A March 10 letter said that voters were in an “absolute rush to ‘dump’ Janet Mills” as the Democratic Senate nominee.

Many of us are grateful for Mills’ long service, while recognizing that a generational change in Washington, D.C., is overdue and necessary if our republic is to survive. I greatly respect Mills, and am supporting Graham Platner. 

The Senate, once the “world’s greatest deliberative body,” must rediscover its role. The Senate once worked across parties to deeply examine new legislation and policies. That work requires diverse perspectives. Platner’s combat experience contrasts fundamentally with the backgrounds of senators whose political existence is funded by defense contractors and large corporations. His perspective is desperately needed when Washington deliberates whether to send our young people to fight and die on foreign soil. 

Mills has been hand-picked to run as a partisan Democratic Party member. Platner’s views are not partisan; they are the views of ordinary Maine citizens to whom he listens. As to Platner’s lack of “solid experience” — having other countries’ citizens shoot at you, and starting and running a small business, comprise experience not shared among the wealthy Senate lawyers and bankers. And like Platner, Barack Obama was a community organizer prior to his Senate race.

It will take years to repair the damage to our country and to chart a new course forward. We should send someone to Washington who has the energy for the job, rather than someone who would be 85 years old at the end of a first term.

George Houk
Portland