Politics & Other Mistakes: Ugly aftermath

6 mins read
Al Diamon

I wanted to get rid of Bruce Poliquin.

But I didn’t want to get rid of him this way. This feels like cheating.

I’m no fan of Poliquin, Maine’s Republican 2nd District congressman and rejected Chucky doll prototype. I didn’t vote for him, and I don’t support the legal challenge he filed to overturn ranked-choice voting. A complete list of my reasons for disliking him would take more space than this column allows, but here are a few lowlights.

Poliquin doesn’t live in the 2nd District. He has an apartment in Oakland, where he never stays, because his real home is his ritzy waterfront estate in the 1st District town of Georgetown. That kind of phony residency isn’t illegal. It’s just deceptive and insulting to those of us who actually live here.

Unlike every 2nd District representative in memory, Poliquin goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid meeting his constituents. He never holds town meetings. He rarely makes himself available to the news media. And until his poll numbers started tanking, the doors to his district offices were kept locked. If somebody who wasn’t a banker or corporate executive wanted to meet with a staffer, they had to make an appointment.

Poliquin doesn’t take public stands on controversial issues. He scuttles away from reporters seeking his opinions, or he issues vaguely worded statements that could be interpreted as supporting either side. As he admitted in a leaked tape of a speech to a conservative group last year, “It would be stupid for me to engage the national media, to give them and everybody else the ammunition they need, and we lose this seat.”

You could be excused for calling him a little weasel. Except that’d be an insult to little weasels everywhere.

So, you might think I’d be happy about the election results. In a four-way race, Poliquin fell short (no short jokes, please) of the 50-percent mark, just squeaking out (no rat jokes, please) a fraction-of-a-point plurality over Democratic challenger Jared Golden and two independents of little (no little jokes, please) consequence. If this were any other year in the state’s history, Poliquin would have been headed back to his Murphy-bed-equipped office in Washington to begin his third term in the House.

If that had happened, I’d have been angry and disgusted. Instead, I feel sort of sleazy. I can’t shake the feeling that because we couldn’t beat Poliquin any other way, we changed the rules to put him at a disadvantage. (Insert the clichéd sports analogy of your choice here, unless it’s one about cricket, because nobody will have a clue what stuff like “dibbly-dobbly” or “break one’s duck” means.)

This year, for the first time, Maine used ranked-choice voting in federal elections. Much like not really living in the congressional district you’re supposed to be representing, this is legal, but not quite right. Defeating Poliquin by redistributing the second-choice votes of people dumb enough to support those two insignificant independents seems scandalous (Poli-gate?). I know it’s probably constitutional, but so are unlimited corporate campaign donations. Pop the champagne corks if you must, but only because I need a drink to dull my uneasy conscience.

Much has been made of the “Blue Wave” that hit Maine this November. Democrats took control of the governorship, both chambers of the Legislature and held the 1st Congressional District seat. Their candidate for U.S. Senate finished third, but the winner in that race was independent Angus King, who’s a Democrat in every way except for a signature on an enrollment card. And then there was that somewhat tainted Poliquin defeat.

Except Poliquin got more votes in northern, central and western Maine than anybody else. In spite of enduring more attack ads than any other congressional district in the nation – at one point late in the campaign, a negative ad was airing on TV every two minutes – the incumbent congressman, deficient as he was in representing us (and deficient in other areas, too) – still managed to earn more support than Golden. The message from voters was hardly a Blue Wave, much less a Golden Shower. It was more like a gray dribble of ambiguity. Not quite enough of us liked not quite anybody to make a clean call – without a little artificial alteration.

Poliquin will soon be gone. He goes out as a whiny loser complaining about the law, the process and the people involved. I can’t bring myself to feel sorry for him. I just wish I could feel good about how we got rid of him.

I’ll probably get over it, but a little sympathy emailed to aldiamon@herniahill.net wouldn’t hurt.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

29 Comments

  1. Rep.-Elect Golden will start his career by breaking one promise and voting for Nancy Pelosi, and then proceed to vote for HR 1, to scuttle the First Amendment and Citizens United. Next on the Democratic agenda will be scuttling the 2nd Amendment, investigationspalooza, nationalizing rank choice voting and articles of impeachment. Don’t feel bad Al…you’ll have plenty to write about, until Senators Collins and King back the First Amendment repeal, President Trump signs it and your column is shut down

  2. I disagree with this. Voters understood that ranked choice voting would apply to our votes and how that would work. Who’s to say that the folks that voted for the 3rd and 4th place candidates weren’t emboldened to do so because they knew that their votes would not be thrown away? If people feel more comfortable voting for candidates that are likely to lose then those vote totals are likely to have been higher than they would have been under the previous system…and in a race that came down to a couple thousand votes a small uptick in 3rd party candidates is meaningful. The reality is that we do not know if Poliquin would have won under the old system when voters are less likely to vote for 3rd party candidates and to say otherwise is disingenuous. The only thing we know for sure is that he lost under the new ranked choice system.

  3. Al, I agree. I felt the same way. Golden is going to be a disaster. He’s “going to Washington to change the way things are done.” Yeah, Right!

    I wish the RCV had a box that says “None of the above”

  4. In a system where the GOP rules by minority (i.e., less than 50% support), the republican’s well-devised divide-and-conquer tactics have historically manipulated the two-party “choice” we have in our elections. The disastrous results of that are clearly evident.

    Instant runoff elections are the great equalizer.

    You arrogantly say that “redistributing the second-choice votes of people dumb enough to support those two insignificant independents seems scandalous,” but disregard the fact that those “dumb” people voted as they wished – that is to say, if their first “dumb” choice didn’t win, then they wanted someone else next in their personal decision tree to win and so on. In the end, that “dumb” voter made it known through the instant runoff method that they regarded certain candidates to be preferred over others.

    If I went to a restaurant and tried to order from a menu when the kitchen was running out of food, I would still ask for my first choice. If they didn’t have anymore, then I’d order my second choice. This would go on until I finally got something presumably palatable in front of me. That’s not dumb, it’s logical. Of course, if I don’t like the choices I can also leave the restaurant, which I’ve been known to do!

  5. Everyone knew the voting process going in and Poliquin had the same chance as the other candidates to win the election. In fact he had a huge advantage…..8 years to impress the 2nd district. However, he didn’t (for many of the reasons listed above)…..which is why he lost the election. If he had done a decent job, the second choice votes likely would have gone to him instead of Golden. And, he continues not to impress. This vote shows that the majority of the people in the 2nd district don’t want him and yet despite that, he still thinks he should keep the office. So much for integrity and doing the honorable thing.

  6. Anyone who thinks this is about the ” gop ruling by minority” needs to check their history. We, in Maine rarely elect anyone by majority. Regardless of party. Our constitution says plurality for a reason. Under the one person one vote system we have used for a hundred years we all got to look at the candidates and decide who would best represent us. This new system where you get to be wishy washy and don’t really have to commit is just plain wrong. If we want run offs then set it up that way. Schedule a vote for the top two vote getters. RCV is not an instant run off. Its not even close. Its a sham where some people get to vote more than once. It basicly declares everyone a loser, throws out the votes of the biggest loser until it changes the numbers to the point where the least biggest loser is now called a winner. HUH? seriously people. And if I vote for the biggest loser and not one of the other losers, my vote is thrown out and not counted towards the total vote. Isnt that disenfranchising me? So if not every vote cast is included in the final numbers, was there a majority? Or as I said, Is it just fuzzy math?

  7. Dennis, Rarely has a Maine governor of any party ever been elected by 50% or more, maybe 2 or 3 times in the passed 100 years. And seeing how Poliquin and Golden were the two major players in the race for D2, RCV was not needed, and favored Golden right from the start. But seeing how we can’t turn back the clock, I guess we will never know if Golden had the numbers to win without RCV or not.

    Whether a candidate does town halls or not is irrelevant. People need to let go of this “What will this person do for me? or “What will they do for my community?” mentality, and politicians need to quit catering to that mentality. When a candidate(Mills) says this, “I’m going to enact the healthcare expansion, first thing.” ok, she does not have all of Maine’s interests in mind, she is catering to a very small group of people and the whole state will suffer because of it. If 70,000 people don’t currently meet the requirements for the programs we already have, medicaid and medicare, there is a reason for that, they don’t need it and just need to do better managing their money. What if when people signed up for medicaid there was a question that required a yes answer or you were disqualified from getting the benefit, and that question is, “If you receive these benefits, you agree to make the state of Maine your payee and overseer of your money?” Do you think people would be so apt to jump on board?

  8. Al…. Please tell us why we, in CD 2, cannot have a Rep. like the one in CD 1… One that sez nothing, does nothing, stays on her island and keeps getting reelected.. Only thing the poor thing didn’t get that she wanted is the Sen. seat that Angus has…

  9. To quote Carole King:

    So don’t let it get you down, my friend, though it seems the blues will never end
    On this you can depend, they always do
    And I can tell you that it’s true, it’s a feeling that can’t be beat
    And you’ve got to do it
    You’ve got to take the bitter with the sweet

    So, Al, if you still have the blues about this a few days from now, I recommend a Blue Moon.

    And lets hope Golden proves worthy of the honor and does a better job than the incumbent dingbat.

  10. A majority of ALL the people who voted in CD2 voted for Jared Golden. They did not vote for Poluquin. If Poliquin had been a better candidate he would have gotten a majority of ALL the people who voted and won. It’s that simple.

  11. OK Al, do you believe that requiring a majority vote for election is wrong? Several states have done it for generations. Of course, they use a subsequent run-off. RCV has been used in national elections in other countries. Do you find objections to the Australian ballot? The secret ballot made elections more fair. In fact Australia has been using RCV. It guarantees that elective office is filled by candidates who are supported by a majority vote, I do not believe that Maine has done better electing governor after governor by plurality as a significant number of votes are diverted to independents,ringers and self appointer blowhards.

  12. First, a majority did not vote for golden. It really is that simple. On election night poliquin won. Second choice votes are not equal. It’s saying a first runner up is equal to the winner. Just plain wrong. everyone does not get a trophy. Maine has always done just fine with plurality. I have not always agreed with the results, but I didn’t push to change the system in order to try to change the outcome. I, like an adult, accepted the result and hoped for Better the next time. If we had true run offs, sure I would be all for it. Then the voters would know which two candidates were running. And make an informed decision.
    But RCV is nothing even close to that.

  13. I never heard anything good about Bruce Poliqun; I now vote in the Dubious State of Florida so I have no dog in the fight or not room to complain……… Having said that, this new and strange brand of Maine voting is SO easily and purely off kilter. Seriously!!! Repubs have a ‘base’ and a POV. They vote as they vote. Put up a Dem and another ‘poser’ far removed from from The Repub POV and get a 2’fer!! When the Repubs don’t get 50% (is it 51%?), it goes to this screw-ball 2nd option so the Dem will win! Easy as pie!!
    PLEASE!! Doesn’t anybody else see this?? I’m not much better off in the Land of Nutso Voting here in FL, but Maine has gone off the rails with this new screwball system.

  14. If Rank Choice Voting had been the way elections were run in our country, Clinton would not have been elected in ’92. He would have been a cipher entry in Wikipedia and no one would ever have heard of him again. Small bonus, DEMS and GOPs alike would have also been spared over a quarter century of Hilary.

  15. RCV: Where the ballots of the Loser determine the winner.
    RCV: Where thousands of ballots are discarded by way of spoiled ballots, exhausted ballots, over votes and under votes
    RCV: Where the number of leftover ballots redefines the majority.
    RCV :Where a true majority is not guaranteed.
    RCV: Where the constitution and Rule of Law are kicked to the curb, and if the Loser dares to question the scam, they are told to get over it and labeled a whiner.

  16. Tom, I know it’s been hard for you snowflakes to bear Gov Paul. Too bad he won twice.
    And he is remembered as a nonwhimp who got many things done despite the libs that turned Maine into the go-to place for every lazy louse seeking a free ride.
    That’s what he will be remembered for.

    And I’m looking for another one like him after the Dems screw things up again…

    Thanks Gov,, and Hope u continue to serve the working people.

  17. Al…you should be ecstatic that Jared Golden will be replacing Poliquin!! This is great news for all of us and I say this should have happened by any means necessary. The GOP and conservative ideals have no place in our new society and should be completely expunged by any means!!! I could not be happier that Matt Dunlap found those ballots. I certainly hope Jared will tackle the problem of the so called 2nd Amendment and we can finally do away with guns. It is way past time! Senator Eric Swalwel has the best way to deal with this, use our military to finally get rid of this scourge. Haven’t we seen enough?! We will also finally have a true leader in the Blaine House. I hope Governor elect Mills will take the torch of equality from NYC Mayor De Blasio and look to do away with private home and land ownership!! You cannot imagine how many problems this will solve. No Al, you should not be tepid in your rejoicing. These are ideals that we as Democrats have and will champion. You have championed these ideals and should continue to do so unapologetically! Another high note was New York electing a very smart woman in Ocasio Cortez who will be joining Golden in bringing progressive ideals to the forefront. Ocasio-Cortez for President 2020! We owe you a huge thank-you Al for educating us on how unbelievable the GOP, Republicans, Conservatives, or whatever they want to call themselves are and we should shun them from everything! Thank-you Al. It is a new day in Maine and a new day for our Country. Sometimes change for the better needs to be forced, so I for one will rejoice in Golden’s win!!

  18. @happy voter. If the two candidates that you speak so highly of have your mentality then they won’t accomplish squat. Thay OBVIOUSLY won’t be able to work across the aisle. Your extreme ideology doesn’t have any place in todays society please seek counseling for your hatred against the right.

  19. “Our new society”…man, that’s pretty sick. You don’t even realize HOW sick that is, do you? If you for one second think you’re going to ‘force’ your way to taking peoples’ rights…oh buddy, you have some waking up to do…this country needs help…

    ———————————————————————————————————————————
    >>”Rep.-Elect Golden will start his career by breaking one promise and voting for Nancy Pelosi, and then proceed to vote for HR 1, to scuttle the First Amendment and Citizens United. Next on the Democratic agenda will be scuttling the 2nd Amendment, investigationspalooza, nationalizing rank choice voting and articles of impeachment. Don’t feel bad Al…you’ll have plenty to write about, until Senators Collins and King back the First Amendment repeal, President Trump signs it and your column is shut down”<< YUP, JON!!!!

    People need to understand when they support rights-taking such as the upcoming anti-firearm agenda, it’s no different than saying blacks can’t vote and LGBT have no business being here. QUITE LITERALLY.

    Some people might not like this perspective. It’s mine. It’s the USA. For a little while, anyway.

    Right after you're done taking MY 2nd Amendment rights, you can BET I'll be hard at work trying to take YOUR right to assemble, freedom of speech and the press. And you'll be surprised to see how many of your Lefty leaders will LOVE that idea. And how many of us who've been disenfranchised will be right in line with that. :)

    A "new society" isn't going to be able to cherry pick what rights are protected – NOPE! Take mine, and I'll help take yours, and that's a PROMISE folks. The constitution works both ways, not just when YOU want it to, with a slim majority…and recall, NOBODY tried to make some crazy "New society" (aka, Communism, an old one) when R's had the watch. All you're doing is destabilizing society, and making it worse, in fact. Gaining power in one election (or 10) does NOT give anyone authority to make "a new society". That is Insane; you don't have the consent.

  20. @ Happy Voter

    Comrade! It is good to see one so enthusiastic for the elimination of basic rights! They are truly the filth that must be mopped up from the out-of-touch ‘old society’ that we must leave behind so the Glorious State can start to micromanage every aspect of our lives and smother us with the love of higher taxes while making the concept of personal property obsolete so we can work endless hard workdays for little compensation, because there is no need for such foolishness when we work for the Glorious State! The Glorious State will provide us with all of our basic needs as long as the Glorious State decides to do so! And when we grow old and unable to work, the Glorious State will be the one to determine whether they want to keep us around or not, because the Glorious State is above all else!

    Just look at how grand the Soviet Union stood throughout the decades and the pristine living conditions its denizens lived in, as long as they weren’t dissidents, mentally or physically handicapped, of an inferior race, ethnicity, or culture, a commoner, or simply willed not to live by the Glorious State! Just look at how the Venezuelans today dance around happily in equal destitution in the light of the Glorious State and feast on cats and dogs! How wonderful it would be if that were us!

    SOON WE WILL DINE ON CATS!

    Glory to the Motherland!
    Comrade Shamus

  21. I was trolling Al…he didn’t take the bait. Of course this idea that he feels like they “cheated” is just plain rubbish. He loves it and he knows it. Can anyone here imagine the outrage from Democrats if a Republican pulled out a win after some number of ballots are magically “found”? Democrats motto has been and will always be “by any means necessary”.

  22. Oh, I ‘got ya’, Happy ;) You did a VERY good take on a hard Leftie, but of course just SLIGHTLY over the top. Would love to see some more some time!

    Had to add a little truth in with the faux outrage, is all….good to see the MAGA spirit alive and well in Franklin County!!!!! Remember: we all have to live here together – it would be a wise move for ANY party that obtains power to strongly consider their moves; 51 to 49 does not a mandate make. 2 years comes fast. Enjoy the power trip, Libs, seems a lot like right before LePage got in, LOL! ;) Maybe some ‘found’ ballots will put the next R over the edge for the win….

  23. @ Happy Voter

    You mean we won’t be dining on cats together? But…but I had the recipe for cat marinated in muddy water and sprinkled with choice grass clippings taken from the lawn ready and everything…it feeds at least two people if the Glorious State decides to gives us more than half a cat…

    Glory to the Motherland!
    Comrade Shamus

  24. My apologies Shamus…I fear I must decline the offer, but…perhaps save the ingredients, I’m sure our Governor elect will be visiting the area again soon.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.