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Chandler Woodcock seems like a nice guy. With his bowties and corn pone, “aw shucks” humor, he comes across as genuinely likeable—that is, until you look at where he stands on the issues.
- Supports the teaching of creation, as science, in public schools
- Opposes a woman’s right to an abortion
- Is pro-TABOR, a pathetic “slash and burn” attempt at corralling taxes in Maine; the only thing TABOR will do is hurt those on the margins in Maine
- Talks in vague terms about reforming state government, a government that he has been a key part of for the past six years, as a state senator
- His program for job growth seems unsustainable, given his penchant to cut taxes across the board; how the hell can you fund R & D, when, under Woodcock’s tax policies, there won’t even be money to maintain our roads?
On top of all of his, Woodcock seems unable to structure his schedule (or maybe it’s muster the courage) to attend forums in front of people who may not share his views. The bow tied wonder’s latest dodge, involved a forum sponsored by Portland’s NAACP, at the Westbrook campus of the University of New England, on Thursday. Prior to that, he missed a forum sponsored by the Women's Policy Center (who probably wanted to speak to him about his views on abortion) and the Maine Education Association (who probably had a question or two for Chan).
While I admit that my title is a bit over the top, Republicans, from Woodcock, all the way up the Republican ladder, to the man at the top, GW Bush, have a disturbing track record at snubbing people of color. The previous Republican gubernatorial challenger, a man with more “urban” sensibility than the small town Woodcock, “handsome” Peter Cianchette, also apparently had scheduling issues when it came to speaking before the NAACP, back in 2002.
In a statement issued by Democratic Party chair, Ben Dudley, Woodcock’s apparent lack of leadership is questioned.
“Avoiding those with whom you disagree isn’t leadership. Leadership is about listening to all sides of an issue and working with all parties, even those you disagree, to achieve the common good.”
Despite spokesman Chris Jackson’s protestations and cries of “foul,” Woodcock has spent his entire campaign being vague and relying merely on the bowties and his corny humor to obscure his obvious lack of any real ideas on how to run the state of Maine. Whatever your inclinations are towards the other three candidates (I'm not counting Phillip NaPier, "The People's Hero" other than for comic relief), they are quite clear on the issues and their direction for Maine.
As they say, actions speak louder than words. Certainly, the impression that Woodcock left with one group is that he doesn't care about their issues.
Rachel Talbot Ross, the president of Portland's chapter of the NAACP had this to say about the snub.
"I think it's irresponsible of (Woodcock's) campaign to allow us to think that he doesn't care about the constituencies we represent."
Note to Woodcock:
While Maine is a fairly white state and Farmington is even whiter, snubbing Portland’s NAACP and its constituency isn’t a savvy political move. The fact that two Republican candidates in a row have skipped the NAACP’s forum, I think, speaks volumes about the party and is one indicator that Woodcock is just another right-wing Republican ruled by a narrow agenda. Add to this the fact that the agenda of many Republicans benefits only the wealthy, powerful and predominantly white male base that keeps propping up the party and you have a pretty good reason not to choose that direction for Maine, a direction that is by-and-large, ruled by ideological straitjacket.
8 comments:
Nice post! Thanks for putting some clarity on the TABOR choice.
A bit over the top? I guess so! You ought to be ashamed of your self!!!!
Ashamed of what! Highlighting that Chandler Woodcock is another typical Republican, who kneejerks with "I'll cut your taxes" at the expense of vital services, opposes allowing women control of their own bodies and thinks creationism ought to be part of the science curriculum?
If he could put some breadth to his plans, I'd be more inclined to at least consider him a reputable candidate.
Get over yourself!!
It's not so much that they hate black people, as that there really is no good political reason to like them, I think.
Somewhat unrelated - can we have a moritorium on candidates who want to "create jobs"? What effing candidate wants to eliminate jobs? Tell me something meaningful!
Apparently today, Maine Republicans actually released a purported substantive plan to lend some substance to their talking points--I haven't had a chance to read them yet.
I can hardly wait!!
There is no need for minorities to feel inferior in the 21st century with affirmative action, scholarships, and a judicial system that will put any employer in its place for firing a minority without just cause.
When Dr. Martin Luther King said that he wanted people to be judged by the content of their character instead of the color of their skin, I am sure that he never would have forseen the strides made for minorities. However, if he only knew how the Democrats continue to play the race card and continue to make Democrats feel like they are still not equal with whites, he would be rolling in his grave.
Living in New York City granted me the oportunity to see that Democrats never brought about change in East Harlem. Not only did they fail to bring about reform, they were known for being corrupt. It took Mayors LaGuardia and Giuliani to stop the corruption and the illegal actions of Tammany Hall.
I must make a few corrections to my previous statement.
First of all, "There is no need for minorities to feel inferior in the 21st century with affirmative action, scholarships, and a judicial system that will put any employer in its place for firing a minority without just cause," should be rephrased to say, "There is no need for minorities to feel inferior in the 21st century with affirmative action, scholarships, and a judicial system that will put any employer in his/her place for firing a minority without just cause."
Secondly, the passage, "However, if he only knew how the Democrats continue to play the race card and continue to make Democrats feel like they are still not equal with whites, he would be rolling in his grave," should be amended to say, "However, if he only knew how the Democrats now play the race card and continue to make African-Americans feel like they are still not equal with whites,...,"
So Jim, who did you support in the gubernatorial election? Do you think that a governor who receives only a plurality of the votes deserves to be in the Blaine House. If Mainers would only use strategy, they would have unified under one candidate to replace Baldacci. Instead we will have to live with four more years of Dirigo Health (taken from money that was supposed to go to hospitals), a DHHS that needs auditing, and high taxes (to support the Democrats' base -- those on welfare who rightfully fear that the Republicans will institute a Giuliani-style plan of making work mandatory for those on the rolls to find work after a specified amount of time).
Democrats feel that we are living in the time of Charles Dickens and that if we do not become socialistic, some slothful person will perish. Well, this is America and some people like Bloomberg came with little and built himself up. It just takes a little ambition and motivation by the state instead of a condoning of a lack of productivity. The taxpayers of Maine should rid themselves of their tax burden and ensure that everyone takes part in the process of paying taxes.
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