Members of the press, this is a truly momentous occasion. 

Speaker Sara Gideon, the person in charge of Maine’s House of Representatives, the person who made an April “personal pledge” to “immediately” help Maine’s small business dealing with the pandemic, has made her first and only move to bring relief to our business community.

That’s right - Speaker Gideon finally decided to honor her personal pledge. She really leaned into it, too.

Make sure you’re sitting down for this:

Speaker Gideon tweeted a link to apply for state economic aid provided by the federal government and Senator Collins’ COVID response!

Problem solved! Pledge fulfilled! Businesses have been saved, and jobs have been preserved!

 Of course, it doesn’t quite compare to Senator Collins writing and passing a law, the Paycheck Protection Program, that has supported more than 250,000 Maine jobs with about $2.3 billion in direct aid.

Here’s the reality: Gideon hasn’t lifted a finger to help Mainers since she adjourned the Legislature 171 days ago. The fact that this tweet is the only business assistance she has provided is a stunning failure of leadership.