Kevin Miller
Bangor Daily News
1/14/2011
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage is once again stirring controversy with his off-the-cuff and sometimes off-color statements, this time telling National Association for the Advancement of Colored People leaders and other critics to “kiss my butt” over his decision to decline several invitations from the organization.
In typical LePage style, the comments appear to have been made in a lighthearted manner. But NAACP leaders found little humor in the remarks, with the organization’s national president accusing Maine’s new Republican governor of inflaming racial tensions.
Speaking to reporters Friday morning, LePage was asked to respond to suggestions from NAACP members and others that his decision not to attend ceremonies honoring Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was part of a negative pattern.
“Tell them to kiss my butt,” LePage said with a large smile, according to video by WCSH6. He then added: “If they want to play the race card, come to dinner and my son will talk to them,” a reference to his adopted son, Devon Raymond, who is black.
Dan Demeritt, LePage’s spokesman, had said the Republican governor was unable to attend a NAACP dinner honoring King in Portland on Sunday because of personal commitments and a NAACP breakfast in Orono on Monday because he plans to attend the funeral for a former state trooper.
The article continues at the Bangor Daily News.
H/T GatewayPundit
