Press release from House GOP:
House Republicans Blast Democrats' Plan to Abolish OPEGA
Say politics, not budget savings, is the real agenda

AUGUSTA - As the budget debate moves to center stage in the Legislature, House Republican leaders today urged the Democrats to strip out a provision that would abolish the independent agency that investigates and exposes government waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. The watchdog group - the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) - has been targeted for shutdown as part of the majority party's plan to reduce the state budget by $190 million.

"It seems clear that the Democrats trying to kill OPEGA don't like independent investigators exposing wasteful spending and shoddy management," said Rep. Bob Crosthwaite (R-Ellsworth), the assistant leader of House Republicans. "If I were a liberal Democrat, I'd like to get rid of OPEGA, too."

Maine Democrats celebrated 'Sunshine Week' in Maine by trying ax the one program in state government that actually saves taxpayers money. Here's a press release from GOP Senator Kevin Raye. Discussions on this at AsMaineGoes (link) and PolitickerME (link)

AUGUSTA – State Senator Kevin Raye (R-Perry), the ranking Republican Senator on the Government Oversight Committee, today assailed the attempt by legislative Democrats to kill the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA). The proposal was inserted in the majority budget shortly before midnight Thursday night.

A message from Maine GOP Chair Mark Ellis:
A Petition to the Statehouse from Maine's Hard Working Families and Businesses

Don't add to our burden! Don't break our backs!
When the halls of the state capitol cleared this week after the "Maine Can Do Better" rally, it was quiet and the remnants of streamers, flyers, and placards were not the only things left behind. The hundreds of people representing special interest groups also left behind the impression that their voices are the only ones that exist and matter.

Where were you?

From AsMaineGoes:

Republican First District Congressional candidate Dean Scontras deserves high marks for holding an economic teleconference on Monday night open to the public and the press. Attendees were told at the start by campaign staffer Dan Schuberth the event would be 30-45 minutes long with a 10-minutes of opening remarks by Dean Scontras, followed open phone questions from the public and press.

Here's a campaign update from the Charlie Summers for Congress campaign:

Dear Friend,

I am so proud and thankful of every person that has stepped up to the plate to help with Charlie's campaign. It is because of you that news about Charlie, his experiences in Maine and his outstanding record of twenty years as a public servant to the people of Maine is being told throughout the district.

Yesterday, I was pleased to read the op-ed that I submitted to the Portland Press Herald - Small Businesses Need One Big Thing

Maine House Minority Leader Josh Tardy and Maine Senate Minority Leader Carol Weston have teamed up to launch MaineGives.com, an effort to replace the funds for Special Olympics Maine that are slated to be cut from the budget. I'm proud to have helped with this project, and am really pleased to see Maine GOP leadership standing up as a team to do the right thing. Special Olympics Maine is an amazing organization, and I hope everyone can take a moment to help. Here's the press release:

Maine's Republican legislative leadership continues to exhibit a significant lack of unity. This issue has become one of the 'givens' of Republican politics in this state, and unfortunately it continues to interfere with the Party's ability to counter the economic maelstrom wrought by Maine Democrats over the last three decades. The schism between House and Senate dissipates the message coming out of both camps, and the opportunity to leverage the will of the people of this state against an entrenched majority party remains out of reach.

Scott Taylor at the Lewiston Sun Journal has an interesting story that illustrates a rather dramatic contrast in the transparency of Maine's Senators and Maine's Representatives:

"We don't provide lists of requests that are not ultimately approved, because that would put the people asking at a disadvantage," said Mark Sullivan, communications director for Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine.

The Maine College Republicans have launched a great new website, www.MaineCR.org, built on the open-source CMS Drupal. I had some fun helping with a few parts of this, and it's great to see the Maine CRs ahead of the curve in yet another venue.

Here's their press release:

Maine College Republicans Announce the Launch of Groundbreaking New Website

MaineCR.org Now Includes New Media Capabilities, User-Friendly Interactive Features