MPBP Calls On Democrats, Green Independent Political Leaders To Call Off Operatives In Occupy Movement

Occupy Groups in Maine Need Their Strings Cut

 

For Immediate Release: November 29, 2011

Contact: Jason Savage (800) 307-3254

In light of the recent arrests of the so-called “Occupy” protesters at the Blaine House, Maine People Before Politics feels compelled to condemn these recent actions of the protesters and to point out that this group of protesters are little more than a band of partisans determined to undermine a Governor who hails from a different political party.

Screen shot from Youtube protest video of protester climbing the Blaine House portico and balcony

Across our state and country, hard-working people are struggling to make ends meet; to feed their families; pay their mortgages and heat their homes. The actions we saw over the weekend at the Blaine House are an affront to all working people who seek a vibrant economy full of good paying jobs and an end to the partisan rancor of the past.

A cursory examination of the political activities, public statements and professional positions of these so-called “protesters” show that they are not simply concerned citizens taking direct action to influence public policy or public opinion. They are partisan extremists who place Maine’s hard-working families – and the need to create jobs in Maine – a distant third behind political party and radical ideology.

Based on news reports and arrests, Maine here are your Occupiers:

James Freeman – Freeman is a well known political extremist. A quick review of his political activities shows that he is an organizer for the Maine Green Independent party. This Portland Phoenix article from 2000 calls him “one of the state’s most arrested and committed environmental activists and a radical Earth First!-er.”

A few of Freeman’s exploits include:

Diane Messer – Messer ran for state Senate as a Democrat in 2008. Her political activity regarding job creation for Maine & American workers include being arrested during a protest against the Keystone XL pipeline that would create thousands of American jobs, and protesting a proposal to create jobs with a propane storage tank in Searsport. A quick check of Messer’s other activities reveal that she also serves on the Board of Directors of AllCare with Democratic Representative Charles Priest and that she recently protested at the state house claiming she was a “union member”, although she did not indicate with which union she holds membership.

Gregory Fahy – One of the more interesting characters in this debacle is UMA Professor Gregory Fahy, who serves on the Ethics Committee at Maine General Medical Center. Professor Fahy should probably take a few moments to reflect on the fact that he was protesting against a Governor who this past year worked to pass a budget that repaid hundreds of millions of dollars in past debt to Maine hospitals – including Maine General – ensuring continued high quality of care for patients and preserving the jobs of hundreds of hospital workers. This letter, penned by Fahy in the Kennebec Journal in 2009 in defense of the Obama administration probably frames the hypocrisy of Fahy’s actions better than anything else we could present. In it, he wrote, “But just because everyone is doing it is not a justification for breaking the law. In our constitutional system, nobody is above the law; that is something that you seem to have forgotten. Or perhaps you are endorsing breaking the law.” In this situation, Fahy would have done well to follow his own advice.

Kimberly Cormier – Kimberly Cormier currently serves as a Selectperson in the town of Benton. We have to wonder if this is the sort of representation the people of Benton expected when they gave her their votes.

Michael Reynolds – Reynolds helps run a group called AbilityMaine, which claims to work to help people with disabilities to make better lives for themselves and others…. however, it seems as with many of these groups across Maine, it is more a place for the extreme left to organize under a seemingly non-political banner. This AbilityMaine post criticizing the Democrat-aligned Maine People’s Alliance for having board members with “not so progressive” views is a perfect example. People may need to re-evaluate what AbilityMaine is really all about.

Jenny Gray – Gray is a well-documented MSEA-SEIU union member and operative. This MPBP report displaying the partisan contributions of the MSEA-SEIU was released in March 2011, (pdf warning). Gray’s MSEA-SEIU union contributed more than $357,000 to Democratic candidates & causes from 2002 thru 2010, and only about $4,600 to Republicans.

Kim Waite – While not arrested at the Augusta Blaine House protest, a recent news report puts Waite at the Occupy Maine protest in Portland. A prolific blogger, Democratic political operative and former Democratic candidate for Oxford County Commissioner, Waite is known in Maine political circles for publishing an offensive political blog in Maine. Under her screen name KayInMaine, Waite has published hundreds of commentaries describing other Maine people with pejoratives such as “teabaggers” and suggesting, among other things, that former AK Governor  Palin’s daughter is “like a female dog in a dog breeding factory” or calling Governor LePage a “fascist tea bag” or the “Blaine House Monster.” The graphics accompanying Waite’s blogs often invoke images such as bloody knives, nazi swastikas, and captions laced with obscenities at any center-right public figure who presents an easy target. However, her blog doesn’t seem to cause Democratic politicians any concern. This picture, posted by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree on Flickr, is of Waite having lunch with Democrat Ned Lamont “in between campaign stops” in August of 2007. Waite’s blog post even includes a picture of her with Pingree and Lamont.

Lynne Williams – If there is any doubt that this protest is anything more than a thinly veiled political attack; the fact that the legal counsel for the Occupy Augusta movement is former Green Independent gubernatorial candidate Lynne Williams should remove all doubt. In 2010, Williams attempted a run in the Maine gubernatorial election. Williams soon dropped out of the race because of an inability to muster political support and collect petition signatures, she then announced a run for Maine State Senate as a Green Independent.

“If these protesters were truly concerned about our struggling economy, wealth inequality and corporate greed as they claim, they would be much better off setting up camp at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. or reflecting on years of failed policy that has caused economic harm for the working class in Maine,”said Jason Savage, executive director of Maine People Before Politics.

Savage continued, “The public needs to know that this protest was not comprised of ordinary Maine citizens, but a handful of extreme Democratic and Green Independent political operatives focused on inflicting maximum political damage on a Governor who is working hard to create more and better jobs for Maine people. We’re calling on Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant to immediately call a halt to this sort of activity by operatives in his organization, and on Lynne Williams to do the same with the Green Independent operatives taking part in such threatening behavior.”

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