Posted on 01/18/2017 1:06:14 PM PST by Steven Scharf
A high school band has driven two Portland politicians to socialism
January 17, 2017 News, The Express BDN Portland’s evening email newsletter. By Dan MacLeod
A high school band has driven two Portland politicians to socialism — A high school band’s performance at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration has struck the wrong chord with some on Maine’s far left.
Tom MacMillan, a 2015 candidate for Portland mayor, and Seth Baker, who lost a November bid to represent the city in the state Senate, say they’re leaving the Maine Green Independent Party because a party leader will be attending the presidential inauguration.
Instead of sticking with a party that “is unwilling to keep its own leadership in line,” MacMillan said he and Baker would be joining the Socialist Party, which is not currently on the ballot in Maine.
“That was the last straw,” said MacMillan. “It’s really a betrayal of values.”
The thing is, Green Secretary Ben Meiklejohn says he isn’t going for political reasons. He’s a music teacher and director of the Madawaska school band, which was invited to perform in the “Make America Great Again! Welcome Concert” at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 19. Trump will be sworn in the following day.
“The students are really excited,” said Meiklejohn, who served on the Portland school board from 2001 to 2007. “I think it would be an injustice to deny them the opportunity they would get because of my political views.”
The idea that Meiklejohn is doing his job and providing his students with what might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity didn’t satisfy MacMillan. He said the performance is “normalizing something that should never be normalized” and pointed to other bands that have refused to play inaugural events. — Jake Bleiberg
As you can see from the vote results below neither Tom McMillan nor Seth Baker even came close to winning the seats they were seeking. Tom at one point was the chair of the Portland Green Party Committee that was building itself as a force in Portland that was actually a middle road alternative to the ultra left democrats and they elected four greens to the school committee and three to the city council. Tom took the committee far left and there now are just two ineffective greens on the school board (renamed as board in 2010).
Tom was not driven to socailism as he was already an admitted socialist.
2016 Maine State Senate Election Results Seth Baker Green: 3,673 16.7% Ben Chipman Democrat: 14,794 67.2% Adam Pontius Republican: 3,542 16.1%
2015 Portland Mayor’s Election Results (Non partisan election, the two top vote getters are democrats and the 3rd place was a green)
Ethan Strimling 9,162 51% Michael Brennan 6,882 38% Thomas MacMillan 1,880 10%
“It’s really a betrayal of values.”
What are these values which they think are being “betrayed?”
Socialism is a mental disease.....pure and simple...............
Yeah... “driven” to socialism? That’s a pretty short trip from a Green Party.
The unhinging continues, unabated.
Sounds like Portland, Oregon inherited more than the name.
What we really want to know is, did they end up having a purse-swinging fight, or did they only get as far as hair-pulling and knocking over cups of latte and chai?
Lived in both areas; Portland OR is a little more unhinged, but not by much.
You need only read to the part that says both lost their elections for public office. They are both losers. Now can we move on to matters that matter.
What isn’t there a Communist party for them to join?
Drove a leftist to socialism? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
WellI don't know about that, but except for about 50 people, every man woman and child in Portland is either a moonbat, parasite, snowflake or Trotskyite radical extremist.
That includes Ether Strimling, his predecessor Walter Brennen, the shameless ingrate Mark Dion, Ben Chipman and most of the Portland legislative delegation, past and present.
And it's not just Portland politics, their numbers allow them to essentially run the state.
My one experience in Portland kind of supports your conclusions.
I've not only had plenty of those WTF! incidents, but also plenty of "total immersion" time to solidify my complete confidence in the absolute integrity of the RAT-collective mindset.
IOW: They suck.
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