With just four federal lawmakers, we (meaning Maine) ought to be a powerhouse of action. Can you imagine what could happen if our four representatives were to meet once a week to discuss and work together on federal actions that affect Maine?

There are a multitude of problems to be addressed. I know somebody is going to jump in and say “that is what we have committees for,” but since the major parties have declared war on each other, committees have become showplaces of obstructionism. We can’t even replace a Supreme Court justice, no matter who has the majority.

At least with a Maine partisan committee we stand a chance of coming up with something helpful to Maine. I know it is a selfish idea. But if we don’t get the parties working in true bipartisan compromise, then we have no government, just a bunch of highly paid old men and a few women who have been around so long they’re completely heedless of today’s problems.

Forty years working the same job does not make you better at it – just better at working the system.

Gene Auprey

Buxton