Maine has a heroin problem. All of New England does. Blaming it on awful racist caricatures isn't going to fix anything.
That's what Maine Governor Paul LePage did in comments made during a public forum in Bridgton, Maine, on Wednesday when asked about how he was addressing the state's drug problem.
LePage can be heard making the comments on an archived video stream of the forum, broadcast by local community access TV station Lakes Region TV. He makes the comments at 1:55:30 and soft laughter can be heard from the audience in reply.
“These are guys with the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty… these types of guys … they come from Connecticut and New York, they come up here, they sell their heroin, they go back home," LePage said. "Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave, which is a real sad thing because then we have another issue we have to deal with down the road.”
LePage did not elaborate or explain his comments, or identify moving on to talk about drug addiction treatment. Google searches could not identify criminal cases against any individuals with those names in the state of Maine.
In a written statement to The Portland Press Herald, LePage Communications Director Peter Steele said the comment was actually about the emotional toll of drugs on children.
“The governor is not making comments about race. Race is irrelevant,” Steele told the Herald.
This wouldn't be the first time LePage has made questionable comments about race. He reportedly told a GOP fundraiser in 2013 that President Obama "hates white people." LePage would later deny making these comments.
And in a much more local prejudice, he's apparently really not fond of Southern Maine.