Democrats and health care
As a retired social worker, I have spent a good part of my life attending to the mental and physical health and well-being of fellow Maine residents. Those on the frontline during today’s health pandemic deserve our praise and admiration.
But with the news of hospitals furloughing workers and folks losing insurance due to unemployment and having to deal with COVID-19 affecting more than a million people across the country, it is obvious that we need more than just dedicated workers to ensure our health. We also need bold policy. That is why I write to encourage Mainers to look closely at what political candidates are offering when it comes to making health care more affordable and accessible for all.
The Democratic Party has stood up for everyday Mainers and embraced expansion of affordable health care, through Medicare for All or some other expansion of government-supported health care. On the other hand, the Republicans don’t seem to care about this. Sen. Susan Collins has voted against the Affordable Care Act multiple times and supported a bill that left many Maine workers at large companies without paid sick leave.
In Maine, we have benefited from the bold leadership of Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, who expanded Medicaid as one of the first acts of her tenure. She is supportive of improving health care, as are other leading Democrats like Senate President Troy Jackson and Speaker Sara Gideon.
This November, pay attention to where candidates stand on health care, and vote for Democrats.
Gerry Greenberg
Portland
Trump’s reckless suggestion
There’s quite a bit of fear around. And there are easily-led people who will believe the president’s suggestion that injecting disinfectants might cure the virus. To me, what he did is reckless.
Robb Cook
Lubec
Collins gets the job done
Sen. Susan Collins’ recent work securing the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program is nothing short of inspirational. During a heated, divisive time, she was able to garner near-unanimous support from Congress on this sweeping program that funneled $2.2 billion into our state in only two short weeks.
The rate at which the funds dried up is a testament to just how needed they were. Because of her hard work and ingenuity, over 18,000 Maine employers have payroll covered for an estimated 185,000 employees, and they have received additional funding to cover other associated costs.
It seems that as soon as this pandemic reached our country, Sen. Collins saw the writing on the walls. She immediately hopped on the phone and asked businesses in our state exactly what they needed, then she took that information to Washington and formed a bipartisan coalition to get the job done.
Not just anybody could have provided this level of leadership in the face of a crisis. It really goes to show how fortunate we are to have Sen. Collins representation in Washington.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am running to serve my community in the Maine House of Representatives. If I am successful, I too will always strive to find real solutions to the problems faced by our state. We must work together to get results for Maine and our nation.
Tammy Walter
Cape Elizabeth
Gideon is the real deal
As a concerned Mainer and a senior who has been around the block quite a few times, I am worried about our democracy crumbling under the weight of a corrupt and ineffectual federal government. I believe we need to do something about it and that our state needs a new senator in November. I also believe that Sen. Susan Collins has betrayed us by turning to the far right and supporting Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell.
It is time we look to a candidate who would do what we really need in a U.S. senator, and the person I truly believe fits the bill is Sara Gideon, Maine’s current Speaker of the House. She is a very experienced, knowledgeable and forthright arbiter for the citizens of Maine. Gideon is the real deal. I have met her and immediately sensed her genuineness — she is honest, respectful, considerate, forthright and open minded, and she not only listens to what one has to say but really hears what they say.
I’ve had very fruitful discussions with her at roundtable events regarding several topics of concern to me as a senior citizen, namely healthcare, skyrocketing pharmaceutical costs and social security issues.
I know who I see clearly as being the best senator from our state, and that is Sara Gideon. She is the real deal for the people of Maine.
William Tibby
Mount Vernon
What is right for America
For the past three years, Americans have witnessed the steady erosion of U.S. presence, credibility and prestige abroad. We have seen chaotic and often incoherent foreign policy, and even betrayal of allies on a whim. There has been a general retreat from the “good fight” we have been engaged in around the world since the cessation of World War II.
President Trump has solicited the help of foreign powers to eavesdrop on, hack into emails of and smear the reputations of U.S. citizens. He has attacked the free press and labeled anything inconvenient for him “fake news.” Laws, rules, protocols, rights and norms that are not to this president’s liking are seemingly disregarded. As a result of all of this, America is more divided now than in any other time in recent history.
All this must be to the great delight of Vladimir Putin. Russia only benefits from all this chaos. In fact, since the beginning of the Cold War, I don’t think any amount of Russian espionage has ever accomplished the amount of damage done to this country as Trump and his administration have since they have been in office.
I strongly urge all Americans who believe in what is right and what is true to do the right thing for our country. We need to put our differences aside and vote this man out of office in the next presidential election.
Daniel Murley
Southwest Harbor