Government

Maine Gov. Compares the IRS to the Gestapo…Again

Paul LePage Gestapo

AP

Maine Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday compared the Internal Revenue Service to the Gestapo — for the second time in five days.

“What I’m trying to say is the Holocaust was a horrific crime against humanity and frankly, I would never want to see that repeated,” the Republican governor told a reporter for Seven Days, a Vermont weekly. “Maybe the IRS is not quite as bad — yet.”

“But they’re headed in that direction?” the reporter asked, according to audio of the conversation posted online.

“They’re headed in that direction,” LePage affirmed.

LePage made his original comments during his weekly radio address Saturday, blasting President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul and telling listeners they “must buy health insurance or pay the new Gestapo – the IRS.” A statement posted on the governor’s website Monday said it “was not my intent to insult anyone, especially the Jewish Community, or minimize the fact that millions of people were murdered.” The statement added, “the use of the word Gestapo has clouded my message.”

But in an exchange with reporter Paul Heintz, LePage doubled down on the comparison and said the IRS is heading the direction of “killing a lot of people,” just like what happened in Nazi Germany.

Heintz: “Do you have a sense of what the Gestapo actually did during World War II?”

LePage: “Yeah. They killed a lot of people.”

Heintz: “And so the IRS is headed in that direction?”

LePage: “Yeah.”

Heintz: “They’re headed in the direction of killing a lot of people?”

LePage: “Yeah.”

Heintz: “Wait are you serious?”

LePage: “Yeah, I’m very serious.”

LePage went on to explain that “rationing” is the reason he’s so concerned about the IRS.

“They ration health care in Canada, that’s why a lot of people in Canada come down to the U.S.,” he said. “I’m saying the federal government is taking away the freedoms of Americans to make choices.”

Later in the interview, LePage said the Holocaust “is probably a bad example.”

“I apologize to Jewish Americans if they feel offended,” he said. “But I also apologize to Japanese-Americans that were put in prison during World War II, and I also apologize to those people who were accused of being Communists during McCarthyism, because that’s not the American way.”

When pressed, LePage said he “didn’t know” if the IRS was moving toward interning Americans like in World War II.

Maine Democratic Party chairman Ben Grant told Seven Days that LePage’s latest remarks left him “speechless” and wondering whether he was “fit to hold office.”

“It took me about 15 minutes to get my jaw up off the floor. I was speechless,” he said. “We’re used to Gov. LePage spouting off with insensitive, offensive remarks. But what he said today, he’s basically put all his chips in the middle of the table on the side of totally unhinged conspiracy theories. I think we really have to question at this point whether he’s fit to hold office.”

Listen to LePage’s remarks below, via Seven Days:

Comments (55)

1 2
  • Verceofreason
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 10:06pm

    LePage is a publicity seeking hack like Sheriff Arpaio
    and the rubes just eat it up.

    Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • lukerw
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 10:39pm

      Tax Collection… that results in a possible loss of Property… and/or Fines… and/or Prision (Debtors or Concentration Camps)… is a Gestapo like Enforcement!

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • blackyb
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 11:13pm

      You are an idiot. Joe Aprio is telling the truth. People like you are who are ruining this country. You need to reassess your priorities. Rubes? You are the rube and fodder for that ignorant Muslim in our White House.

      Report Post » blackyb  
    • Verceofreason
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 11:15pm

      So pay the taxes you owe.

      Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • TSUNAMI-22
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 11:48pm

      Tax the able-bodied welfare recipients.

      Report Post »  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 7:04am

      I read his biography on Wikipedia. After doing so I take him “way” more seriously than a libertine like yourself.

      Report Post »  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 7:05am

      Verceofreason

      So pay the taxes you owe.
      ***
      Taxes could be raised to 99% of income & Verceofreason would merely say “So pay the taxes you owe.”

      So this is how we know Verceofreason is a “mind numbed robot”.

      Report Post »  
    • SquareHead
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 7:36am

      Lepage is a rare honest polititian.

      The IRS is our Gestapo. It needs to be abolished. The income tax is unconstitutional and when it passed in the middle of the night in 1913 it was the beginning of the end of our Nation.

      Report Post »  
    • BCanook
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 7:53am

      I fail to see the logic in responding to people such as VERCEOFREASON. This person, along with many others, enter their posts for the sole purpose of spinning people up. They succeed each and every time. They don’t use facts. They have no reason. They put out nothing but vitriol and the comment string spins off into personal attacks. Stop reading what these people post – they’re not constructive, they don’t want to have a civil discussion, and they cannot defend a point. If you ignore them they’ll go away – or change their name.

      Report Post »  
    • ktowers
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 4:04pm

      BCanook, you are exactly right. If you start feeding the trolls it becomes a full time job.

      Report Post »  
  • Verceofreason
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 9:57pm

    And LePage has been compared to a rancid meatloaf.
    Where do Republicans find these losers.

    Verceofreason  
    • lukerw
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 2:07am

      Sociialists (I mean Liberals/Democrats) seem to want Government to take care of Everything… so with a Government Money Printing Press, and everyone working for the Govenment, there Will Be No Taxes (and all will live in Peace & Harmony)?

      Where do you find your Idiot Ideologies?

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • stumpy68
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 7:36am

      Its what happens when people work hard accomplish
      their goals on their own and expect others to do likewise,
      and then are told they need to support people who should be able to support themselves.

      Report Post » stumpy68  
    • SquareHead
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 7:39am

      Where did you come from? I supposed Barny Frank is the type you find more acceptable.

      Report Post »  
    • saved4ever
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 11:59am

      When liberal trolls like you cannot debate the facts like any mature person, you resort to childlish name calling and insults. Mature adults debate the facts and shun personal attacks. Grow up, take charge of you own life and stop the personal insults!

      Report Post »  
  • Stelex
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 9:51pm

    Since having dealt with the IRS, for reasons beyond my control. I can tell you all……..you do not want them in charge of collecting medical bills. Besides being a vast maze you will even for the most simple bill or reason, have to hire an accountant. Thats a given. So lets say you owe 22 bucks to a doctor cause the insurance wouldn’t pay. You get your typical bill collectors calling and you ignore and pay whenever you can. You get a call from the IRS, you go change your under ware. Hire an accountant and spend a minimum of 6 months resolving the issue. Send in your check, but you didn‘t include the fees and penalty’s, now you get new threats and …………good luck all. You’ve got no idea whats coming if this is not repealed.

    Report Post » Stelex  
  • gingerbread
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:42pm

    He is right on. No, the IRS hasn’t killed any one, but they have destroyed an awful lot of people, financially. And there is nothing anyone can do about it. They are law unto themselves. The IRS, like the GESTAPO, can do anything they want to any citizen, and nobody can stop them. Now, once this OBAMA CARE comes to a full fruition, they can do more than destroy a citizen, including putting them in jail. That is just a short step to killing anyone they wish to elliminate. And should any one dare question them, all they will say is that “THEY WERE JUST OBEYING ORDERS”. Hmm where have we heard that before?? Oh yeah, that was the defense of all these NAZIs, when they were asked why they did what they did.

    Report Post » gingerbread  
  • Rip Curly
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:38pm

    Best governor in New England. Hands down. A libertarian with an MBA and big balls. Let the dogs bark, LePage, your caravan is moving on! Bwahahahahaha!

    Report Post »  
  • JoeFriday
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:08pm

    and within hours the Maine Democrats were fundraising off the remark, within hours. Mr. jaw on the ground didn’t waste anytime in his party going for the cash. That is dishonest.

    Report Post » JoeFriday  
  • infidelsaplenty
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:03pm

    He’s hilarious! I voted for him to get a good conservative governor. ‘Didn’t realize we’d get a plain-spoken comedian as well.

    Report Post »  
  • twolaneflash
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:01pm

    The Governor underestimates the IRS. The Gestapo only operated a handful of years. This treacherous IRS bunch of thieves and thugs has been operating for decades, going on a century of un-Constitutional tyranny against The People. Anybody know how many Americans committed suicide due to the IRS? Maybe not a holocaust, but greater than zero, I’m sure. There are over 100,000 IRS “employees” and they are adding thousands more. That’s one for every 3000 Americans, and that’s no more than 500 taxpayers. Soon, we will each have one, armed, taking our money and denying us medical care at the same time.

    Report Post »  
  • nighttrainno9
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:49pm

    The gov. is spot on, I can’t believe the amount of people with
    their head stuck in the sand. They are walking around oblivious
    to whats going on and even if they knew they wouldn’t care.
    Probably 10 or 20 % of the population is awake and realizes
    the danger our country is in. The brownshirts are on the streets
    and people still don‘t think it’s serious. By the way, you might
    want to start watching for UN vehicles, today I saw 6 black SUVs traveling
    together with blacked out windows and one of the guys I work
    with saw a black helicopter. Keep your powder dry.

    Report Post »  
  • riseandshine
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:19pm

    Nullify the damn law.

    Report Post » riseandshine  
  • beachmom
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:07pm

    So nice to have a Governor like LePage after 40 yrs of liberals driving us into the toilet!
    Makes me glad I stayed in Maine!

    Report Post »  
  • tghps9
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 7:01pm

    We love our Governor!! Go Paul Go

    Trevor in Maine

    Report Post »  
  • brother_ed
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:59pm

    “Maine Democratic Party chairman Ben Grant told Seven Days that LePage’s latest remarks left him “speechless” and wondering whether he was “fit to hold office.””

    The most telling part of the story.

    When someone speaks the truth they are marginalized.

    Report Post » brother_ed  
  • Larry E
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:52pm

    All the IRS needs is the ability to throw us in the slammer without a trial or proof of guilt. Already you’re presumed to be guilty by them if they simply accuse you of wrongdoing and only on their suspicions. This is a “free society?”

    Report Post »  
  • MAMMY_NUNN
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:47pm

    Get ready for it all those online purchases you didn’t claim on your taxes you will recieve a bill for payment. They will sopeona businesses for sales records and banks for your bank records they will become the tax gestapo.

    Report Post »  
  • tricia
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:39pm

    This man speaks truth.
    The Gestapo were the ENFORCERS of evil laws. Isn’t that CORRECT my phoney “offended” friends????

    Report Post »  
  • rickroland
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:35pm

    O.K., so he is right, again!

    Report Post »  
  • ProudCapitalist
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:33pm

    There must be something in the water in Maine that the Republicans are drinking. How else can you explain the election of Senators like Collins and Snowe and now the Gov. I was stationed there in the service and loved the people, but I don’t understand the GOP there and how they can vote for these people.

    Report Post »  
    • Cataclysm
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 8:05am

      Its either moderates, like Snowe and Collins or its uber liberals, who are just like Obama and Pelosi. I’d take Snowe and Collins over another Pelosi.

      Report Post » Cataclysm  
  • SHOWMESTATEGUY
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:18pm

    The man speaks the truth. Everyone knows it, he’s the only one willing to say it. The dem libs hate the fact that he’s willing to let the secret out and the Republicans are afraid to stand by him.

    Time for another tea party?

    Report Post »  
  • dylan
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:13pm

    Never allow the IRS to get o your case. They are insatiable. I know a person who had agents sitting on their doorsteps. There are so many of them and they have nothing left to but harass and bully, threaten and scare to do. Do whatever it takes to place yourself below their radar. Brown shirts coming as fast as they can.

    Report Post »  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:10pm

    I reported him to Attack Watch, or the Truth Squad, they said they will send the brownshirts ASAP. Go back to sleep America, everything is fine.

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
  • freeberty
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:08pm

    I don’t know much about Governor LePage, but I certainly like the way he thinks. I for one think the term Gestapo applies to a lot of the privileged, lecherous, professional, parasitic class. Would he be on the list of potential VP candidates?

    Report Post »  
  • Individualism
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:07pm

    so hes talking about our troops and police rounding people up and putting them in fema camps for enslavement or death by order of Obama or Romney? o snap get ready folks, revolution maybe coming soon.

    Report Post » Individualism  
    • Inlightofthings
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:00pm

      INDY:
      Still tryin’ to figure you out. Are you a Constitution Party guy along with Bro Winston?

      Don’t waste time with tripe not and rhetoric…

      Report Post »  
    • Individualism
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 8:46pm

      Nationalist, fine here is reality Obama beats Romney 20 percent.

      Report Post » Individualism  
  • Cataclysm
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:02pm

    I love my Governor, a politian that doesn’t care about being P/C, and is making Maine a better place to do business. And anyone who has ever been in dept to the IRS knows he’s right, they come hunt you down like your nothing but an animal and harrass you until you go insane.

    Report Post » Cataclysm  
  • cookcountypatriot
    Posted on July 12, 2012 at 5:58pm

    well if the irs is the gestapo what or who does that make obama…….da furher?

    Report Post » cookcountypatriot  
    • Hickory
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:13pm

      Nah, he is not Hitler. He is the new Stalin. Stalin killed a lot more people than Hitler did.

      Report Post » Hickory  
    • SHOWMESTATEGUY
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 6:20pm

      I think you may finally be getting the drift of the situation.

      Report Post »  
    • Verceofreason
      Posted on July 12, 2012 at 10:03pm

      What states are y’all from?
      Sound kind of looney to this Brooklyn boy.
      The y’all, was a ruse.

      Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on July 13, 2012 at 7:09am

      Verceofreason

      You’re from Brooklyn? That explains much.

      Report Post »  
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