Good morning, everybody.
I'm NEWS CENTER Main Zach Lanchd
and this is Political Brew.
I'm joined now by Republican ant
Phil Harriman and Democrat Betsy Sweet.
Thanks so much for being here this morning.
Good morning.
I want to start things off in Augusta,
where this week lawmakers
debated bills that take aim at
transgender people in the state.
One piece of legislation would
ban transgender girls from
competing on girls sports teams.
The other would ban public schos
from using names or pronouns
for students other than what's
listed on their birth certificas
without parental permission.
Betsy, I want to start with you.
Proponents of this say this
is about parental rights.
Is that how you see
it? No. This is about young peos
rights and to be young people.
And, you know, I just think that this has,
I think the there's certain
elements within the Republican
Party have look for the weakest,
the most, the the hardest peopl,
the people are most marginalized and say,
OK, we're going to go after the.
And so I think transgender kidse
sort of the number one thing for that.
So we see a bunch of bills that
are aimed at those young peopleo
already are struggling and tryig
to bake it in this world that
doesn't necessarily accept them.
This is just a political ploy.
And to use young people in that in that
kind of political game is appal.
Bill,
contrary to what Betsy just sai,
Republicans don't think that wa.
They're not out to marginalize anybody.
I think it's more about the role
of the parent and the education
system that their children are .
And I think to go beyond that is unfair
to the child and to the the parent. All
right, I want to take a minute o
listen to how the lead sponsor
of this bill focused on pronoun,
described her reasoning for thi.
Here's Republican
Representative Katrina Smith.
I really do not feel they shoul.
The kids should be exclaiming in
a public environment with their
friends and with their teacher w
name without their parents know.
It's just going to create even more problems.
Betsy, do you think it's going
to create even more problems?
No, and it's not going to.
I mean, Can you imagine teacher,
a young person saying I'd like e
called Sue and the teachers saying, well,
I'd like to see your birth certificate,
tell me what it says.
Let me call your parents.
You know, like I just think kids
are exploring all kinds of thin.
You know, there's kids who want to be.
My brother was named Edward.
He wanted to be called Pete, you know,
just cuz he liked the name Peter better.
I mean it is not causing more problems
if we would just leave them aloe
and let them be and let them be.
Their the children that they are meant to be.
Let them figure it out.
And then of course,
when it's time for the parents o
be brought in, if it's possible,
it's not always possible.
And if it is, then great.
It can be a joint decision.
But this is like,
this is just picking out a little thing
and making a giant thing out of.
So where does this
come from on the Republican sid?
Well, I think it's back to what
I said earlier in the program.
I think it comes from the role
that parents feel they should
have in their children's.
Education in in the school systm
and to take it beyond that,
I I think it's unfair it.
I think it's also to Betsy's po.
If I want to be called by a
nickname by my friends and teac,
that's I guess OK.
But what do you do in a parent
teacher conference when the tear
is sitting there with the parens
and the child what what is the
teacher refer to the student bye
have a conversation about it.
Well, then the parents are invo.
Well, right, but, and that's fi.
But the teachers already calledm
whatever the the student wants to be called.
We need an act of the main
legislature for this. Yeah, exa.
All right. We still have months
to go until Election Day.
But main Secretary of State is
raising concerns about an effort
she says is confusing voters.
No Labels, which is looking to establish
itself as a party all across the country,
has been issued A cease
and desist by Chanabellos.
Secretary's office sent letters
to more than 6000 voters who
registered with No Labels to mae
sure they meant to fill bellows.
A Democrat here could.
Do you see this move as a partisan one?
No, I don't. I think she's doing her job.
The rules in Maine about party affiliation
and how you enroll and more importantly,
how you get official status as a party,
enabling you to be on the
ballot and nomination process.
She's doing your job and good for her.
Yeah, I mean I think,
I think this Nail No Labels gros
we have to take a hard look at .
I understand that people are frustrated
with the with the two party sys.
Yeah I am too I said but but this group.
Purports to be one thing.
And then if you look at who
some of their donors are,
one of their big donors is Harlan Crow,
the same guy who just was wining and dining
Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court.
So you know it's it's not,
it's it's not a group with
no political agenda,
it's not a group with no labels.
They have very strong opinions.
And so and I think to fool peopr
to not be crystal clear with pee
that when you sign this petitiou
are changing your party registrn
speaks a lot to the integrity
of the group. And while we're
on the topic of elections,
a not so great headline for Maie
Republican Senator Susan Collins this week,
a former defense contractor is
pleading guilty to making more n
$200,000 in illegal contributios
to Collins 2020 campaign.
This was after Collins helped te
firm he was the CEO of secure
an $8,000,000 Navy contract.
Senator Susan Collins team says
the campaign had no knowledge ad
has cooperated fully with the F.
Betsy obviously Collins has tim.
Time and time again proven that she can
handle the heat in these kinds of situations.
Is this the kind of thing
that will stick for her?
No. I think. I mean, and I don't think
this is so much about Susan Cols
as it is about money in politic.
I mean, the fact that they were able to
create a shell corporation and then and
then funnel almost $150,000 by creating
a shell corporation by giving m,
looks like me giving money to
fill to give to the candidate.
It is a little bit hard to beli.
She didn't know anything as a candidate
who ran for the US Senate in that race,
actually in the primary.
I mean, every time someone wrote a big check,
it was like, hey, this is so gr,
Oh my God, you know, so,
So it may be that she has such a machine.
She didn't know about it.
But I really don't think that
the heat is on her.
I think the heat is on money and politics.
And if we don't do something about that soon,
we are going to not have a political system,
Phil.
Betsy just volunteered to
donate money to my campaign.
I don't think so. Only so.
No one knows it was me. But to
Betsy's point, that's the crux
of what happened here is these
were straw contributions,
money being shifted elsewhere
that came through a donor.
That would be easy for
Senator Collins to not know.
The key take away from me is tht
once she knew, she cooperated f.
Once the amount was identified,
she donated it to a school syst.
Well, I think. One of the othery
points is you got an $8 million
contract you think you have to pony up.
You know that that's just
such against the law.
Well, I know, but it happens.
It happens all the time.
And so that that's our problem.
Senator Collins is Co sponsorina
bill with Maine independent Senr
Angus King to strengthen securiy
along the southern border whileo
helping asylum seekers get jobs.
Senator Kyrsten Sinema,
a Democrat from Arizona,
has also signed on.
But make asylum seekers eligiblo
receive work authorization starting just
30 days after applying for asylum fill?
On the surface, this might seem,
or might not seem like something
Republicans would back,
but is this the right way to go?
In general? I think it is.
It's a couple of years too late,
but at least it's in.
Being introduced,
I think the work requirement tht
people who were here and want to work,
who can't, that helps them,
It helps our economy.
But let's remember a high percee
of the people who are claiming
Asylee status are denied that ss
and and arguably are going to be
sent back to their home country.
Well, I think part of this bill
too is to help with vetting peoe
as they come across the border.
So there's if there's a lot of
parts to this bill, I think thas
a really important part I think.
Quickening, but get provide them
more resources to quicken that
that process is really important
and I think this ability to wor,
I mean now they have to wait six months
when at a time when our employes
need people and they want to wo.
And so I think that I think it',
I don't think it solves the iss,
but I think it's a really good step forward.
Negotiations are ongoing over the debt limit.
In fact today President Biden is
expected to return from the G7 in Japan.
Cutting his trip short to get back to
the table with congressional leadership.
Phil, one sticking point here.
Republicans now say they want
to add tougher work requirements
for some federal aid programs.
Is this the time and place
for this kind of negotiation?
Probably, probably not.
But as late as Friday early afternoon,
they decided to take a break.
So we'll be interested to see wt
comes out upon the president's return.
But it was clear to me by
Wednesday of this past week tha.
All of the political leaders in
Washington were saying we're cl,
we're making progress,
we're going to find a way to get this done.
And they need to.
Betsy. Yeah. I don't think thats
not the appropriate place to
do other political negotiating.
And so I I was heartened to hear that
they everyone feels like they're closer.
I think we will get there and I
I hope we'll get there without
setting a precedent for trying
to establish law and policy.
In this negotiation is,
which is just about paying our s
when the stakes are so high, ri?
And it's very high
all right. In the House,
Democrats failed in their efforts to force
out New York Congressman Matt Santos.
Santos, of course, has made headlines
for lying about pretty much everything,
even facing fraud charges.
Instead, Republicans pushed a py
line vote through to send the ie
to the House Ethics Committee.
Betsy, one might think this woue
pretty cut and dry for both sid,
but is it what it appears to be?
You know, it's it's astonishing to me,
you know, and I think that they're looking
at the numbers game that they have in
Congress and that they need his, his vote.
But there is nobody who can look at this guy,
all the indictments against him,
what he's done as you, you know,
he has lied about just about everything.
I can't imagine that there's not
people on both sides of the ais,
certainly Republicans as well,
who say, you know what,
this affects the integrity of or
entire system and we have to dos
and regardless of what the numbs
are and they'll still have a majority.
It is appalling to me that theye
not acted in the other direction yet.
But, you know,
it's going to the Ethics Commis,
which is also controlled by the Republicans.
So I don't know what's going to happen,
but, you know, if as a mother,
not of little kids anymore, but,
man, you know, what do you say,
oh, yeah, it's okay to lie, che,
steal, you know,
and you can still be a
congressman in the United State.
That's not good.
You know, I earlier in the Political Brew
segments after this story first broke,
that was my comment.
He should be taken before the Es
Commission committee within Congress.
I think to say he's guilty and
expel him is not the right step,
but certainly putting him up bee
the Ethics Committee and have tt
committee report out their findings and
take a vote is the right way to.
Anything that's more important
than just doing it? In Congress,
yes, yes. If we're going to have
a standard that Congress people
don't misspeak or tell, tell li,
we're not going to have a Congr.
Do you think the Ethics Commissn
is going to be non political?
They should be.
I know people should be.
I'm asking they're going
to hold them accountable.
OK, all right,
you've heard it here.
All right. Shifting gears now, in Florida,
Governor Ron DeSantis continues to feel
the fallout from his anti LGBTQ efforts.
This week, he signed several bis
into law doing everything from
banning gender affirming care to
expanding the States and don't y
gay law and defunding diversity,
equity and inclusion programs at
the state's public colleges fil.
This is someone who set to launa
bid for president in the next w.
He needs to differentiate himsef
from former President Donald Tr.
Is this the best approach?
Well, in order for him to sign those bills,
they had to go through
the Florida legislature.
So it's not just Governor
DeSantis making these decisions,
it's it's the culture of the
legislature in Florida.
And it's not, in my opinion,
that he's anti anybody.
It's about where is the appropre
place for these things to be discussed.
Betsy's rolling her eyes here.
This is not about where is the appropriate
place for these to be discussed.
What they're trying to ban is so
broad and so wide. It's unbelievable.
Disney just pulled of almost bin
dollar expansion project because of this
and it's not because we can't know where.
We don't know where we're
going to discuss it. This is.
And this is a political ploy.
I don't know whether he
believes it personally or not.
I think it's a huge political mistake.
I don't think he is reading
the country right.
I don't think he's,
I think he's in a in a bubble in Florida
and and I think that it is not y
is it bad politically, but you ,
it just hurts the young people,
the people who are, you know,
in those books or about those bs
or read those books to to be abe
to feel good about themselves.
That's who it's really hurting and that
that is a longterm effect on pe.
And that's the,
I think that's what's so
criminal about this and it just,
it's just really unfortunate to again,
to use human beings who are
marginalized as political fodder
is just the wrong thing to do.
Anything else, Phil? Well,
I I don't disagree with the
conversation that we need.
We need to be tolerant of anybo.
It's a question of what's in
the curriculum at what ages.
And I think that to me is what e
Florida legislature is saying.
That's not up to politicians.
That's up to educators and read.
And I would just say if your li,
and certainly my life were in the book,
we would probably be banned in Florida.
On a more positive note,
Maine senators say they are bacg
former Maine CDC director Doctor Nirav
Shah to take the helm at the US.
It comes after Rochelle Wilensky
said she was stepping down.
Here's what Angus King had to say this week.
He's a star and and he knows the issues.
He did a fabulous job in Maine.
I think he'd be a great leader of the
CDC and I'm making that view knn
to the people down the street.
And Betsy, Dr. Shaw is obviously a pretty
beloved political figure here in Maine.
So is this much of A political ?
No, certainly not a risk.
And I think would be awesome.
He, I mean, he really did an
incredible job getting us throuh
this pandemic And then plus
all those people with all that,
you know, I love Dr.
Shaw merch would then have
a reason to wear it again.
Oh, certainly the right thing to do by
our congressional delegation if you don't
have the support of the the people from
the state where he comes from. That's.
That's not a good way to get confirmed,
but I think he's going to have a tough time
to get through the confirmation process.
Not because of what he's done here in Maine,
but because doesn't the Center for Disease
Control warrant someone who's got a deep
medical background that he doesn't have?
So it'll be interesting to see w
the confirmation process treats,
especially post COVID.
Great. All right, wrap it up,
winners and losers.
Phil, we'll start with you.
My loser this week's act is the
Congressional leaders and the White House.
There was a report issued indicg
that Social Security is going to
run out of money within 10 year.
The administration is proposingo
raise $4 trillion in new taxes and none
of it is going to solve that problem.
My winner this week is Virginia Oliver,
102 year old active woman,
lobster person from Rockland.
Awesome. OK, that's pretty good.
My losers of the week are every member
of the Republican member of the Criminal
Justice Committee in Maine who voted in
unit against United LY against every single
gun safety measure that was put forward,
a waiting period to help prevent suicide,
a background check to make surey
get in the hands of the right people.
All of those things were opposed
across the board with tired old.
Reasoning that just does not
fit what's happening today.
So they're my losers.
The winner of the week is all the graduates.
There are so many young people
graduating from both high school
but also college from Maine,
in other places here in Maine.
And, you know, there are hope for the future.
And I'm just excited for them.
I hope we can give them a world
that they want to be in and that
they will continue to improve i.
Great. Bill. Betsy, thanks so m.
Thank you.
And that's
going to do it for this week's
Political Brew. The Morning
Report is back right after this.