This month Maine voters elected a Tea Party governor (thanks to a 3-way race) and turned control of the State House over to the Republicans for the first time in 30 years. Governor-elect LePage got a lot of support by railing against able-bodied "welfare cheats" who supposedly are draining the coffers of the Maine treasury.
So, in their first major action post-election, who do the Republicans elect as the new House Speaker? A certain Robert Nutting. Mr. Nutting owned a pharmacy and several years ago was at the center of "Diapergate" - a scheme where his store overbilled MaineCare, the state and federally-funded Medicaid program, by $1.6 million.