LePage: My Grandmother Would’ve Washed My Mouth With Soap, But My Speech Is Protected

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2016, file photo, Gov. Paul LePage speaks at a news conference at the State House in Augusta, Maine. Lepage said Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, he intends to seek "spiritual guidance" in hopes of qu... FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2016, file photo, Gov. Paul LePage speaks at a news conference at the State House in Augusta, Maine. Lepage said Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, he intends to seek "spiritual guidance" in hopes of quieting a controversy he created when he left an obscene message on a Democratic lawmaker's voicemail and then said he wished he could challenge him to a duel and point a gun at him. LePage said he doesn't intend to talk to the media anymore, a claim he has made before. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) MORE LESS

AUBURN, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage says his grandmother would’ve washed his mouth out with soap over some of the things he’s said, and he pointed out that even “bad words” are protected by the Constitution.

LePage acknowledged Thursday at an event sponsored by the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce that he doesn’t have “the cleanest mouth” and that his “vocabulary needs improvement.”

The Republican governor’s accomplishments have sometimes been overshadowed by his remarks, like telling the Portland, Maine, NAACP chapter to “kiss my butt” and saying a senator gives to people “without providing Vaseline.” He recently caused an uproar by leaving a profane message on a lawmaker’s voicemail.

LePage said his grandmother, if she’d been around, would “have a bar of soap, make me chew it, but it’s still protected speech.”

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. Criminal activity is not protected.

  2. My Grandmother, Lena Fanny Geraldine Von Holst, would have cut your balls off.

  3. Silly little shithead .

  4. Avatar for imkmu3 imkmu3 says:

    I think that I would have liked your grandmother.

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