Maine Senate President Kevin Raye wants to debate U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud in Aroostook County on Oct. 17, but Michaud says no, the 2nd Congressional District challenger said Monday.
The Republican from Perry criticized Michaud’s refusal, saying it contradicts statements the East Millinocket Democrat made during his party’s state convention in June. Michaud promised to defend his record “at any time, anywhere and any place.”
“This invitation was the only opportunity for the people of Aroostook County to see and hear a televised debate between Congressman Michaud and me on issues of particular importance to residents of The County,” Raye said in a statement issued Monday. “With jobs, small business and agriculture issues at the forefront of so many people’s minds in northern Maine, I hope that Congressman Michaud will reconsider and accept the invitation.”
Michaud’s promise to defend his record is available on YouTube.
Michaud balked at the Aroostook County faceoff because it would be the fifth debate or candidates forum of the campaign, said his spokesman, Dan Cashman. Two of the four would be available on television in The County, with the rest available there directly via the Internet, or indirectly through news media coverage, Cashman said.
“There are plenty of opportunities to discuss and exchange ideas,” Cashman said Monday. “The fact of the matter is that four debates is more than was available for the last two elections. Four debates is an aggressive schedule, especially when you think of the congressman’s schedule and the duties he has to perform in Washington.”
The debate on WAGM-TV is unique, Raye spokesman Robert Caverly said, because it would have focused largely upon Aroostook County issues, such as agriculture and small business, and the problems they encounter.
Michaud also has congressional and campaign stops scheduled for The County in the remaining weeks of the campaign. He will make congressional visits on Thursday and Friday, possibly with some campaigning mixed in, Cashman said.
Michaud’s refusal to debate in Aroostook County comes just days after Raye received a major boost as one of just four House challengers in the nation to win the endorsement of the Business and Industry Political Action Committee, or BIPAC, according to the Raye campaign. Raye is also endorsed by the National Federation of Business, which has more than 3,500 Maine members, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Michaud’s camp has decried NFIB as a right-leaning political group more interested in rallying Republican support than fairly assessing Democrats.
Michaud increased the debate load to four because he recognizes their importance to the electorate, Cashman said.
Recent poll results show Raye trailing Michaud by almost 20 points in the 2nd District.
Mr. Michaud, C’mon man!……it’s the debating season…..
Tell that to Summers who won’t be in the 3 major debates before the election.
Creepy charlie knows his mug scares the seniors.
If this article was about Mr. Summers then I would tell him the same……
FOUR debates isn’t enough for your guy to make his points? Of course not. Raye is a pathetic TeaToadie.
Never claimed Mr. Raye as my “guy”…..I would make the challenge to any candidate….was going to comment further to keep a civil and adult conversation going but after reading your other posts I figured it would be a futile effort on my part….
If I was trailing by twenty points, I would want ten debates. However, after four debates, the candidates record will fill in any blanks that the voter should have.
So much for anytime, anywhere, and any place. “No, thank you”
They are already having FOUR debates, far more than most congressional races. What’s the matter with your boy? Can’t make his points in FOUR debates?
Your boy is the one who said “any time” and he is as usual, all talk and no action.
If I had a ZERO rating with the small business community and a poor rating with the farmers, I wouldn’t want to debate in Aroostook County either. I hope the people of The County take note, you can elect someone who will fight down in the halls of Congress for you, or you can continue to be represented by Mr. Obscurity. It is too bad you won’t have your own debate to come to your own conclusions.
Fight for the Tea Potty! Isn’t he one of LePage’s Puppets? He voted to change Workmens Comp so that it has limitations, changes in Health Insurance that caused a 54% increase in premiums to small business, and the repeal of same day voter registration! I think he’s done.
go back and check your latest math at maine.gov. rates have come down by more than 50%
Not to mention Raye couldn’t save the Nursing Home that closed in Calais.
Kevin Raye is not to blame for First Atlantic closing the nursing home in Calais. He fought like hell for it…
Sure he did. If he can’t stop that from closing with him being President of the Senate he won’t stand a chance in being able to get anything done for Maine if he is elected to Congress.
Subject: [bdn] Re: Kevin Raye faults Mike Michaud for declining County debate
To the shame of all the Republican representatives from Washington County, not one of them introduced a change in the law that allows private business to control where long term nursing beds are placed.
The closure of the nursing home by First Atlantic is their businesss. The removal of nursing beds to another county is inexcusable.
I’m not sure if there was any elected Rep. in Washington County that was capable of writing legislation that didn’t come from ALEC.
Then I guess he is not very effective.
I own a small business and my insurance went down by about 12%.
With a 20 point lead, he really doesn’t have to….
with John Martin backing him, he really doesn’t have to… at least in the Valley
Yesss…… I’ll bet Mike remembers John Martin backing him !!
Like a child who puts its hand on a hot surface, you learn after one time to not do it again. No to Mike.. Mike needs to take a hike.
unless his numbers change drastically in the next 5 weeks he ain’t going nowhere….
Mike is going to spank Kevin The Vote Suppressor TeaToadie who stood there with his lying mouth and tried to eliminate same day voter registration. The people aren’t forgetting that, they aren’t forgetting all the other ways he has been a LeBUFFOON toadie, and they aren’t forgetting that he and LeBUFFOON have jacked up rural healthcare rates in a very, very big way. Poor little Kevie baby is TOAST.
How old are you? Nine? Enough is enough with the juvenile name calling. You got your opinion across. Hope you aren’t the typical Michaud supporter.
“Mike is going to spank Kevin” Yes,,, I can imagine that Mike dreams about that….
Mike doesn’t have anything to say..
This country needs a change and Maine can help by retiring Mike to his condo in Washington..Mike is never moving back to Maine so I don’t concider him a Mainer.
If he gets re elected it’s proof of the education system in Maine..
Michaud declined because Michaud doesn’t want to have a face off with Raye. Not in public for the world to see; he would lose badly and be shown for the party rubber stamp his record shows him to be. Although he has supported sportsman and the NRA in the past; I feel that he would buckle under pressure if the Dem administration wanted his vote for anything which would hurt the Second Amendment
I guess you didn’t see that they are already having FOUR debates. What’s the matter? Poor little baby Kevie can’t make his case in FOUR debates? Raye is a smarmy LeBUFFOON Loving TeaToadie, and he will be CRUSHED in this election. As to your silly conspiracy theories about gun owndership rights, Mike has always supported them and is a hunter himself. So that is just SILLY. Keep living in your GI Joe fantasies. Mike and most of us live in the real world, and Raye is going to get spanked as the sad little TeaToadie that he is.
I think that your mommy needs the computer – go get your binky and take your nappy nap.
The fact is that Mike is avoid debating Kevin simply because Mike has NO record he can stand on with small business owners- such as farmers! Anyone paying attention would see that Mike is trying to play it safe and keep attention off his lack of accomplishments.
I agree with Congressman Michaud. If the candidates can’t say it all in 4 debates, the 5th won’t yield anything new. Sounds to me like Mr. Raye is just looking for some reason to call Congressman Michaud’s veracity into question when there is no reason to do so. Michaud’s promise to defend his record anytime, anywhere doesn’t mean he has to keep repeating himself to suit every challenger who wants to call him on it.
Michaud admits to never actually reading the Obamacare package but he did vote for it.
He is a rubber stamp for Pelosi, Reed and Obama.
Time is up Mike now just crawl in a hole and stay there
Yeah, and what is your pathetic corporate toadie TeaPublican plan on healthcare? GO TO EMERGENCY ROOMS AND GO BANKRUPT. The TeaPublicans in this state are TOAST come election day, and all your silly gimmicks and LIES and FAKE-News/Rush Limpmind talking points can’t change that reality. What, your sad silly little TeaToadie candidate can’t make his case in FOUR debates?
The inssurance issue is more then just having insurrance. it is having the federal goverment forcing the american people to buy insurrance or we will fine you..;
Emergency rooms are for just that emergencies and not for when you get the sniffles or an ache and pain.
Then again, the question remains unanswered. What are you going to do as far as access to health care goes ? Romney and Company still do not have a coherent plan to show anyone besides a bunch of cute press release’s and pie-in-the-sky speech’s. Like it or not the ACA is here and it’s on paper and is beginning to show result’s even now, the perscription issue being the most visible. Like it or not, even Romeny has conceeded that the ACA is not all that bad. The results are there. Just give it time to work. And that’s the one thing that the far right doesn’t want you to use, your time. Ask yourselves one question. Why ? The answer is a lot more important, and revealing, than you might think !
The idea of individual mandates to buy health insurance was as much a conservative idea as a Democrat idea, that is until it became part of Obama’s plan for health care. Then suddenly “the right” decided it was a bad idea. Even Mitt Romney, as governor of Massachusetts signed the individual mandate into law for that state. He thought it was a good idea then, until “the right” decided it wasn’t.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insurance_mandate
RECALL KEVIN RAYE’S LEADERSHP IN THE UNSUCCESSFUL LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO DEMAND VOTER ID AND TO PREVENT SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRATION AND ELECTION. HE HAS NO MORAL RIGHT TO APPEAL TO DEMOCRACY AFTER THESE PROFOUNDLY ANTI-DEMOCRATIC CRUSADES HE HELPED TO LEAD.
Stop yelling at us!
You may want to take a look at your ‘Caps Lock’ key.
maybe he can tell us all again how he has a “pretty” garden and that he can afford a gardener . what does that have to do with his work in washington?
You right wing nuts can’t stand it that a common man backed by labor keeps getting elected. Well get out your crying towels again because he is going to win again. The National Republican Party isn’t even backing Raye. He’s a lost cause. Guess we know where they stand against your candidate.
Raye is a Paul LePage TeaToadie and water bucket carrier for LeBUFFOON who stood and LIED on the Senate floor as he argued for eliminating same-day voter registration. That, among MANY other ways this smarmy toadie walked in lockstep with the BUFFOON IN CHIEF, has SUNK him with the electorate and rightfully so. Raye is in desperation mode. FOUR debates is well beyond most Congressional races which usually have maybe two debates, three at most, let alone four. What’s the matter Mr. Raye? You can’t get your FAILED points across in FOUR debates?
Better Raye than that do nothing fool that has wasted our time & taxpayer money-
Better someone that knows how to create paychecks, than someone that only knows how to cash them…!
Mike Needs To Go…..!
When Raye can’t even get his own Party’s Governor to sign off on a Bi-Partisan agreed to State Budget, in the face of an overwhelming vote count to overide any veto, then Raye has no business going to DC and trying to tell the rest of the Country that he knows what to do to get the Country back on track. Raye has done nothing that anyone has seen, besides constantly cry and whine about the State economy, that could even come close to being called constructive. The Millinocket Thermogen plant is in it’s construction phase right now and will be in operation come next spring. When it does Thermogen is gonna have to have a shipping port for it’s product to go to Europe, which Thermogen already has production and delivery contracts for, that require a port that’s ready to go. Eastport and Searsport are the 2 most readily available but both need upgrading to accomidate the cargo ship’s that will be coming in. This was seen a year ago. The shipping of Thermogen’s bio-coal, either by truck or rial, was seen as inevitable, a year ago. Even Cate St., Thermogen’s owner’s and financial backer’s saw this. But where has Raye been in any of this ?
The upgrading and business investment in Eastport’s facillity’s is a major event, and financial investment, that should have been addressed a lot sooner. Eastport’s upgrading is gonna require a lot of time and experience in getting it thru the planning, the environmental review (which has obviusly been done) and the regulatory process’s that are coming up to make this project work. Raye is their State Senator. Maybe he needs to start being more responsive to his District as opposed to making promo’s that are little more than an ego boost. Maine has had enough of the closet Tea Party’s nonsense causing complete gridlock in Augusta. The last thing we, as a State, need to do is to add to it in DC. Mainer’s should be leading the way toward gettting the mess in DC resolved, not adding to the concrete plug that Boehner and Cantor and the like have built.
Am I big Michaud fan ? Not really but until someone can show me, with a demonstrated track record, not cute press release’s and TV promo’s, that they know what they are talking about and have an actual plan, on paper with their signature on it, I will go with who ever it there since they know what’s going on. When, if ever, Raye can do that then fine I’ll vote for him. But he needs to show me, not put on a dog and pony show with LePage as Ringmaster. Maine has enough of that and we need better, at the very least for our kid’s sake for the future.
Mike – I am so glad you brought up Thermogen bio-coal, Millinocket and Eastport. Your points are valid except that you are targeting the wrong man. The correct question is Where was Mike Michaud for any of these projects?
Kevin Raye sponsored the legislation that created the New Markets tax program that Cate Street is using to get the financing for the Thermogen project. When the new program needed some tweaks to it Raye and Sen. Doug Thomas made adjustments this past session of the legislature to improve the bill for Cate Street. Today they are on the verge of groundbreaking and creating new jobs in Millinocket. Where was Michaud, no where to be seen.
As for Eastport Kevin Raye helped secure funding for a conveyor belt which would be really convenient when a new producer wants to ship wood pellets (like Thermogen Bio-Coal) over seas.
Kevin also sponsored a change in Maine’s tax law to create aviation jobs. The BDN has written about those new jobs and new investments based of that law. Also, when the Woodland Plup Mill needed lower cost energy, Kevin Raye sponsored a bill to allow them to tap into the nearby natural gas pipeline. Again, don’t take my word for it, do some research and you’ll find it is true.
So do what you want with your vote. If you want to support a candidate that is guilty of doing nothing to create jobs in Maine that is up to you. But I assure you Kevin Raye is candidate your looking for if you really care about the issues you brought up.
Thanks for the information, atleast you did your homework..
Well stated and thanks for the summary of the work done in these particular areas…..
What I’ve seen out of Raye is right wing voter supression, ‘sign on’ legislation riding and just about every sort of avoidance of healthcare reform in Maine to date. His supposed work on Eastport’s terminal’s was only done when he had no choice but to support it ’cause to do anything else would have had him running for his own current seat, not Michaud’s, this time around. And the Tax Program was already well under way and in the works when he signed on to the legislation, Cate St. notwithstanding. Millinocket knows who was behind the push for Cate St. since Michaud has a personal stake in the area. Raye does not. Nor does he have a stake in Searsport. The only time that Raye has ever done anything on his own is when he was forced to call for a veto overide vote of LePage’s refusal to sign off on a State Budget that was passed, with both him and Nutting sitting on their collective keester’s no less, by no less than 3/4 of the entire State Senate. It would have looked prety sad for a veto overide vote to be held and the Governor’s own Chief Cheerleader to not be a part of the crowd.
Like it or not the party’s over and local John Birch crowd is now being seen for what they are, namely a bunch of folk’s who want to take Maine back to the 1850’s. And Raye calls this a type of looking forward and supporting business’s ? This kind of business support and concern for the Maine voter’s is what has us in the mess we’re in right now. Maine needs to look forward and move, not sit in a closet and cry, wishing we could all go back to a simpler time. Not gonna happen and the longer this nonsense attitude and philosophy keeps up the longer it’s gonna take Maine to recover. Anyone wanna risk their kid’s future on that ?
“Right Wing voter suppression.” In other words, you believe that Republicans are suppressing voters because they believe that a person, in order to vote, should have to show ID to prove they are actually the person they claim they are. If that’s what your suggesting, you may be interested to discover that 74% of Americans believe that voters should be required to show I.D.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/08/12/National-Politics/Polling/question_6226.xml?uuid=Nd4PSOTWEeGXOe75nF-yhQ
Or…Or they hire a firm that goes around registering made up Republicans while ripping apart any application’s from Democrats. Have you seen what happened in Florida?
Oh yeah, right. That happened. Sure.
and boom goes the dynamite:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/voter-registration-fraud-gop-backed-firm-spreads/story?id=17370445
ooopsy. I guess if you only watch Fox News, they have not been covering this as breathlessly as ACORN…although…its…the….EXACT…same….thing.
Mike Kiernan – Must be nice to live in a world where the “facts” you make up are true. The problem is your clearly NOT doing your homework.
The New Market Tax program was NOT well on its way before Raye became Senate President. His bill started the program, and the language was included in the bi-partisan two year budget.
Not sure what your point is about Eastport. But I hope you realize that Kevin is termed and can’t run for his current seat again. And with his success in the State House he offers a great alternative to the status Obscure Congressman we have now.
You claim to not support Mike, so I ask you to actually do some research. Not just what you think is fact, but actually study up on Kevin’s record. You will find he has fought for the items I listed and much more.
This is a good website to start with: http://www.mainelegislature.org/LawMakerWeb/advancedsearch.asp
Poor Kevin Raye. Just can’t seem to make any headway, despite all the endorsements from his right-wing corporate masters.
If Mr. Michaud represents the 2nd district as he so states then he needs to look at the map and see that Aroostook County is part of that district. He should allow one of the debates here so we can see his position more clearly as in the debate format. Otherwise he will just go where he is liked and not get the negative press.
Zero for small business, dismal for farmers, and now Mike won’t face the constituents he has failed? Time for a stronger voice for Maine, time for Kevin Raye.
Raye was seeking a moment to make a political jab — it has nothing to do with wanting another debate.
Then they should have a debate in Millinocket, the economic ground zero of Maine & home town area of Mike….
Mike won’t, because he knows that his own home town area doesn’t like him…!
You prove my point. It’s not about informing voters, it’s about scoring political jabs. Let’s have a million debates and we could have one or more at each voter’s house!
It’s about the failure of someone that can’t do his job, someone who refuses to work with small business and has no intention of improving the economic climate of his home town…!
Face it, Michaud doesn’t care about Northern Maine
Why didn’t Raye lobby to have one of the 4 debates in northern Maine if he cares about that area so much? Because he doesn’t care either. He just is proposing yet another needless debate in order to score a political jab. Quit being a hack.
I have dealt with Raye and Michaud on small business issues; at least Raye took the time to meet with me and was helpful,,,, Media Mike was not…!
Ol Mike has had years to prove he cares about small business, but he couldn’t be bothered
Okay, that’s fine, but that’s independent of this. There were already 4 debates scheduled.
Raye trying to schedule another one was unnecessary and it was clear he was doing it to get a political jab in.
Not really; there are a lot of people up in the Katahdin Region and even further north that are “Very” upset with Mikes do nothing approach to small business, and they want to see him sweat-out answering why he has been an overpaid ______ while those of us back home go without….!
He makes more than 8 times that of people in his own home town, and promotes ObummerCare— that will force many further in debt.
If I say anymore, I will start to get censored
Still has nothing to do with having a 5th debate.
it does to the pissed-off people in his home town that have seen no effort from him in years
My first reaction was that he should attend the debate but if they’ve already scheduled 4 then I don’t think it’s unreasonable. As for the comment that this is the county’s only opportunity to watch a televised debate … hogwash. This is the information age and internet and cable is available most anywhere … even the county.
Bad form Mike, bad form.
I’d rather have a proven job creator than someone that has never created any jobs.
Mike Needs To Go…!
Better someone that knows how to create paychecks, than someone that only knows how to cash them…!
I want to see a debate in Millinocket…!
But I bet Mike would chicken out of that one to…!!!
ROMNEY / RYAN 2012 !!!
Netanyahu/Harper 2012 !!
Here’s just another politician who believes in self-compassion rather than voter compassion. They just don’t get it. Maybe in the past they were able to slither down the slippery slope but they won’t slide into the State House in this election!
Mainers know an insult when they feel one.