The most disturbing part of Sen. Susan Collins’ Dec. 27 op-ed, “New tax will benefit hardworking Mainers, not Washington elites,” is not that she supported tax legislation that offers crumbs to low- and middle-income Mainers while providing corporations and the wealthiest in our country with millions of dollars in tax relief, not that she supported tax legislation that will result in a $1.4 trillion deficit that eventually all Mainers will have to pay for one way or the other, and not that she supported tax legislation that will deprive a segment of our community of health care services and benefits and will significantly raise health insurance premiums for middle-class Mainers, but that she would stoop to employ Donald Trump-esque political rhetoric to appeal to her voting base.

In an effort to tar all opponents of the tax legislation as elitist and out of touch with “hardworking Americans,” Sen. Collins quotes Roll Call columnist Walter Shapiro as saying, “Good luck taking your entire family to the South of France on vacation.” Rather than argue the merits of the tax legislation, Sen. Collins resorts to gutter politics to appeal to Maine voters.

Larry Kaplan, M.D.

Cape Elizabeth