As Gov. Mills continues her veto spree against her own party, the contradictions in her rhetoric are becoming increasingly blatant.

State Sen. Richard Bennett, R-Oxford, speaks at a news conference June 30 in favor of overturning Gov. Mills’ veto of L.D. 194, An Act To Prohibit Contributions, Expenditures and Participation by Foreign Government-owned Entities To Influence Referenda. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

L.D. 194 would have prevented individual foreign government-owned businesses from having a monopoly over public discourse and it would have put differing views on more equal footing. Instead, the governor vetoed it in a statement that Citizens United would have been proud of, treating foreign government-owned businesses as people, and their ability to drown out Maine voices with endless spending as their “free speech.”

The governor claims the bill is “offensive to the democratic process” and compares it to legislation the Supreme Court called “highly paternalistic,” saying L.D. 194 implies voters are incapable of sorting through competing ideas and making the decision best for them.

At the same time, however, she has come out firmly against L.D. 1708, a bill that, if signed, would allow Mainers to vote on how we want our power grid to be run. Instead, she is set to side with Central Maine Power and veto our ability to vote on public power, a veto of democracy. To her, this issue is just too complex to be left to us simple-minded voters to decide. While she claims a concern for the democratic process on one bill, she vetoes that very process on another.

One wonders what Mills’ definition of democracy even is. Increasingly it looks as though it’s a democracy for a few: a democracy for her and her powerful friends. That is the democracy of Gov. Mills.

Kevin De Bruyne
Portland