Political Happy Hour: Friday, August 26, 2016

Here's your vintage yabba-dabba-doo! mug of politics, from Joshua Miller of the Boston Globe at the Massachusetts State House. PAUL LePAGE OF MAINE, THE NATION'S MOST MEASURED, CALM GOVERNOR, via Eric Russell and Scott Thistle of the Portland Press Herald: "A top Democrat has called on Gov. Paul LePage to resign over a profanity-laced and threatening voicemail he left a day earlier for a state representative from Westbrook.

Maine land from Burt’s Bees founder is new national monument

President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared a new national monument in Maine on 87,000 acres donated by the founder of Burt's Bees, fulfilling conservationist Roxanne Quimby's goal of gifting the land during the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. The announcement of the Katahdin Woods and Waters monument came a day after media reports that the foundation created by Quimby had transferred the land to federal ownership.

Housing the homeless, employing the unemployed shouldn’t require a Republican

That statement is a core Republican tenet - you would even get Susan Collins and Donald Trump to agree on it. And when Democrats want to be uncharitable, they claim that catchy line is a mere smokescreen for the GOP's opposition towell, whatever group they want to accuse Republicans of standing against.

Maine congressman, fiscal hawk, was often late with taxes

In this Oct. 31, 2015 file photo, Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, attends the christening ceremony for the USS Raphael Peralta in Bath, Maine. Poliquin, who's made fiscal responsibility a hallmark of his campaigns, has been late on paying property taxes for his personal properties and his real estate company numerous times.

It’s time to stand up for consumers’ right to know what’s in their food

Congress has only a few days left to pass a GMO labeling bill through the Senate and House before Vermont's mandatory labeling law takes effect July 1. And while Maine, Vermont and Connecticut have clearly spoken on the issue, there is still discussion in Washington around developing a "compromise" piece of legislation that would pre-empt existing bills in those states. Throughout households in Maine and across the country, this is a nonpartisan issue, with more than 90 percent of people polled reporting they believe they have the right to know whether their food contains GMOs.

Primary results reflect split personality of Maine’s electorate

The nature of primary elections is that they're a waypoint along the path to the real contests for elected office in the general election, though on Tuesday, some of the results brought closure for seasoned lawmakers and a new trajectory for others. The two big winners for Democrats - Justin Chenette for a Saco-area Maine Senate seat and Ben Chipman for one of the Portland Senate seats - represent an up-and-coming young gun on one hand and a victory for someone who wasn't even a Democrat until nine months ago on the other.

The stakes are high in 10 Maine Senate primaries

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine legislative primaries are often easy to overlook, but the 10 Maine Senate nominations to be decided on June 14 will either alter the campaign calculus for determining control of the next Senate or pick runaway general election favorites. - Sen. Earle McCormick, R-West Gardiner, is leaving his seat, with Gardiner City Councilor Maureen Blanchard facing retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm.

Trump unveils list of potential picks for Supreme Court seat

In this May 7, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Spokane, Wash. Trump is moving quickly to install political operatives in more than a dozen states, targeting Maine and Minnesota among others that traditionally favor Democrats, as the Republican White House contender lays the groundwork for an expanded electoral battlefield.