U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, apparently knows where his constituents stand on border security. Now he needs to help give them the border wall they need to protect their communities.
Even though I’m a Republican who voted against Golden in 2018, I took note of his recent advocacy of “Mainer-type common sense” to end the government shutdown.
It looks like Golden is getting fed up with his party leadership (“Jared Golden calls for bipartisan talks with Trump to resolve shutdown,” Jan. 14). He’s frustrated by their refusal to entertain any kind of compromise on border security, and worries that they’re taking the wrong lesson from the midterm elections, which he sees as a mandate for bipartisanship.
Unlike some of his colleagues, Golden is staying true to his principles by pleading with Democrat leaders to negotiate with President Trump on border security.
Recent polling confirms that Golden’s instincts are correct — a compromise solution that ensures true border security is exactly what his constituents want.
Voters in 10 congressional districts that elected a Democrat in 2018 after supporting President Trump two years earlier, including Golden’s own, say they support building a wall or barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border, 53 percent to 43 percent.
Similarly, 50 percent of respondents said Democrats should have accepted the president’s compromise offer to grant temporary protections for DACA recipients in exchange for border wall funding.
Those results should come as no surprise to anyone, because just like Golden said, “Mainer-type common sense” is exactly what’s needed here.
The humanitarian and national security crisis caused by illegal immigration is undeniable, and partisan bickering is obviously not the solution.
Golden should continue to buck his party’s leadership and stay in line with the views of his constituents on the many other issues that the Democrats are using to obstruct President Donald Trump’s agenda and the will of the American people.
Arthur Langley is a resident of Harrington.
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