Beacon Podcast

On this week’s Beacon Podcast, Ben and Mike talk about the new polls showing Trump even or ahead in Maine’s Second Congressional District, and how the 2014 Maine gubernatorial race can inform this year’s election.

They also discuss Maine’s increasing infant mortality rate and some intersections with national trends.

Mike also has a first-person report and fact check from the “No on 2” launch in Brewer.

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This week on the Beacon podcast, Ben and Mike discuss the refusal of Republican legislators to return to session to take any action to hold Governor LePage accountable and what Mainers can do on an individual basis to combat systemic racism. They also discuss a series of public events over the last two weeks in support of the minimum wage referendum.

This episode contains some occasional input from 10-month-old Anjali Chin.

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This week on the Beacon Podcast, Ben and Mike bring us up to date on a week-long racist meltdown by Governor Paul LePage and the Republican legislators who are shielding him from any consequences for his actions.

Also, some thoughts on the effects on the legislative elections and some intersections with Trump’s national strategy, or lack thereof.

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Photo via Andi Parkinson.

Ben and Mike again find themselves discussing racism up and down the Republican ticket, from Donald Trump’s false outreach to black voters, to Governor Paul LePage’s 3-ring binder full of racism, to Maine congressional candidate Mark Holbrook’s misinformed diatribe against Black Lives Matter.

In the podcast this week, they go beyond these specific incidents and take a look at how fanning the flames of racial resentment can work as a strategy for these kinds of candidates, at least to a point, and how progressives need to articulate a vision of optimism and pluralism to compete.

They also dissect the new Beacon poll and dive into some fascinating numbers from Gallup explaining from where Donald Trump draws his support.

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This week on the Beacon Podcast, Ben and Mike discuss Hillary Clinton’s economic speech, Trump’s campaign shakeup (with some television allusions), give a referendum roundup and recommend a book.

Links:

Marijuana map

Stand Up for Students taxes chart

Imbeciles by Adam Cohen

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This week on the Beacon Podcast, Ben and Mike discuss the repudiation of Donald Trump by Sen. Susan Collins, as well as comparing, contrasting and quibbling with Trump rejections by other prominent Maine Republicans.

Also, they revisit then-candidate Barack Obama’s seminal speech on race in America (video, transcript) and discuss how political rhetoric on race has changed over the past eight years.

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Photo via Talk Radio news Service.

On Thursday, a dozen Mainers stood up during Donald Trump’s Portland rally holding pocket copies of the U.S. Constitution. Photos and videos of their action, and the crowd’s hostile reaction, quickly went national, international and viral.

This week on the Beacon Podcast, Ben and Mike discuss the national events leading up to this political moment and the planning and effort that went into the inside action as well as the larger protests outside City Hall that day. They also talk about what went wrong and what went better than anyone could have expected.

Special thanks are due to Jennie Pirkl, Andrew Francis, Carissa Tinker, Daniel Sipe and all the other volunteers and staff who worked hard to respond to Trump’s bigotry with love and inspiration.

Mike and Ben also discuss Trump’s attack on Mainers from Somalia and the ongoing response from that community.

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Back from vacation, Ben Chin joins Mike Tipping for an action-packed podcast, with a look back at the conventions, an examination of a sexist attack in the CD2 race, updates on the minimum wage referendum and some summer reading suggestions.

Find Ben’s book recommendation, America’s Kingdom, at your local independent bookstore.

Also mentioned: An op-ed in The Hill by national women’s groups on Maine’s minimum wage referendum.

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Conservation Law Foundation attorney Ben Tettlebaum joins the Beacon podcast this week to discuss the decision by the members of the Maine Public Utilities Commission to ignore the recommendations of their own staff and potentially allow fossil fuel companies to bankroll a new, risky gas pipeline with public funds.

“The fossil fuel industry hoodwinked the PUC into gambling one billion dollars of Mainers’ hard-earned money on a massive new gas pipeline,” said Tettlebaum in a release earlier this week. “From day one, this LePage-appointed commission has been desperate to find any way to justify overwhelming concessions for Big Gas, no matter the cost. From helping kill the solar bill, to reopening wind contracts, to squashing energy efficiency programs and more, these commissioners have exhibited a troubling pattern of failed leadership, regressive policies and unlawful behavior, and today’s decision is no exception.”

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Photo via Flickr user Ryan McFarland.

This week on the Beacon podcast, Mike interviews Yes on 2 campaign manager John Kosinski on the Stand Up for Students referendum. Governor Paul LePage has repeatedly said it’s the question on the ballot this November that he most opposes, because it undoes some of his tax breaks for the wealthy.

Also, updates on the minimum wage campaign, Black Lives Matter and the media’s response to Governor LePage’s serial lying.

Plus, a new sponsor: Robert’s Maine Grill!

Photo: a volunteer tabling for Question 2 at the Potato Blossom Festival.