Wake-Up Call

Anyone reading this morning’s Portland Press Herald this morning woke up to something far more frightening than any Stephen King novel or Friday the 13th movie:  a poll showing Paul LePage 14 points ahead in the gubernatorial race.  The thought of a LePage administration should be terrifying to us all.  Among the positions he has taken are approving the teaching of creationism in the schools, supporting off-shore drilling off the coast of Maine (despite the fact that there’s no oil there…) and engaging in an aggressive dismantling of environmental regulations.  He’s adopted a strategy of trying to talk to the press as little as possible, so that his more ridiculous comments, like saying that DEP is requiring bison counts (completely untrue) go unnoticed by anyone but NPR.

The root of LePage’s support lies in falling support for the Democratic party, rising support for the Republican party, the “enthusiasm gap” between Democrats and Republicans, the general public’s lack of awareness of just how radical LePage actually is and the desire of some media (particularly the Press Herald) to portray Libby Mitchell as some kind of flaming left-wing radical.  The enthusiasm gap should be a particular concern for us all.  No one would argue that the last two years have gone as we would have wanted, given the disastrous recession, economic crisis and budget deficits that President Obama inherited.  There are things that we would all like to see different, things we wish he had done.  But there are also achievements we can be proud of, including passage of health care and financial reform.  Yes, they are not everything that we wanted.  But enactment of these reforms is a first critical step in creating a society reflective of Democratic values.

However we wish things had gone nationwide and in Maine, sitting home in November isn’t the answer.  If we don’t spread the word of the disaster that awaits with a LePage administration (or, for that matter, a Republican Congress…) and don’t work to get everyone we know to vote, we will only have ourselves to blame for the disaster that will follow.  We all have a role to play in creating the future we want for our state and nation.  We have a great candidate in Libby Mitchell and we need to do everything we can to spread the word…phone calls, letters to the editor, volunteering…we can’t just wait for her campaign to go on the air with commercials and assume that will be sufficient.  We need to be educating everyone we know about the stakes in this election and the role that we all have in defining our future.

This poll should serve as a wake-up call to us all, one that motivates us to do what it takes to elect Libby.  This Sunday evening, we will have staff of the Maine Democratic party (www.mainedems.org) present at our meeting to discuss how we can support efforts to elect Democrats at all levels in November.   In the words of John Kennedy, “if now us, who?  If not now, when?”

Reid Scher, Chair

Sept. 12 meeting in Cape Elizabeth!

The next meeting of the Cumberland County Democratic Committee will be held on September 12, from 6-8. We’re going to be meeting at an exciting location…A CCDC committee member from Cape Elizabeth, has opened a restaurant in Cape Elizabeth, the Local Buzz (www.capelocalbuzz.com).  We will have a social hour from 6-7 (food and drink will be available for purchase…) and the meeting from 7-8. We’ll provide more information as the date draws near. Please join us!!!

Attention North Deering and Falmouth Democrats!

There will be a special caucus to nominate a candidate for the Democratic Party for the House seat for District 113. All registered Democrats in 113 (part of Falmouth and the North Deering neighborhood of Portland) are encouraged to attend.

The caucus will be at the United Universal Church on Allen Avenue in Portland on Sunday, July 25 at 7 p.m.

Democrats Cheer on the Sea Dogs!

Come join the Cumberland County Democrats at 6 p.m. Friday, July 23, at the Sea Dogs Game!

The CCDC has reserved the Pavilion at Hadlock Field, the Sea Dog stadium, for a pregame picnic.  For the $24 price of admission you get a ticket to the game and unlimited food and non-alcoholic drinks for one hour before the game until one hour after the first pitch.  Everyone had a blast last year, so join us in the fun!

We need to reserve seats in advance so please contact CCDC Chair, Reid Scher if you plan to attend at ccdcchair@gmail.com or 329-5843 no later than July 12.

We would also like to invite you to join the Host Committee for the event, with a donation of $100, which will include your ticket to the game.  If you would like to be a member of the host committee, either contact Reid or write to:

Host Committee
CCDC
3 Fox Hall Road
Falmouth, ME  04105

Finally, we will have someone special throwing out the first pitch of the game…More information to follow.

We look forward to seeing you!!!

On to November!!!

The primaries are over and we have our nominee, Libby Mitchell, a strong candidate for the general election.  However, if she is to win, it will require all of our efforts.  It’s easy to be lulled into a sense of security that the Republicans have nominated an extreme right wing candidate, Paul LePage, who apparently had the bulk of tea party support.  While we can be comforted by the fact that his desire to teach creationism in the schools and denial of global warming are out of the mainstream, he clearly tapped into something alive in the electorate, concerns about taxes and spending.  This was most clearly demonstrated by how Question 1 was framed and the strong vote to repeal the tax reform law.  LePage will run on these issues in the fall, which will resonate with a significant group of voters.  He also has the advantage that conservatives and tea partiers seem much more  motivated to vote this year.

There’s also a possibly greater threat to Libby, the independent candidate Eliot Cutler.  We saw Peter Mills begin the narrative last night that many will hope to carry into November, and that is that Libby is as extreme on the left as LePage is on the right, leaving only the independent choice in the middle.  We need to be very clear and work hard to dispel the notion that there’s anything radical about Libby Mitchell.  She represents the best of the Democratic Party, a smart, hard-working legislator and leader, who understands how to make government work for the people, as opposed to “getting government out of people’s lives,” which translates to getting out of the way of corporations and the rich.  This will be a tough race, but eminently winnable if we all work hard in the fall.

Reid Scher, Chairperson

Convention

Hello All,

We just completed a great convention in Lewiston, representative of all the best of the Democratic Party. There were several highlights:

Unlike what we saw at the Republican convention, we adopted a platform that is representative of the best values of American society, what makes us proud to be Democrats. (…and no schoolrooms were defaced…) Our gubernatorial candidate won’t have to run away from an extremist platform, but will be able to proudly speak to its principles and proposals. The platform is now  posted on this site.

We heard from our state-wide elected officials, Governor Baldacci and Representatives Pingree and Michaud, who represent the best of Maine. We also heard from Tim Kaine, the chair of the national Democratic Party and the immediate past governor of Virginia.

We heard from a great group of gubernatorial candidates: Pat McGowan, Libby Mitchell, Steve Rowe and Rosa Scarcelli. The outcome of the competitive primary (remember to vote…either early or on June 8!!!) assures us a great candidate in November.

We met a number of great candidates for the State Senate and House, who will work to strengthen the Democratic majority in the legislature. All of the candidates will be posted on our website after the primaries are complete.

We elected a great group of representatives to the Democratic State Committee, of whom we can all be proud: Artis Bernard, John Bernard, Heather Curtis, Ed Democracy, Pam Fenrich, Wayne Hollingsworth, Dottie Melanson, Steve Minkowsky, Michael Shaughnessy and Pat Washburn. This strong, diverse group assures that we will be well represented at the state committee.

We look forward to building on the momentum of the convention in the CCDC. I’ve referenced the website; we’ve had a great addition to the CCDC, Pat Washburn, our new webmaster. Pat is extremely talented and has done a fantastic job in the re-design. We’ll be working to post regularly and utilize the site as a communication tool for the county. We encourage you to forward information about your town committees and local events, so that we can share our good work.

We’ll be having our summer event at a Sea Dogs game this year. Everyone had a blast last year; we’ll be providing details shortly and look forward to your joining us. We’re looking to form a fundraising committee, to help us support our fantastic candidates this year and in future campaigns.

Finally, supporting one of our local committees, the South Portland Democratic Committee will be holding a unity dinner on Wednesday, June 16. All of the gubernatorial candidates will be present to set the tone for a great fall campaign. Please let me know if you’d like more details.

As ever, let me know if you have any questions at ccdcchair@gmail.com or at 329.5843. We look forward to seeing you soon!!!

—
Reid Scher, Chairperson

Wanted: Your Convention Photos

Were you a delegate to the Maine Democratic Convention? Did you bring a camera with you? E-mail the webmaster, Pat Washburn, with your photos and video from the event, and we’ll make a gallery here on the Cumberland County site.

MAINE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 2010 PARTY PLATFORM

Preamble

Since the time of Jefferson and Jackson, the Democratic Party has led the struggle to strengthen democracy in our government. Democracy is the belief that the best repository of wisdom is an informed and educated electorate and that this electorate has a right to control the political agenda and debate those issues that are of importance to them.

In keeping with this philosophy, Maine Democrats believe in serving the people in Maine by promoting strong sustainable communities, fairness and opportunity for all, and investment in Maine’s future. Economic opportunity and security, universal access to quality education and healthcare, good government, fair taxes, safety and national security, human rights, environmental protection, and international cooperation are the policies and principles for which we have long fought and will continue to fight.

We adopt this platform as an expression of what Democrats in Maine support and as a guideline for elected officials in their political work.

A. Economic Security, Opportunity, and Justice
We support a democratic government that:
1. Builds strong communities by ensuring: jobs for all who can work; a livable wage; affordable housing, food, fuel, health care, and other essential commodities for all; and support for those suffering hardship.
2. Provides economic security through: a strong, non-privatized Social Security program, stricter regulation of public and private pensions, and guaranteed protection of workers’ pension funds and the rights of their designated recipients.
3. Opposes reducing the Social Security benefits earned by workers who have also earned a benefit from public retirement plans; and works to repeal discriminatory laws that penalize some retired workers and their families while allowing others to receive full benefits.
4. Ensures a fair workplace by: guaranteeing the rights and the ability of all workers to form unions through the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, bargain collectively, and strike without replacement or reprisal; keeping the workplace free from health and safety hazards, discrimination, and harassment; enacting rules that respect employees’ family obligations, health, and other needs; and monitoring and penalizing offenders of labor laws.
5. Encourages a sustainable economy by promoting: private and public Maine-owned and operated businesses; tourism (including ecotourism); cultural diversity; working waterfronts; high-value woodland management; active and potential farming; the total fishing industry; the manufacture and export of value-added products; and Maine food and fiber products.
6. Creates economic opportunity by promoting investments in: ports, public and commercial transportation, renewable energy, environmentally responsible construction, small business, research and development, employment skill building, information technology, and arts, culture, and other amenities that stimulate a creative economy, attract business and tourism, and improve quality of life for all.
7. Creates an equitable economic environment through: strong consumer protection, banking, access to pensions, and corporate governance laws; encouraging the growth of local banks, credit unions, and other cooperatives; and preventing discrimination based on race, color, gender, age, physical and mental ability, religion, ancestry, national origin, and sexual orientation.
8. Supports an energy policy that seeks to protect the people of Maine from corporate speculation and profiteering, and supports the non-profit operation of public facilities for public purposes without creating local economic hardship.
9. Believes the authors of the U.S. Constitution did not intend corporations to be included in the definition of the word “person” and “people,” and supports legislative remedies and/or a Constitutional amendment to correct contrary court decisions.
10. Protects people from the repercussions of natural disaster.

B. Health Care and Education
We support a democratic government that:
1. Believes that quality health care is a fundamental human right and therefore supports a universal, single-payer, and nonprofit health care system on a national level and, in addition, supports the efforts of individual states to develop single payer systems until the goal of national coverage can be achieved. Strengthens Medicaid, Medicare, Dirigo, and veterans’ benefits. Addresses the unique medical needs of all individuals, especially discrepancies of health care delivery to minorities.
2. Supports public and preventative health initiatives, wellness and healthy living, and disease prevention. Ensures prenatal and childhood care and inter-operationally coordinated electronic medical records.
3. Protects a woman’s access to reproductive choice.
4. Strives for a strong healthcare workforce by providing incentives to recruit, educate, and retain well-qualified primary care physicians and nurses as well as other direct care workers.
5. Provides health care and community support for people with disabilities, making it possible for them to live freely and to perform productive work.
6. Supports individual choice in managing the end of one’s life.
7. Ensures food safety through science-based testing, quality control by a dedicated federal agency, the identification of imported food by country of origin and the identification of any genetically modified content, and support for local food production and distribution.
8. Ensures humane living, transportation, and slaughter conditions for farm animals raised for food.
9. Helps children succeed by: supporting youth and families with affordable early childhood education and other vital services; preventing domestic violence; protecting children from abuse, neglect, and the dangers of poverty; and focusing on prevention and intervention and providing adequate funding.
10. Ensures a learning environment that: challenges all children to reach their highest potential; respects their backgrounds; protects them from violence, abuse, and bullying; and provides programs to prevent substance abuse, suicide, and other destructive behaviors. Supports alternative educational settings and special-needs programs.
11. Invests in public educational institutions, provides lifelong learning opportunities for all, equitably funds all school districts, improves salaries and professional working conditions for all teachers and staff, develops criteria for excellence in schools, involves community members and parents in student-centered education, and improves educational quality through training and development.
12. Recognizes our responsibility to provide post-secondary education opportunities for everyone, with financial support and minimal student debt.

C. Ethical Government and Democracy
We support a democratic government that:
1. Promotes the general welfare by: delivering promised social services, making needed public investments, embracing transparency and accountability, and promoting the most effective use of available financial resources.
2. Opposes contracting out the jobs of public employees to profit-making businesses.
3. Calls for an uncensored and democratic media to foster the equitable distribution of economic, social, cultural, and informational assets; and ensures an informed citizenry by: promoting the diversification of communications media, supporting public broadcasting and locally-based public access television; upholding public interest standards for broadcasters; restoring the Fairness Doctrine and Equal Time Rule; expanding cable franchising; increasing public access to communications, supporting equal access to the Internet; and extending low cost, high speed Internet access to all communities.
4. Promotes democratic accountability through: campaign finance reform, including publicly funded elections at all levels; a fair assignment of legislative districts; increasing the allowable number of terms for state legislators; and electoral reforms such as preference voting, proportional representation, voter-verified paper ballots, non-partisan election commissions, Election Day National Holiday, elimination of excessive personal identification for voting, and counting of every vote including valid provisional votes.
5. Maintains the integrity of the Maine and the U.S. Constitutions by strengthening the separation of powers and by requiring executive, legislative, and judicial accountability.
6. Supports fair and equitable compensation for legislators and ensures that they are provided with the tools and resources they need to perform their work adequately.
7. Promotes reforms in the legislative and regulatory processes to reduce the influence of professional lobbyists and to increase the ability of the public to influence legislation and regulation.
8. Places a priority on negotiation, mediation, arbitration, reconciliation, and restitution; and enables the prevention, management, and peaceful resolution of conflict.
9. Supports a fair, progressive tax system that focuses tax responsibilities on those most able to pay.
10. Limits land taking by eminent domain exclusively to federal, state, and local governments, and only for projects directly benefiting the public and not for private gain or benefit.
11. Supports the elimination of the income cap on Social Security taxes.
12. Calls for a democratic and accessible national presidential nomination process that is truly representative of national political party constituencies and is not unnecessarily burdensome to the candidates in the commitment of time, money, or resources.
13. Understands that government regulation is for the protection of individual citizens and consumers, and not for the benefit of corporations or their corporate profits.

D. Freedom, Safety, and National Security
We support a democratic government that:
1. Protects the full enjoyment of the Bill of Rights as a living document, especially its guarantees of free speech, free exercise of religion, separation of church and state, and freedom from all forms of discrimination.
2. Supports the right of women to be secure in their persons, as articulated in Roe v Wade, and guarantees them the right to access all forms of reproductive choices.
3. Endorses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including its guarantee that all people have the right to food, water, shelter, medical care, and a good education.
4. Does not torture or condone torture, and expeditiously closes the Guantánamo Bay detention camp.
5. Guarantees the right to personal privacy and rejects all forms of spying on American citizens without warrants.
6. Upholds the ancient right to habeas corpus for everybody by rejecting detention that is secret, indefinite, and not subject to court review or in which detainees lack access to counsel and loved ones.
7. Protects our communities by requiring businesses and organizations to act responsibly toward their employees, their communities, and the environment.
8. Protects our communities by properly regulating corporations and financial institutions, strongly prosecuting corporate crime, preventing crime of all kinds, reforming prosecution of nonviolent offenders, uniformly enforcing laws, and enacting new laws where needed.
9. Works for the preservation of public peace, health, and safety and is responsible for peaceful economic security and justice through the enactment and enforcement of law.

E. Civil Rights
We support a democratic government that:
1. Affirms its special responsibility to promote full participation of all persons in all of society’s activities.
2. Promotes and enforces all laws, including Affirmative Action and Hate Crimes Laws, that protect civil rights; prohibits racial, ethnic and religious profiling; provides for equal treatment; guarantees equal access to higher education, employment, and housing; and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, gender, age, physical and mental ability, religion, ancestry, national origin, or sexual orientation.
3. Respects the dignity of all immigrants, ensures their human rights, and offers a path to legal residence for undocumented immigrants.
4. Extends to gay and lesbian couples and their families all the same legal and social rights and protections that heterosexual couples now receive, including civil marriage, and opposes any constitutional amendment or legislation that would deny these rights.
5. Calls for a transparent, equitable voting system where every vote counts, including write-ins, and prohibits efforts to intimidate and discourage voters or restrict voter rights.
6. Protects employees against unfair and arbitrary dismissal by (at a minimum) creating a right to administrative due process.
7. Immediately suspends discharges under the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy and removes heterosexual orientation as a condition for military service.
8. Fairly and uniformly enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), bringing into full compliance all public accommodations, including all federal facilities, with no exceptions.

F. Environmental Protection
We support a democratic government that:
1. Develops and implements a comprehensive energy resource plan to increase efficiency, to reduce pollution and reliance on fossil and unclean fuels, and to mitigate global climate change by promoting the research and use of domestic, environmentally sound and renewable energy sources with particular caution for the placement and use of all alternative energy sources, and the fuel supply of biomass boilers. The development of the plan should be transparent and open to public comment.
2. Conserves our working landscape and natural heritage through responsible stewardship of our environment and natural resources and opposes environmental degradation in accordance with the “precautionary principle”: do no harm to the public good.
3. Promotes protection of open space and responsible land and marine use laws and planning processes; makes comprehensive environmental and socioeconomic impact reports an integral part of the decision making process for all proposed projects that may significantly affect Maine’s communities and environment; and supports local control of projects having potentially negative impact.
4. Conserves and protects land, water, forest, wetland, vernal pools, air space, and marine resources; expands public lands to preserve biodiversity, vital habitats, scenery, recreation, hunting, and fishing; and promotes sustainable farming and fishing.
5. Ensures access to clean, safe, public drinking and swimming waters, and enacts laws to protect surface waters and aquifers against economic exploitation.
6. Leads New England’s campaign against airborne pollution; defines, limits, and monitors out-of-state waste; eliminates harmful waste; enforces the state’s “Solid Waste Hierarchy” as currently in the statues; and promotes recycling.
7. Supports the re-writing of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 to provide protection for people according to the “precautionary principle.”

G. Global Peace, Security, and Justice
We support a democratic government that:
1. Safeguards our national security through peaceful solutions to international challenges; supports international law and ratified treaties; works closely with allies and in good faith with all nations; strengthens the United Nations and its peacekeeping operations; opposes subversion of popularly elected governments; actively works to prevent genocide; and joins the International Criminal Court.
2. Maintains a strong, effective defense force that is equipped and organized to handle legitimate foreign threats and is complemented by a reliable intelligence service; opposes the use of private contractors in combat zones; strives to end civilian casualties; works to reduce arms and the arms trade worldwide and ultimately to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction; opposes new arms races; and never launches undeclared or pre-emptive wars.
3. Works to end the threat of terrorism multilaterally, primarily through negotiations and cooperative police work, using force only as a last resort.
4. Strives for a comprehensive approach to achieving sustainable peace and stability in the greater Middle East through renewed emphasis on diplomatic means, economic and social development, and reduction of military presence, notably:
§ In Iraq, by pursuing diplomatic solutions, transferring control to the Iraqi people, accelerating the return of our soldiers and contractors in a responsible manner, and fostering an international stabilization program that supports the Iraqi people and improves their economy.
§ In Afghanistan, by refining our strategic objectives to focus on eliminating the threat of terrorist attacks against the U.S. and its allies through enhanced use of diplomatic, political and economic means; by working with allies to achieve military disengagement in a short period of time; and by supporting Afghan efforts to achieve a credible, legitimate government committed to reducing the influence of corruption and narcotrafficking and promoting economic and social development, including human rights.
§ In Iran, by cooperating with other nations to help the people of Iran and their government decide through direct negotiation that they do not need nuclear weapons, and by demonstrating to Iran the advantages of improved relations with the world community.
§ In Israel and Palestine, by active involvement in an international peace process allowing Israelis and Palestinians to co-exist with mutually recognized borders.
5. Promotes human dignity and international security by dramatically increasing support for humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, international development, and the elimination of poverty.
6. Takes a leading role in an international effort for reconstruction and sustainable development in Haiti.
7. Leads in shaping a global economy that supports a fairer distribution of growth and development among all peoples; protects indigenous trades and resources; strengthens democracy; and protects the environment, labor rights (including right to a fair wage), public health, and the public good.
8. Strengthens regulation of international financial and commodity transactions.
9. Ensures that current and future trade agreements support and strengthen domestic jobs, businesses, and farms by assisting their integration into the global economy; eliminates all forms of government assistance for outsourcing of jobs and businesses; reforms WTO, NAFTA, and other U.S. trade agreements so that they include enforceable protections for workers’ and consumers’ human rights and enable sustainable environmental quality for all.
10. Acts aggressively to reduce the U.S. trade deficit.
11. Diminish the role of the Department of Defense in world affairs to a strengthened and expanded Department of State. Appoint ambassadors and high-level aides who are culturally and educationally experienced for their posts. Strengthen the entire diplomatic corps in cultural and language training, governance and diplomatic skills. Eliminate partisan political appointments in the diplomatic corps. Expand citizen cultural and educational exchanges with all nations and coordinate efforts and provide leadership in the developing world for non-governmental Organizations and universities.

We, as Democrats of Maine, support these principles and pledge to work cooperatively with local governments, other states and nations, and all other parties for a better future for all Maine’s people.

South Portland Unity Supper

South Portland Democrats are planning a spaghetti supper Wednesday, June 16, to solidify Democratic support for the winner of the June 8 primary. All four of the current candidates for governor will be present, win or lose, and Gov. John Baldacci — whose political fortunes are closely tied to spaghetti — will be there as well.

The event is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. June 16 at Events on Broadway, 729 Broadway in South Portland.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for children 12 and under. They’re expected to sell out, so get yours today by calling Matt Beck at 232-1976 or John Jamieson at 239-8687.

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