George Smith was right on about political ads in his recent column (“No place in Maine for nasty ads like Poliquin’s,” Aug. 22). Mainers are tired of nasty ads that are filled with lies and distortions that prey on the politics of fear. Rather than focus on what a candidate will do if they get elected and why you should trust them to have your concerns in mind when they go to Washington, D.C., they trump up something that will “hopefully” make voters question what they know or feel about someone with unsupported or blatantly false information. Rep. Poliquin’s add campaign against Jared Golden clearly distorts the truth. Golden is a man who has a proven record of getting things done and working hard for his district. The 2nd District would benefit greatly by sending him to Washington to represent us.

Richard Howard

Monmouth