On Oct. 13, the Morning Sentinel published an article, “District 25 race called a battleground.”

The article details Republican criticism of District 25 Democratic candidate Colleen Lachowicz’s online comments about Gov. Paul LePage and others while playing the online role-playing game “World of Warcraft.”

Her opponent, Republican Sen. Thomas H. Martin, says the attack was launched by the Maine Republican Party without his knowledge, and feels that the attack was based on her online statements rather than her playing a video game.

I will take him at his word on this. A man’s word is always good with me until it isn’t.

This criticism, however, reflects very poorly on Maine’s Republican Party, whose willingness to infringe on anyone’s First Amendment rights to achieve political gain paints it in an extremely poor light.

I was a Republican as a young man, but it was a different party then, unrecognizable in comparison to what it has become today.

Concerted unconstitutional and self-serving efforts such as this by the Maine Republican Party reinforce my decision to switch parties some 40 years ago.

One highly important issue, however, remains. Martin voted 15 out of 17 times against Maine’s working families, students, teachers, elderly and disabled on legislation written by the Republican side of the 125th Maine Legislature. This is a very real issue, and the one we really need to be thinking seriously about. What’s best for your family?

Bruce K. Hixon

Bowdoin

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