Category Archives: Politics

Politicians need to care more about the country and less about themselves

Earlier this week, Lance Duston wrote on his BDN blog about the need for better-qualified public officials. He argued that voters need to get rid of their fixation on candidates’ regular-guy appeal and instead support those who have government experience and relevant education. I agree with Lance on his first point, but I think he misses the […]

The Republican healthcare plan would cause more American deaths than terrorism

Of all the threats to American lives, few frighten the country more than terrorism. Thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of people elsewhere in the world have lost their lives to terrorism over the past two decades. ISIS has killed upwards of 50,000 people over the course of their existence, one or two hundred of […]

Trump won’t bring the paper industry back to Maine

The BDN Editorial Board sort of beat me to the punch here, but their article makes a similar point in a different way, so I’m still posting my take. Donald Trump won the election on a false hope. He said and promised many things that brought him the support that delivered him the presidency, but […]

Ranked Choice Voting Could Start Renewal of Democracy According to Scholar

Larry Diamond is a renowned democracy scholar based at Stanford (and affiliated with my organization, the National Endowment for Democracy, I can happily say). He has made a career out of analyzing democracy in theory and practice all over the world—its grand historical arcs and concepts, as well as its finer details. So our state should […]

How to Fix Trade

One of the key issues underlying the political currents driving the election this year is free trade. The candidates frequently discuss the topic itself, but trade is also an indirect cause or contributor to the broader sentiments defining each political side. On the right you have supporters of Donald Trump looking warily at the rest of the […]

As National Monument Controversy Continues, Dueling Sides Should Draw Lessons from Nepal

There are a few staple topics for current Maine media: drugs, the paper industry, comments by Governor LePage, and the proposed national monument by Baxter State Park. So far, this blog has touched on the first three. I figure it is about time to talk about the fourth. Elliotsville Plantation, Inc. (EPI) wants to give […]

Maine Nicked by Offshore Scandals Embroiling Other Countries

The fallout of last month’s Panama Papers leak seems to only be growing. A massive leak of information from a Panamanian law firm that helped set up shell companies in tax havens turned out to include a lot of famous names. The stereotypical use for these firms is to hide money from tax authorities, sometimes […]

How Pingree and Poliquin May Vote on the Biggest Trade Deal Ever

Trade has become a punching bag for many politicians this election cycle. With many working class manufacturing regions around the country feeling left behind by the mysterious “globalization” that seems to be making other people so much money, our country’s ever-increasing propensity to buy things made elsewhere is an easy mark for scoring political points. […]