It was another busy week in politics in Maine and across the country. From another loss for Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley to the latest on the off-shore wind power debate in Maine.
Nikki Haley continues fight
As expected, Nikki Haley was defeated by former President Donald Trump in her home state of South Carolina. Even still, Haley is vowing to continue her campaign despite that she lost in Iowa and New Hampshire as well.
ZACH: "Cathy, what's the path forward here and why stay in?"
CATHY: "Well, I think Ambassador Haley has a mission to provide an alternative to the Trump ticket. She believes there are still some Republicans out there that are not satisfied with Donald Trump and she's their flagbearer at this point. And I give her a lot of credit for continuing to fight for the rest of the party. And I think I wish her well."
ZACH: "But how long can she stay in? I mean, ultimately it comes down to the cash."
RAY: "Yeah. They say she has money to go through Super Tuesday. You know, her appeal in California excuse me, South Carolina was to Democrats and unenrolled to come in and vote in that primary. That seems like an odd strategy for a Republican. I don't know why she's staying. And if she exits after, you know, after the South Carolina primary or after Super Tuesday, it'll be the earliest exit of the last person standing other than the nominee. Bernie Sanders went to April, I think, and in 2020 or 2016, whichever it was. I don't know what she's doing because I think she's hurting her viability four, four years from now, no matter what, there's going to be an open primary for Republicans in 2028. Trump wins. Trump doesn't win. She's hurting herself with a lot of Republicans because of her appeal to Democrats."
Alabama embryo debate
A major hospital in Alabama is pausing all in-vitro fertilization procedures after a controversial Supreme Court decision in the state last week. University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital says it fears patients and doctors could face criminal charges. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos created during fertility treatments can be considered children under state law.
CATHY: "This is a further step down the road of trying to create personhood before people are actually born. And I also was in infertility treatment many, many years ago. There are already very important and strong safeguards around how embryos are handled in medical settings. There's a lot of care and respect taken for where those embryos land. And I think thinking that an embryo, as is a full fledged human being, is so frightening to me. I think it's going for all the millions of families around the United States who need assistive technology to build their families. This is going to send a chill to everybody. I mean, it's hard enough that you have to have the medical world involved in this very, very intimate step in your life. But then to have the courts and potentially law enforcement looking down your neck, I mean, that is just terrifying to me."
ZACH: "Ray, I know you're staunchly pro-life, but will this and the issue of abortion and reproductive rights hurt Republicans this year?
RAY: "I don't think so. I mean, this is the way it's supposed to work. This is a state by state decision. We've seen in Maine last year, Governor Mills signed the most expansive lease, restrictive abortion law, abortion up till birth. If a doctor will sign off on it in not only in this country, but I did the homework in the entire world for countries that have abortion laws. Now, in Alabama, you've they've declared the Supreme Court has that embryos are children. I think this is the tension that's supposed to go on in this country, which is why I was always against Roe v Wade. I felt it should be at the state level. If that's a value Alabama holds, I celebrate it because I'm pro-life. I am pro-life without exception. And I am also pro-life in believing that we help the mother post-birth. We help her with spiritual care, financial care, medical care. And there are many organizations and outside of the government willing to do it if the government would allow it."
CATHY: "There's absolutely no way I would ever cede control over what goes on in my uterus, my daughter's uterus, to any sort of outside control. And I applaud the legislature and Governor Mills for recognizing that when there are fetal anomalies and there are families struggling with what to do with that very, very challenging pregnancy, that that decision rests between them their God, their clergy, their medical professionals and their own conscience. That's it."
Mills' steps out on wind power issue
Governor Janet Mills is getting some heat this week after announcing her administration support to build an offshore wind port on Sears Island in Searsport. The town manager supports it, but lawmakers are split. Mills said it makes the most sense for Maine's climate and economic goals.
ZACH: "Republicans are already voicing opposition to this. And, of course, of wind power in general, as they have been for years. Are you surprised the governor came out so strong on this?"
RAY: "Yeah, I am. I know she's for wind power. And frankly, I believe to the detriment of the fishing industry. Me personally, I wasn't born here. I'm not a Mainer by birth. I'm a miner by choice. My wife and I moved here 39 years ago. We love this state. We love its people. We love what Maine has always stood for. Part of it is that beautiful coastline. Why we would want to literate with those god awful windmills when they're inefficient. And we know this because there have been many private sector businesses that have pulled out of the wind industry because you can't make a profit unless it's subsidized by the government. There are many other ways to have clean, green energy in this state. Hydro is a great one and for some reason we're not embracing it, although we have all these rivers here that we could be generating clean, green, sustainable electricity. Governor Mills has three more years in office, and I think it is a tragedy for the people of Maine that she's going to litter our coastline with these dadgum windmills."
CATHY: "Well, I have a very different perspective than Ray does on this. You know, the administration has done has invested a lot in research on offshore wind. There's been an enormous amount of time spent through the university system and other other avenues trying to figure out where is the best site and how to make it effective and environmentally least impactful. And we just saw what's happening to our lovely Maine coast with these enormous storms and floods that are happening because of climate change. So this is consistent with Governor Mills, climate plan, which I completely applaud. I have the honor of serving on the Climate Council during my time in the Senate. She's a national leader, and Maine is leading the country in renewable energy, hydropower, as you know, as if dams look a whole lot damming up our rivers look any better than, you know, windmills. And let's look at electric electric infrastructure. We it's not pretty. We're just used to it because we grew up with it. So, you know, we need to adjust. We need to pivot. We need to change the way we make energy. And this is one step and I applaud it."
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