My letter, printed Jan. 1, hit a sensitive area, judging from the response from Timothy Priestly (Jan. 7) and John Muir (Jan. 8).

My letter outlined a plan on how the voters of the Lewiston-Auburn area could learn, through the Sun Journal, how their legislative delegation voted.

Did they vote their campaign promises? How many times were they absent?

I also made some observations about how voting proceeded in my legislative service of eight of the past 10 years.

These two gentlemen did not address what I wrote, but used the occasion to make personal attacks on me. Their allegations were without any credible foundation. That is usually the tactic of liberals when faced with the truth.

Does not the public need to know if their representatives vote to limit their freedoms or misuse taxpayer money? The record of Democratic spending in Maine government is outrageous.

I have always supported helping those who cannot help themselves, but have realized Maine government cannot afford to do everything for everybody. Nearly 25 percent of Maine citizens receive state assistance.

Bear in mind a statement by Cal Thomas: “Democrats would rather foster a dependency on government so that people would be less self-reliant and more dependent on politicians for their current and future welfare. This is a formula for socialism.”

Thomas F. Shields, Auburn