YARMOUTH – I must admit I did get a bit caught up in the recent flak about Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree’s use of an $11,000-per-hour private jet recently, where she claimed a family exemption from congressional ethics rules.

The 734 flights the jet took the last two years emitted thousands of tons of CO2, whereas the average American emits approximately 20 tons annually.

Sadly amusing is a visit to Rep. Pingree’s Nebo Lodge website, where a long list of good environmental practices is listed. Of course, one takeoff blows them all away.

Knowing that she would impose strict environmental laws on the rest of us, the jet logs made for captivating reading. I wondered also if there was any single person in the 1st Congressional District with a carbon footprint that even approached that of Rep. Pingree.

But it was Rep. Pingree’s first television advertisement, where she proclaims to understand and support small businesses, which flabbergasted me. Her fiance, S. Donald Sussman, has a billion-dollar hedge fund for wealthy investors that received a $200 million bailout with our tax money, just a few months after their engagement, making her “Main Street, not Wall Street,” tag line borderline farcical.

While small businesses in Maine were enduring or failing in the recession, Rep. Pingree’s fiance’s business was being bailed out 100 cents on the dollar. Knowing further that Mr. Sussman organized many of his businesses in the Cayman and Virgin islands and for years reportedly enjoyed a top federal income tax rate of only 3.5 percent there (and may still), I wondered how she could square that with her many statements about Wall Street needing to pay its fair share.

These facts did, however, help me understand how Sussman could afford such a jet as well as huge donations to Rep. Pingree.

These are not the types of benefits to which small businesses in Maine have access. They have certainly greatly benefited the Sussman/Pingree household, but what have they done for the rest of us?

I have employed thousands of people in Maine over nearly 30 years building, developing and running small businesses. I now employ approximately 475 people, the vast majority in Maine.

My company also indirectly employs many others in the construction, engineering, finance and legal professions. I am a registered Democrat who has supported both Republicans and Democrats.

Chellie Pingree’s votes and positions are, without a doubt, the most harmful to my business that I have ever seen from any of my elected representatives.

Her support of the inaptly named Employee Free Choice Act would eliminate the required secret ballot for a union vote. The Economist magazine called this “The Freedom to Arm-Twist Act.”

The health care bill will double my company’s health insurance costs. And this is before $3,000 penalties are levied on us for every employee who qualifies for a government subsidy. Qualification for this subsidy is based on each employee’s entire family income.

Not knowing the income of other family members, I have no way to calculate this cost. Our U.S. senators, Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Businesses all unsuccessfully pleaded for the ability to purchase insurance over state lines and for the bill to address cost issues.

If this bill were to be fully effective today, we would need to lay off approximately 100 employees, many of whom have been with us for many years. I wonder if Rep. Pingree would join our management for this unpleasant task. These employees would still have access to health care insurance; they just wouldn’t have jobs anymore.

Rep. Pingree’s vote for cap and trade would greatly increase energy costs for small businesses, and also for those Mainers who could least afford it.

Visiting Rep. Pingree’s website, I see that she is proud to be a member of the board of Walmart Watch, essentially an anti-Walmart organization.

It makes sense, unfortunately, that someone who can afford an $11,000-per-hour jet cannot grasp the importance of the huge savings efficient companies bring to those who need it most. An hour spent in a Walmart talking to those who work and trade there might enlighten her.

Chellie Pingree’s extreme left-wing positions are truly bad for business.

Knowing that there is a level- headed, qualified, authentic small-business-person alternative in Dean Scontras, her Republican opponent, why would anyone vote for her?

We need a representative who understands the pain Maine businesses are enduring and who, literally and figuratively, keeps their feet on the ground.

 

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