Mainers Calling for Competent Management
The jaw-dropping victory by Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race completes an I-95 trifecta that started in Virginia, headed north to New Jersey, and landed in the Bay State. Where does the momentum go next? Many are saying Maine.
Since Brown’s victory, I’ve received dozens of enthusiastic emails, Facebook messages, and Tweets declaring that Maine’s gubernatorial race will be the next big Republican victory. The GOP hasn’t won the seat in two decades, but the combination of both national and local elements give Republicans one of the best shots in the country to win.
The economy and jobs are foremost on the minds of Americans and Mainers. National Democrats have neglected the issue in favor of pushing a wish list of big spending items and expanding the role of government.
Here at home, the politicians in Augusta appear tone deaf to Mainers’ calls for proper fiscal management. The most recent budget is an abomination littered with arbitrary reductions, borrowing from future revenue, and budget gimmicks like furlough days. Instead of fundamental reforms that address the root causes of our poor economy, Augusta has continued their ostrich policy of ignoring the problem and hoping somewhere down the line it will fix itself.
The time is right to send a strong message to Augusta.
Voters are calling for competent fiscal management from the top. They want to see reform of our overly generous social service programs and more accountability with how our hard earned tax dollars are spent. They want to see real tax reduction, not the shell game Augusta passed last year. They want action on simplifying business regulations that chase away our jobs and discourage employers from locating here.
More and more, people in Maine tell me they want someone in the Blaine House who has the background and experience to deal with these financial issues. They want a competent manager who has handled similar challenges in the private sector. Mainers are demanding leadership from someone who knows how tough it is to start and run a business in Maine.
The most common thing I hear from Mainers is that we cannot afford another career politician. They are emphatically opposed to the same people pushing the same failed policies that have so badly damaged our economy.
Each day I crisscross the state listening to voters, I am more encouraged about my campaign for Governor. I am passionate about this state and dedicated to creating more opportunities for its 1.3 million citizens. My background is in finance and economics. I know how our state government makes it difficult to do business here. I’ve dealt directly with safely managing as much money as our state spends in a year. I’ve created jobs and run companies that have invested millions of dollars into our economy. And I’ve got the guts to stand up to the career politicians in Augusta as they try to maintain the status quo.
Across the country, voters have spoken. They are tired of the overspending, high taxes, and fiscal mismanagement. We must have competent leadership with the experience and background to address our economic challenges. It’s now Maine’s turn to speak.
Bruce Poliquin is a business owner and manager, and a Republican candidate for Governor. For more information about Bruce, please visit www.BruceForMe.com
Popularity: 20% [?]
Bruce Poliquin is the only candidate with the business background
that will be able to deal with the problems in Augusta, not a
Washington insider.
An extraordinary opportunity for the people of Maine has presented itself in the person of Bruce Poluquin, candidate for Maine Governor. This is an opportunity that comes along perhaps once or twice in ones voting lifetime, not unlike the opportunity that was recently presented to the fine citizens of Massachusetts in their own extraordinary gubernatorial candidate, and newly elected senator, Scott Brown.
I’m talking about a real grassroots kind of man, who cares deeply about our wonderful state, has lived and breathed what Maine is really all about his entire life. Bruce could have gone anywhere in the country to raise his son, but he CHOSE Maine, his own home state, the home state of generations of Poliquins, the state he honored by working hard and becoming a successful, caring and contributing part of what makes Maine work… really work! Bruce Poliquin has learned many of lifes lessons along the way with his son Sam by his side. There have been times when it would have been easier to walk away…NOT HIS STYLE! There were times when it would have been easier to follow the path of least resistance…NOT HIS STYLE! Times when Bruce could have just sat back and enjoyed the rewards of all the hard work, dedication to the task at hand, fruits if his and his employees labors and efforts…NOT HIS STYLE!
Bruce Poliquin has always GIVEN BACK, even when the best he had to give was of himself. That, fellow citizens, current and future, is really what this man, this candidate for Maine Governor is all about. Bruce Poliquin is offering us the gift of himself. In that package we will find honesty, integrity, grit and determination, a willingness to take on the incredibly difficult task of getting Maine back on track and headed in the right direction. Bruce Poliquin does not quit, does not back down, is fearless and determined, has and will continue to hear what the people of Maine have to say, and respond and govern accordingly.
There are difficulties behind us and difficulties ahead of us. I am not alone when I say that we NEED THE RIGHT MAN IN AUGUSTA. That right man is Bruce Poliquin. If not now, when? Can we really afford to make the wrong choice, yet again? This is the time to get on board with Bruce and take enlightened advantage of THIS RARE AND WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY to put the right man in the right place at the right time.
Bruce Poliquin for Maine Governor now! Our children will thank us…
As one who has spent tens of millions of dollars in Maine building and operating hotels, I dearly hope we can elect Bruce Poliquin. He is truly what we need. In Bruce, job creators would have someone to assist us.
Essentially why I support Bruce Polqiuin for Governor. A business manager who has an understanding of finance and economics through college, and experience in the private sector managing and investing funds for firms. Successful firms such as international paper and Bath Iron Works trusted Bruce with their funds and I believe we should allow Bruce to manage the government funds to ameliorate the current fiscal dilemma.
Have you seen the fundraising numbers? Bruce seems to be the only one raising money. He seems like a polished option, and the other Republicans seem like great guys stuck with shoe-string organizations. Poliquin has shown he can succesfully run a campaign, and that’s what we’ll need against the Dems. Mills is going public finance, so a lack of fundraising so far shouldn’t prove as much about his potential campaigning abilities. Though, he really didn’t distinguish himself in his run against Woodcock. I’m leaning for Bruce.
Common sense is all most of us regular folk ask. When the public sector is near 40 percent of payroll in the state of Maine, we have a problem. We do not need the amount of Government that we have. State and Federal is way to “Fat”. Police, Military, Fire and infrastucture is all the Government should be concerned with. Leave the rest to the Private sector.
Doesn’t Poliquin feel a little lame having high school kids post positive comments on websites for him?
(Reid I’m referring to you. Don’t you have some homework to do?)
If it were possible to take all the candidates and thoroughly evaluate their visions, experiences and leadership qualities, Bruce Poliquin would rise to the top immediately. There is no better time than now for the new kind of leadership he offers.
BellBivDevorshak I find your comment down right appalling. People like Reid are the future of the state and you are slamming him for having an interest in his future….that is just totally unacceptable. As a young Mainer myself (older than high school) I think you should be glad to see us so interested in the election and the future of the state. We could be like many of our predecessors and counterparts who have either left Maine or will do so and not care about the future of the state. I was raised to respect elders, but when people choose to treat us in this manner it makes it very hard for me to do that.
From my experience on the campaign trial most people are glad to see young people around taking an interest in both the future of the party and the state.
I had the opportunity to be in Massachusetts for the final few days leading up to Scott Brown’s victory, and to witness firsthand the incredible energy and momentum that had built up among Republicans, Independents, and even some Democrats. Listening to the volunteers congregating in Brown’s field offices, reading the homemade signs that people were waving on the street corners, and overhearing the conversations taking place among the thousands attending Brown rallies, it became clear to me that the national mood is calling for not just a Republican, but a certain type of Republican candidate.
This candidate is a common-sense conservative, is independent-minded and not part of the tired partisan establishment that is part of the problem. He or she has private sector experience, and understands fiscal issues and is ready to attack them head on, rather than focus on the same old political footballs that have undermined the Republican Party’s effectiveness for the past decade. This candidate trusts voters innate intelligence, and trusts them to make the right decisions based on the facts, rather than relying on emotional appeals and trying to gloss over the critical issues facing Maine. Poliquin is this kind of candidate, he gets it and isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. He’s the only one in this race with the ability to correctly identify the problems facing Maine and the skill set to solve them.
Ah, BellBivDevorshak
The fact that you chastise me for being in high school is more juvenile than me commenting in support of Bruce Poliquin. Knowledge is not solely for those of voting age, but rather for those with a desire to learn. I feel your comment not only to be belittling, but inaccurate because if you actually knew me then you would probably understand that my support is a great achievement than your support. My expertise in politics is government and its adverse effects on the economy. I have read books such as, “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”, “Free to Choose”, “Capitalism and Freedom”, both Greg Mankiw’s and Robert Barro’s “Economics”, “Money Mischief”, “The Great Contraction”, and am currently reading “Human Action” by Ludqig Von Mises. So, what you assume is an unintelligible high school student is actually someone who has a greater understanding of the subject matter than you do.
One of my favorite maxims: Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover
Oh, and yes I do have homework. I work all day because I take five AP classes. I take them because I have a desire to learn and learn. That trait is more important than my age.
Bruce is the only true, independent voice for Maine that has the knowledge to lead this state forward during this time of economic uncertainty. IMHO, leadership is the core and most important characteristic that I expect from my executive. Point of order, having a young staff is what most winning campaign strive for. Barack Obama, outside of his senior staff, had a campaign full of young, eager, and energetic staffers who not only worked hard, but believed in his message. Bruce seems to have this too, and that’s why he is doing so well thus far.
Oh, I forgot to mention that every morning I wake up early to receive my Wall Street Journal, skim through the section A until I get to the opinion section – which is when I start to read more meticulously. Then I read through the Market Place section, and then read the Money and Investing Section. I have an understanding of contemporary issues that is unmatched by my peers. I should be anathema to people like you because I, rather than making miserly comments, understand the world better than most adults do.
Every Saturday afternoon I sit down to read the economist, so that I can have a greater understanding of world economics and current debates. There is no ceiling on or maximum intelligence; every chance I get I am trying to expand mine.
Reid- You really showed Mr.BellBivDevorshak. You
took him to school. When are people are going to realize
The Bruce Poliquin campaign is for REAL and it has a
hugh, growing following? Yes ATC Bruce is the only candidate in
the race who is up to the job!
I have managed businesses for the past 23 years. From experience I can tell you that in order to solve the overall problems, you must start with the fiscal problems. It’s basic. Bruce understands this as he has had to manage his businesses the same way.
In order for a business to be profitable it needs to be more efficient, productive and waste less. You can throw more bodies at something to make more money but you will not be more profitable because it costs you to do so. You must start with efficiency and waste reduction in order to climb out of debt. This will allow you to become profitable. In becoming more profitable, you can afford to pay your staff more which encourages them to waste less and perform better. It’s human nature. Employees work better (not harder, better) when they realize they can enhance their own situation.
The State of Maine falls into this model. If we elect government officials that attack the problems of waste and inefficiency then we have elected officials that can effectively eliminate our state debt. Once the debt is eliminated, our taxes become reduced becuase we are sustainable on less funding. The programs can remain in place (for all of you socialists out there…ahem…I meant to say Democrats…Sorry) because the funding is readily available because the debt is gone. Everyone becomes happy again. I could go on and on about how businesses would be able to do more hiring because taxes are reduced and people are spending more money and unemployment would be reduced and sales tax would create more financial prosperity in the state, etc. etc.
Leadership begins at the top. Bruce can lead. I view the Governor as being a person who must lead directors and managers of the many Bureaus and Departments within the state. The Governor must hold these people accountable for what they are doing within their own Bureaus and Departments. The governor cannot turn a blind eye to DHS because “the people” need help and that is what DHS is doing. The Governor needs to insist that DHS is helping those in need adn make sure that DHS is efficient and effective at what they are doing. If DHS is more efficient and effective, there is more money to help those in need.
I don’t think I am out of line with this rationale. It works in my business and the state employs a much greater number than I. After all, the State of Maine is the largest employer in the State of Maine.
Reid – have you read Fountainhead by Ayn Rand? If not, you should. It provides wonderful insight towards the control the media has over the less educated population through its own bias.
Institutionalized,
I am familiar with Ayn Rand, but more so with her connection to Alan Greenspan. She had many thought-provoking insights, so I will definitely look into it. Thanks.
Not very specific as to how he will change things for Maine business and reduction or betterment of government.
More platitudes and promises from a politician, it would appear?
Give us Mainers some specifics.
Mike G, you cannot possibly claim that he is just another politician. He has been in the private sector his entire life. He has been creating jobs and bringing tax revenue to this state his entire life, he is not a career politician. He knows what those politicians do to stifle business, but he himself has never taken part in the oppression that spews from Augusta. If you have any questions about specifics feel free to go to his website…… http://www.bruceforme.com …………. and send him an email.
Mike G Steve Abbott is just another politician, Bruce Poliquin
is the businessman that we need in the Blaine House to clean up
the mess the current gov. is causing.
Competent Management? One minute talking with Mr. Poliquin leaves one confident in his skills to manage a business. But Maine does not need a manager.
Republicans should prize business experience as an indicator of a candidates work ethic and success. Personal wealth is not in and of itself a virtue, nor does it give one tremendous efficacy in the Blaine House.
All we are hearing from these corporate Republican types is, “I ran a business and got really rich thus I am a good candidate for governor” But this logic does not hold up. Government is not a business. We cannot pretend that it is. Republicans who think they can work miracles on the budget fail to realize that entitlements constitute about 60% of the budget. The only way the budget can be dealt with is through cooperation with the legislature, which, for the time being, is Democratic.
Maine is not a hedge fund, a rail road, or a ski company.
Maine does not need CEOs, corporate tycoons, or wealthy out-of-staters.
We need a governor and a leader.
Bruce is referring to the executive responsibilities and managerial experience he has gained in the private sector. This has given him the skills to effectively manage and allocate funds through a cost versus benefit analysis. Maine is fiscally unsustainable and sometimes businessman is better equipped to handle budgets and funds than a politician is.
Of course government is not a business, but businessmen do have the executive and managerial experience needed to ameliorate the fiscal disorder in Maine. The government needs to cut costs, and end haphazardly increasing funds to programs that show no progress. That is what business managers do. They look at their businesses through a cost versus benefit analysis and make sure that their venture is as efficient as possible.
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