I was not surprised to read Angus King’s endorsement of John Kerry. In many ways they are a lot alike. On principle: when it came time to run for governor, King flip-flopped on Maine Democrats and became an Independent to avoid a primary with Joe Brennan, which King most certainly would have lost. On policy: John Kerry, like Angus King, likes to spend the taxpayer’s money. For five of the eight years King was governor, Maine’s state and local tax burden was the highest in the country! Kerry’s changing positions are based on politics, and he is now relying on a former governor known for riding the political winds to help Kerry regain support in Maine.

When President Bush took office he faced an inherited recession and corporate scandal, which were followed by September 11. Yet today, our economy is growing at a record pace creating good jobs because of the President’s tax relief for working families and small business. 1.7 million jobs have been created in the past year alone and unemployment is lower than the average of the 1990’s. Unemployment in Maine rests at 4.5 percent, lower than the national average and we have regained all the jobs lost in the recession. Now is the time to make the tax relief permanent. Let’s not give the Senator from Massachusetts a chance to reverse these tax breaks and further increase taxes to pay for out of control spending.

As a Kerry surrogate, King has said that his highest priority as governor was the “creation and retention of quality jobs and building a strong pro-business environment.” What did he think would be the most attractive to business, the highest taxes in the country, or a solid ranking by the nationally respected Small Business Survival Index, which ranked Maine second to last out of all 50 states for business friendly environments?

John Kerry voted for higher taxes hundreds of times, including 98 votes for tax increases totaling more than $2 trillion and promises to roll back the President’s tax relief that is driving this economic recovery. He claims he will only raise taxes on the wealthy. We’ve heard that before. Kerry also says the middle class will be exempt from higher taxes, but where will he get the money to pay for his trillions of dollars in new spending promises? Don’t you believe it when Kerry says only the wealthy will be taxed; put your hand on your wallet immediately and don’t remove it until after the President is re-elected!

Yes, Kerry and King are a lot alike. King’s strong alliance, and shared philosophy with the Democrats at the State House squandered a surplus in 1999 and left the state 1 BILLION dollars in the hole with his successor holding the bag. Now all of a sudden, when it is politically expedient, he’s worried about the deficit and the burden that voters under the age of 35 will have to carry. Too bad he didn’t worry about Mainers under the age of 35 when he was governor. Under his watch, millions of dollars were lost-a fine example for business and the typical Maine family.

You would have to reside in wonderland to believe that Kerry will cut the deficit in half in four years. Kerry’s spending promises combined with his promise to cut the deficit in half in four years can’t be reconciled with his plan to only raise taxes on the rich. He has left himself no choice but to go back on his campaign promises, abandon his deficit reduction plans or raise taxes on the middle class. The President’s tax relief limited the depth of the recession he inherited and his economic growth policies combined with spending restraint will continue to strengthen our economy and cut our deficit in half.

Finally, I take exception to Angus King’s Bangor Daily News Op-Ed which stated our “foreign policy has alienated our friends…” The September 11 attacks killed 3,000 people on American soil and our national security should be our president’s highest priority. Kerry claims he will be able to enlist the support of other nations but claims the war in Iraq is a “grand diversion” and the “wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Are statements like that going to encourage support from other nations? The changing and contradictory messages Kerry has been sending are dangerous to our troops and dangerous to our respected allies.

I am proud of President Bush and his leadership in one of the most difficult and challenging periods in our nation’s history. Our national security and economic recovery can’t be left to the constantly changing opinions of people like Angus King and John Kerry, a pair of flip-flops whenever it is politically expedient.

Kevin J. Keogh Sr. served as chairman of the Maine Republican Party from 1992-1994 and 1995-1998 and is a former Regional HUD director.