Edited: 04-07-16
I always ask prospective clients the same question. Which is more important to you: your pride or your greed?
Either answer is legitimate, especially if you think of it this way: your pride represents your personal approach; how you want to tackle a problem; your style and your ego. On the other hand, greed represents your mission; your goals and your objectives.
Is it more important to do things your way or is it more important to meet your objectives?
If your pride trumps your greed, there is very little I can do for you. It’s quite likely that you have already mapped your approach and are ready to rush head first into the situation.
But if your objective matters more than your ego, I can help you navigate a path to success.
If there is one thing we have learned about Maine Governor Paul LePage over the past six years, it’s that his pride consistently trumps his greed.
Big Time.
The governor has shown a pattern of temper tantrums when he does not get his way. He has a penchant for game playing, retribution and even revenge. Last year, he tried to scuttle a private sector job for House Speaker Mark Eves. More recently, he refused to swear-in a Democratic state senator from my hometown of Biddeford.
His defense? He is angry at Democrats who last week blocked the confirmation of his appointee to the Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission, Steven Webster.
LePage, after six years in office, still hasn’t learned how to make Democrats look bad without making himself look worse. His pride is still far more important than his greed. His anger caused him to lash out, landing him in the spotlight of the national media.
He came across as petty and defensive. Why? Well, because he was being petty and defensive.
His press secretary tried to smooth the edges. The governor, she explained, has five days under Maine Law to swear in a new senator.
Fortunately, leaders on both sides of the political aisle banded together. Nothing, they said, will happen in the Maine Senate until Susan Deschambault is rightfully seated in the senate. It was a show of bi-partisan force that knocked the governor on his heels.
More than 38,000 Maine residents live in Senate District 32.
So, what message is LePage sending to those 38,000 Mainers ? Your district can be held hostage for a few days because the Democrats were mean to me?
LePage had the opportunity to be the bigger man; to be the adult in the room; to be the governor, Maine’s chief executive officer. Instead he chose to act like a sixth-grader, as if 120 hours of delay was going to accomplish anything good for the people of Maine.
Once again, Republican Paul LePage has proven his uncanny ability to make Democrats look good while portraying himself as a man who can’t control his temper.
I don’t know who is advising the governor, but I do know that I’m very glad it’s not me.
There’s not much you can do for a man when his pride trumps his greed.
Lamothe Avenue 
“Last year, he tried to scuttle a private sector job for House Speaker Mark Eves. ”
Tried? I would say he succeeded in this matter.
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The Press Herald reported Deschambeault received 1785 votes, not 38,000 votes.
On election night, she said she was going to “take on the governor”. While the governor didn’t give that as a reason for the delay in swearing her in, it may have been a contributing factor,
The public is tired of politicians fighting or promising to fight each other. They want them to find common ground and work together. Unfortunately, she did not show any intention to work with the governor. Was that Pride or Greed?
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The governor disenfranchised all the people in the district (38,000) This is his MO: temper tantrums that prove he reacts on emotion. He wanted to strike back at Democrats because he is petty and belligerent.
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We should be equally as outraged by her first official comment on election night. I heard it on the news live that night and was very disappointed. That is a horrible way to start off in a new role, especially a political one where he only way to get things done is to work together. I look at Susan Collins as a good role model for politicians. She doesn’t bad mouth her adversaries. I hope Ms. Deschambeault recognizes she let her pride get the best of her and we can chalk it up to a rookie mistake. We need someone who can represent us well in Augusta.
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