Republican leader Ken Fredette got it wrong in his piece deriding efforts to expand health care to 70,000 Mainers (“Maine Voices: Democrats should reform programs, not expand them,” Nov. 20). Instead of recognizing the value of more Mainers having the security of health care coverage, he demonstrates an ideologically fueled drive to pull away the ladder of opportunity as they try to climb into the middle class.

His so-called reforms would’ve made it tougher for struggling Maine families to get back on their feet. They would’ve pulled the rug out from under Mainers needing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, an important tool to prevent people from falling out of the middle class – or even further from it.

Fredette’s measures were rightly turned back by the Legislature’s governing body. They fail on the merits as well as approaches that have already failed elsewhere. The real solution is providing opportunity. Do that by supporting students, helping the workforce remain competitive and, yes, through health care access that removes the risk of being one serious illness or injury away from financial disaster. LePage administration policies that have removed families with children or individuals with disabilities from TANF do nothing to strengthen our middle class. Fredette’s approach is in line with those.

Contrast that to Speaker Mark Eves’ “Ticket-to-Work” law. It provides a pathway out of poverty to TANF recipients with a comprehensive approach to finding long-term employment.

Let’s get serious about improving the lives of Maine people and stop playing politics.

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