I’ve always been fascinated with the eerie similarities between Presidents John Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln. For those who may be unaware of these chilling comparisons, let me share a few with you.

Kennedy was elected to the presidency in 1960 and Lincoln was elected in 1860, exactly 100 years apart. Both were assassinated on a Friday in the presence of their wives. John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and was captured in a warehouse, and Lee Harvey Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and was captured in a theater. Booth was born in 1839 and Oswald was born in 1939 – once again, 100 years apart.

Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy and Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln. Both Kennedy and Lincoln were succeeded by vice presidents from the South named Johnson. Andrew Johnson was born in 1808 and Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908, exactly 100 years later – you can’t make this stuff up. There’s more interesting comparisons, but we’ll save those for another time.

Now let’s jump to the present, where we find another set of compelling comparisons involving significant political events, but this time only 22 years apart and hopefully without assassinations.

In 1991, Maine state government was shut down due to a nasty political standoff between Republicans (in tandem with the governor) and Democrats in the Legislature. It was a difficult time in our history that had a devastating effect on many innocent people. Unfortunately, the current name-calling, posturing and accusations flying around the State House have created a similar toxic atmosphere that has the ingredients of another shutdown coming our way.

The battle in 1991 centered on a single volatile issue that was tied to passing the state budget. Republicans insisted that the high cost of workers compensation insurance be lowered significantly to ease the burden on employers. Democrats objected, feeling that injured workers needed as much protection as possible. The unwillingness to agree resulted in a failed budget and consequently a government shutdown.

Today, we once again have a highly contentious single issue that is being tied to passage of the budget. The lightning rod this year is how to pay the hospitals, money owed to them for Medicaid services. The Republicans and the governor want to pay the hospitals with no strings attached, and the Democrats want to couple the payment with Maine accepting federal money to expand Medicaid coverage for currently uninsured Mainers.

So, now we have two of the three same ingredients that existed in the 1991 shutdown. 1. A highly contentious atmosphere, and, 2. A high-stakes political issue with both sides firmly entrenched and unwilling to budge. Add to that a third ingredient – a Republican governor and legislative Democrats who really don’t like each other – and we now have the perfect storm for a shutdown.

In 1991, the governor was a Republican, John McKernan, and the Democrats had the majority in the Legislature. In fact, of the 35 senators there were only 13 Republicans. These Senate Republicans became known as the “Gang of 13” because as a block they prevented getting the 24 votes required to pass the budget.

The margin in the House was also similar, with the Democrats holding 96 seats while the Republicans had only 53 seats, similar to today’s numbers of 58 Republicans and 88 Democrats. Speaker of the House John Martin had no problem getting the votes in the House to pass the budget; therefore, it was the Senate that became the focus due to the dogged determination of the 13 senators.

By the way, who were those Republican senators known as the Gang of 13 back in 1991? Here are just a few of the more notable names: Donald Collins, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ dad; Charlie Summers, recently Maine secretary of state; Charlie Webster, yes, the same former chairman of the Republican Party; and, oh yes, there was an unknown Democratic senator who was not part of the gang, but he was there – John Baldacci.

Another little-known fact: In 1991 Sawin Millett was Gov. McKernan’s commissioner of finance – meaning he was the point man for the state budget. Twenty-two years later, who is Gov. LePage’s commissioner of finance and the point man for the state budget? The same Sawin Millett.

I was the secretary of state in 1991 and had a front-row seat to the tumultuous scene at the State House. Accusations and threats were being volleyed back and forth like grenades on a battlefield. The end result – businesses lost money, employees lost jobs and Mainers felt the serious consequences of lost services.

The similarities between the 1991 shutdown and the existing toxic conditions in the State House today are striking. The tensions are growing every day with increasing numbers of red faces, clenched teeth, and enough huffing and puffing to fill several cartoon-figure balloons at Macy’s Parade.

Bill Diamond of Windham served as District 12’s senator from 2004-2012, and is also a former Maine secretary of state.

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