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Another View: Lawmaker's column smacked of campaign rhetoric

Rep. McKane stuck to partisan distortions when the time has come to govern.

The Another View piece by Rep. Jonathan McKane, R-Newcastle, on Dec. 4 was filled with the same type of distortions we expect during a campaign, only now it's trickling into the holidays.

When Gov. John Baldacci took office, Maine had the fifth highest tax burden in the country. Today, we rank 15th. The Measures of Growth Report shows that Maine's overall tax burden has declined during the governor's tenure, largely because of bipartisan efforts to reduce spending. Despite the worst recession since the Great Depression, Maine has bucked a trend common in other places. We have not raised broad-based taxes.

State general fund spending has declined in Maine every year since 2008. In fact, the general fund budget for 2011 is about the same as it was in 2001 at $2.69 billion. Instead of overspending, Maine has been a model of restraint.

McKane mixes up his numbers. He bundles state and federal spending to distort Maine's frugal budgets.

The truth is that the amount we spend per Medicaid enrollee has remained steady while medical costs have soared and our pension system, while needing more resources, is one of the most stable in the country.

Meanwhile, Maine can legitimately boast of having the sixth lowest rate of uninsured, the eighth healthiest state and being a leader on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Much of this success has been built through budgets that have passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. McKane, however, always said "no."

Now the obligation to govern has shifted to the Republican Party. To be successful, they will need to put the partisanship of the campaign to rest.