Maine Rep. Lawrence Lockman, R-District 137, says Ben Chin hates Christians and America. Maine Republican Party executive officer Jason Savage demands that Chin explain his views, referring to a sermon Chin preached as a lay leader. So now a Republican politician and a state Republican leader are setting up religious acceptability tests for candidates? Candidates […]
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Posted inOp-Eds
A Paris moment for U.S. politics?
WASHINGTON — The 2016 presidential campaign has been peculiarly disconnected from the real world of problems, crises and governing. It took the catastrophe in Paris to narrow the gap — and even a monstrous terrorist attack may not shake the trajectory of a contest that operates within a logic of its own. The inevitable distance […]
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Posted inLetters
Society has become divided
It is obvious that Thomas Shields, Leonard Hoy and Mary Jane Newell have extreme political views; they describe horrific things that Democrats supposedly do that are never substantiated. Also, what they call Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) is well known to be based on Republican ideas. I respect and honor many Republican politicians, including Margaret […]
Posted inOp-Eds
A different look at the GOP divide
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Maybe our definition of the Republican presidential contest is a little off. It’s often cast, accurately enough, as a choice between “outsiders” and “insiders.” But another party division may be more profound — between Republicans who still view the country’s future hopefully, and those deeply gloomy about its prospects. The pessimism within […]
Posted inOp-Eds
The Republican establishment’s weak tea
WASHINGTON — The narrative about the 2016 presidential campaign focuses on angry discontent in the American electorate. Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have a plausible explanation for what lies behind this unhappiness. The only Republican acting as if he has a working theory of his own is Donald Trump. As their policy-heavy debate last […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Tea party leaders would punish entire U.S.
Yogi Berra is no longer around, but one of his witticisms — “It’s deja vu all over again” — has never been more apt. This time, though, it’s not at all funny. All over again, the hard right is threatening a government shutdown. All over again, the American people face the prospect of collapsing consumer […]
Posted inMaine
Maine GOP says survey shows weak support for Hillary Clinton
LEWISTON — Details from a Maine GOP door-to-door survey suggest support for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner in the race for president is weak among swing voters, according to Jason Savage, Maine Republican Party spokesman. Savage said Wednesday that the survey included more than 1,000 face-to-face interviews with voters who were identified as being crossover […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Carly Fiorina shows her political smarts
By Jennifer Rubin The Washington Post “Carly Fiorina camp goes to war with the RNC” is exactly the headline she wanted. Her campaign has officially weighed in to reiterate her supporters’ complaints about the qualification criteria for the next debate. Since the last debate, she’s risen dramatically in the polls, but because CNN insists on […]
Posted inLetters
Republican party in decline
How did the party of civilized leaders such as Margaret Chase Smith, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins become the party of Donald Trump, Paul LePage and Ted Cruz, who act like schoolyard bullies? A common definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Republicans have wasted taxpayers’ money […]
Posted inFranklin
Franklin County Republicans to submit four nominations to fill District 2 seat
FARMINGTON — The Franklin County Republican Committee caucused Monday night to choose names of nominees to be submitted to the governor for his consideration of appointment to a vacant District 2 seat on the Franklin County Commission. The late Fred Hardy of New Sharon served in the position for 22 years before his death July […]