MAINE, USA — Gov. Janet Mills delivered her State of the State address on Thursday.
She outlined how she wants to use the state's projected $822 million revenue surplus, returning half of it to taxpayers through $500 relief checks.
Mills' supplemental budget also provides $20 million for two years of community college tuition for high school graduates and tens of millions more for hospitals and nursing homes.
Ken Altshuler thinks the community college plan is good to return money to the state by helping young people go to college here and stay here. But he said, "I'm not a big fan of sending out checks. I don't think it really stimulates the economy. But it sure feels good to people who get the checks, and it's a good political move."
Ray Richardson was more vigorous in his opposition, calling the checks "a scam on the people of Maine."
He likens it to getting a brief "sugar high." Richardson said, "If she was going to spend $400 million to do this, she could've bought down the state income tax to 5%, but she's going to give out political checks."
U.S. Rep Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, may face her first primary challenge since she was first elected in 2008. Aaron Amede wants to challenge Pingree in the Democratic primary in June.
He's a 26-year-old political newcomer and a U.S. Army veteran who works as a certified nursing assistant in Westbrook. Part of his pitch is that it's time for a new generation of leadership in Congress.
"I like new blood, and I like term limits." Democrat Altshuler said. "I don't think he's gonna gain much traction. I think people like Chellie."
Richardson, a Republican, said, "There's a lot of unrest with Chellie because she has no discernible accomplishments in Congress." He said he likes Amede's youth and energy but added, "Do I think Chellie Pingree's going to lose the Democratic primary? No, but boy, I'd love to see it."
Three words have led to some infighting among Republicans: "Legitimate political discourse."
That language was used when the Republican National Committee censured two Republican U.S. House members, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, for taking part in the investigation of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Republicans from Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, have pushed back.
Sen. Susan Collins, for one, said, "Those who assaulted police officers, broke windows and breached the Capitol were not engaged in legitimate political discourse, and to say otherwise is absurd."
She also said any time spent re-litigating a lost election or defending criminals "moves us further away from the goal of victory this fall."
Richardson said the RNC's actions were "ridiculous." And he said it is wrong to try to legitimize what happened last year.
"We had a riot at the Capitol. I don't believe it was a coup d'état. I don't believe it was an insurrection. But we clearly had a riot at the Capitol. We should all be ashamed of it. Republicans should feel awful about this," he said.
And he agreed that the party doesn't benefit from focusing on the last election instead of the next one. Richardson said, "I believe Donald Trump is now beginning to hurt things because there are Republicans who support him. They believe their vote doesn't count, and they may not vote."
Altshuler agreed that Republicans are being shortsighted, saying, "Seventy-one percent of Republicans in the United States of America believe that the election was fraudulent. That's the problem. If you're going to continue the 'big lie,' you're going to continue to have Republicans do this. I applaud Republicans who say, even if you believe it was fraudulent, which it wasn't, at least they're saying 'let's move forward.'"
The analysts also discussed efforts to prevent members of Congress from trading stocks and a landmark Maine court ruling about equal pay for women.
Political Brew airs Sundays on NEWS CENTER Maine's the Weekend Morning Report.