Governor LePage has been talking tough since he began running for office. He has made a lot of promises to his Republican base.

At the same time, he has been angering many people outside that base (the other 70% of Maine) so much that some people, myself included, think he is actually decreasing the liklihood that he will be able to actually accomplish all those nice uber-conservative goals he has laid out.

In the interests of the public good, I would like to lay out all the things LePage promised or proposed and keep track of the actual results. This should help both sides judge whether or not LePage’s “fire all weapons” strategy is working.

I don’t claim to have all proposals listed here, so please feel free to add a comment if I missed anything. Also comment if you hear any results on a particular action.

The LePage Scoresheet

• “Open for business sign.” LePage promised that he would cut down the old sign and put up an “open for business” message. Well, he didn’t cut anything down but the new sign is there in all its Texas-made, off-blue glory. UPDATE 6/3/11: Despite the sign being stolen, I’m still going to call this one a success. A new sign will up soon! Status: SUCCESS.
• Not banning BPA. We were promised that BPA would be allowed in children’s toys, water bottles, and poutine. Unfortunately, the legislature felt differently and LePage has dropped this demand. Status: FAILURE.
• Cutting teacher and government worker benefits, increasing their pay deductions. LePage says he is going to drop the state’s pension contributions 2%, up the employee contributions 2%, and do all sorts of things that basically cut retirement benefits by a couple billion dollars. Status: Uncertain. The budget process is ongoing.
• “Right to work” legislation. Although no one is required to join a union to work, this bill would allow employees to also refuse to pay a negotiating fee to a union for the benefit of the union negotiator getting all employees a better deal on pay, benefits, and working conditions. Basically, legalized freeloading. STATUS: Appears doubtful. The latest word on AMG is that Republican Senator Raye is not standing behind this proposal, increasing the chances it will die.
• Lower top income tax rate. This is pending along with the budget, so not much is known about it’s chances right now other than, of course, the Republican majority would tend to pass a tax cut. STATUS: Uncertain, but my gut says it is going to happen.
• Raise exemption from estate tax. Too many rich teachers and social workers have their savings taxed when they pass away, so in exchange for decreasing pensions LePage is offering to raise the exemption on estate taxes from $1 million to $2 million. I can hear all those millionaire teachers breathing a sigh of relief. As with all tax proposals, this one is in progress. STATUS: Uncertain.
• Welfare Reform. During the campaign, LePage promised some sort of improved tiering of benefits that to some observers seemed like it would increase costs. I don’t know where this stands at the moment. Status: Uncertain.
• Environmental regulation rollback. I clearly remember a promise to not make business count buffaloes ever again, but there was also a whole lot of other regulations on the chopping block. UPDATE 6/3/11: Looks like no more major environmental changes are on the horizon before the legislative session ends. Status: Likely failure.
• Jobs. In all the hoopla, it is hard to remember but there was a distinct promise to bring jobs to the state. Status: Not Yet.
• Tell Obama to go to hell. LePage has, as of March 28, not yet told Obama to go to hell during his term in office. Status: Pending, surely.
• Health Insurance Reform. They did it. They got rid of health care regulations and replaced them with their own, more insurance company friendly set of regulations. They get to do as they want until 2014, when the new federal health care law takes effect of 2012, when they lose the legislature. Status: Success.

The Score

Success: 2

Failure: 2

Uncertain: 8

Caveats: I’ll try to keep this page updated, but I make no promises. I’m also sure I’ve missed a bunch. Help me fill this in.