Eliot recently sat down for a talk with Derek Viger from Augusta Insider about the “State of Education in Maine.” Below are a 4 video clips in which he covers some of the key issues facing the Maine education system:
Can Independents Seize the Day? (CNN)
April 8th, 2010
John Avlon, senior political columnist for The Daily Beast, writes an opinion piece for CNN on the Independent movement in America, which is now the “largest and fastest growing segment of the American electorate.”
Below are two excerpts from the CNN piece with quotes from Eliot:
A CBS/New York Times poll released last month found that 42 percent of Americans identify themselves as independents. Registered independent (or unaffiliated) voters now outnumber registered Democrats or Republicans in 10 states, including Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine.
Now that a new USA Today/Gallup poll shows approval of both parties near all-time lows, the time might just be right for a new generation of independent reformers….
You can read the complete article here.
VIDEO: My Experience Managing Federal Budgets
April 1st, 2010
While appearing on Pachios on the News, Eliot discusses his experiences as Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy and Science in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from 1977 to 1980.
While working at the White House, Eliot was responsible for approving and cutting programs that represented a significant portion of the federal budget.
Is the Time Ripe For Third-Party and Independent Bids? (CQ Politics)
March 29th, 2010
In an article today, CQ Politics asks whether or not now is the time for Third Party and Independent candidates to become serious players in the upcoming November elections. Below is an excerpt about the growing influence of Independents in New England, with mention of Eliot:
In Maine, Independent Eliot Cutler looks like a very credible candidate in a contest that now, some two months before the state’s primary, boasts a field of candidates that is almost large enough to deserve its own ZIP code. The winner will replace retiring Gov. John Baldacci (D), who won re-election four years ago with 38 percent of the vote.
A native of Maine who served on the staff of former Sen. Edmund Muskie (D) and then in President Jimmy Carter’s Office of Management and Budget, Cutler was a partner in the Washington, D.C., powerhouse law firm of Akin Gump Strass Hauer and Feld.
Cutler rightly points out that Maine has not been reluctant to elect Independent governors — in 1974 James Longley won the state’s top job as an Independent, and Angus King won two terms the same way, in 1994 and 1998. The last major party nominee to win at least 50 percent of the vote in a Maine gubernatorial contest was Joseph Brennan in 1982.
You can read the complete article here.
VIDEO: My Vision for the North Woods and the Gulf of Maine
March 25th, 2010
While at the Maine Forest Products Council gubernatorial forum, Eliot discusses his experiences as Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy and Science in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and how that informs his current vision for the North Woods:
VIDEO: Investing in Our Strengths
March 24th, 2010
Eliot spoke at the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club about why Maine needs to focus on and invest in its competitive advantages. In this clip, Eliot talks specifically about Maine’s higher education and how we can re-structure it to deliver better results:
VIDEO: What Does Healthcare Reform Mean for Maine?
March 24th, 2010
The healthcare bill provides Maine a real opportunity to become one of the leading states in providing better healthcare by shaping healthcare around people and not health insurance companies.
Listen as Eliot discusses how Maine can seize this unique opportunity to transform healthcare in Maine.
VIDEO: How Casinos Harm Recreation and Tourism in Maine
March 24th, 2010
Here is a YouTube video in which Eliot discusses his opposition to casinos and why he believes Maine should invest in its people and places of character instead:
Maine Wellness – Lower Cost Healthcare for Maine
March 24th, 2010
Maine’s rapidly rising annual expenditures for healthcare are crippling Maine’s working families, who pay too great a portion of their wages for healthcare, and are breaking the backs of Maine employers. High healthcare and insurance costs are one of the most important factors making it difficult to live and do business in Maine.
We can bring healthcare costs under control in Maine by providing essential health-care services for all Maine citizens through Maine Wellness, a new statewide framework within which coverage and care will be provided at a price that Maine businesses and taxpayers can afford, while preserving individual choice and the important relationships between patients and caregivers.
The Maine Wellness framework will be based on these three principles:
- All Mainers should have access to essential health care services.
- The program must be financially sound and sustainable.
- We will reward healthy behaviors and pay for healthy outcomes, de-emphasizing payments for procedures as much as possible, because many of the diseases we pay to treat are preventable.
Our program will borrow from the highly successful efforts undertaken by Cianbro, Hussey and other large Maine employers, who have succeeded dramatically in controlling costs and providing incentives for people to stop smoking, to lose weight and to take better care of themselves. Maine Wellness will be built on the foundation of Maine’s strong system of non-profit hospitals and committed physicians and caregivers.
