Gov. Paul LePage is the most powerful person in Maine.

He oversees a government that can directly impact every one of Maine’s more than 1.3 million residents, if he is so inclined.

With a whispered word, a phone call or handwritten letter, he has the power to turn the state against someone, costing them their job or worse.

His power has constitutional checks, to be sure, that allow the legislative branch and judicial branch to rein him in. One recent example is his attempt to use a “pocket veto” to stop legislation, which backfired, allowing at least 19 bills to become law against his wishes.

But the power of the office of the governor is intense.

Now, this self-proclaimed “street fighter” with the power of the executive branch flowing through his office would like to convince us all that he is the victim and the lone protector of propriety.

It defies belief.

In his weekly radio address, released by his office on Tuesday, the governor attempts to rewrite history about his efforts to have Speaker of the House Mark Eves fired from a job at Good Will-Hinckley before he even started it.

He attacks Eves — and his fellow lawmakers — and compares him to a criminal. It’s wrong and only goes to further cement the facts in the case against the governor. He’s bent on the personal destruction of a political adversary.

There’s no doubt any longer about what has happened. The governor freely admits — brags, in fact — about what he has done.

When he found out that the school had hired Eves to be its president, he went through the roof, threatened state funding for an institution that serves at-risk students and, according to at least one published report, followed through by withholding state money.

He’s facing an investigation into his actions by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability. Democrats and Republicans on the Government Oversight Committee unanimously approved the inquiry.

There’s talk of impeachment.

And a civil suit is possible.

All are consequences of an illegitimate, inappropriate and possibly illegal abuse of official government authority to punish a political opponent.

“I don’t know what the future holds, but I think the people are finally waking up to the real Gov. LePage,” said Helen Rankin, who served for six years in the Legislature, was a member of the education committee and a graduate of Good Will-Hinckley.

Rankin is right, and the line of supporters standing between LePage and free fall is getting thinner and thinner.

Speaking of the governor’s attacks on Eves, Rankin wasn’t shy. “I think it’s despicable. I think it’s horrible,” she said. “I often think about the governor and the difficult childhood he had. But he’s not the only one who had a difficult childhood. That doesn’t excuse his actions.”

When she was young, Rankin’s family broke apart. She went to 16 different schools before finishing the 8th grade.

She and her sister went to Good Will-Hinckley and she credits the school with turning their lives around: “They saved us.”

Rankin served with Eves during her time in the Legislature, and she describes him as a good and decent man, an effective leader and a good fit to lead Good Will-Hinckley.

“We saw Mark attacked and abused everyday by the governor, who was rude and crude. It was striking to see how he talked to the speaker and about him,” Rankin said. “Mark always kept his cool. Some people thought that he should have fought harder, but he was trying to keep things together. Always working for the good.”

Rankin continued: “What the governor did — and what he’s still doing — is way out of line. It’s beyond the pale.”

Rankin points to Eves’ handling of the state budget, a contentious fight that required skill to resolve. “Look at what Mark accomplished — working with Senate President Thibodeau and other Republicans who were willing to compromise — all for the good of the state.”

LePage would hold himself up as the protector against waste, fraud and abuse, repeating the words like they’re a curse being cast on his enemies.

But this time, the charm won’t work. The abuse (not to mention the waste) is clear. And it’s coming from him.

His latest effort to further attack a political opponent using his official radio address only adds to the evidence that he is willing to use the power of his office as a weapon against those who stand up to him.

LePage is no victim, and the only thing he is fighting to protect is his own power — and maybe his own skin.