I regret to say that I have lost faith in Sen. Olympia Snowe. If she does care about the people of Maine, she must have lost perspective in the weird hothouse of Washington politics about what Maine people want and need.

Snowe has failed, in any meaningful way, to stand up to the Bush administration’s unprovoked attack on Iraq; to challenge in any meaningful way the wholesale hijacking of our democracy by secrecy, spying and corruption, and to call the administration on its systematic gutting of Medicare, environmental laws, food safety laws, student loans, and on and on. She issues an occasional statement protesting some particular bill, but so moderate as to be just wishy-washy.

This is not true moderation. When Sen. Margaret Chase Smith was confronted with the police state tactics of Joseph McCarthy, she led the Senate to challenge and defeat him. She said, “I don’t want to see the Republican Party [win on the basis of] Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear.”

Yet Snowe has failed to stand up to the Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear of the current Republican Party. Her “moderation” seems more like go along to get along.

Jean Hay Bright is the Democrat running for the Senate against Snowe. She is a bright lady, and will make hay to get us out of Iraq, protect ordinary people and the environment and help Democrats take control of the Senate from the Republicans.

Let’s have a change in Washington. Vote for Jean Hay Bright.

Jane McCloskey

Deer Isle