Otten gave money to Biden, Pingree, Michaud

I am not sure if Otten was a republican prior to his decision to run as one for Gov, but IMO he is an opportunist trying to get elected as a republican because of the anger of lots of Mainers at our State govt. He is a RINO

"He’s got some work to do if he wants to represent the Republican Party."

Chellie? - He might as well drop out now and run as an I.

He also donated to Adam Cote. The Republican Project broke the story - here's the link:
http://republicanproject.org/users/ted-ropple/blog/10-22-09/les-otten-pa...

Ed Brown also posted it on AMG. Not sure who had it first.

Perhaps these revelations put his alleged fraternization with Potholm in a better perspective.

As in, just more of the same.

Bump for big Otten fan Ray Richardson.

I assume if you are criticizing him for a 2,000 dollar contribution to Ms. Pingree, you are also praising him for his well over 50,000 dollar contributions to Republican candidates over the years .... just to be consistent, of course.

So if a man cheats on his wife 2000 times, the 50,000 nights he spent with his wife makes up for it?

The actual numbers are $10,500 to Democrats and $31,800 to Republicans.

For the 2008 election, he gave a total of $6600 to Republicans Collins and Summers and a total of $5000 to Democrats Pingree, Michaud, and Cote.

Dan,

If you are gonna make a case that Otten is not pure enough, wouldn't you agree that all the facts of his contributions be known. Just because the Augusta Insider published what they were aware of, it does not mean it reflects all the contributions Otten has made over the years.

I am not defending his contribution to Pingree. I think he made a mistake by doing it. Unfortunately, that is the life of a businessman in Maine, you must work with both sides.

Maybe we should call on all the Republicans who have recieved money from Otten over the years to return it to him because he made this contribution to Pingree.

I think that would be consistent. It is not as though his contribution to her was made in secret. I think you should ask all Republicans who have recieved Otten's money for their campaigns to return it as that money, from your perspective, was obviously tainted and therefore should not have been accepted.

By the way, if the search is to find the perfect person or candidate, I suggest everyone drop back 2,000 years .... of course we all know how that one turned out.

If the information which is publicly available is incorrect, the Otten campaign can release documents to correct the record. Until they do so, all we can do is rely on public records.

The idea that you must contribute to Democrats to do business in Maine is simply a lie. Anyone who says it is a liar. The records indicate that Otten did business in Maine for a long time without contributing to Democrats -- but all of a sudden decided to do so in a big way in 2008.

One might need to contribute to Democrats if you are running a business in Maine that will be seeking government handouts.

Perfection in a candidate is not required. But when a candidate contributes to people like Pingree, Michaud, and Biden and relies on Edie Smith (Ms. Dirigo) and Chris Potholm in his campaign, the person is not only not perfect but is someone who falls below the minimum standards for a Republican candidate.

A youthful indiscretion or an isolated contribution to a personal friend can be forgiven. But we have here is someone who was a substantial donor to Maine Democrats LAST YEAR who now wants to be the standard bearer for the GOP.

As for giving back the money that is a bad idea -- Otten might give it to a Democrat. Contributing it to Otten's opponents would be a better idea.

By the way, my friend Rick Bennett gave back Otten's contribution when he decided not to run for Congress in 2002.

So, are you saying Rick would have kept the contribution if he had run?

Confused about the relevance of that comment. I would assume people who accept contributions and then do not run, return those contributions. Of course, as you often point out, I assume incorrectly about a lot of the activity of people who run for office.

So, what was your point about Rick ... that he took the contribution, decided not to run and then returned ... implying he would have accepted the contribtuion for a legitimate campaign, or .....

that he returned the contribution on principle, as in he did not deem Otten a person worthy of accepting money from? and if that was your point, did Rick Bennett ever accept money from Otten?

Not sure of your point.

Finally, I think you have hit on something here.

I think you should call on every Republican in Maine to return contributions from anyone who has contributed money to Democrat candidates or Democrat leaning organizations. It is important that we remain pure in this process.

Dan,

Potholm I can agree with. In regards to campaigning, you can do worse than Edie Smith. In fact, has she lost a compaign since I worked with her on the bear referendum? You are good a pointing out facts. What is that number? From a business perspective, Edie is not a bad move.

I am no fan of Otten's and I am sure I am not alone.

Ray: I mentioned Rick because he is the only person on the list who might listen to what I tell them on the subject.

Of course, comparing people who take money from Democrat contributors to people who actually contribute to Democrats is stupid.

There is also the practical problem that campaigns that no longer exists can't give back money they don't have. I do think Senator Collins could show leadership by announcing she would contribute the money she got from Otten to Pingree and Michaud's 2010 opponents.

There is also a difference between the standards that are acceptable for contributors and the standards we apply to candidates. Otten is perfectly qualified to be a contributor to Republicans. But he is not qualified to lead the party. (He is similar to Peter Mills. Mills is acceptable as a GOP candidate for the State Senate in a Democrat leaning district. Being the party's nominee in a statewide race is another matter entirely.)

I think it goes without saying that business people in Maine work with both sides. That is a fact of life. You can call it a lie all you want ... that is just the way it is.

Until this state turns around .... until real leadership emerges that focuses on the economy, that is the way business is done in Maine.

I assume from your comments, you have never personally represented a Democrat or accepted a retainer from a Democrat in Maine. Since Republicans represent the smallest political registration in Maine, I guess that is possible as you are well connected in Republican circles, but it seems odd to me that no one you have represented would be a registered Democrat.

Ray: Bruce Poliquin is a Maine businessman that has done business in Maine without contributing to Democrat candidates. Most businesspeople don't contribute to any politicians.

Working with Democrats is different than contributing to their campaigns.

I have never represented a Democrat campaign or candidate.

jmcards: Edie Smith ran the campaign against the People's Veto of the beverage tax LAST YEAR. She was out there defending DIRIGO and its funding. Win/loss record should not be the only consideration when hiring staff. Jesse Connelly is a skilled and successful campaign manager. What would people think if Otten hired him? On its own the Smith hiring is no big deal. But in context of these other facts, it illustrates a candidate with no principles.

Oh well, there are five announced candidates with Steve Abbott widely rumored to get in the race. I would be surprised if any of them are "pure enough" for some here.

The Pingree contribution was an error in my opinion. I think she represents the worst about Maine and Maine politics. On the other hand, if I had millions, I would have given Adam Cote money. Adam Cote is a good man and was arguably more conservative than Summers.

The amount of money Otten gave Summers seems to be forgotten here.

Poliquin, Jacobson and Otten have not been elected to public office before. I am certain that every move they have made was not calculated on how it would appear in some campaign down the road. That in itself is refreshing. Career politicans have brought us to this point.

We are not talking about only Adam Cote.

We are talking about:

Chellie Pingree;

Mike Michaud; and

Joe Biden!

One isolated contribution could be forgiven. A pattern of funding the opposition in big numbers LAST YEAR is another thing entirely.

Thanks Dan...

My point was Smith is a very good campaign manager. That's also how she makes her living and seems to me like she does just fine. I don't agree with a lot of her politics...but she does know how to effectively run and win.

I also agree with the political contributions. You don't have to grease the dems to succeed in business, well, unless your an overpriced vendor looking for a state contract...that's another thread.

Who a candidate surrounds themselves with -- and their politics -- is one thing to consider about any candidate.

Otten relying on people who helped elect Angus King is a concern. King sounded good during the 1994 campaign and was a very liberal Governor.

Well, I would have supported Adam Cote had he been nominated ..... I publicly endorsed and voted for Mark Dion for Sheriff and I have and will on November 3rd support Mike Foley for city council in Westbrook.

I think we should have a philosophically pure party where anyone who contributes, votes or works with Democrats in any capacity should be thrown out.

We can start with Olympia.

Let's not let Otten's flack distract us.

We are not talking about Mark Dion or Adam Cote or someone unknown City Council candidate.

We are talking about thousands of dollars to:

Chellie Pingree;

Mike Michaud; and

Joe Biden!

And Susan Ray....don't forget Suzie

So we should be upset about Olympia but not be concerned about a candidate that contributes to Democrats.

That makes a lot of sense.

So, you have condemned Otten for his contributions to Pingree and Michaud.

Have you said anything nice about his Republican contributions or did you think he was somehow obligated to make those contributions?

It is his money, right?

The Pingree contribution, in my opinion, was an error.

The Summers contribution was a good thing.

Although I have not been on this board very much in the last year, in a quick search, I have not seen where you said anything good about his contribution to Summers.

Are you the self-appointed, "Negative-in-Chief?"

By the way, Olympia's "trigger for a public option" will actually impact us all.

Otten's contribution to Pingree did not.

Of have you forgotten that she is about to nationalize American healthcare?

I would expect someone who wants to be the leader of the Republican Party in Maine to have a record of supporting Republicans. I do not think the fact that a Republican candidate has contributed to Republicans is something worthy of note.

The fact that a Republican candidate wrote large checks to not one, not two, but THREE Democrat candidates for federal office LAST YEAR is unusual and worthy of note and criticism.

Dan,

Why so much venom toward Otten? Did he wrong you somewhere down the line?

Are there no other candidates for governor who have contributed to the other side? And if there are, why has there been no mention of them and their wayward financial largess?

I have missed this back and forth with you and did not realize it. I should drop by more often.

Did he wrong you somewhere down the line?

It appears as Otten wronged the Gop, and everyone in it.

Otten's another Angus King. Ray, are you always so impressed with high profile candidates? Your angle seems to be because he's Les Otten, he can do no wrong and we should all get on board.

I think this particular Republican primary has something for everyone. The six candidates run the gauntlet of the political spectrum from the ultra conservative LePage to the ulta liberal Mills and then the four guys who fall somewhere in between on the philosophical spectrum.

It is one thing to point out a particular action, as you have with Otten's Pingree contribution. It is entirely another to use words like lying and liar as you have in this thread.

I consistently attack the political action of a person, but I do not attack them as a person, not here on AMG or on my show.

Using words like liar is a personal attack

I suppose if Otten prevails as the nominee, he will not be able to count on your support, based on your comments here. Isn't that exactly what you are accusing him of? If not, how is it any different? You are the "Republican's lawyer," as the media refers to you.

I guess purity is a virtue reserved for only certain people.