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Born and raised in Orono, my father voted Republican his entire life, just like his father. My uncle, who lived in Old Town, was also a lifelong Republican, serving four terms as president of the Maine Senate.
Like most of their neighbors, they were moderate conservatives in the tradition of Republican Sen. Margaret Chase Smith. They believed in fiscal responsibility, understood the importance of our NATO alliances, and treasured in particular our close friendship with Canada. They read and revered our Constitution. Above all, they valued truthfulness, respect and kindness for others, independence of thought, and personal integrity. That was how I was raised.
What has happened to the Republican Party? If my parents and uncle were alive today, what would they have thought about a government that sends masked, poorly trained but heavily armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into our communities under the pretext of “keeping us safe”? I’m quite sure that they would have been disgusted by the current Republican administration’s racial profiling, the terrorizing, the bullying and lies, the killings of innocent American citizens.
I hope that at least some Republican politicians will show the courage to speak out against cruelty and will return to the values that were so important to our family and to Maine.
Nathaniel T. Wheelwright
Harpswell
