Are you tired of some Maine politicians saying they know better than voters, and that voters don’t always know what they are voting for? I started to focus on just a few divisive statements politicians have made, but recently they became too numerous to keep up with. Fortunately numerous articles, focused on bringing us all together, asked if we preferred obstructionist politics where nothing gets done or if we would prefer compromising for the good of us all. An editorial from this newspaper summed it up very well, saying that obstructionist politics “shouldn’t be confused with normal ideological competition between liberals and conservatives” and that obstructionist politicians “would rather accomplish nothing than something, if accomplishing something would require compromise.”

Columnist George Smith recently wrote about his desire to have obstructionist politicians attend a symposium on civil discourse, at which participants will be asked how incivility and divisive politics impact us all.

We are all Mainers here — left, right and center — and we all want the same things from our government: safe schools, fair taxes, economic opportunity, respect for who we are, and for our voices to be heard. The question is, how do we get what we all need and rightfully deserve from our elected officials? The best way is to vote for the candidates who will respect the people’s vote.

Some people say they don’t get involved with politics because they think nothing anyone does will make a difference. Margaret Mead came to a different conclusion: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Columnist Doug Rooks recently wrote: “Government can function effectively only if it truly represents the people’s will, as it plainly does not now”. To have a Maine government that truly represents the people’s will, we need to elect politicians that will respect the people and their vote.

Unfortunately some politicians show they don’t respect the people by making divisive statements. One politician, in a recent column in this newspaper, worked to further divide us by making the recent statement “leftist politicians are hell bent on silencing their adversaries in America’s escalating culture war.” It seems to me the speaker is a proponent of, and a leader in, the divisive culture wars.

Other politicians show they don’t respect the law by saying they may challenge election results if they get a plurality of first choices but fail to earn a majority of the votes with ranked-choice voting. In my opinion, anyone running to truly represent you would abide by the results of an election run by the constitutionally compliant and ranked-choice voting system.

Advertisement

Recently 68 Maine House members voted against a bill to prevent state-licensed therapists from harming children by using conversion therapy, which the American Medical Association calls “a coercive practice that may cause long-term psychological harm, particularly to young patients.”

One representative believes the bill is “an attempt by the LGBT community to legitimize the unnatural inclinations (over) the natural inclinations as taught to us in the Bible.”

Columnist Liz Soares wrote about how ingrained violence is in our culture. In my opinion, anger, but not violence, is often justified when it comes from, in Soares’ words, “the ugly moral morass (our) country (and state) has fallen into, the rampant racism, the mistreatment of women and children, the apparent acceptance of social injustice,” from knowing we “are constantly being swindled, duped and conned” by, as an example, “a duplicitous tax cut that ultimately benefits the wealthy and corporations, while shredding social-welfare programs” nationally and in Maine.

I urge you to get out and vote for politicians who will end these injustices and who support the Maine we all want; one where politicians listen to the people, where you and your vote matters, a welcoming state where everyone, regardless of politics, race, religion, income, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity, feel valued and included.

We can have the kind of Maine we all want but only if you get out and vote for it.

Tom Waddell is president of the Maine chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. He can be reached at: president@ffrfmaine.org


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.