NEWS CENTER Maine's Political Brew: Sunday, May 7, 2023

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This week’s analysts are WLOB Radio’s Ray Richardson and attorney Ken Altshuler, co-anchor of WGAN Morning News.

MAINE, USA — NEWS CENTER Maine political analysts Republican Ray Richardson and Democrat Ken Altshuler discussed a wide range of issues at this week’s Political Brew, from bills to expand access to abolition in the state until the Proud Boys convicted in connection with January. 6 disturbances in the capitol.

Eliot Cutler, convicted

Eliot Cutler was the former gubernatorial candidate and prominent political figure convicted of child pornography. In a plea deal, the judge sentenced him to nine months in prison and ordered him to register as a sex offender for life. Child welfare advocates argue that the punishment does not go far enough and that Cutler should have faced federal charges.

Ken: It’s amazing to think that someone who came within 1.5 percentage points of being governor was convicted. This also goes to show that you never know, right? Many people criticized the sentence he received. When you look at the average sentence in the state of Maine for this crime, it’s really in the range of six to nine months. I think that’s a pretty short sentence, especially for someone who is prominent.

RAY: I mean, I know, Eliot, we had dinner together at The Grill Room. He’s probably been in my studio 30-50 times over the years. Surprise is not even a strong enough word. Eighty thousand images of children under the age of 12. I just can’t understand it. The sentence, Ken is right, is consistent. It just seems short. But he probably would have had years if he had been prosecuted by the federal government.

Abortion Debate

Abortion was up for debate again in Augusta this week, with people from both sides filling the statehouse to testify. Lawmakers pulled an “all-nighter.” listen to hours of testimony. Among the bills was one proposed by Gov. Janet Mills that, if passed, would allow abortion after viability if a doctor deems it necessary.

ZACH: Ray, I know you oppose expanding access to abortion, but are the Republicans likely to stop any of these from happening?

RAY: Well, if you consider the horseshoe people, the elected officials who were on the committee, all the Democrats sponsored the bill. So it will come out of committee should be approved. I think they should take a break, though, just for a moment. There are some pro-choice Democrats who think postviability is a bridge too far. And when you add in 675 people who signed up to testify and the Capitol Police said 2200 people entered the state capitol that day and only 65 testified in favor, it would give me pause to think that maybe this is a bridge too far

KEN: It is not surprising that more people show up to oppose it because those who feel the strongest will come to testify. Now, let me say the caveat. I don’t know anyone who is pro-abortion. It’s pro-choice. And the decision, I know you and I disagree on this, but you know what? I think it’s a choice between her and her doctor. And there are rare situations. This is a very rare situation. But it is a critical situation where a woman and a doctor decide that it is necessary to terminate the pregnancy, and I support that.

Demand on budget

This week, some House Republicans joined a lawsuit against Governor Mills and Democratic leaders, alleging that the legislature violated the state constitution by approving the budget for state services along party lines with a simple majority. Lawmakers then temporarily suspended it to ensure it became law more quickly.

ZACH: Ken, I want to start with you. A lot of people are saying this lawsuit is long, but does it seem like he’s gaming the system?

KEN: Well, of course, it’s playing the system that politicians do. And if the Republicans were in charge, they would game the system too. A 1940 Supreme Court decision says it’s up to the governor to decide what circumstances can do that. It is a long-term demand. It’s politics. It’s whether they should have or not. they can And they did. And this is politics. live with him Republicans would have done the same if it benefited them to do so.

RAY: Well, except they did. But that’s okay.

KEN: They are not in power.

RAY: Right? No, no. But I’m talking about when they were in power. But no, I think this demand is frivolous. I personally, look, I don’t agree with what they did. Governor Mills and Democratic leaders said they feared a government shutdown. Not a single Republican lawmaker I spoke to was talking about this. So they wanted to game the system because they have big spending plans, but they didn’t break the law.

debt ceiling

Republicans and Democrats in Washington can’t agree more by raising the debt ceiling. Republicans want to increase it but with some major spending cuts. The leadership is supposed to meet with President Biden next week.

ZACH: Ray, are the Republicans going to move here?

RAY: Oh, I think they will. I think the White House could move a little bit. At the end of the day, this is one of the dumbest fights we make. We’ve spent the money and now we have to borrow to cover the bills we’ve already promised. I mean, it’s not like we’re asking for money for new expenses. This is to cover things we have already agreed upon. I think the debt ceiling fight is crazy. Should we do something? For sure. We have 32 trillion in debt. The CBO projects $52 trillion in debt over the next ten years. Something has to be done. But let’s face it, anyone in leadership in Washington, Republican or Democrat, just doesn’t have the balls to do what’s right.

KEN: I’ve talked about it before. This was never a problem. This suddenly became a problem in the last year, and the political situation and Donald Trump raised the debt limit three times. No, nothing related to that. So this is all political maneuvering. They will make a deal because they have to, but this is not an issue that very conveniently became political fodder. It is really irresponsible and could really damage the world economy.

Imminent border crisis

Congress is preparing for what could be a big migration crisis next week. Title 42, which took effect under President Donald Trump at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, is ending, allowing border officials to deport migrants to Mexico without the ability to seek asylum. Both Republicans and Democrats are concerned about this and are working to keep these restrictions in place.

ZACH: Ray, this is not a long term solution.

RAY: No, of course not. We haven’t had comprehensive immigration reform in this country since ’86, when Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to 3 million people. For some reason, it’s Congress’ job to secure the border and allow a grand gate. Ronald Reagan spoke about it in his farewell address to the country. If we’re going to have walls, let’s have big doors where people are welcome… So this is a very bad situation. It will get worse when Title 42 goes away. But in no way, shape, or form, does any of this solve any problems. And until we find people with more intellect and more courage, we will find ourselves in this situation.

ZACH: Ken, do you think title 42 should stay in place or something like that?

KEN: Well, what title 42 intended is no longer true. It is not a matter of health. But I was glad he stayed in place because I don’t think Joe Biden was handling the immigration situation properly.

Condemned Proud Children

The aftermath of January 6 continues. A jury in Washington convicted several proud boys involved in the Capitol riots this week for seditious conspiracy.

ZACH: Ken, is justice being served?

KEN: Yes, it is. I think the Department of Justice has done an excellent job in their processes. It’s very difficult to hear some Republicans downplaying the importance of the insurrection, which I believe was an insurrection. And Donald Trump, by the way, is praising the proud boys. It says a lot about Donald Trump’s character. But yes, pursue to the full extent of the law. This organization is. Frankly, it is a white supremacist organization. The less power it has, the better. So good prosecution, good verdict. I was very glad to see it.

RAY: White supremacist organization led by a black man. It’s the funnest thing in the world. My attitude has been the same since day one. I disagree with Ken that it was an insurrection. If it was, it was the dumbest thing ever. But it was a riot and a stain on our Capitol. I believe that everyone involved should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that has been my position. If they can prosecute these guys and find him guilty, go ahead and throw them out. You know, this is not America. That’s not what we do.

Winners and losers

KEN: The winners, I think, are the people of Maine for finally having spring here. It’s 70 degrees, according to Todd Gutner, with beautiful weather — time to get outside and enjoy. So the people of Maine, to me, are the winners.

The losers, I must say, are transgender [people]. And I mean that because, you know, I feel like they’ve become a new target of hate, frankly, in my opinion. And they are a small minority. They deserve protection. And instead, they have been attacked by the legislatures. And I think they are the losers of the week for their pursuit.

RAY: Well, I’ll agree with Ken about the weather. We turned off the heating in our house, and yesterday it was 44 degrees. So I agree with you. It’s nice to have a little spring. I don’t really have a loser. I mean, we’re Americans. We are all winners.

You can watch Political Brew every week on Sunday morning on NEWS CENTER Maine’s Weekend Morning Report.