Republicans want to lay blame for their lack of vision on everyone but themselves.

The latest Republican message is this: We were in the minority in the Legislature, so don’t blame us for anything that passed, and don’t blame us for not proposing any solutions.

Republicans, it seems, want to tell us they had no ability or opportunity to work for Maine and its people. Then, in the cases where Democrats reached out and got them to join in on solutions, such as property tax relief and health care, they now say those solutions were not good and will not own up to their role.

Having presided over one of the least contentious and most bipartisan Legislatures in recent memory, I am disappointed at the disconnect between what is said and what happened. It is a rewrite of history, and it’s a disservice to the people of Maine.

Now the assistant House Republican leader is publicly wringing his hands and saying that because Republicans are in the minority, they were unable to do much, even though two months ago his boss, the House Republican leader, issued a news release in which he talked about the “significant and positive impact” Republicans had on the current legislative session. I am also confused as to how it is that Republicans, with 73 seats – only one less than Democrats – were completely unable to take a leadership role, present a vision for Maine, or pass legislation.

So what did this “one-party” Legislature do? Democrats led, not through numbers but through leadership.

Rather than complaining, Democrats worked to create jobs and spearheaded the solution-based Small Business Initiative over the past three years, resulting in the creation of a new state Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, a Regulatory Fairness Board to recommend changes in legislation to support small businesses, and the creation of a Consumer and Commercial Court to speed business cases that have languished in the court system.

The head of the National Federation of Independent Businesses in Maine, called the initiative “the most significant small business initiative in Maine in 25 years.” And even though they did not come up with them, Republicans did see the merit and almost unanimously supported the 13 successful bills in the small business agenda.

Democrats led the way on repealing the business equipment tax. Gov. Baldacci proposed the legislation and Republican Rep. David Bowles agreed to sponsor the bill as a way to stimulate business growth. Democrats, it seemed, were not so bad for business after all.

Democrats, under leadership from Gov. Baldacci, have forged ahead with solutions to Maine’s and the nation’s rapidly escalating health care costs. Many Republicans supported those solutions three years ago, but now attack them before there has been a chance to measure the results.

What is their newest proposal? To leave access to health insurance solely to the private market, with no government involvement. That means high deductibles and reduced coverage for everything from mental health to prenatal care. Great if you are young, male and healthy; otherwise, good luck.

Democrats proposed solutions to lower rising costs for higher education, including increased tax breaks for college savings and allocating an additional $5.8 million this year for the university and community college systems to help keep down tuition increases. And Democrats were able to get most Republicans to support these investments.

When it came time to address property taxes, it was once again Democrats who led, proposing and shepherding through the Legislature the Property Tax Reduction Law (LD1). Without a plan of their own, many Republicans signed on to the legislation, which has been shown by independent reports to have already slowed the rate of property taxes significantly – this in its first year, before the full effects of the legislation have kicked in.

Yet Republicans, who had few proposals of their own, now say the Legislature has done nothing to relieve property taxes. And when other opportunities came along, they voted against increasing the Circuit Breaker program, against lowering income taxes for middle class families, and against tax breaks for child care.

Democrats also proposed putting more of the state budget into paying off debts owed to hospitals dating back to the McKernan administration. Republicans refused to go along, though that has not stopped them this month from complaining that we should have paid off more hospital debt this year.

It is election season, and we should expect that Republican leaders and candidates to lay the blame for Maine’s state of affairs on Democrats. The truth is that Republicans – who number only one less in the House than Democrats – had an obligation to lay out their vision for Maine, and to be part of the solution. Now it seems that they want to lay blame for their lack of vision on everyone but themselves.

Rep. John Richardson is speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and represents House District 63, part of Brunswick.