Ready, set, partisan

Candidate for Maine Senate Kevin Raye’s eloquent plea for bipartisanship in the Maine Legislature as found in the column, “Bridging Augusta’s partisan divide” (BDN, March 2), is certainly convincing. However, I am surprised that, having campaigned in 2002 to replace Gov. John Baldacci as our 2nd District congressman primarily on the basis of his consider-able experience as chief of staff for Sen. Olympia Snowe, Raye doesn’t mention the extraordinary partisanship of the U.S. House and Senate under mostly Republican control since 1995 and the stifling of opposition/Democratic positions on nearly every issue.

Being “Ready on Day One” – Raye’s 2002 campaign motto – should also include being aware of how the U.S. House and Senate in recent years have, alas, mostly mirrored rather than differed from their Maine counterparts. Surely neither major political party has a monopoly on partisanship.

Howard Segal

Bangor