It’s disheartening to see the use of lies and deceit by today’s Republicans at the national level filtering down to our own state political campaigns (“Maine Republicans target state Senate leader using fake – and false – campaign signs,” July 19).

Republican politicians throughout the country, including Maine candidate for governor Paul LePage, apparently believe they are unable to win on their own merits, using falsehoods and smear campaigns against opponents to mislead the public and give themselves an edge. It is a national trend, and it is depressing to see that Maine Republicans are no longer able to think for themselves, subscribing to the rotten tactics employed by federal representatives, senators, and the former president, all for whom the bell is tolling as evidence of criminal activity piles up.

As Maine Senate President Troy Jackson stated in the Sentinel article, “If that’s how you gotta win, it’s pretty sorry on their part.” It’s worse; it illustrates an alarming trend toward autocracy, cultivated and nurtured since the Reagan years, reminiscent of the mid-1800s, and fueled by the ignorance of voters.

It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to seek the truth or lose our rights as U.S. citizens at the hands of those who would be kings and queens. Read the fine print. Look for your news from more than one source. Don’t allow yourself to be lied to or wooed with false promises and smoke screens. Manifest saving our democracy through scrutiny of supposed facts and awareness of when you’re being lied to.

We are already losing rights as U.S. citizens and have much more to lose at the hands of those who don’t think highly enough of us to tell the truth about themselves and who lie about others.

 

Robin Johnson

Waterville