In his weekly radio address, Maine Governor Paul LePage compared the Internal Revenue Service to the Gestapo, “Nazi Germany’s official secret police under Adolph Hitler, who imprisoned and murdered thousands of people without cause.”
This was not an offhand remark. Rather, LePage included the comparison in his weekly radio address. The Portland Press Herald has the story:
The IRS description was a reference to a provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires most Americans to buy health insurance or pay an annual penalty when filing their tax returns. The provision, known more broadly as the individual mandate, was the subject of a multi-state lawsuit, but was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
LePage said the court decision has “made America less free.”
“We the people have been told there is no choice,” he said. “You must buy health insurance or pay the new Gestapo — the IRS.”
During his 2010 campaign, LePage promised voters they’d see headlines saying “Governor Lepage tells Obama to go to hell!” In May, LePage said his message to his state’s unemployed is “get off the couch and get a job.”