By Michael Shepherd - Aug. 22, 2022
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📷 Former Gov. Paul LePage points at a Democratic tracker during a Madawaska event on Aug. 13, 2022. (Screenshot of video from the Maine Democratic Party)

Good morning from Augusta. There are 78 days until Election Day.

What we're watching today

The former governor is on a long list of Maine politicians annoyed by their opposition party's trackers. I was off the grid on a camping trip last week, so I missed the Maine Democratic Party's release of a video showing former Gov. Paul LePage threatening to "deck" a party tracker following him too closely for his liking at a Madawaska event. (LePage was pointing at the staffer with his left hand with a donut in his right, so there seemed to be little safety risk.)

The Republican gave us the most hot-tempered reaction to a tracker in Maine political history. The practice of following candidates around with cameras is generally traced back to 2007 in Maine. A seminal video showed Sen. Susan Collins quizzing a Democratic staffer following her during a Stockton Springs parade in the run-up to her reelection campaign the following year.

Her campaign objected to the practice at the time and Democrats said they made changes in their policies afterward, but tracking only escalated after that and is now employed by both parties and outside groups. In 2010, LePage's top rivals in gubernatorial election complained about a Republican tracker. During his run for the Senate two years later, Angus King singled out a tracker who he said wanted to see him "slugging a baby." (They apparently did not get that footage, as King cruised to victory.)

The practice has not been confined to campaigns. After Democrats swept into control of the Legislature in 2012, LePage canceled a meeting with incoming leaders to discuss economic issues because a party tracker was still following him around at public events. The fallout from that made 23-year-old staffer Brian Jordan into a briefly well-known figure in political circles.

Every big-name politician is being tracked these days at least some of the time. Of course, LePage is a good candidate for tracking because of his history of controversial remarks. On the other hand, video of candidates — even in more private settings — is easier to find these days than it was a decade ago given the proliferation of live-streamed events on social media platforms.

Ironically, LePage's reaction gave the tracker the type of reaction that makes political parties want to track their opponents. It is a practice aimed at getting material to use against candidates and getting under their skin. There are other ways to handle this. Look at former state Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, who took to Facebook after being tracked at a weekend event to say he wished Democrats would send him the footage "because video of me handing out American flags to children would be wonderful content for social media."

Maybe we need a Golden Rule for political candidates: If you have a donut, keep calm and offer one to your tracker as well. Here's your soundtrack.

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What we're reading

— "Facility fees," which are charges for simply being treated in a hospital, are among the major factors driving unexpectedly high medical bills in Maine, according to a Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram investigation.

— The unusual dispute between Maine Medical Center and Anthem, the state's largest insurer, had an even more unusual resolution.

— Meet the University of Maine researchers who are researching self-driving cars and virtual reality in the imposing former home of the art department.

— The pogie, a key lobster bait fish, is booming and regulators want to allow Maine fishermen to catch more of them.

— Three Hancock County schools are installing filtration systems after finding high levels of forever chemicals in their drinking water.

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News and notes

📷 This screenshot is taken from a Congressional Leadership Fund ad against U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine's 2nd District.

A Republican group is spending big on ads against a Maine congressman's latest major vote.

— The ad from the Congressional Leadership Fund hits U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from the 2nd District, for his vote in favor of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats' major health care, climate and tax measure.

— It is the Republican super PAC's first ad against Golden in his race with former Rep. Bruce Poliquin, a Republican, and independent Tiffany Bond. The group put $750,000 behind it, Politico reported Friday.

— The most-cited nonpartisan analysis of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act estimates little to no effect on inflation in the long term. But the ad makes a number of spurious claims about the so-called Inflation Reduction Act that Republicans have repeated in the past month, including by exaggerating the bill's effects on the IRS workforce.

Providing legal representation to families in the child welfare system is the focus of a legislative panel.

— The idea of a pilot program expanding access to legal representation in Maine's system came from a bill that sailed through the Legislature this year that came as a response to advocates reporting an overreliance on state caseworkers to inform families of their rights under the law.

— A commission studying the idea is holding its second meeting of the year this morning, with members scheduled to get an update from Todd Landry, director of the Maine Office of Child and Family Services. Watch it.

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