Wyman the Waffler

If Jack Wyman devoted even a 10th as much energy to criticizing cultural liberalism and the abortion industry as he does to trashing conservatives and pro-life activists, he might salvage some shred of credibility in his relentless quest for recognition as the Mr. Moderate of Maine politics. Wyman’s latest contribution to the abortion debate, in which he castigates pro-life demonstrators for their “morally unacceptable” conduct, but lets the abortionists off without even a whisper of condemnation, shows how far to the left Jack has moved.

On the two cutting-edge moral issues of our time — abortion and the normalization of homosexuality — Wyman has turned out to be a waffler and a neutralizer, a man who wants to be loved by liberals. His remarkably inept leadership of the effort to repeal Portland’s gay-rights ordinance in 1992 was a disaster, and handed the gay lobby a major victory in Maine’s largest city. Fortunately, Wyman stayed out of the Lewiston referendum battle against gay rights, fought and won by competent conservative leadership.

Wyman used his position as executive director of the Christian Civic League to further his own selfish political ambitions, but after two losing campaigns for public office, he wasn’t allowed to reclaim his job at the league. Since his third-place finish in this year’s GOP gubernatorial primary, Wyman the Waffler has crafted a new identity for himself as the head of his very own one-man lobbying group, the Coalition for Maine’s Future. Now he’s busy shaking the money tree once again, and there’s little doubt the league’s donor list has been merged into Jack’s new database.

Wyman’s hijacking of the acronym CMF has created plenty of confusion, in that Concerned Maine Families has become widely known and respected as CMF since our founding nearly two years ago. We don’t want anyone to mistake us for Wyman’s organization — we’re conservative, Wyman’s not. I would suggest that Jack change his acronym to CWF — for the Coalition for Wyman’s Future. Lawrence Lockman Vice-chairman Concerned Maine Families Seboeis