A Margaret Chase Smith moment
Republican Sens. Susan Collins, John McCain and Lisa Murkowski have saved the Republican Party’s future and at the same time honored its past. They voted against the “skinny” repeal of the Affordable Care Act that was about to be bestowed on the American people.
Collins, Murkowski and McCain stood fast. They were not blown away by the White House’s Category 5 Tweetstorm and the blitz by the Republican Party leadership and majority to conduct the business of Congress with no meaningful debate but a lot of heated hate inside and outside of Congress.
The three senators courage was comparable to another Maine U.S. senator — Margaret Chase Smith. She said in her ” Declaration of Conscience” that Every American has a right to criticize, to protest and to hold unpopular beliefs. “Freedom of speech is not what it used to be in America. It has been so abused by some that it is not exercised by others,” she said. Chase asked her fellow Republicans not to ride to political victory on the “Four Horsemen of Calumny — Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.”
Collins, Murkowski and McCain reminded all what the Republican Party was and what its future could be. Far more importantly, they collectively made a declaration of conscience on behalf of the American people. All three have not forgotten who they were elected to serve — We the People, first and foremost.
Joe Pickering Jr.
Bangor
Implement ranked-choice voting
As a Maine independent, I support the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting and its efforts to bring ranked-choice voting to Maine ballots in 2018. I believe that this initiative will benefit Maine politics as it will introduce voters to new and diverse platforms, encourage candidates to listen the voices of Maine voters rather than their political party, and offer voters more choice.
Ranked-choice voting offers a solution to the growing frustration with the political establishment as it allows for independent and moderate candidates to emerge and challenge nominees of the traditional two-party system. In addition, voters are afforded the freedom to support candidates that reflect their values without fear of vote splitting or choosing the lesser of two evils.
Ranked-choice voting should be defended because it is a voter-approved law that presents Maine voters with a smarter and fairer voting system. Last November, ranked-choice voting received the second highest yes vote of any Maine referendum. By resisting the implementation of this law, the Legislature and Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap are ignoring the will of Maine voters.
In 2018, ranked-choice voting will present the opportunity for more moderate candidates to enter election races. As these candidates emerge, who are not beholden to a particular political party, voters should expect to hear fresh viewpoints, less negative campaigning, and a higher quality of political debate. Ultimately, ranked-choice voting offers an alternative to the de facto two-party system that has disappointed not only me, but the majority of Maine voters as well.
Thomas Spagnola
Brunswick
Neo-cons hijacked Republican Party
Michael Imhof wrote in his Aug. 1 BDN letter to the editor that Sen. Susan Collins is not a team player, and he reminded me that I should be a proud Republican In Name Only, or RINO. The neo-conservatives have taken over the Republican Party. The famous RINOS we honor and respect are Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Nelson Rockefeller.
The present Republicans would probably vilify Barry Goldwater because he had some good ideas and was able to work with “the enemy.” Our neo-cons cannot understand or handle a real democracy. One is a traitor if he or she wants government to actually work.
Philip Hicks
Mount Desert