Poliquin

Maine's second congressional district isn't white collar Portland or ritzy Kennebunkport. All 10 of Maine's wealthiest towns are in York and Cumberland counties, part of ME-01. Meanwhile ME-02 is an all-American blue collar district. And it's a swing district that Obama won by about 10 points both times he ran but that Hillary lost by about 10 points to Trump. The Democratic establishment was looking for a Blue Dog to run, a Republican-lite character who would sound like a less extreme version of the current congressman, Trump enabler Bruce Poliquin.

Frank Schaeffer’s last roadtrip for 2017 took him from Agua Dulce in California’s Santa Clarita Valley to Lewiston, Maine to talk with progressive Democrat Jared Golden. Frank bonded with Jared over the service Jared and Frank’s son both experienced as marines in Afghanistan. If you’re not from a military family, you may find what Frank and Jared had two say about that in the video enlightening.

Wall Street doesn’t hand out the big bribes randomly. They pay off the members of Congress who are in position to help them achieve their legislative and regulatory goals, especially crooks who look like up-and-comers. The Open Secrets chart above shows the amounts the Finance Sector bestowed on it’s favorite House members this cycle only. And the cycle is just beginning.

The Ryan/Trump tax plan (short version): over the long run, it raises taxes on the entire middle class while repealing health coverage for around 13 million people, all to give corporations and the 1% gargantuan tax cuts. No one should have expected anything else from these two serial liars.

Did anyone ever really believe Trump's idiotic campaign promises to drain the swamp that he personifies or hold Wall Street-- which now runs his regime-- accountable? If so... how tragic! Late Tuesday evening Trump had Mike Pence break the 50-50 tie in the Senate that will now allow banks more leeway to prey on their customers without fear of sanctions. That it even got to a point where the GOP-controlled Senate needed a tie-breaking vote from Pence was strange.

Thursday night Jared Golden, the Majority Whip of Maine's state House, and the progressive running for Congress in the sprawling 2nd congressional district, was the recipient of the Maine AFL-CIO's Edie Beaulieu Legislative Award "in recognition of outstanding leadership and support for working class people and working families' priorities.

On Thursday morning at 6AM (ET) Jared Golden announced he is running for Maine's second district congressional seat, the one currently occupied by sleazy Republican Bruce Poliquin. On Thursday morning at 6AM (PT) Blue America endorsed Golden.

This morning Jared Golden, the Assistant Majority Leader of Maine's House of Representatives, declared his candidacy for the only New England seat held by a Republican-- Bruce Poliquin-- ME-02, the district Trump won last year. Jared grew up in Leeds, Maine, a small dairy town of about 2,000 people. He served four years in the U.S. Marines with combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He attended Bates College after the Marines and later returned to Afghanistan as a volunteer teacher.

Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) is the only Republican representing a House district in New England. He's a rich guy who began his political campaign by self-fundng a race for governor-- and not just losing to crackpot Paul LePage but coming in 6th out of 7 Republicans in the primary! LePage gave him the job as state treasurer. In 2012 he lost another GOP primary, this one for the U.S. Senate seat given up by Olympia Snowe.