Senate primary

Chellie Pingree has done a great deal for the state of Maine, and would make a formidable candidate for the U.S. Senate. John S. Day, in his Feb. 1 column (“Old stags Monks, Brennan scare young bucks”) seems to have completely overlooked this. He stated that Sen. Pingree and two other individuals combined to make a trio of Democrats that Joe Brennan could beat “with his right hand tied behind his back.”

Although I cannot speak about the other two, Chellie Pingree has been a tireless fighter for education, Maine’s economy, the environment, women’s issues and senior citizens in her three years as a state senator. In addition to a potential broad base of support, if she chose to enter the race for retiring Sen. Cohen’s seat, Sen. Pingree would also most likely be able to raise the funds needed to wage a serious campaign. She is respected by many Democrats around the state for her hard work and dedication to the people of Maine and should not be taken lightly.

I assume Mr. Day thinks even less of state Sen. Sean Faircloth, who he chose not to even mention as a potential primary candidate. I think this is a tremendous disservice to Sen. Faircloth as well.

I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Day and enjoy reading his columns. I certainly acknowledge his right to air his own view of the political landscape. I do, however, think he made two serious errors in his column.

First, he characterized the Democratic primary for Sen. Cohen’s seat as a Brennan/anti-Brennan race. A primary is not about party activists taking pot-shots at someone just because they don’t want them to run. If I were Joe Brennan, I may or may not have decided to run for this seat — my decision in his place is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is, Joe Brennan has a right to campaign for his party’s nomination if he so chooses. Likewise, other people, such as Chellie Pingree, have a right to seek it as well. The primary should be a health debate between the different visions of the candidates, whoever they may be, and a chance for voters to select the person they think has the ideas and energy to lead their party and their country in the right direction.

Second and more important, Mr. Day sorely underestimated Sen. Pingree’s chances if she chooses to run for this seat. She would be a tough competitor for anyone. Collin J. Worster Old Town