Augusta -
Governor LePage is formally apologizing for comparing the IRS to the Gestapo.
The Governor used that comparison in his radio address last week while criticizing President Obama's health care overhaul.
It also came up again Thursday at a fundraiser for that state's republican candidate.
The Governor spoke with a reporter for Seven Days, an alternative newspaper in Vermont.
Here's what he said.
Maine Governor Paul LePage: 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. Maybe the IRS is not quite as bad (pause) yet."
Reporter for Seven Days Blog: "But they are headed in that direction?"
LePage: "They're headed in that direction. The Supreme Court decision robbed an awful lot of freedom, because now we are gonna be told what we have to do, and never in the history of our country have we been told that we had to do something. Particularly buy something from a commercial market."
Reporter: "So you're saying that the IRS is headed in the direction of the Gastapo? Do you have a sense of what the Gastapo actually did during World War II?"
LePage: "Yeah. They killed a lot of people."
Reporter: "And the IRS is headed in that direction?"
LePage: "Yeah."
Reporter: "They are headed in the direction of killing a lot of people?"
LePage: "Yeah."
(pause)
Reporter: "Are you serious?"
LePage: "Yeah. Very Serious. You know why?"
Reporter: "Tell me."
LePage: "Rationing."
Reporter: "Rationing."
LePage: "They ration healthcare in Canada. That's why a lot of people from Canada come down to the U.S. Believe it or not there is not enough money in this world when you are 16-trillion dollars in debt to have the federal government pick up everybody's tab. And that's the unfortunate thing. There were only 50% of Americans that paid into the system. The 50% can not support 100%."
Reporter: "And so you are, so you're saying the IRS is headed in the direction of..."
LePage: "I'm saying the federal government is taking away the freedoms of americans to make choices."
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The Governor met with members of the Jewish community Friday and apologized for his remarks.
"The acts of the Holocaust were nothing short of horrific. Millions of innocent people were murdered and I apologize for my insensitivity to the word and the offense some took to my comparison of the IRS and the Gestapo. However, I want to make this very clear; it was never my intent to insult or to be hurtful to anyone, but rather express what can happen by overreaching government. I fear we have a federal government that is moving toward a socialistic state and we must not forget history because if we do we are bound to repeat it."
In a statement today the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine and the Anti-Defamation League said: "We welcome and appreciate the Governor's apology. In both our private meeting this morning and in the words he spoke publically, it is clear the Governor regrets the hurt his language caused. As he clearly understands, the wounds of the Holocaust have their own unique and terrible place in world history."
To hear the Governor's full apology in his weekly radio address: HERE
For a listen to the full interview between the Governor and the reporter for the Seven Day's full story, click HERE.
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