To the editor:
Rep. John Martin wrote in your July 4 newspaper his view of the world of politics and explained how everything bad is Republican and everything good is Democratic. Haven’t we heard it all before?
John Martin and his Democratic Party had controlled our State Legislature for almost 40 years prior to the 2010 election. Let’s look at what they did for Maine.
Maine became a welfare state, a place people actually move to for the purpose of gaining access to our generous programs. (The Democrat solution — tax our working class to continue expanding our welfare programs.)
Maine people today are among the highest taxed in the nation. (Almost 40 years of Democratic Party complete control and our working people continue to pay more than elsewhere.)
Maine’s business/job climate is considered one of the worst in the country. (Another example of how great the Democratic reign was for Maine workers.)
Mr. Martin, to his credit, has had success during his 45-plus years of politics by blaming the evil Republicans and claiming he and the Democrats, were for the people. I’m not sure that many would believe him today!
Most would argue that the Democrat Party that John Martin joined, has long ago disappeared and the modern Democratic Party is the party of southern Maine and Portland. Extremely liberal, pro government, pro gay marriage, and anti small business. Most recent polls show that blue-collar working people all across the nation, recognize the fact that the Democrats have abandoned the working class.
Mr. Martin in his letter suggests that he and his party will make things all better if we just give them a chance. Didn’t we do that for almost 40 years? Are we better off with Mr. O’Bama and Mr. Martin?
Rep. Martin has become a wealthy man after his 45-plus years of service in the Legislature. Unfortunately, the citizens of rural Maine and the St. John Valley haven’t done as well.
Charles Webster, GOP chair, Farmington
Maine economy healing under GOP control
To the editor:
Since 2010, when voters across the country swept Republicans into office at all levels, from state legislatures to governors’ mansions to Congress, we have seen some tremendous results. In fact, in the 17 states that elected Republican governors in 2010, the unemployment rate has dropped at about 150 percent the national average — and half again faster than in states that elected other governors.
In Maine, the 2012 CNBC ranking of the best states for business moved Maine up five spots — from 40 to 35 — over 2011. We even saw an improvement in the “transportation and infrastructure category, despite clamoring about the need to go deeper into debt to spend on infrastructure. Eight of the top-10 states in the CNBC ranking are “red” states; the other two are swing states.
The change in attitude is apparent in state government. Maine legislators who used to raise taxes year after year and put more and more burdensome regulations on our private economy are watching with dismay as Republicans move reform bills through the legislature, dismantling the shackles that had suppressed job growth in our state for decades.
But they have not gone without a fight, and their resistance to the change that is being stirred in Augusta shows on several keys initiatives. Although they claim that they simply have different ideas about creating prosperity, when it comes right down to it, it is clear that Republicans are simply placing a greater priority on job creation than the regime ever did.
And then there was the bill to allow mining in at Bald Mountain. Despite the prospect of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of economic activity, many opposed that jobs bill in a party line vote. Fortunately for the people of Aroostook County, this pro-growth initiative will open the door to new jobs in the County.
In 2010, Maine Republicans promised voters that they would cut taxes and regulations, reform welfare, and put Maine’s fiscal house in order. In 2012, those promises have largely been kept; and we’re not stopping yet. Faced with the ninth highest income tax rate in the country, we put $277 back into the pocket of the average Maine family this year and dropped 70,000 workers from the income tax rolls altogether. We also passed a bill that says the next time the state brings in more money than it needs, it has to give some of that money back to the taxpayers. That’s the right thing to do. Augusta has enough of our money as it is.
Republicans lead the way on welfare reform as well. Over opposition, we capped the length of time that drug addicts can receive methadone, capped the number of years that welfare recipients can receive TANF cash benefits, and toughened the penalties for welfare and unemployment insurance fraud. Convicted drug felons on welfare now must be drug tested in order to get their benefits. That’s common sense reform.
The Department of Health and Human Services, an agency that comprises about 40 percent of the state budget, has been hemorrhaging money for years, making headlines with faulty computers and growing welfare rolls. The new GOP majority made long-term structural cuts that preserve benefits for our most needy over the long term while reigning in bureaucratic costs, fraud, and eligibility standards that have been the envy of welfare recipients across the country. We refuse to let our spending get out of control the way it has in Washington.
Finally, regulatory reform is giving Maine businesses some breathing space. The first thing the new Republican majority did after gaining control was to go out to the farms, factories, and offices of the state and listen. We listened for specific ways that regulations could be altered, clarified, or removed altogether, and we came back to the Statehouse and passed several bills that cut red tape for Maine people who are trying to earn a living.
Maine is finally on the right track after 40 years of one-party rule. Republicans were sent to Augusta two years ago to do a job, and after putting a solid down payment on our promises, we need your support to finish the job and bring prosperity back to Maine.
Rep. Peter Edgecomb, Caribou
Putting autism in the spotlight
To the editor:
You might have seen my autistic son, Dominic and me on WAGM-TV last year as part of an Autism Awareness program. With all the negative comments about autism that have been floating around in the media lately (50 Cent and Joe Scarborough just this month) I really think we need some positive light to be shed on the autism community and what wonderful individuals they are. I am making it my personal mission to help banish the stereotypical impression that people have formed and show them who they really are.
Recently after I heard a disturbing story I decided that I really needed to up my game on autism awareness, so I posted a condensed story of Dominic’s autism diagnosis on my blog. I set a personal goal of having 100 page views in 30 days ( I don’t have much traffic on my blog). I was blown away that two hours after I posted it I had 176 views (thanks Facebook )! I then re-adjusted my goal to 500 page views in 30 days. Now, about two weeks later, I have 452 page views.
The encouragement we have received from those who have read it is a very powerful motivator and makes me extremely and incredibly proud to be an autism Mom.
Jacquie Morse, Houlton
