Another Democrat has defected to independent status. Rep. Barbara Merrill of Appleton recently issued a statement which rang so true for many of us. She said she was “uncomfortable in a party whose state leaders balanced one budget by selling off future revenues from liquor sales, then proposed selling off the lottery, then passed a budget that relied on borrowing almost half a billion dollars, much of which would have been paid back by our children.”

She cited concerns with Democratic House leadership “being willing to violate the procedural rules of the Legislature in order to prevent final consideration of a bill which would have reformed the state budget process and made it harder to repeat this year’s shenanigans.”

I am surprised that people continue to vote into office these individuals in the Democratic Party who go along with this fiscal nonsense. On the campaign trail, they all promise fiscal responsibility, but their voting records speak loudly to the opposite. Their loyalty to party power seems to take precedence over their promises to the people of Maine.

So, will the Democrats respond with remarks about the federal government and President Bush in order to divert readers’ attention from Maine’s problems? What happens in Washington is an entirely different matter. Let’s stick to the Maine issues of heavy taxation and excessive spending in state government under the Democrat majority.

Rep. Thomas F. Shields, Auburn

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