Partisan fighting last year doomed a responsible bond plan. A deal reached last week by Democratic and Republican leaders shouldn’t be put at risk of the same fate.

The two parties announced last week that they had reached agreement on a package of bonds that would invest $83 million to address crucial state needs. The deal cuts by more than half Gov. Baldacci’s original proposal for a bonds package worth almost $200 million.

Some Democratic lawmakers have criticized the amount, saying it neglects worthy projects and underinvests in others. While we tend to agree that more money should be invested in research and development, land conservation and efforts to protect the state’s working waterfront and cultural infrastructure, minority Republicans hold the key to a successful bond vote. Because it takes a two-thirds majority in the Legislature to place bonds on the ballot this November, the power to limit bonds rests squarely with the minority party.

Republicans say they aren’t willing to budge. If Democrats disregard the bargain and raise the amount to be borrowed, House Republicans are threatening to derail the whole thing.

Similar partisan fighting kept a bonds package off the ballot last year, forcing the state to miss an important opportunity to invest for future economic growth.

Nobody is getting everything with this year’s bond, but it’s a respectable agreement among two parties that have been bitterly divided for two years and will likely remain so in the run-up to next year’s gubernatorial election.

If passed by voters, the package would spend $34 million on transportation, $22.8 million on economic development, $10 million for the Land for Maine’s Future, $10 million on clean water and $9 million on education. The money set aside for economic development is too low and limiting the LMF to just $10 million means opportunities to protect open space and public access will be lost. But, ultimately, the investment still translates into jobs, better quality of life and growth in the state economy. The minority party holds veto power. What’s in the bonds is too important to toss away.

We urge Democrats to accept the limitations of their thin majority and to work with Republicans to pass the bonds package as agreed to. In an ideal world, Republicans would have agreed to more. They did not, and this is likely the best deal on the table. Democrats should take it.