Rep. Andre Cushing, R-Hampden, the assistant Republican leader in the Maine House, defends his party’s vote to gut the citizen-initiated Clean Election system.

What Cushing doesn’t tell you, however, is that he is the lead party in the court case that ultimately forced the change in law.

While Cushing and his ideological allies in the Legislature may have won this battle, the people of Maine are the real losers.

The GOP vote to gut the Clean Election system essentially put up a welcome sign for Washington-style super political action committees, or super-PACs.

Maine people instituted the Clean Election system by citizen referendum more than a decade ago to ensure that any Mainers could run to serve their neighbors in the state’s citizen Legislature — not just the well-heeled with connections to deep pockets.

Maine citizens backed Clean Election to help ensure that policy could be shaped by small business owners, fishermen, loggers and teachers.

We all benefit when the people making our laws work for their neighbors, not for one big campaign donor, whose contributions are kept secret.

Just last week, we learned that a “mysterious” donor gave Mitt Romney nearly half a million dollars through a super-PAC.

Thanks to federal loopholes, we may never know who donated the money.

GOP lawmakers also have refused to close these kinds of loopholes in our state.

Do we really want that kind of politics in our state? Maine’s Clean Election system was a first step in an effort to make our state less susceptible to election buying.

The GOP’s vote to pull the rug out on Clean Election takes Maine in the wrong direction — no matter how Cushing tries to spin it.

Rep. Mike Carey, D-Lewiston, is the lead House Democrat on the state Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, which oversees election law.