{"id":1293552,"date":"2022-02-12T16:07:48","date_gmt":"2022-02-12T21:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1293552"},"modified":"2022-02-12T16:07:53","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T21:07:53","slug":"maine-republicans-blast-democrat-governors-federally-funded-fantasyland-speech-amid-surging-inflation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maine-republicans-blast-democrat-governors-federally-funded-fantasyland-speech-amid-surging-inflation\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine Republicans Blast Democrat Governor\u2019s \u2018Federally-Funded Fantasyland Speech\u2019 amid Surging Inflation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmaine-republicans-blast-democrat-governors-federally-funded-fantasyland-speech-amid-surging-inflation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1293552&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">Spending promises Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) made during her State of the State address Thursday night were met with swift backlash from state Republicans, who said Mills\u2019 \u201cfederally-funded fantasyland\u201d was not the answer to high inflation and unemployment rates.<\/p>\n<p>In her speech, Mills touted an $822 million state budget surplus and a key promise to give half of that back to Mainers by making roughly $500 one-time direct payments to 800,000 Maine taxpayers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhile I cannot control the impact of COVID-19 on global markets, I can make sure that we deliver to Maine people the resources they need to grapple with these rising costs as we rebuild a stronger sustainable economy that is more resilient to the whims of the rest of the world,\u201d Mills said as she spoke \u2014 fully masked for the duration of the speech \u2014 about the direct payments, noting the proposal had bipartisan support.<\/p>\n<p>Mills\u2019 critics were not satisfied with the promise, however, and also said the governor should receive little credit for a budget surplus that they said is due largely to the Biden administration\u2019s federal spending packages,&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/budget\/federal-covid19-assistance#:~:text=On%20April%2017%2C%202020%2C%20the,and%20Financial%20Services%20(DAFS).\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">including<\/a>&nbsp;more than $1 billion sent to Maine as part of a federal coronavirus response last April.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be some help, but it\u2019s not going to be enough. \u2026 I think the speech from the governor was nothing more than a campaign speech,\u201d Rep. Joshua Morris (R-Turner) <a href=\"https:\/\/bangordailynews.com\/2022\/02\/10\/politics\/janet-mills-state-of-the-state-to-address-relief-checks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>, according to the&nbsp;<em>Bangor Daily News<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Many state Republicans have cited inflation, which&nbsp;<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/economy\/2022\/02\/10\/january-cpi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hit<\/a>&nbsp;a 40-year high this month, and a state unemployment rate that is higher than the national average as indicators Mills should be committing to structural tax reductions rather than one-time payments made possible, at least in part, through federal relief money.<\/p>\n<p>They say state struggles such as its relatively high state income tax and unemployment rate, which is at 4.7 percent, is self-induced after Mills&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/covid19\/timeline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">placed<\/a>&nbsp;coronavirus restrictions on businesses through the middle of last year.<\/p>\n<p>Mills is up for reelection this year, and challenging her is former Gov. Paul LePage (R), who has called for an elimination of the state income tax. The Maine Republican Party chided Mills for delivering a \u201cfederally-funded fantasyland speech\u201d and shared LePage\u2019s response to Mills\u2019 speech.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Read this if you want to return to reality after Mills&#8217; federally-funded fantasyland speech. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/mepolitics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#mepolitics<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eLImJJM1pP\">https:\/\/t.co\/eLImJJM1pP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Maine GOP (@mainegop) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mainegop\/status\/1491957092986593280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 11, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cInstead of working to fully eliminate Maine\u2019s income tax like I have proposed, Janet Mills is promising more and more spending, propped up with funny money from deficit spending out of Washington, DC,\u201d LePage stated.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19845626\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AP22018703501232.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19845626\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AP22018703501232.jpg\" alt=\"FILE- Former Gov. Paul LePage marches in the State of Maine Bicentennial Parade in this Aug. 21, 2021, file photo, in Lewiston, Maine. The campaign for LePage, who is challenging current Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, said it has raised almost $900,000 so far. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty, file)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Former Gov. Paul LePage marches in the State of Maine Bicentennial Parade in this August 21, 2021, file photo, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>LePage, Mills\u2019 predecessor who had served as governor for two terms before being term-limited out of office, recalled that the unemployment rate in the Pine Tree State was \u201cnever higher than the national average\u201d under his tenure:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>No debt-fueled, funny money from Washington, DC can paper over Janet Mills failure to manage Maine\u2019s economy. As Governor, I was proud that Maine\u2019s unemployment rate was never higher than the national average, but today under Janet Mills, our unemployment rate is not only above the national average it is 80% worse than New Hampshire\u2019s. That is the difference between having a Governor who has a real background in job creation or a Governor whose lifetime has been politics like Janet Mills.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Mills\u2019 office did not respond to a request for comment on Republicans\u2019 criticisms about her address. Her full speech can be read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maine.gov\/governor\/mills\/sites\/maine.gov.governor.mills\/files\/inline-files\/Governor%20Mills%20State%20of%20the%20State%20Address%20February%2010%202022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Write to Ashley Oliver at <a href=\"mailto:aoliver@breitbart.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">aoliver@breitbart.com<\/a>. Follow her on Twitter at <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/asholiver\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@asholiver<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spending promises Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) made during her State of the State address Thursday night were met with swift backlash from state Republicans, who said Mills\u2019 \u201cfederally-funded fantasyland\u201d &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1293552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1293552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1293552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1293552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1293552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1293552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}