Even though lots of Republicans have never heard of him, and his name’s not even on the ballot, a big chunk of the GOP faithful will end up voting for Brent Littlefield for governor.
While Littlefield isn’t technically a candidate, he’s very much in the running for the state’s highest office. He’s just employing a surrogate he controls through electrodes implanted in his creature’s brain.
You may have heard of Littlefield’s golem. His name is Shawn Moody, and he’s been a member of the GOP less time than it takes to have a baby. And like a slightly premature infant, he doesn’t do much thinking on his own.
Moody, who founded a chain of vehicle repair centers, ran for governor in 2010 as an affable but clueless independent, spending a lot of his own money to earn hardly any votes. But he did manage to enhance his image as a nice guy, who probably wouldn’t screw you over if you had a dented fender fixed.
That reputation didn’t escape Littlefield’s notice. The Washington-based political consultant is chiefly responsible for getting Paul LePage elected and re-elected governor, as well as transforming Bruce Poliquin from an obnoxious little twerp who couldn’t win a race for septic inspector into an obnoxious little twerp who could win a race for Congress.
In short, Littlefield is good at what he does, which is to reimagine politically inept conservatives as electable life forms. When he took a look at Moody, he saw plenty of political ineptness. Trouble was, Moody wasn’t much of a conservative. In his previous run for governor, he’d been sort of pro-choice on abortion, kind of in favor of ranked-choice voting and wishy-washy on gun rights (from a recent radio interview: “a fire extinguisher can be a great deterrent if somebody gets out of control”) and evasive on most other hot-button issues. He’d even donated money to a Democratic legislative candidate in 2016.
No problem for a genius like Littlefield. He placed Moody in his patented brainwashing device and wiped away any opinions he’d previously held, of which there weren’t many. Then, he reprogrammed Shawn-matronic to blather on about how his “religious convictions” led him to become a Republican last October. “You look at my life,” Robo-Moody told the Bangor Daily News. “We make a commitment and stand by it.”
Unless it involves previously held positions that wouldn’t play well in the GOP primary.
Littlefield’s mind-control device must be pretty sophisticated. When Moody talks, he doesn’t even have hyphens between his words.
Unfortunately, Moody’s newly installed artificial intelligence still contains a few glitches that show up when he’s forced to respond to questions about complex state issues. So far during debates, he hasn’t actually frozen while repeating, “That-does-not-compute.” But observers have sometimes reported smelling the acrid odor of circuits burning.
Asked about health care, he told the Maine Sunday Telegram that the Affordable Care Act had been designed to be “too big to fail,” but then added, somewhat contradictorily, that it was “collapsing under its own weight.”
On legal marijuana, he’s quoted in an Associated Press story as saying we need “safe and productive workplaces.”
He told a New Hampshire newspaper, he’d address the opiate crisis with increased law enforcement and “peer-to-peer recovery efforts, similar to AA.” He also noted that he donated a vehicle to the Gorham Police Department for the D.A.R.E. program in 1994. And he might, for some reason, support a few “Cabinet changes.”
As far as I can tell, his answer to the question of how he would fund and implement voter-approved Medicaid expansion has something to do with fixing the referendum process.
Asked by a radio talk show host to explain these weird comments, Moody said, “I’m a deep thinker. I see things probably differently than a lot of people do.”
Translation: His thinking is muddled, but he sees things exactly the way Littlefield has programmed him to.
Of course, none of this issue stuff matters much. What GOP voters seem to want in a candidate for high public office is for him to have absolutely no experience. In other words, the quality they’re most concerned about is that the next governor be an unqualified political outsider like Mannequin Moody.
Fortunately, Shawn-bot won’t need to know what he’s doing. Littlefield will be hiding in the Blaine House shadows operating his brain for him.
Programming note: I was recently a guest on Bates College Professor Michael Sargent’s podcast “Tatter” discussing the 2nd District congressional race. You can listen at https://fireside.fm/s/GC2LJwT3+jAVq8Qhp or on iTunes.
Electrify my inbox by emailing aldiamon@herniahill.net.
We need more info on all the candidates running for office
Your name calling is beyond Trumpian. Disgusting that DB allows it from you and some left wingers while the rest of us are censored. But I do agree, Moody is not the answer. Is that a Mayhew sticker on Al’s Prius?
Wow! AL “the divisive” Diamon. I think your right about one thing. The people do want inexperienced politicians. Hello! Do you see what we get from polished politicians? An experienced politician is experienced in what? Taking bribes?. I’ve heard Shawn talk numerous times and I know what he means, but you don’t? Your pretty good at taking a snap shot and then reading (speculating) between the lines.
For anybody that doesn’t know what Shawn or any other candidate is about…please don’t form your opinion from here or any other “editorial”. Use the internet to find the words coming directly from the candidates own mouths. For example: WLOB 100.5 has a web site where you can listen to archived segments of their morning show. You can find Shawn and others being interviewed. If that does not work call them directly and ask about your concerns. Form your own opinion.
As for me, until now I wasn’t sure if Moody would be 1,2 or 3 on my ballot. After what Al just said sealed it for me. Moody is #now 1.
Moody has been my 2nd choice. After reading this I will not vote for Moody. Thanks Al for your advice.
“You can listen at” [etc] leads to a 404 Page Not Found error.
it’s funny how sensitive some otherwise-proud “deplorables” are about name-calling and “telling it like it is” whenever it happens to be directed at them.
and i’d say that voting for a candidate because your feelings are hurt by criticism of that candidate is just as good and well-informed reason to vote for someone as we’ve come to expect in this country. carry on.
Sorry about the bad link. Try this one instead:
https://tatter.fireside.fm/10
My vote is for Shawn.Non politicians usually make better candidates and make the best choices.
Shawn is my number one choice.Non politicians usually make better choices.and do their jobs well.
I find Mr. Diamond’s viewpoint interesting regarding the Shawn Moody campaign. I share Al Diamond’s opinion regarding Mr. Littlefield and what appears to be the reinvention of Moody in this election cycle, when comparing his various stated position from eight years ago when he first ran against Paul LePage. Moody is a good guy, but without question State Senator Garrett Mason is a better choice. I am actively supporting Garrett Mason because he shares my views and the views of everyday Maine working people. He has a record in the Maine Senate of fighting for Republican principles. Limited government, reasonable spending, and supporting the 2nd Amendment. He has served twice as the Senate Republican Leader, having been elected by his peers, as the youngest elected Majority Leader in the Nation. I am convinced that Mason is the best Republican candidate on the June 12 Primary ballot. I urge your readers to seriously consider Garrett Mason of Lisbon as your choice for Governor. AND…while your at the polls also please consider a NO on 1 vote. NO on the Rank Choice Voting Scheme. Another referendum question promoted by out of state interests, unnecessary and costly to Maine taxpayers.
Really Rosetta? What about the non politician currently in the Whitehouse? Look how poorly that has gone. Trump has no clue what he’s doing. He’s wrecking our relationships with our allies and driving the divisiveness ad hateread going on in our country. So saying that Shawn Moody would be a good governor because he is a non politician is an awful arguement.
Mary Mayhew for me, liked what she did at DHHS.
Kudos to Mr. Moody for showing grit and ambition in the business world. However, in every interview I’ve seen, heard, or read with or about him, he doesn’t seem to be savvy enough about either the actual complexity of issues, nor the process of actually getting things (politically) done. He may be a really bright guy, But he’s got to start sounding a whole lot more knowledgable.
Al’s solutions, Sit back, smoke dope, and throw money at every problem that Maine faces.
Really?…You must be watching fake news
DB Shadow banned me. I responded to Really?
All I said was:
Why do people think experience is only limited to time in politics, If anything a career politician is out of touch. I want people who have experience in working hard and experience in creating jobs. Just look at what the typical politician has brought to the table so far…
Charlie:
52% of Maine voters approved Ranked Choice Voting in the 2016 election.
Labeling Q1 as “promoted by out of state interests” clouds the issue.
Would you consider NRA money out of state?
The fact that the entire Ranked Choice campaign is designed to prevent another LePage-like plurality might be the real issue.
Really.
you need to learn to give credit where credit is due.
open your eyes to the true facts.
you are sounding to much like some of those liberals in Congress..
politicians do nothing but complicate things and make matters worse Take .Notice of Congress.
as for the man in the White house he is doing a fantastic job and has accomplished a lot of positive results in a short time, whether you recognize it as fact or not and maybe you should ask our allies how t hey really feel about him instead of pre judging and jumping to conclusions.with your own thoughts.
what we have there now is much better than what we have had to contend with the past eight years
it is a blessed relief to know we are finally free of that administration
Do you realize that why we have theman in the White House that we have now might be because people were sick of just having another politician in power and wanted a change.Think about it.
i voted for him and would gladly do so again in 2020 if he chooses to run..
Al…
Your comments here sound to me an awful lot like that “Stupid Speech” you were talking about in your article posted on the 7th of May.
Rosetta ,I’m guessing you are VERY young or were out of the country from 2001 to 2009.
David, I’m guessing you drank a lot of Koolaid from 2009-2016.
FACT: Al doesn’t own a Prius or any kind of car. He has no driver’s license. He has a smaller carbon footprint than I do.
FACT: Al has his own way of spelling his family name, although Charlie is not bound to respect it.
FACT: According to a rumor that reached me, Moody complains that the questions in debate come too fast for him to think of a good answer. It’s a fact that I heard this rumor but I can’t report it as a confirmed fact.
FACT: The NRA has a large and active membership in Maine, but the opposition to RCV spent almost no money.
FACT: I know a few liberals who agree that Mason is eloquent. Don’t know anyone who thinks that of Moody.
OPINION: Littlefield’s successes can be explained by either Luck or Skill. The success of his candidates support the first hypothesis. Evidence of his genius seems a little thin.
FACT: Just becasue you write “FACT” in front of a sentence in the comment section of an online website does not in any way make the following combination of words a real or even legitimate fact. Say something over and over and you will convince people that you must be right. I heard the other day that we make up our minds about political issues before we learn any of the actual facts. This makes it easier to be led by propaganda. You can hear stories and piece together information trails that merely confirm our initial opinions. This is the basic psychology behind product branding only we are now the product. Interesting times for the propaganda of ideology principles that don’t equate to the method basses approach to verifying fact. FACT:…
Captain,I realize a severe case of jaundice of the mid section keeps you from using your real name because no real captain would think it funny that Bush and his merry band of neocon draft dodgers lied us into wars that cost the lives of 7,000 of my brothers and sisters in arms.TWENTY TWO to TWENTY FIVE SUICIDES A DAY,hundreds of thousands of our finest maimed or crippled for life,thousands of good families torn apart over the stress of 5-7 deployments for NOTHING. Not even the damned oil they wanted in the first place.Gas at $4.35 a gallon! Teetering on the edge of an all out depression. Neocons love this because they know it drives Americans crazy. No,”captain”,no koolaid for me. Wild Turkey 101. Straight.
Sam… Just because you write FACT…………..does not in any way make the following combination of words a real or even legitimate fact. I’d have to agree, unless you have personally verified it.
Mr Frary often relies on Alternative Facts.