The Invisible Franco-American at the Tea Party - Part One

I feel like a Rip Van Winkle who’s just awakened to find that his world has gone upside down. The biggest wonder: a glance at the ballot for the upcoming primary elections, and lo and behold, there are more Franco-American names than ever, and most of them are Republican. What the hell happened, as good old Rip would say?

LePage, Poliquin, Michaud, Lamontagne, Racine. LaPierre. Where do they come from? In Northern New England, it used to be Franco-Americans could muster a few credible candidates for local offices like county sheriff and state representative. Those constituencies were local, small and manageable. But for governor and for U.S. Congress and Senate? Never, hardly ever. Once in a while a Franco name would surface for state or national office, but always as a Democrat. A Franco-American on a Republican Party ballot? Unthinkable.

Some of the Franco candidates are clearly favored by the grass roots Tea Partiers according to several polls and the press. This should be less of a surprise since Francos have always been conservative in their politics. I’m tempted to say that Francos might still harbor some deep feelings as outsiders which would clearly make them convenient fellow travelers of the current crop of Tea Partiers.

Maine by far has the largest number of Franco-American candidates. Of course, it’s the only state with a Franco incumbent, Congressman Mike Michaud, a Democrat. He’s running for reelection and is opposed by a newcomer, Republican Jason Levesque of Auburn. Neither is opposed in the primary, so the November battle for that seat in Washington will be fought over by two Francos, in what is very likely a historical first.

The governor’s race has two Francos among the seven Republican candidates, both from Waterville: Bruce Poliquin , a businessman, and Paul LePage, the three-term mayor of that city. Both are first-time candidates for statewide office. Neither would embody the typical Franco-American experience (if there is one, of course.)

Poliquin points to his roots on his official website, citing his great-grandparents who emigrated from Canada. The family names in his background – Poliquin, Cyr, Doyon and Bouchard – are common Franco names. His education, however, veered from tradition. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover and studied economics at Harvard. Over his career, he’s owned several businesses and from all appearances has made a success of them.

LePage’s life history is also atypical, especially his youth in Lewiston which is right out of a Dickens novel. According to the candidate’s web site, he was the oldest of 18 children in an “impoverished, dysfunctional family.” He left home at the age of 11 and “lived on the streets for two years, making a meager living shining shoes.” Later, when he tried to get to college, he kept failing his verbal SAT scores. According to LePage, it was only when Husson College administered the exam in French, his mother tongue, that he passed and was accepted. I have my doubts about the accuracy of this claim. As a contemporary from Lewiston (I’m four years older,) I suspect that a Franco kid in his circumstances at that time would have no more than a limited oral knowledge of French. His resume does include, however, a stint as an “executive” of Arthurette Lumber in Canada.

At the Republican Convention in May, LePage proved quite popular and was clearly the favorite of the state’s Tea Party. In a recent televised debate, he used a third of his opening remarks to address the audience in French, a rather gutsy act – one aimed obviously at the Franco voters who have traditionally voted the Democratic ticket. LePage has been quoted as saying, “the one thing a Frenchman likes more than a Democrat is another Frenchman.” Everyone will have to see if he makes it to the November ballot to find out if he’s right on that one.

There are no Francos on the Democratic ticket, although Democrat Donna Dion, former mayor of Biddeford, is waging a write-in candidacy. Besides serving as mayor and Chair of the School Board, Dion has worked as chief financial officer for two non-profit agencies and is widely known as an advocate for a number of social and educational causes.

The Maine primary election is June 8, while the primaries in New Hampshire and Vermont are scheduled for September. We’ll talk about the candidates in those states later. Rip Van Winkle deserves another nap.