To the Editor:

If you are looking for political rants that favor the far left or right you will be disappointed, so you may want to stop reading now, rather than experience unbearable suffering from lack of partisan politics.

To the great surprise of many, there are some good, fair, intelligent people in both the Democratic and Republican political parties. The problem is that too many of them think that whatever their party is preaching is 100 percent correct.

Both parties have generated good, as well as more than their share of half-truths, embarrassments and back stabbings in an effort to gain power. A vast amount of valuable time has been wasted on these unworthy causes, while our country has more important issues to address.

Even though too much time and money is being expended to get elected, the election process serves a valuable purpose by revealing the halftruths and lies of opposing politicians. Both parties are extremely valuable in exposing the deeds of their rivals. If all elected officials actually represented the people who elected them rather than the lobbyists and special interest groups, the issues that greatly affect the American people would be better addressed.

It is very unlikely that Abraham Lincoln could be elected today without money from some of those corporations or individuals who should not have such a great influence on who gets elected.

Again, neither party is always wrong, but both should remember:

— We need jobs for those willing and capable of working, and those people should not be taxed heavily to support pork barrel projects, or the capable who are unwilling to work.

— Cost of living should not be so high that only the few rich can have some dispensable income.

— We cannot spend and tax our way to prosperity.

— We cannot police the world, and our recent attempts over the past 50 years have produced very questionable results, with a great loss of life and respect.

— Tax everyone the same percentage of their incomes.

Our tax laws should not be a disincentive for people to invest, work hard and be successful. Nor should taxes be increased to support even more government that seems to do little more than help drain the economy.

Merton A. Greenleaf
Brunswick