Posted on 01/14/2011 12:31:52 PM PST by markomalley
Maine’s governor on Friday told a major African American organization to “kiss my butt” after the group complained he wasn’t taking part in Martin Luther King Day events next week.
Paul LePage, a newly elected Republican, is facing criticism from the NAACP for turning down invitations to events marking the MLK holiday on Monday.
“Tell them to kiss my butt,” the governor, who’s been in office two weeks, said in a local TV interview.
The NAACP said earlier this week that LePage had rejected invitations to attend its events while campaigning and since taking office earlier this month.
“We don’t want to misinterpret his intention, but the message we’re getting is that we’re not welcome and we’re not part of the Maine he’s preparing to lead for the next four years,” said Rachel Talbot Ross, state director of the NAACP and president of the NAACP Portland Branch, the Kennebec Journal reported.
LePage said he isn’t doesn’t cater to special interest groups and considers the NAACP to be one.
“They are a special interest - end of story,” he said. “And I’m not going to be held hostage by any special interests.”
He insisted that his decision to skip the MLK Day events had nothing to do with race.
“If they want, they can look at my family picture,” he said. “My son happens to be black, so they can do whatever they’d like about it.”
LePage’s son is adopted.
LePage said he’s simply too busy to attend.
“The fact of the matter there’s only so many hours in a day, so many hours in a week and so much that you can do,” he said.
I am just glad he didn’t say “Kiss my lily white @$$”
I bet he wanted to.
I like this guy, I bet he stays away from Orono.
Where the NAACP is stoking the fires of racism, they probably said some pretty despicable things at him and his family to enter a remark like that from him
Wouldn't that be a major colored people organization?
Cheer to the governor of Maine.
Does the NAACP intend to portray themselves as victims now? I mean, isn’t that all they do anyways?
If this is the direction he intends to follow when he’s leading Maine for the next 4 years I say... bravo.
He has an adopted black child. How does the NAALCP deal with that?
I find this hard to believe. Maine has African Americans?
Is that kids name Issue Distraction LaPage?
Looks like Olbermann found his “Worst Person”. I like this Governor. He should have said, “When you tell Al Sharpton to shut up, we can talk.”
He just got my write in vote for president! A very Patton’esque statement....brutally forthright, and deathly to the point!
Yes, we shipped them all our Somalis a few years ago. They were trashing apartments with their third world mentalities.
As a Mainer, I salute Governor LePage, and commend him for not falling for the trap that was being laid. BRAVO!!
I read that the NAACP was organizing a meeting with only black prisoners. The governor wanted to meet with prisoners of all races, if a meeting was to be had. That was unacceptable to the NAACP.
Gee-—I bet all 17 blacks in Maine will really be annoyed!
Out of a population of 1 million there's about a 1% black population.
You'll find a great proportion of "old" black families in Maine. Old in the sense that their folk have been there for 150-200 years rather than dating from the early 20th industrial boom when so many blacks moved north.
I bet the NAACP didn’t endorse him. Blacks make up 1.2% of the Maine population.
I see major spin coming on this too.
The “racist” Republican meme once again.
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