In her letter of Jan. 19, Denise Langlais expressed her opinion that my letter (Jan. 14) was “garbage.” She may be among those who lack understanding of the political situation in Augusta. It would be interesting to know how many hearings and sessions she has attended, how many bills she has read, including the common-sense measures that have been defeated, and how party members voted on those measures.

In my eight years in the Legislature, “compromise” and “work together” meant the majority Democrats were saying “Do it our way, vote with us or you will be labeled as against the group receiving the benefit.” They always had their way because of their numbers, and their members usually fell in behind whatever their leadership said, even though they often knew it was against their better judgment.

The Democrats’ main thrust seemed to be about power and its patronage, and not about what is good for Maine.

As I have said before, if you enjoy high taxes, inefficient welfare programs that we cannot afford, deterioration of our highways and bridges, the difficult business climate that causes businesses to fail, or not to come here, along with their jobs that are lost, the terrible debt we have, and no will to change our health insurance to a more universally affordable product, you certainly should support the Democratic majority.

The current status of Maine is testimony that speaks for itself.

Resorting to name-calling is not a defense of the Democrats’ policies.

Thomas F. Shields, Auburn