Maine Legislature Refuses to Pay to Protect Bush; Governor Angry

The state Legislature refused Monday to provide money to protect President Bush when he is at his summer home in Kennebunkport, but an angry Gov. John R. McKernan Jr. said he would find the necessary $50,000 in a contingency fund he controls.

McKernan, a Republican who worked hard for Bush during last year’s presidential campaign, said that the refusal of the Democratic-controlled Legislature to provide the money was insulting to Bush, who has summered in Maine all of his life.

“I will pay for that out of the contingency fund if they will not fund it,” McKernan said. “I think it is a real slap in the face of the President, and it is indicative of the tone that we see here.”

Town officials in Kennebunkport have said that they can no longer afford to provide police protection for Bush when he is in town. The federal government says it is required to provide money only for Secret Service protection, and that local police protection must be provided by the state or local community.

Democratic legislators contend that the protection of the President is the responsibility of the federal government and that the state should not be forced to pay.

“I agree that it ought to be a federal responsibility, but the federal government has said that it will not pay,” McKernan said. “Does that mean that we won’t send state troopers down there to make sure that the President is adequately protected? It just doesn’t make any sense.”