I don't know why Paul LePage continues to state, and thinks he can get away with, weird little lies like this one.

Thanks to political scientist Jim Melcher for getting the "Crazy Train" formulation into print.

Colin Woodard's Down East piece on the moderates losing control of the Maine GOP.

Matt Gagnon, who seems to be plugged in pretty well with Maine Republicans, has some interesting comments on the Pine Tree Politics Facebook page about the damage Paul LePage has done within his own party:

I have been getting unsolicited emails from Maine House candidates talking about distancing themselves from LePage, because when they do door to doors at Independent (...and even some Republican) households, his name is becoming a liability and people are asking all the wrong questions (is he really hostile to seniors? is he as paranoid as he sounds?).

I have been talking to two separate former GOP rivals of his who are so disillusioned to his constant mistakes and gaffes that they are considering un-endorsing him because they don't want to be associated with this crap.

The buzz is all bad buzz, and it is hurting him significantly. His commitment to ignore the media has just pissed them off and GUARANTEED bad coverage for himself - something that didn't have to happen.

With a continuing string of strange comments, LePage has now managed to turn his Crazy Train mistakes into a solid week of negative press. Some of the hardest comes today, with a series of editorials and opinion pieces in most of Maine's major newspapers.

The Bangor Daily News:

Mr. LePage, the front-runner in the race, according to the most recent poll, would do better to focus on the issues and not imaginary insults.

The Lewiston Sun Journal:

Democratic candidate Libby Mitchell’s handling of Republican Paul LePage’s joking inference that she is old was the perfect response — dismiss it decisively and move on.

Surely, LePage and his staff quickly recognized he had pitched her a big fat softball right down the middle of the plate early on in this race.

He ends up looking boorish and crude and she, well, dignified and, some would even say, "governly."

Bill Nemitz at the Portland Press Herald:

But now that your recent whistle-stop tour of the midcoast region has turned into a full-blown train wreck, you've announced that henceforth you'd prefer your questions from the press in writing.

So, here goes:

Question 1: When are you going to stop making stuff up?

Paul LePage's interview on WGAN yesterday was a chance for him to do some damage control after his string of strange statements last weekend. Instead he just dug the hole deeper, displaying more of his now trademark stubborn, willful ignorance.

The whole interview is here. Here's a good summary by Kevin Miller in the BDN and here are hosts Ken and Mike discussing things afterward on the Fox23 morning show:

Mike Lange, executive director of the Maine Press Association, responds to LePage's plan to only answer written questions from reporters following the Crazy Train campaign debacle:

In my personal opinion, Mayor LePage was probably frustrated when he made the statement, so I don't think he's serious. He's made other off-the-cuff remarks that he's regretted in his campaign. I doubt whether most news media would go through the trouble of preparing written statements for an interview. Most newspapers are short-staffed, anyhow, and covering a gubernatorial campaign is a difficult, time-consuming task. How is he going to handle debates this fall if he isn't given the questions in advance?

Lange is right about LePage not being serious. According to the Ken and Mike Show's twitter feed, he will be appearing on WGAN tomorrow morning for a live interview.

Today at Down East, a summary and some thoughts on LePage's claims of discrimination and other Crazy Train statements.

Reader John Kosinski writes in with some further questions about the episode:

Other questions remain of the whistle stop tour. For example, we learned through the PPH that the train ride was intended to be a fundraiser for LePage. Mainers willing to shuck out $750 were given special VIP access to the candidate. Who exactly paid $750 for this train ride? Last time I checked, one could ride from Brunswick to Rockland for a mere $42. Why would someone fork over $708 extra dollars for a train ride with Paul LePage? What kind of access were they given?

When the PPH called LePage’s office seeking a comment, his chief of staff told the PPH reporter she needed to talk with Paul. But Paul wasn’t available. He was out of town. Let me guess... was he on an out-of-town fundraising junket? Is he collecting checks from the Tea Party crowd in other states? Or is he hobnobbing with corporate leaders, cutting deals for some fresh campaign cash?

This may be a record for the fastest meltdown in Maine political history, but we're just getting started. It is only July, and the summer people are still hanging around. Once they leave, and Mainers are paying attention to this race again, I can’t wait to see what Mr. LePage tells us then.

All aboard!

I had intended to write my Down East piece for tomorrow on Neil Rolde's new political novel O. Murray Carr, but that will have to wait. The amount of concentrated insanity packed into Paul LePage's Freedom Train event is impossible to ignore.

You didn't really think that just because the primary was over we wouldn't have any more Les Otten scandals, did you?

Mitchell and LePage marching in the Bangor/Brewer July 4th parade:

Paul LePage reflects on his margin of victory and discusses his campaign's next steps with WCSH's Chris Rose:

Some thoughts on Tuesday's results, written stream-of-consciousness style.

Moody is in.

A voicemail message left by Paul LePage on the phone of a Beardsley supporter (via AMG, confirmed as authentic by Gerald at DirigoBlue):

Shouldn't a candidate for governor have people on staff who make their vaguely threatening phone calls for them?

As of Thursday, Paul LePage is up with his first and likely only TV ad: