Gordon L. Weil
Bangor Daily News
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Past articles by Gordon:
Maine could become âremote work stateâ in new economy
In a remote work-from-home economy, nobody is more remote than others. Maybe that’s good news for Maine, which has been penalized by its relatively remote location. If remote work takes off, … → Read More
COVID-19 Act unity hides deep partisan divide
Earlier this week, the Senate opened a session with a foul blast of partisanship. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell discussed the day’s schedule and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded. Nex… → Read More
Maine, even with good election laws, faces efforts to undermine voters
The national voting season now begins in full force. Maine will hold primaries on March 3, “Super Tuesday,” along with states all the way to California. That will be the single bigges… → Read More
Collins not the “deciding vote” on Kavanaugh confirmation
The biggest issue in the campaign against Sen. Susan Collins may be her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. An increasingly conservative Supreme Court could reverse the Roe v… → Read More
Gov. Mills makes rare offer to Legislature; wants its ‘guidance’ on utilities
The tug of war between the executive and legislative branches keeps taking new turns. In theory, the legislative branch is supposed to set policy through passing laws. Legislators can submit propos… → Read More
Impeachment not purely partisan for Golden, House swing voters
You are a first-term U.S. House Democrat, representing a large, sparsely populated district. In 2018, by a narrow margin, you took a seat, previously held by a Republican. The district had voted f… → Read More
Trump’s rules shape U.K. election; Boris Johnson wins big
The British election has encouraged political pundits as they rush to reveal what the U.K. vote for Parliament means for the 2020 U.S. presidential race. The chances are good that their prediction… → Read More
Supreme Court “umpires” face historic challenge in Trump cases
“Judges are like umpires,” said John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. “Umpires don’t make the rules; they apply them,” he continued. “It… → Read More
“Deep state” and other political myths we believe
People can mistake politicians’ bluster for boldness and wisdom. Making political assertions without substance has created myths often mistaken for political truth. Time for some myth-busti… → Read More
Trump’s free-wheeling made impeachment inquiry inevitable
For Donald Trump, the United States of America is his business. He runs the U.S. government like a subsidiary of The Trump Organization, which he wholly owns and is designed to make him both wealth… → Read More
Beware of polls, promises, and pundits in presidential campaign
It looks like the 2020 presidential election is just about over. Much of the media seems to report that the pre-election polls tell us what we need to know about the candidates. The pundits foreca… → Read More
Growing gaps in wealth, age raise long-term economic threat
How do you picture the typical American of the future? A prosperous tech specialist, assured of a challenging and well-paid job in a thriving environment? Or retired or nearing retirement, living o… → Read More
Maine joins other states using courts to override president, Congress
Last week, Maine joined other states in two federal court cases seeking to overturn Trump Administration moves. By now, that’s routine. States frequently team up to oppose actions by the exe… → Read More
Congress should recapture powers it gave to president
Last week, a Washington Post editorial cartoon showed an elderly couple celebrating a man’s birthday. Nice. His name is “U.S. Constitution.” His wife tells him, “Some people… → Read More
U.S. House of Representatives should be enlarged
There was once a legislative district shaped like a salamander. Its creator was a man named Gerry and making more weirdly shaped districts has come to be known as gerrymandering. Every ten years, … → Read More
Trump policy-making: president plays ‘Whack-a-mole’
“Whack-a-mole” is an old arcade game that’s an exercise in futility. It has come to mean that each time you try to solve a problem, another problem pops up. In the original game,… → Read More
Collins, GOP senators give leader great power
The country is torn by partisan conflict. Many blame President Trump, but he is exploiting a split that existed before he took office. One person deserves even more responsibility for the failure … → Read More
Spoilers undermining election system; RCV becomes vulnerable
Lewis Carroll, who wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, thought a lot about elections. A mathematician as well as a writer, he disliked plurality elections. The candidate winning the most votes… → Read More
Trump, big money ‘nationalize’ political campaigns
This weeks’ political quiz. One the following is true and one is false. (a) “All politics is local.” (b) Money is the lifeblood of politics. The correct answer is (b). It makes (a) false. The rev… → Read More
Optimistic about Kavanaughâs record, Collins ignored his partisan bias
Whether you liked it or not, Sen. Susan Collins’ speech on confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court mattered. The Senate is supposed to give its “advice and consent” to Court nominatio… → Read More