Former Mayor Throws Vaseline at Maine Governor

Let's be honest: A former Maine state lawmaker and mayor essentially threw a jar of Vaseline at Gov. Paul LePage yesterday. But WGME will only go so far as to say in its headline that Joanne Twomey threw the jar "near" the guv, and the Bangor Daily News goes with the word "toward," though the last line of WGME's article does use the word "at." And the former mayor of Biddeford freely admits, "Oh yes, I threw the jar at the stage." She did so after first shouting at LePage during the question-and-answer portion of a town-hall-style event he was holding in Saco to discuss his state budget plan; as she approached the stage, security pulled her away, but she wasn't arrested. Needless to say, the meeting "ended suddenly" after that, WGME notes. The Vaseline did not appear to hit LePage.

Why Vaseline? Twomey, a Democrat who also served in the Maine House, explains that she chose it because nearly two years ago, Republican and Tea Party favorite LePage said that former Democratic state Sen. Troy Jackson "claims to be for the people, but he’s the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline." However, her issue yesterday had to do with the budget, the Portland Press Herald reports: Her shouting apparently consisted of complaints that his budget proposals would hurt low-income residents of the state. After the meeting, she explained that she intended to simply hand LePage the jar of Vaseline, but instead tossed it onto the stage when it became clear she was going to be removed from the event. (More Maine stories.)