In a recent letter to the editor, “Sen. King an independent in name only” (April 10), Lou Napolitano of Westbrook said that U.S. Sen. Angus King is a “liberal Democrat,” as if that’s a pejorative term.

I am a rather liberal Democrat myself. To modify a comment by the late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen: “I’ve known Angus King for many years as a TV personality, as a governor and as a senator. I’ve become quite familiar with Angus King’s public persona, his style of governance and representation and his sense of party independence. Mr. Napolitano, Sen. Angus King is no liberal Democrat.”

I believe Sen. King represents all of his constituents fairly, including those who disagree with him, like Mr. Napolitano. I also believe Sen. King reads a lot and thinks very carefully before he votes.

He and I disagree on many issues, but he was fairly elected and I have never felt he was serving in public office to advance his or anyone else’s personal agenda. As far as I’m concerned, that’s as good as representative democracy gets.

I don’t know if Mr. Napolitano has served in the military, but I served in the Marine Corps for six years and my brother lost his life in Vietnam. One of the reasons we served, all of us, is to preserve and protect every American’s right to disagree – something all too many of us too often forget. All too frequently, I feel a need to speak up about certain issues like this one, if only to give my brother’s sacrifice and that of so many others a voice.

Jerry Genesio

Scarborough

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