Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

September 19, 2012

More letters to the editor
King in Congress would be a blow to partisan logjam

I sometimes feel like, as a political science major at the University of Maine at Farmington, it is a real lousy time to get into politics. For the past couple years, our government, both at national and state levels, has been inflicted with a bitterly partisan atmosphere that has done more harm than good.

In my opinion, politicians who are uncompromisingly partisan should be ashamed of themselves. It is childish to even consider the notion that one won't even consider a proposal because it was brought up by the other side.

It is not conducive to efficient business, and only hurts the country and its people. It is the height of ignorance, and damning to the future generations who will eventually have to deal with these problems.

Our checks and balances system of governance is set up in a way that requires cooperation and that dreaded c-word: "compromise." I believe the shining light at the end of the tunnel is a candidate who actively supports compromise, and that man is Angus King. As an independent, he is not a slave to the ideology of one party, nor is he bound to be a rank-and-file member of one voting bloc or another in the Senate.

My generation is the future of America, and we will be cheated of a rich future if we are plagued with the problems put off today because the two sides of Congress cannot give and take. They are there to represent the American people to the best of their ability, so represent us!

America is not of one view or another; we must come together and solve the problems of today for the prosperity of tomorrow. Angus King will work across the aisle to get things done. Hey, what a concept!

Tyler Hadyniak

Farmington

Do thinking Mainers want to follow a leader, or follow a political party? We know where either the Democrats or the Republicans would like to take us, which many find uncomfortable.

The ideological struggle over the size of government and its role in our lives so far has gotten us nowhere. Without heading somewhere, our nation has fallen behind competitively (read jobs and income) and financially (read deficits and debt).

Nearly everyone knows that our course is untenable, with several European countries standing as lucid examples. Yet, no one is willing to give up anything to solve the problems; everything has become a virtual entitlement! The pandering continues, though we all know it will be impossible for any administration to fulfill all it promises to accomplish.

We can follow a proven leader by electing Angus King to replace the retiring Olympia Snowe in the U.S. Senate.

As a declared independent who is not a career politician, he won't have to play the same game of winners and losers that fills television time with talking heads trying to outdo each other.

He can approach national issues factually, with the same open-minded research and reason that made him a highly popular governor in the 1990s.

Angus is a proven thoughtful leader, in business and government. As someone said recently, "Leaders don't follow polls; they change polls." He already has changed Maine polls, which reveal strong voter discontent with both established parties.

Barry Quinn

Portland

I support Angus King for the United States Senate.

The U.S. Congress is dysfunctional; the people's business is not being done. The ideological divide is as big as ever. Some quarters use fear as a way to get attention.

We are at a critical juncture in our history. We teach our children to be problem solvers. It is time to solve this problem. At least let's try to make a start.

(Continued on page 2)

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