Three words that cause Maine Republicans to become panic-stricken and lose control of their bodily functions:
Congressman Ethan Strimling.
Oddly enough, the same three words have a similar effect on state Democratic leaders.
That Strimling, he’s a uniter, not a divider.
Strimling is a three-term Democratic state senator, who represents the Portland peninsula, perhaps the most liberal district in the state. But for a guy who regularly wins elections by Olympia Snowe-type margins, he’s got a lot of enemies. And not all of them are right-wing fanatics.
In fact, some crazed conservatives would be delighted to see Strimling’s name on the ballot in 2008 as the Dems’ nominee for the US House from Maine’s 1st District. They think his leftist platform (universal health care, a leaner military, fatter welfare checks) would guarantee victory for the GOP. Crazed conservatives tend to forget that this is the same district that’s regularly elected ardent Dem libs such as Tom Andrews and Tom Allen to Congress, in races in which Republican candidates were about as competitive as the Baghdad police department.
There’s nothing to indicate Strimling couldn’t continue southern Maine’s tradition of listing to port by assembling a coalition of yuppies (he looks like one), Greens (he votes like one), peaceniks (he is one), antigun crusaders (he shoots as straight as one), and gays (sorry, boys, he’s married).
Except that would make a lot of Democratic big shots (and more than a few small shots) very unhappy. They don’t like Strimling for reasons that range from the petty (he’s too good-looking, he likes seeing his name in print and his face on TV too much) to the personal (he’s accused of stabbing a few of his fellow Dems, including party chair Ben Dudley, in the back) to the professional (he’s not a team player, as witness his recent vocal opposition to a sales tax break for a proposed Cabela’s sporting goods store in Scarborough — which isn’t in his district — undermining Dem legislators who represent the area, causing many of his aggrieved colleagues to hint his interference had something to do with his close ties to top management at L.L. Bean, a Cabela’s competitor).
But before we get hung up on Strimling’s alleged shortcomings, let’s check out the political landscape. Democrat Allen currently holds the 1st District seat and can probably keep it as long as he likes. Allen did tell reporters he was considering a 2008 run for the U.S. Senate against GOP incumbent Susan Collins. But Allen knows he’d be an underdog in that race, and a lot of Washington analysts think he’ll enjoy his new status as an influential member of the Democratic majority in Congress so much, he won’t want to move.
Even an ego the size of Strimling’s isn’t big enough to challenge a popular incumbent from his own party. But that hasn’t stopped Strimling from preparing for a run, just in case Allen bows out. According to the West End News (motto: Maine’s Only Biweekly Newspaper That Strictly Enforces The Rule Requiring Layout People And Photographers To Be Blindfolded While Working), Strimling convened a meeting with potential congressional campaign committee members shortly after the November election.
“It’s up and running,” Sive Neilan, chair of the Portland Democratic City Committee, told the paper. “He’s going to be the one to beat.”
