At what point will the state’s Republican leaders speak out about the governor’s appalling attempts to demonize Maine’s immigrant community? Since this recent attack isn’t his first, it appears there are no longer any Margaret Chase Smiths nor Bill Cohens in the party’s leadership willing to point out how wrong the governor’s actions are.

As usual, his diatribes have no basis in reality and are designed to make those who support him fired up and distracted from the real problems facing the state. Take for instance the lack of jobs and the fact that Maine has not recovered from the 2008 recession. In fact, we’ve had negative growth thanks to his alienation of Statoil, his refusal to expand Medicaid — forcing some hospitals to lay off workers and others to actually close, and his rejection of alternative energy producers, among a long list of others. But blaming immigrants and welfare recipients for the state’s problems keeps the focus off his dismal economic record.

Pandering to its base is what’s brought the Republican Party to pick a presidential candidate who has its leaders holding their noses to support. This governor’s pandering hasn’t done a thing, though, to make this state economically prosperous. At what point will the leaders of that party point out that our emperor here in Maine and the emperor wannabe on the national scene have no clothes?

Karen Heck

Waterville