10/4/98
Or perhaps both?
Is it possible that Rep. John Baldacci (D-2nd District) is
simultaneously a good neighbor, faithful husband, devoted father,
and also a conniving politician who owes his incumbency to the
corruption of the electoral process?
There's no question that Baldacci has been the direct beneficiary
of dirty tricks and a corrupt political machine designed to
subvert fair and honest elections. But because Baldacci is the
darling of Maine's media establishment, he has never been held
fully accountable for the actions of the goon squad that helped
elect him to his first term four years ago.
It's fairly well known that Baldacci receives huge amounts of
campaign contributions from various special-interest political
action committees (PACs). Union bosses, trial lawyers, and
radical gay activists have been big check-writers for Baldacci's
campaigns. But most voters are unaware of the extent to which
Baldacci benefited from the dirty tricks paid for by organized
labor's thugs in three-piece suits in 1994.
At the time, Baldacci was running against Republican Rick Bennett
for the open Congressional seat in Maine's sprawling 2nd
District. According to David Heller of Politics, Inc., Baldacci's
campaign consultant in Washington, the Democratic Party hired a
polling firm to do "push-polling" against Bennett, paid
for by the unions.
Push-polling is a grossly dishonest and unethical campaign tactic
in which lies about a targeted candidate are disseminated to
voters under the guise of a public-opinion poll. The caller
identifies him or herself as a neutral pollster seeking
voters‚ opinions of candidates. If the voter expresses
support for the targeted candidate, the caller then asks a
question premised on a lie about that candidate.
In a published report by Steve Campbell in the Maine Sunday
Telegram (4/14/96), it was revealed that push-polling against
Bennett consisted of asking voters if their opinion of Bennett
would change if they knew that he had defaulted on a $10,000
student loan. (The truth is Bennett had never defaulted on any
student loan.) Voters were also asked, "If you knew that
Bennett sponsored a bill in the Maine Legislature that would have
cut the state attorney general's budget down to virtually nothing
and allowed murderers to go back on the streets, would you
support him?"
There's no way to tell how many such phone calls were made in the
days and weeks prior to the election in 1994. What we do know is
that Bennett lost the election by less than 12,000 votes.
Of course, Baldacci claims he was unaware of the push-polling
done on his behalf by organized labor. But he continues to take
the union bosses‚ dirty money in this year's re-election
campaign.
An honorable public servant in these circumstances would get to
the bottom of this sleaze in a hurry by demanding the guilty
parties identify themselves. So far, I am unaware that Baldacci
has taken any action to unmask the perpetrators.
Left-wing special-interest PAC money continues to flow into
Baldacci's campaign coffers this year. That money allows the PAC
Man to consistently vote against the will of the people in his
District, without having to worry too much about a backlash from
the voters. Expensive television ads and the advantages of
incumbency go a long way toward covering up a voting record at
odds with the expressed will of the voters.
A case in point: voters in the 2nd District have twice expressed
themselves on the issue of creating a new minority classification
based on "sexual orientation." So-called "gay
rights" have been the subject of two referendum elections in
Maine. Both times, in 1995 and again this year, Baldacci's
constituents have said "no" to granting gay activists
the same legal status and benefits as truly disadvantaged racial
and ethnic minorities. Yet Baldacci persists in trying to push
civil-rights fraud down our throats.
Baldacci supports a federal gay-rights bill that would overturn
the verdict of the majority of his constituents. All that PAC
money from national gay-rights organizations speaks louder than
the twice-expressed judgment of the people the PAC Man is
supposed to represent.
The Gay Left and its fellow travelers on the Religious Left are
planning a march and rally on October 10th to agitate for passage
of a sexual orientation amendment to the Maine Human Rights Act.
This is a state issue Baldacci, as a federal representative,
would be well-advised to stay clear of. But he couldn't resist
sending a statement of support to the rally's organizers. This
action is a slap in the face to his constituents.
The PAC Man's pandering to a wealthy, selfish special-interest
group demeans the office he holds. His vote is for sale to the
highest bidder, and he's counting on covering his tracks with
wads of cash and a political machine that takes no prisoners.
The people who live in "The Other Maine" deserve better
than this.
Lawrence Lockman of Seboeis Plantation is chairman of Concerned Maine Families. His email address is ldlockman@telplus.net |