The GOP: motivated to manage Maine

For the last six years, one-party government control has done a disservice to Maine. Partisanship has stifled progress. This year, we have an opportunity to change course and vote to improve government and improve the lives of all Mainers.

Regardless of your political views, Republican efforts to manage the state Legislature are crucial to Maine’s economic health. Two years ago Democrats in the House expanded their ranks with several new members drawn from the same public unions and social service agencies who elect them. Today, most of the House members are recruited from these very groups. They will expand public spending without concern for accountability or effectiveness.

In the Maine Senate, 18 seats determine the controlling majority in the upper chamber. Currently, 14 Republican incumbents and 13 Democratic incumbents are running. Seven seats are open with robust contests under way.

If the Senate continues under Democratic control in this last two years of the governor’s term, the fiscal security of our state will continue to worsen.

What has one-party control given us? One out of every seven dollars we earn goes to state or local government in taxes, our gas tax is 60 percent higher than the national average, we rank first in taxpayer-funded health care and a $70 million midnight tax increase on doctor visits and beverages passed in April with an 18 Democratic to 17 Republican vote.

We can make progress in reversing this trend. We can get Maine back on track with hard work and responsible governing. Maine’s Republican Senate candidates are committed to lowering taxes, improving the opportunity for job creation, and making Maine a better place to live, work and raise a family.

Mainers know we have been traveling on the wrong economic track for quite some time. It is all too easy, but unrealistic to place the entire blame for our plight on the federal government or expect a new administration in Washington, D.C., to deliver us. We need look no farther than the Maine State House and the disappointing results of a handful of Democratic leaders and their supporters who have been directing Maine government.

Maine’s Senate Republicans will continue opposing policies that raise taxes. All 17 Maine Republican senators voted against the $70 million midnight tax. All 17 Maine Republican senators voted to repeal Maine’s Use Tax and all 17 Maine Republican senators voted to give Mainers the final say over tax increases.

Maine Senate Republican candidates know the cost of health care is a burden on families and businesses. Unaffordable health care forces too many Mainers to go without coverage or to rely on taxpayer-funded health care. Today, there is one private health care plan for Maine individuals and just three for businesses. Maine’s Senate Republicans want you to have an opportunity to find the most affordable and best possible health care coverage available anywhere in America.

The last two years, we tried many times to convince conservative Senate Democrats to help us put the brakes on, but in the end, pressure from their leaders and from the left-dominated House tipped the balance in favor of new taxes, new concessions to public unions, increased debt and the growth of old programs they refuse to evaluate or prune.

Democratic leaders last year even went after the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, thus attacking a key process by which government is held accountable. All 17 Maine Republican Senators voted against their proposal to gut Maine’s oversight agency. This is further evidence of the narrowing agenda of the Democratic legislative leaders.

The Senate Republican candidates are men and women of accomplishment. They are leaders in their communities, not the ridiculous caricatures that political ad agencies create. Their background and experience is a true reflection of Maine values. The ranks of the Senate Republican candidates include a potato farmer, a respected teacher, a tree farmer and former judge, a mustard maker, an entrepreneur and job creator, a devoted mother and community volunteer, a logger and a shopkeeper. These are reasonable citizens motivated by the desire to manage our state effectively. Most are down-to-earth businesspeople who like to get things done. We talk to Democrats, and we expect them to talk with us.

Unfortunately, if next year’s Senate is controlled by 18 or more Democrats, their leaders will not permit those conversations to take place, and our state will be so much worse for it.

Richard Rosen is the assistant minority leader in the Maine Senate. He is seeking re-election in District 31, which includes Brewer, Bucksport, Orrington, Milford, Holden, Orland, Eddington, Dedham, Penobscot, Castine, Bradley, Clifton, Otis, Verona Island, Mariaville, Burlington, Lowell, Amherst, Aurora, Greenfield, Grand Falls Plantation and Summit Township.