Why America needs more politicians like Maine Gov. Paul LePage

Yes, he says outrageous things. Yes, he takes hard-line stances. But he comes from a different place than most American elites — and that's a very good thing.

LePage
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty))

Ever since Mitt Romney's "47 percent" disaster-gaffe in 2012, national Republicans have tried to shirk their image as welfare-hating, green eyeshade–wearing budget choppers. Even Paul Ryan, the former head of the congressional Ayn Rand fan club, now talks about expanding the scope of welfare programs to return more of their dependents into productive workers.

But Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), himself the product of a poor and disordered childhood, is not following the national herd. He's promising more cuts, and not exactly masking his rationale. Last year, he even took up the 47 percent number, saying "about 47 percent of able-bodied people in the state of Maine don't work... It's really bad." The number was wrong, significantly so. But he had staked out a clear position: Many recipients of state aid were undeserving. During his state of the state speech early this year, he said, "Too many Mainers are dependent on government handouts. Government dependency has not — and never will— create prosperity."

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.