I read Scott Thistle’s April 1 article with profound disappointment (“Maine’s Republican Senate president tired of party’s personal attacks against Democrats”).

I nominated Mike Thibodeau for his first leadership position in the Senate in 2012. Mike was a person who I thought would work with Gov. LePage and get our economy moving in the right direction. Someone who would rise above the petty politics of the swamp in Augusta. A man who wouldn’t provide cover for the outright corruption that is considered normal in our state capital.

I’ve watched from the outside for the last 2½ years, and all I can do is shake my head and wonder what in the world happened to the man I thought I knew. Instead of getting better, it gets worse. The first clue was when he caved to the attacks on a good man from Aroostook County (Michael Willette) for a post he made on Facebook and removed him as committee chair. Then it became more clear with the back-room budget deal of last session. Now this.

Politics is a team sport, and you can’t get anything done by yourself. The first thing a good leader does is unite his team, and then he can negotiate with his opponents from a position of strength. If you throw your own team under the bus before you start, your opponents will dictate the results.

If Mike Thibodeau had worked with the governor and all the members of his party in both houses of the Legislature, we could probably have moved Maine to a path of economic recovery. He had the opportunity of a lifetime; it’s been squandered. Maine could see another decade in the economic wilderness while the rest of the nation moves to recover. I’m sorry.

Doug Thomas

former Republican state senator

Ripley