POLIDICKS Maine’s Governor Removes Huge Labor Mural
Jim Newell — The War on Labor Unions in states with new Republican legislatures has opened a new front in Maine, where labor art is the target.
The new Tea Party governor of Maine, Paul LePage, is apparently so offended by a "36-foot mural depicting the state's labor history" in the state's Department of Labor that he's ordered its removal, according to the local station WMTW.
Also, those conference rooms named after people like Cesar Chavez, who has a state holiday dedicated to him in certain parts of the country? Those have to go, too: "In addition, the LePage administration is renaming several department conference rooms that carry the names of pro-labor icons such as Cesar Chavez." Too worker-y!
Of course the problem here isn't that the mural and conference rooms upset the delicate aesthetic sensibilities of the average Maine citizen. It's that some businesspeople started whining, which always requires immediate action: "LePage spokesman Dan Demeritt says the mural and the conference room names are not in keeping with the department's pro-business goals and some business owners complained."
They just snap their fingers, and it's removed.