Tough week. This is my WCME Radio response to the Governors weekly radio address. Like many of my fellow Democrats, I’m still absorbing the full impact of Tuesday’s results. The conventional wisdom was that the races were close, that heavy turnout would favor us and that the Governor was unpopular with a majority of Mainers. In the end, the Governor won with 48 percent, certainly better than his first election, What struck me the most about the election, and the mood before and afterwards, is the general feeling of fear and division. Certainly I know that many Democrats are fearful of what the Governor will do, especially with a majority in the Senate. What rights will be lost? What environmental policies will we have to defend? What programs will be gutted, What opportunities will be missed? But clearly, Republicans are fearful too, and voted, in large part, for keeping a traditional Maine way of life. They voted for hunting rights, for less government, for cutting aid to a faceless group of people, including immigrants, that are perceived as changing Maine in a way they don’t like. They voted in fear of Ebola, and in fear of mills closing, and in fear of gay men. It’s clear to me that Democrats failed to make a compelling case to Mainers about what a future could look like that includes opportunity for everyone. We failed to make a compelling case about why we need to invest more, rather than cut taxes to the bone. We failed to explain why tax cuts at the state level lead to increased property taxes when local towns can’t or don’t want to cut services or schools. We failed to make the case about the future impacts of climate change, and how we need to respond now to be ready for inevitable weather-related crises, and changes we are already seeing in the Gulf of Maine fisheries. At the same time, Maine citizens passed six bonds, all of which are about the new economy. And, we turned out in record numbers, even in regions without power, to prove that, in Maine at least, “little d” democratic participation still means something. So, while I’m disappointed by the results, I am buoyed by my steadfast belief in the basic goodness of Maine people, and their level of engagement with the political process. We must find a way to more clearly articulate our vision for Maine, and with that vision, move away from the politics of fear into a better future. To quote John F Kennedy, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” Finally, please remember all of those who have served this nation on Veteran’s Day. Thanks Dad for your service in Korea.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 21:05:30 +0000
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