Saturday, November 6, 2010

Too Many Bragdons? Maine's Transition Begins


I noticed today in the Portland Press Herald that Gov-elect LePage has named his transition team. I was surprised to find that he named Tarren Bragdon to an unspecified role.

Tarren Bragdon is a former Maine state rep and is now CEO of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a conservative think-tank that describes itself this way:

"The Maine Heritage Policy Center is a research and educational organization whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise; limited, constitutional government; individual freedom; and traditional American values–all for the purpose of providing public policy solutions that benefit the people of Maine."

Fine and dandy. But if you dig a bit further, you'll come across this great September article from the Lewiston Sun Journal . The LSJ contextualizes the Maine Heritage Policy Center within a growing national trend of conservative (and non-profit and therefore supposedly non-partisan) policy institutes that aggregate conservative cash and spend it through the release of partisan policy papers. They also point to this New Yorker article which analyzes the reach of Americans for Prosperity policy centers nationwide. It's astounding the amount of corporate money floating out there, influencing local elections and blurring the lines between policy, education and electioneering.

Interested, I checked to see if Maine has an Americans for Prosperity chapter. We do. And who do we have as the Director? Trevor Bragdon, Tarren Bragdon's brother. Small world?

Though LePage is quoted in the PPH story as saying he doubts Tarren Bragdon will play a role in his administration, his appointment to the transition team sends a clear message to Mainers: extreme conservatives in Maine will operate under the belief that Nov. 2 handed them a mandate for change. No more Bangor rallies with 25 people. No more voter-rejected policy initiatives like TABOR.

Maine has a Republican Governor and Republican-controlled Legislature. Let the transition begin.

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