Politics & Other Mistakes: The conflicted love life of Eric Brakey

6 mins read
Al Diamon

Eric Brakey doesn’t like Republicans.

Which is odd, because Brakey is – more or less by default – the GOP’s candidate for U.S. Senate.

Brakey, a two-term state senator from Auburn, got the nomination because no serious Republican dared to take on incumbent independent Angus King. (Before you rush to email me that Gov. Paul LePage briefly considered running against King, please reread the previous sentence paying particular attention to the word “serious.”) The only other announced candidate for that race was Max Linn, a weirdo transplant from Florida, whose nominating petitions were rejected because they were cluttered with the names of dead people.

So, the GOP was stuck with Brakey, who claims to be a libertarian in the Rand Paul tradition, which is sort of like being a punk rocker in the Barry Manilow tradition.

Brakey recently revealed his intense dislike for the party he represents in a campaign letter to independent voters (of whom I’m one). In that missive, he decried “the ‘leadership’ we’re getting from politicians whose agendas are guided by corporate interests.”

Does he mean Republican 2nd District U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, who made his fortune on Wall Street and has never met a banking regulation he wouldn’t love to repeal? Brakey doesn’t say.

What he does say is he’s opposed to current fiscal policy in Washington, where the presidency and both chambers of Congress are controlled by the pachyderm party. “The government’s budget deficits will be $1 trillion in 2019, 2020 and deep into the future,” he writes. “This burden will be put on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren.” (Emphasis is his.)

No mention that those shortfalls are a direct result of a bloated budget bill and the Trump tax cuts, both of which were overwhelmingly supported by GOP congress-objects like Poliquin.

Brakey goes on to promise, “I won’t threaten your retirement savings with reckless spending and loose monetary policy.” (Again, the emphasis is his.)

But that spending (not yet including a zillion bucks for a border wall) and that policy (phony numbers about the cost of tax cuts) are mainstays of the Republican agenda that Poliquin has backed on every vote.

Brakey never mentions the wall, health care, abortion, LGBTQ rights or the Kavanaugh nomination in his letter, possibly because his position on those issues might not sit well with most independents. He just complains about the many shortcomings of King (not all of which are imaginary) and, by extension, of Poliquin and the rest of the GOP. With only the slightest editing, his communication could be employed by any Democrat seeking to replace an incumbent Republican in Congress, because it’s tough to distinguish Brakey’s rhetoric from that of Dem hopefuls.

“We can’t afford career politicians.”

Brakey? Nope, that’s Jared Golden, the Democrat running against Poliquin.

“Now more than ever, America needs leaders who are strong on national security and who will put the interest of our country above political loyalties.”

Surely that’s Brakey. But no, that’s also Golden.

“People are right to be frustrated that the government – under both parties – has elevated corporate profits over the well-being of American workers.”

Gotta be Brakey – except it isn’t. It’s Golden yet again.

It’s as if those two guys were separated at birth.

At least Golden is consistent in his criticism of the power structure in D.C. Brakey, like Rand Paul, is considerably less so. After it was announced that Donald Trump Jr., the president’s oldest son, would be coming to Maine on Oct. 1 to raise money for Republican candidates, Brakey told reporters he was “thrilled” to help host the event, which he characterized as a “huge” boost to his financially struggling campaign. Brakey insists he abhors the swamp scum that infects the nation’s capital, but seems more than willing to embrace the odious blob of that substance that constitutes the junior Trump.

(Oddly enough, Poliquin, who’s voted consistently for the senior Trump’s agenda while clumsily pretending not to endorse the president or his policies, is one of the few major Republican figures in Maine not listed as a sponsor of the Trump Jr. event. His office said he’d be too busy draining the swamp in Washington to attend.)

In the November election, Brakey faces not only the formidable King, but the non-formidable Democrat, Zak Ringelstein. Thanks to the latter, he’s currently given an excellent chance of finishing a distant second in the balloting, possibly because those Republicans he doesn’t seem to like aren’t that crazy about him either.

Love it or not, you can email your comments to aldiamon@herniahill.net.

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11 Comments

  1. Yeah,we should stick with draft dodgers and males who hide in the ladie’s room to make you happy. I’m heading home to Valley Forge for a week. You and the rest of the mom’s basement crowd can unleash your angry responses. Such pleasant,happy successful,well adjusted people.

  2. David, dumb statement considering you’re from the transgender party. And I’ll bet there were a lot more draft dodgers from your party than mine.

  3. Tom, The government derives its power from the constitution, the constitution also defines our sovereignty. dems have little regard for the constitution passed the 1st amendment, and even that one they misuse. The act of treason against our country is to threaten our sovereignty. Hate speech, gun bans, gun confiscations, all violate multiple parts of the constitution, violating the constitution is a threat to our sovereignty ergo an act of treason. not against our government, but against our country. Our government is charged with defending and upholding the constitution.

  4. i’m no constitutional law scholar, but i’m sure glad my 5th grade social studies teacher was more insightful and educated than hairless baster’s!

  5. Hrtless: When you talk myth about the “other” it just sounds like the paranoid delusions spread by far right conspiracy extremist that confirm their own anger and discontent thought narrow minded beliefs. Proof is in the actions that are well documented. Who’s crying treason when we drink alcohol? The 18th Amendment in the US Constitution prohibited it but it was repealed twice. So Hrtless reasoning would say that every time you purchase and drink alcohol it’s an act of treason because that was the original Amendment written by our forefathers. Nice guy. Or, just maybe, you have misguided self-righteous sense of whatever as long as it’s the democrats fault? Anyway, your comments are prolific in every subject on the Bulldog and the contradictions are evident. Read my lips “No new taxes” oops, GW taxed us. Trickle down tax breaks for the rich… Oops Reagan repealed it and admitted it was a bad idea. Lepage raised my cost of living by increasing sales and food tax and wait a minute, check out the damage “tax Fairness credit” did to over 75K low income homeowners like the ones here in FC who come out to say they can;t afford any new property tax increases? Why the working poor votes republican is a blunder that your “everything the Democrats fault” story reinforces. It’s their fault and the Republicans fault but really it’s your fault for believing the myth and spreading it like gospel. As I said, you repeat and spread myth that becomes your truth but the proof is in the pudding.

  6. Samo, There have been multiple gun grabs around the country, Deerfield IL. to name the most recent. Prohibiting people from owning guns namely people 18-20 who have done nothing wrong other than be of those ages. People are banned from social media and public speaking events due to what the left deems “hate speech”. SCOTUS has ruled that there is no such thing as hate speech, it still doesn’t stop people from saying there is. The 18th amendment wasn’t written by our forefathers. The Volstead act (18th amendment) was enacted by congress(dem lead) after Woodrow Wilson vetoed it. And it was repealed ONCE by the 21st amendment. Reagan was BEFORE Bush 41, Bill Clinton started the housing market slide.(see whitewater) And levying taxes isn’t unconstitutional. So if that’s all you got genius, you might want to go take a history class.

  7. Hey HB, Well said but you come across a tad shallow. Democrats and Republicans both use the Constitution and Bill of Rights as toilet paper. We are living under a two party tyranny with both “parties” acting as controlled opposition in the political theater. Real liberalism is dead and you can tell by the so called “Liberals” in this room that highjack legitimate causes and twist and turn them into the same old Marxist, communist, socialist destruction of America. I would agree that Repubs sound a little less evil, maybe, but there is plenty of treason to go around. You mention second amendment issues but I hope you are aware that the NRA for instance has sponsored legislation that restricts gun rights for decades. My personal opinion is that any gun restriction law passed without an amendment is treason. Open your eyes a little wider and really look at your Republican friends.

  8. Okay, hopeless bstrd. I see your tribal connections don’t allow you to acknowledge that you could actually be wrong. I’m done responding to your whining and lack of critical thinking. Yes, I listed some things out of order but remember your logic about if it’s in the Constitution and revoked = treason? Free speech on social media…Last time I checked social media is privately owned and you agree to terms of use which allow a company to sell your content and YOU agreed to give them the right to decide content on a corporate basis. If you think social media is a constitutional right then you must be a really stable genius. But I know that doesn’t matter when everything you don’t like is everyone else at fault. As long as you can say something you must accept personal responsibility for your words. If someone disagrees they have the same right to say so. When you lose heart you also subscribe the loss of free will unless it;s your own. Good day.

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