My first reaction to last Sunday’s “hit piece” on me (“Maine gubernatorial candidate spreads hate on campaign trail,” July 31), a baseless opinion column, was to laugh. The columnist has no idea who I am — just the GOP’s best chance to be Maine’s next governor — so wants to “take me out early.” My second was outrage; everyday Mainers suffer this kind of thing.

Let us start at the beginning, with facts. After all, that is how voters are educated, people learn, “hit pieces” are unpacked, legal rights defended. As a former U.S. Court of Appeals clerk, litigator, investigator and Maine attorney, I know that facts matter.

Fact one: After years of watching my state — where I grew up splitting wood, yes — become a leaderless, chaotic, mismanaged, drug-ridden, unaffordable, Democrat-led mess, I stepped up to run for governor in April. My goal: Fix it.

Fact two: The response to my candidacy has been overwhelmingly positive. Mainers want change. We raised more money in 75 days than any GOP candidate for governor in history at this point in the cycle. Beyond conservatives, many unaffiliated and traditional Democrats are fed up.

Fact three: Having communicated with every member of the Maine Legislature — on both sides — and given many my book “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness,” doors are swinging open.

Fact four: My whole life has been about Maine values, taught by the World War II generation, featured in my other book “Eagles and Evergreens.” Non-negotiable.

Fact five: One of those timeless values is truth. Another is love of America. A third is courage, including the courage to speak, not to be shut down by lies.

Fact six: In 2024, a U.S. representative of Somali origin, Ilhan Omar (D-MN), openly expressed loyalty to Somalia, shocking even her own party. In October 1993, America lost 18 soldiers in Somalia under the U.N. flag. One was heroic Mainer Gary Gordon. Think “Blackhawk Down.” Omar was condemned for her split loyalty, violating her naturalization and office oaths. She backpedaled, said she was “misinterpreted.”

Fact seven: In a TV interview, Maine Rep. Deqa Dhalac, D-South Portland, like Omar, referred to “our country of Somalia.” No small deal, but unlike Omar, no backpedaling. In July, on Twitter, Homeland Security expressed concern over the remarks, her split loyalty and what it could mean. It is individual to her.

As a former naval intelligence officer who lost seven friends on 9/11, as someone entrusted with the nation’s top secrets, who has served loyally all my life, I believe loyalty to America, like truth, is non-negotiable. Split loyalty is intolerable. Why? Because split loyalties undermine order, security, rule of law and public trust. We are either grateful to be Americans with unrivaled rights, or we are not.

Compounding the insult, Dhalac sponsored the bill on Gov. Mills’ desk that punishes Maine troopers for cooperating with federal law enforcement to enforce laws against criminal aliens. So, while Mainers worry about how they will pay bills, avoid traffickers and educate their kids, Dhalac is pushing Somalia aid and support for illegal immigrants.

Fact eight: For reporting this and delivering a petition to Dhalac requesting an apology — signed by thousands of Mainers — the Maine Trust for Local News published a column calling me a violent racist. The column said I was “using the playbook that the Ku Klux Klan employed,” stopping short “of burning a cross on Lewiston’s highest hill.” Frankly, this characterization is over-the-top, hateful “yellow journalism.”

The reality is sobering. Mainers — many just common-sense conservatives — are being targeted. These statements are false, to my view, published with reckless disregard for truth. The columnist never called or reached out.

Fact nine: If the columnist had paid closer attention to my book, he would know my whole life — young Maine Eagle Scout to protector of our nation, lieutenant commander in the Navy — is centered on principle, integrity and defending those in need.

He would know I led Black Boy Scouts in Harlem, two reaching Eagle; that I worked tirelessly with Dalits, the “Untouchables” in India; that the civil rights pioneer Jack Greenberg, co-counsel in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), was my law professor and is celebrated in “Cherish America.” He would know my values are as far from the “KKK” as east is from west. He would know I have written extensively and taught on defamation law at Harvard.

For now, conversation beats litigation. But next time: Talk to me, do not sully me. President Trump is right: Cancellation by defamation is not journalism. It will not stop me speaking. I believe too much in the possibility of a better Maine, and ask you to be part of it.