LePage vows to veto Democratic bills until tax plan passes

finance.yahoo.com ^ | 5/29/15 | Alanna Durkin

[cotton1706]

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- Republican Gov. Paul LePage vowed Friday to veto every Democratic-sponsored bill that gets to his desk for the rest of the time he's in office unless the Legislature agrees to let residents weigh in on whether to get rid of the income tax.

"The Maine people deserve to have a say on the income tax and until they lift it, that's my leverage," LePage said during a wide-ranging and spirited news conference at the Blaine House. "And yes, is that politics? I'm playing their game. I'm finally learning to play the game of the politician."

LePage wants to pass a constitutional amendment — which would require voter approval — to prohibit the state from collecting the income tax beginning in 2020. But his effort is fiercely opposed by Democrats who question how the state would make up the $1.7 billion in annual general fund revenue that would disappear.

LePage called Democrats' actions this session "disturbing," ''repugnant" and "disgraceful." He pointed at Democratic House Leader Jeff McCabe, who attended the event, saying, "Shame on you."

After the governor's remarks, McCabe said LePage has come "a little bit unglued."

"I think back home that's the kind of politics that really upsets people," McCabe said. "That kind of ... name calling just isn't really appropriate when trying to work in divided government."

The Taxation Committee recently rejected LePage's constitutional amendment along party lines, and the measure has yet to come up for a vote in the Democratic-led House or Republican-controlled Senate. It will need two-thirds support of lawmakers in both chambers — the same support Democrats will need to override a possible flurry of vetoes by LePage.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Good for LePage. Walker and LePage are showing Republican governors how it’s done.