AUGUSTA (AP) – A group of Democratic Maine lawmakers on Thursday sketched out a plan to press for an end to U.S. involvement in the hostilities in Iraq by highlighting the domestic costs of the war.

Saying he was speaking on behalf of two dozen other state House and Senate members, outgoing Democratic Senate leader Michael Brennan of Portland said the group was not wedded to a specific withdrawal strategy but supported ending the war “as quickly as we possibly can and as safely as we possibly can.”

Brennan said state lawmakers were driven to speak out by their understanding of the “direct impact” of the war back home – “the impact that the war has had on domestic spending.”

He pegged the overall cost of the war at nearly $300 billion and the share borne by Maine taxpayers at $850 million. A statement distributed to reporters cited estimates by the National Priorities Project and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Brennan, who later called the Maine group the first such coalition of anti-war state legislators in the nation, and other speakers at a State House news conference charged that spending on the war was siphoning money away from such areas as education, health care and transportation.

Sen. Ethan Strimling, a Portland Democrat who is a leader of a state task force on homeland security, said that area, too, had suffered as Maine’s share of federal funding had been cut from $35 million to $16 million.

Also speaking at the news conference were House Democratic leader Glenn Cummings of Portland and Reps. Jane Eberle of South Portland, Sean Faircloth of Bangor, Deborah Hutton of Bowdoinham, David Webster of Freeport and Deborah Simpson of Auburn.

Speakers took pains to emphasize their support for U.S. troops while they criticized the development and management of the nation’s war effort.

“The worst thing you can do for the troops is ignore reality,” Faircloth said.

The group’s fledgling plan calls for consultations with members of Maine’s congressional delegation – which includes Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and Democratic Reps. Tom Allen and Michael Michaud – and envisions linking up with like-minded lawmakers in other states.

Brennan also indicated that the Democrats were interested in building a bipartisan coalition.

That appeared highly unlikely.

“Good luck with that. Don’t see it,” said Maine Republican Party Executive Director Julie Ann O’Brien.

O’Brien said Brennan and others of the Democratic war critics may be sincere in their beliefs, but that she also viewed the announcement Thursday as the latest in a series of Democratic efforts to divert attention from state problems such as overspending by government.

Republican legislative leaders stood by the Bush administration.

“We all want to see a successful resolution to the Iraq war,” assistant House Republican leader Josh Tardy of Newport said in a statement. “No matter what you think of the war, it is one that we cannot lose. Failure in Iraq would have devastating and long-lasting impact on us and the rest of the world.”

“Winning would ensure a stable democracy in a region of the world that sorely needs one and would hasten an end to Islamic terror.”

State lawmakers, who occasionally shrug off complaints that national affairs are beyond their purview and debate nonbinding resolutions addressing federal matters, have adjourned for the year.

Democrats hold the Blaine House, the gubernatorial mansion in which Gov. John Baldacci resides, and narrowly control both the state Senate and House of Representatives heading into this fall’s general elections. In vying for votes this November, Democrats in some legislative districts will have to be wary of anti-establishment candidates from the small Green Independent Party.

Foreign policy, as it often does, caught the attention of party activists this spring as they began to look toward the general elections in November.

The 2006 Maine Republican Party platform, as amended at the Republican State Convention in May, begins by asserting: “We believe we must protect our country and fellow citizens by supporting President George W. Bush in his effort to continue the defense of our nation against terrorist attacks.”

On June 4, Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin brought his anti-war message to the Democratic State Convention, receiving a rousing reception from hundreds of delegates who approved an impeachment resolution targeting President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

A poll released on June 8 by the Portland-based Critical Insights research firm found that President Bush’s favorability rating had fallen to 24 percent among Mainers.

A year ago, 31 percent of Mainers had a favorable opinion of Bush.

AP-ES-06-29-06 1559EDT