The Maine GOP is in a tizzy over a video promoted by Rep. Michael Michaud, the Democratic candidate for governor, which included a crude lyric referring to Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
In the video, which you can watch here (the offending line is at the 2:00 mark), a song from the artist Spose, titled “King of Maine,” includes the lyric “I’m the King of Maine, I’m the King of Maine, I’ve got Susan Collins giving everyone brain.”
“Brain,” for those who don’t know, is a euphemism for oral sex.
Michaud retweeted the video from his official campaign account, but has since deleted it.
(Image credit: The Maine Wire)
His campaign also said they were not responsible for producing the video:
The Michaud campaign did not produce the video or have any control or advance knowledge of its contents. #mepolitics 1/2
— Mike Michaud (@Michaud2014) September 19, 2014
True, the video was not produced by the Michaud campaign, but by Knack Factory, which was co-founded by Bangor Daily News blogger Alex Steed. In a Friday morning blog post, Steed denied collaborating with the Michaud campaign while making the video, saying they followed the candidate around at various events to obtain the footage. Steed also said he didn’t even know the lewd context of the “brain” reference and apologized to Sen. Collins, who has one of the highest approval ratings among senators across the country.
Knack Factory has since removed the video.
If the Michaud campaign and Steed didn’t know what “brain” was referring to, the Maine GOP’s response seems a little overblown.
Deborah Sanderson, a spokeswoman for the Maine GOP, told the Maine Wire that the lyric was a “depraved insult” to Collins and called on Michaud to “denounce this video” and apologize to Collins “and all Maine women.”
Michaud has found trouble on Twitter before this as well. In July, one of his interns was suspended after tweeting out derogatory remarks toward women and religion.
Michaud is in a tight race with incumbent Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Independent Eliot Cutler is also running.
LePage is no stranger to flaps involving crude sexual statements. In June 2013, the Republican governor said Maine state Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, “claims to be for the people but he’s the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline.”
LePage has also joked about bombing the Portland Press Herald, told Portland, Maine’s NAACP branch to “kiss my butt” and claimed he’d tell President Obama to “go to hell.”
So it’s hard to understand why the Maine GOP would want to make a big deal out of any flap from his opponent.
