. Let’s choose a candidate we can be proud of.
Les Otten, who ran against Poliquin? (LePage) for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010 has stated about Bill Schneider, “Schneider is honorable, a veteran, a family man and a leader among his peers. I believe he possesses the integrity, the intelligence and the leadership that this country needs to set the Senate back on the right path.”
I think Mr. Otten is a bit jaded and simply looking to influence a race Treasurer Bruce Poliquin, a true Republican fiscal conservative, has wrapped-up -if we read the polls-.
If there is any other read about what what Mr. Otten has gone out of his way to say, then explain the laughably bland endorsement of Bill Schneider, quoted above. Our AG is quite clearly unqualified as a Republican fiscal conservative. He would be another RINO Republican, a NEOCON in the making, focused on the phony war on terror and Homeland security twaddle.
Schneider is so unqualified, he is nearly anonymous to most Maine Republicans, just like this guy Les Otten. Who is Les Otten?
Our AG has played a political game as Maine’s Attorney General. He did not prosecute Charlie Webster’s vote manipulation in the Republican Straw Poll count. He has signed-off on the criminal mortgage fiasco perpetrated on Mainers and the nation by Wall Street bankers. And he seems far too reticent about the criminal responsibilities of the drug manufacturers who are flooding Maine with synthetic opiates that are destroying the future of so many young Mainers.
The latter example concerning Big Pharma inundating Maine with highly addictive drugs is the most important Maine issue our AG should be addressing. Where is the leadership, Les Otten is referring to? And what does Les Otten know about leadership anyway?
Bill Schneider is singularly unqualified for his utter lack of leadership. He has no credentials at all concerning his fiscal conservative-ness, something that should be the determining criteria for every elected official, let alone this important Senate race.
Run to the polls Tuesday to vote for Bruce Poliquin. And tell everyone there, the artist who painted the famous Portrait of Governor Paul R. LePage told you to get there and to be sure and vote.
It’s a really good opinion. Some are in the race, because they want to be, and others understand the politico’s and need the job.
What polls are you reading? There was one two months ago.
Some of this is interesting, some of it is Mr. Otten swinging after the bell. I am not a Summers booster, but do you really think a guy who served in Iraq/Afghanistan is somehow pushing a “phony” war? The people who want it over with the most are the people in it, ya know? And which synthetic opiates are flooding into Maine and being distributed without a prescription?
Bluto endorses Snydly Whiplash, warns him not to turn his back on the Joker !
” He’s one bad dude” !
Poliquin will fit in better with the GOP as they are mostly chicken hawks, Schneider could make the hawks look bad. GOP=Grovers own Party
Easy choice amongst the 3 candidates mentioned in this column. Two of the three have signed on to be one of Grover Norquists puppets. Bill Schneider is the only one who said he won’t sign any pledge. He would at least not be under contract like most Republicans in Congress, if elected.
Best quote recently heard:
“My pledge of allegiance is to the United States of America, not to Grover Norquist.”
“Many believe that for Republicans to win this year we will need to show the Maine people we are in touch with the majority of voters, not part of the elite 1 percent.”
This from the man who persuaded Baldacci to exempt ski resorts from the sales tax bill a few years back.
I love irony.
The sales tax referendum was defeated by nearly two thirds majority. In real terms, had those politicians had their way it would now be 6.25% sales tax and use tax , and on internet sales. The number of items taxed under the new sales tax would have been doubled.
But the question is in terms of taxation as to when a Maine company attracts visitors to the state. Should that company have to pay sales tax on the equipment it has purchased for specific uses to build and maintain the quality of service vital to the company remaining competitive? That answer in some cases is now yes.
Anyone suppose Bruce is wishing he didn’t run an attack ad against Les in 2010…?
The entire Republican ticket is tainted.
Like Richard Pryor said in Brewster’s Millions, “Vote none of the above!”
Watch Bruce Poliquin say he favors background checks on all gun sales:
http://youtu.be/v6wdd69NGK0
One correction – Poliquin’s oceanside estate Georgetown is not on an island – it’s at the end of Ledgemere Road:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=georgetown+maine+ledgemere+road&hl=en&sll=43.812714,-69.71617&sspn=0.008005,0.01545&t=h&hnear=Ledgemere+Rd,+Georgetown,+Sagadahoc,+Maine+04548&z=15
“From my vantage point, this GOP primary comes down to three top-tier candidates: Bill Schneider, Charlie Summers and Bruce Poliquin.”
Just because Otten has eliminated the other candidates doesn’t mean we have to for the purpose of this discussion. Rather, these candidates have to understand that it’s not about them, but indeed all about us! All they can do is offer themselves and the records they have earned. Ultimately it is we ourselves who control this selection process no matter how much money is spent or not spent. What do we want and expect? What are we hiring them to do? What issues do you expect to arise of importance in the near future? Which one of them best meets our needs?
What are the duties of senators?
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5914812_duties-senators_.html
What are the responsibilities of senators?
http://www.ehow.com/list_5997636_duties-responsibilities-senators.html
Otten’s opinion is neither more or less than yours and/or mine. Learn about these candidates now before getting into the booth and then forever hold your peace!
I find it appalling the multi-millionaire Les Otten is playing the class warfare game against Poliquin. All the negative attacks against Bruce are solidifying my support for him. Bruce is an honorable man, and these cheap shots from a man in his own party is more telling of Les’ character, not Bruce’s.
What I find more appalling is: Ron Paul, Paul Lepage, and Poliquin. That’s enough “pauls” to last a lifetime.
…and your expectations of foreign *paul*icy credentials are?…..
Coming from a guy who ran American Skiing Company into the ground, this endorsement has all the weight of Curt Shilling’s. Thanks Les.
LOL-You just read my mind, seamus37! I got as far as “I believe Summers to be a man of integrity…” when I had to stop reading from laughing so hard.
None of the Republican candidates have even a shred of integrity. It’s just not a Republican trait.
Les Otten has done a lot more then run American Skiing Company into the ground. Much of his dirty laundry is sealed from public disclosure.
This ‘gram by Otten leads me to wonder about Otten’s credentials. Some of the allegations “thrown out” there are the kind of dirty politics we are trying to get beyond.
The source is not as relevant as the facts .. and why the facts stated here have not been related/revealed by the opposing candidates or the media.
Mr. Otten states that Mr. Poliquin made a $500 donation to Hand Gun Control, Inc. and supported mandatory background checks. This information does not play well with the sportsmen, the Second Amendment advocates and the NRA members in this state.
Having been on the board of directors for the National Resource Council is an indictment against growth, business, increasing the standard of living in Maine and creating opportunity for our youth.
I received calls today from several individuals active in the outcome of this campaign. Les Otten’s message has changed all our minds …. unless the above facts are found to be false, we have all changed our votes next Tuesday from Poliquin to Schneider
I trust neither Les Otten or Mr. Poliquin. Les Otten’s former assistant is now working for Angus King as treasure – none of these guys are conservatives – don’t be fooled. There are a couple of conservatives running for the GOP primary but none of these RINO’s mentioned. Personally, I had enough of the Snowe years. I’d like an actual conservative to run.
http://pinetreepolitics.bangordailynews.com/2010/05/20/all-the-kings-men-edie-smith-will-gardner-and-the-sinking-candidacy-of-les-otten
http://pinetreepolitics.bangordailynews.com/2010/05/29/the-tangled-web-of-the-smith-family-and-les-otten/