MPA Action Helps Sway Senate Votes

A protest by members of the Maine People’s Alliance on June 6th (See West End NEWS, June 9-21, 2006) contributed to the defeat of a bill that would have eliminated the estate tax, which, according to the MPA, would have benefited a privileged few multimillionaires, at the expense of the vast majority of Maine’s families.

An article in The New York Times on June 7th mentioned the MPA action at Senator Snowe's office, saying that "... aides to Senator Snowe of Maine said they had been under heavy pressure from both sides. On Tuesday, even as Mr. Patten's group was still running ads in favor of repeal, a group called the Maine People's Alliance brought a giant replica of a silver spoon and staged a news conference opposing repeal just outside her Senate office."