Sorensen response
David Sorensen, the director of communications for the Maine Republican Party, attacked former Speaker Mike Saxl in a response that recently appeared in this newspaper. As two former state senators, one from each party, we differ with the Republican operative.
Saxl identified distortions surrounding an out-of-state advertisement by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with one point being that a structural gap is not the same thing as a deficit.
Maine requires a constitutionally balanced budget — no one can leave a deficit. In fact, Gov. Paul LePage faces a structural gap now. Since Maine started this form of budget forecasting, every governor since Joseph Brennan has faced a structural gap when preparing the budget for the following biennium. Angus King balanced the budget while substantially lowering Maine’s tax burden. He reduced Maine’s debt load, invested in Maine roads and infrastructure and cared for those most vulnerable. More importantly, then-Gov. King achieved that common good by working with both Democrats and Republicans.
Don’t let Sorensen’s name-calling and misleading rhetoric fool you. Judy Paradis and I are proud to join Saxl and others from both parties to assist the King campaign. King was a great governor because he put the common good of Maine people first. It’s time to do that again. If the partisan rhetoric turns your stomach as it does ours, please join us in the fight to put a real leader in the U.S. Senate.
Jim Libby and Judy Paradis
Former state senators
Augusta
Farnham right choice
Sen. Nichi Farnham is the right choice for Bangor and Hermon. I have had the pleasure of getting to know her well during the last session of the Maine Legislature. I served with her on the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, where she served as Senate chair.
Farnham is a down-to-earth, nuts-and-bolts, “get ’er done” type of person. She has served the community well on school committee, city council and Race for the Cure. Couple this with her following her three boys through Bangor football, hockey and baseball, which has allowed her to develop a fantastic read on the pulse of Senate District 32.
Family comes first with her, right down to the family chocolate Labrador, Mocha, followed closely by her commitment to her constituents. She brings to the Legislature her true values of the common-sense, working woman and mom that she is. The expertise Farnham brings to the veterans committee as a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force is unmatched. She is not a career politician; she just wants to fulfill her duty to represent the citizens of her district.
Farnham has been very instrumental in helping guide the state back to recovery. As a former Marine I salute her esprit de corps in the manner in which she tackles all assignments. The citizens of District 32 need to send Farnham back to the State House.
Rep. Dave Johnson
Eddington
Assisted suicide rebuttal
Medical practice deliberately interferes with nature. Instead of letting a cholera victim die, a doctor gives medicine to kill the germs, and health is restored. The doctor deliberately massacres millions of cholera bacteria, created by the same God that created the patient. Is the doctor committing a sin by taking sides? By “playing God”?
Such thoughts are superstitious nonsense. Some suffering is unavoidable: An accident victim, lucky to be alive, knows pain will diminish and expects to be healthy again. But if cure is impossible, the aim must be to avoid senseless suffering. Terminal illness will sometimes produce agony that only death can relieve. Lingering life is not better than death if the sufferer is losing autonomy and descending into disability and hopelessness. If medicine merely prolongs misery and postpones the inevitable, it is perverted.
We euthanize our suffering pets and call that “humane,” but when a fellow human faces the choice between prolonged agony or a peaceful passing some onlookers vote in favor of the agony! Courageous patients refuse to be tortured by events beyond their control and may ask to be allowed to “go gentle into that good night.” It should be the individual’s choice whether to pass in peace or “rage against the dying of the light.”
Sanctimonious onlookers should mind their own business. One would expect that those who believe in an afterlife of eternal bliss in God’s presence would rush for the pearly gates. Oh, how I wish they would!
Gerald A. Metz, M.D.
Addison
Case closed too soon
The Maine State Police investigation of Robert Carlson was a valuable public service, but I think the case was closed too soon.
Carlson likely committed his crimes over many years, deceiving the mighty, exploiting the weak; there may have been more victims than we know.
Thanks to a BDN story, there are questions about his credentials. No one seems to know where he came from or how he rose to prominence in Maine, but we need to find out all we can before his cold trail disappears.
The best defense lies in revealing the whole sorry story, untangling the trail of bank accounts with which Carlson kept his victims hooked, discovering how many children he damaged, what those closest to him knew, and whether he had confederates who may still be at large.
It would be a grave mistake not to fathom this tragedy to its depths. The task will be legally complex and expensive, and it’s going to hurt, but preventing the rise of another Carlson will make the job worthwhile.
Clint Grubbs
Augusta
Summers’ stablemates
If Charlie Summers is elected to the U.S. Senate it might be worthwhile to notice who some of his GOP stablemates would be.
Do the names Jim DeMint, David Vitter or Richard Burr ring a bell? Or maybe even the aspiring bell of the radical right ball Todd Akin. How do you like the smell of that barn?
David Calder
Canaan
Dear Rep. Johnson:
I don’t deny that Sen. Nichi Farnum is an attractive and appealing candidate who has worked hard in her first term to push through Gov. LePage’s pro-business and anti-democratic agenda. She was among the most aggressive proponents of both eliminating same day voter registration/election and of requireing voter ID. But your and her conservative military backgrounds and right-wing values do not exactly reflect the Senate District, which includes lots of students at Husson, UMaine Augusta-at Husson, and Beal who would have been disenfranchised had your anti-democratic legislation been enacted re voter ID and not been overturned by a citizens referendum re same day reg./voting. If the State Senate is again controlled by right-wing Republicans like Nichi, she’ll no doubt try again to limit the no. of likely Democratic voters–ditto the State House should your party keep control of it. Please don’t try to portray this area as a bastion of values akin to those of, say, South Carolina. It’s very different. I am hardly alone in hoping that Dr. Geoffrey Gatwick will send Sen. Farnum back to the running paths.
I couldn’t agree more. Farnham’s fervid push to end election day voter registration and failed attempt to require photo IDs in the absence of any evidence that voters were being impersonated showed her true colors.
A politician dedicated to democracy would want a system that maximized the number of Americans who were voting. A politician who wanted to game the system to give her party an advantage clearly prefers winning through whatever shortcuts she can create.
While Nichi wouldn’t cheat in a road race, she was all too willing to let her party cheat in a much more important contest: a free and fair election.
Thanks much, Chenard. I didn’t say it, but this past weekend Nichi’s campaign started the vicious campaign of push pull calls that distort Dr. Gratwick’s record and that were used successfully two years ago against then incumbent Sen. Joe Perry. These calls invent nasty things about Gratwick in order to try to persuade voters to oppose him. The facts are fantasies. But since Nichi is a patriot, who cares?
Is she a patriot in the sense of Dr. Samuel Johnson’s memorable phrase?
I didn’t dare repeat that famous line. Johnson, of course, was a genius with any number of witty comments as well as his enormous contributions to English language and literature.
Agreed.
Do you have any facts to back up this rhetoric you’re spewing?
The voting record of legislators is not exactly a secret. It’s public information–at least for now.
Sorry, but voting records don’t include your extreme opinions as footnotes.
Yes, I heard that line before. In essence the “anti- democratic agenda” is one that supports the Democrat Party’s refusal to make elections fair and clean. The Democrats advance the idea that lack of evidence of voter fraud translates to absence of fraud. Because ballots are anonymous they know full-well it’s nearly impossible to track down election fraud. The same excuse for not wanting clean and fair elections were made in Minnesota prior to the 2008 US Senate election where in the largely Democrat district of Minneapolis-St. Paul more than one hundred felons voted illegally in an election where Democrat Al Franken narrowly defeated then Senator Norm Coleman by a mere 341 votes. But you don’t see that broadcasted in the liberal media with a Democrat Party bias. If there was that much voting fraud in the Minneapolis-St Paul alone one must wonder who really won the state-wide election. But all this doesn’t seem to bother loyal partisan Democrats. They will take credit for any win whether by hook or by crook, it seems. In the meantime they continue to cast Republicans as “anti-Democratic”. Truth be told most Republicans want both both fair and clean elections, and as much voter participation as practicable. They do not want voter participation at the expense of voter fraud, which is what many Democrats continue to push for.
Every Republican member of the Maine House and Maine Senate voted for same day voter registration when it passed in the 70s. Nichi tried to undo this.
A voter ID would hardly stop a felon from voting. It does nothing to reach that problem.
It does affect people who have never before had a need to get a driver’s license and might now be living in a nursing home. My grandmother had her birth records destroyed by the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Were she alive today, she could not establish her entitlement to a voter ID under some state laws. The Bush administration actively looked for voter fraud for years and, to its dismay, found none. Charlie Summers came up dry as well.
I have worked the polls and obtained affidavits of residency from voters on election day. It would be simplicity itself to take those affidavits and cross-check them with rental records. Republicans don’t attempt this, because they know this would disprove their spurious claims.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
As I implied earlier, the ballot box contains no evidence of voter fraud and never will. Voting illegally is the easiest crime to get away with. Yes, indeed, prohibiting same-day voter registration and ID requirements will do much to prevent illegal activities. If a person has no evidence of citizenship, then that person should not be allowed to vote. As one who for over thirty years has dealt with people with lost records I can attest firsthand much can be done to create new ones with sworn affidavits and other evidence of citizenship in the form of medical records, school records, prior voting registrations, etc. There’s an ocean full of evidence, which when taken in their totality, gives more than ample evidence of citizenship. I have no doubt your grandmother could establish her citizenship without much ado. All she would have to do is apply for a US passport to get the process going. Polls however are not the place for adjudicating citizenship.
I agree, “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it”. The problem is, the system is broken to an extent we cannot fathom. Clearly reasonable measures are called for to ensure credible election results. Many people have told me they don’t vote because they feel the system is either rigged or is corrupted. I feel the same way even though I still vote. Voter ID requirements and a prohibition on same-day registration would do much to restore confidence in our voting rights. Unfortunately, politics (that is, trumped up accusations of being anti-democratic, against the poor, voter intimidation, etc.) is preventing the implementation of common sense ideas that have nothing, I mean, nothing to do with partisanship and everything to do with protecting citizens’ rights.
One need never examine the ballot to prosecute one for voter fraud. The registrars have listed everyone who has voted, has that person’s name, address, and proof of residency, and any prosecutor can demonstrate that that paper trail doesn’t match reality. Get real.
More precisely, they have a list of people listed as having voted. But did they actually vote or did someone in their stead do the voting? In Minneapolis-St. Paul over one hundred felons were listed as having voted. Only a few were actually convicted because most of them claimed they had either not voted or were not aware of their ineligibility to vote. One thing is certain, there were over 100 known votes cast illegally just in that area alone. And this number does not even account for all those other votes that could have been cast by people who misrepresented themselves as one of the persons listed on the registration list.
If I understand you correctly, the fact that there is no evidence at all of voter fraud is proof positive that there must be voter fraud. And pigs fly.
The Republicans want to perpetrate massive voter fraud by tightening the laws so much that legitimate voters won’t be allowed to vote.
Apparently you haven’t read my prior posts. With you it seems issues are all about partisan politics, and evidence that does not comply with your notions is simply rejected. The liberal party is your boss and your conscience. I don’t need a party (Republican, Democrat, or whatever) to form my conscience.
For example, a voter photo ID would not have stopped Gordon Mank, Jr., from voting in Rockland while he has been living in Rockport since 1999. Mank is the Repubican candidate for the House District 47 seat.
Howard, you need to settle down. You’re not representing Gratwick supporters very well..
Charlie Summers is not a Jim DeMint conservative-
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Nichi Farnham is not a right wing Republican, either– but she is described very aptly by Rep. Johnson–she is a lady, a super mother, a hard worker and a veteran who has served her country well, and I thank her for that, but she is not pro-life, which was not mentioned in the article or by bunyan1–
The Bob Carlson case should proceed for the sake of the victims and that future perverts will be identified more readily.
If Charlie Summers is elected, he will be in lock step following the orders of the hard right in the Senate. There will be little thought for the people of Maine.
Were Charlie Summers elected, Maine would face a long, hard, cold winter of discontent lasting his full six year term.
sort of like the last 4 years of ‘hard winter of discontent’
As President Obama will be re-elected, your fellow citizens disagree with you.
Where did I say she is “pro-life”? I don’t know her stance on abortion, which may in fact be moderate. I said she is both pro-business and anti-democratic and that can’t be denied. There was no evidence of voter fraud for the 38 yrs. of same day voter registration and election in Maine when my Sen. Farnum not merely supported eliminating that but outright led the charge in the State Senate. Her being a lady and a mother and veteran has nothing to do with that. She wanted and surely still wants to stifle the votes of progressive folks in her Senate district, many of whom are students. I’ve twice asked her in public forums about this issue, and she has refused to answer. I don’t find that to be patriotic–do you? Rest assured that, if re-elected, she and her fellow anti-democratic Republicans will try again. City Councilman Gratwick has a higher regard for his fellow ciitizens. Vote for him, my friends.
Do you read what you’re writing? I follow Maine politics very closely, and have talked with Nichi on my porch many times, and I’ve never heard of the stuff you’re trying to pin on her. That’s just sad, my friend.
Sen. Farnham voted against the three anti-abortion bills that came before the 125th Legislature in 2011: LD116, LD924 and LD1457.
Thank you Dr. Metz! There are those here so lost in mythology that they don’t care how bad someone hurts. Thanks for your wonderfully well spoken letter to them!
Also a lot of those lost in mythology, don’t realize that if MAN hadn’t interfered with the dying process, we would not need assisted suicide!
You may find this piece in the New Yorker by Dr. Atul Gawande on treating terminally ill patients of interest:
Letting go
Great letter Rep Johnson! Nichi’s been a great state Senator for me. It’s nice to hear from one of her colleagues that she represents us well in Augusta.
Dr. Metz…..trying to fully understand your main point in what is written by you is truly nonsense of thought, IMHO….first you claim that medical intervention using antibiotics is “playing God” when a physician “deliberately massacres millions of cholera bacteria” restoring health and allowing for a life to go on…..really??….it seems that restoring life, humanly speaking is an important goal of medicine past and present…..then you speak of an accident victim who is “lucky to be alive” and “knows pain will diminish and expects to be healthy again”….but in most trauma cases medical intervention is necessary to alleviate pain and restore health once again…..and then in your third section you compare animal life and death on an equal plane with respect to human life and death……really?? It’s apparent, that your interest in assisted suicide is your point of topic, but slamming accepted medical practice and God Himself is quite pathetic….you should try coming down from that sanctimonious platform and realize there are very capable physicians and nurses working with terminally ill patients 24/7 for the good of the patient and humanity….it’s called Palliative Care & Hospice Care….you sir, IMHO, need a good ophthalmologist…..
Do you have an opinion on assisted suicide?
If you find the need to ask such a question after what I wrote then I can only assume your reading comprehension skills need to be refreshed…..
All I could see was this …….. …….. ……. …….. You should take a writing class ………
Good come-back Anne…..you should call the good Dr. yourself for an eye exam……
You need a shrink.
….. …… ……..
That’s a really in-depth comment you have there……
removed…..
It’s not nonsense though. He’s pointing out the inconsistency in the logic. Intervening wouldn’t otherwise happen and that’s the logic behind “playing God.” Saving someone’s life is still playing God. The cholera wouldn’t be killed off on its own.
Be against assisted suicide all you want, but if that’s playing God, then so is curing someone.
You should re-read the piece, it seems as if you did not fully comprehend what the Dr. was trying to get across.
Why don’t you explain my comprehension to me and then speak yourself to the subject….the good Dr is promoting assisted suicide thru the organization he is affiliated with and demeaning the very foundation of medicine which is to promote health and quality of life thru disease and symptom management….when dealing with terminally ill patients today who’s best choice seems to be allowing a disease or sickness to have it’s inevitable end, there are, as stated IMHO, organizations readily available and very capable in working with patients towards symptom relief and a dignified end to life with family and at home….his references and shots at God and “believers in an afterlife” are plain pathetic…..
Reading comprehension is difficult when all you see is red.
And yet you, after 4 posts have conveniently avoided speaking directly or sensibly to the topic(s) at issue…go figure…..
I agree with Dr. Metz of course.
Libby and Davis, Dr. Metz, David Calder: good letters.
Out of all the people running for the State Assembly and State Senate Nichi Farnham has not stopped by to ask for my vote. It is no surprise that she supports restricting the right to vote. I will not even consider voting for her until she comes to my door and asks for my vote.
I am sitting out the Farnham race even though its my district. Better the enemy you know.
“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”
― Oscar Wilde
Kylie Minogue fan? ;)
For those that don’t know, a structural budget gap is the difference between mandated state services in the NEXT budget compared to the projected revenues for those next fiscal years.
More plainly, in the next Maine biennial budget (FY2013-14) that State is already obligated to spend a certain amount of money by current law. The State can also project how much money (revenue) will be collected via taxes, fees, etc. The difference how much is going out compared to how much is coming in is known as a “structural gap.”
Since Maine creates a budget during the same year that a newly elected governor takes over (and two years after that), there is always a gap, as the Jim Libby and Judy Paradis note.There is one for this next new budget, that the 126th Legislature will need to deal with. Should Maine’s waiver request to eliminate 27,000 people from its welfare roles be rejected, as expected, an additional $30 million will be added to the gap.There was an attempt last year to move the budget process to odd numbered years, to avoid having a new governor try to create a new budget in the first two months that s/he takes office, but that bill failed.
I’ll note that Sen. Farnham was one of five candidates that benefited from nearly $400,000 in outside spending in 2010 by a group called the Republican State Leadership Council (RSLC) . The $80,000 or so spent on each race was more than both candidates spent combined. RSLC was later fined $41,000 for ethics violations, the largest such fine in Maine history.
All five GOP candidates one their State Senate races.