Earlier this week I participated in a meeting with several area nonprofit and social services agencies. At Sabattus Primary School where our children go, the “Giving Tree” is overflowing with requests for assistance. Those who were “middle” or at least working class two years ago, families where both parents are working two, sometimes three, jobs are finding themselves asking for help. It is isn’t the luxury items they need, it is help with propane to heat a home, baby clothing, winter jackets and gloves.

Instead of compassion and reason and common sense, we get the Republican Party. For years, conservatives have politicized and used the poor as a punching bag. Recent headlines are perfect examples. Rick Santorum says he will cut the food stamp program because “obesity is a problem among people we say have a hunger problem.” Newt Gingrich said the best hope for the poor is a life of crime because they lack job skills.

Even Mary Mayhew (commissioner of Maine Department of Health and Human Services) politicized the proposed cuts at DHHS. Her explanation piece that ran statewide in many newspapers decried the work of the Baldacci administration and placed blame for the DHHS shortfall on everyone, every policy, and everything, other than the state of our economy.

While fiscal conservatives are playing Santa, inviting business leaders to climb into their lap and asking them, “what can we do for you this year?,” Gov. LePage is bent on stripping the dignity away from our most vulnerable citizens. Amidst complaints that America’s millionaires and billionaires can’t possibly be over burdened, inconvenienced, and asked to pay their fair share of taxes, conservatives are thumbing their nose at the rest of America.

If Gov. LePage has his way, gone will be health insurance (and likely access to healthcare) for childless adults and 19- and 20-year-olds. Lawmakers will also have to look at proposed cuts for dental care, occupational and physical therapy, adult family care (and other services). These cuts and others should close the $120 million shortfall during this fiscal year and a $100 million (anticipated) shortfall for fiscal year 2013 (beginning July 1, 2012).

Gov. LePage is not alone. This is culture fostered and coddled in the basic tenets of a Republican Party hijacked by ultra fiscal conservatives and the tea party. There is an opportunity for compassion, compromise and shared sacrifice. These are not traits that have been displayed by Gov. LePage or a path this administration is looking to pursue.

Don’t get me wrong, the deficit at the Department of Health and Human Services is a matter that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, perhaps by design, neither Gov. LePage and commissioner Mayhew (even in this week’s manifesto) have outlined the full reasons for the shortage at the DHHS. Lacking evidence to the contrary, it is clear Gov. LePage is embarking on a policy witch hunt. From the campaign trail to this day, he has repeated his dislike of the MaineCare program. The deficit faced by the department provides him the ammunition he has been looking for.

Reducing access to affordable health insurance and healthcare will come back to bite us all in the backside. Rick Santorum told Iowa college students that no one has ever dies due to a lack of health insurance. While he might be “grammatically” correct, the evidence is overwhelming that each year thousands of uninsured American’s die of preventable illnesses.

In 2009 the American Journal of Public Health reported on a Harvard Medical School study that shows nearly 45,000 people died due to lack of insurance. A 2002 study from the Institute of Medicine also provided data saying that lack of insurance increases the likelihood of death to do preventable diseases. It is not a stretch to say that if these DHHS cuts are approved, Maine families will suffer.

Instead of regular doctor and dentist visits, the first time many Maine children and families will see a healthcare professional will be when they are already sick and in some cases terminally ill. Without health insurance, those lucky enough to have a job are more likely to miss time due to illness or be forced to stay home with children who are ill. A lack of health insurance and access to health care has and will continue to kill Americans.

If only a small percentage of the 65,000 Mainers who may lose coverage start showing up a hospitals and emergency rooms without health insurance, the financial burden on the state will be substantial. The American Hospital Association reports that Americans who have health insurance are paying on average $992 more per year, per person, just to cover the medical costs incurred by hospitals to pay for uninsured.

The LePage approach to addressing the DHHS problem is short-sighted. While it looks good on paper and all the columns add up, he has failed to look down the road at the mid and long-term financial consequences.

Regular check ups, early diagnosis and intervention save money, give individuals and families hope, and most importantly, save lives. During these difficult times, (this is a line I have often used in our “Political Animal” pieces), we need unique ideas and approaches to addressing the issues we face. There is a time for politics, but there is also a time for compassion and shared sacrifice. Especially this time of year.

From my family to yours, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. May you have the opportunity to share these days with family and friends. Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza, Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day and Happy New Year (did I get them all)?

Will Fessenden lives in Sabattus with his wife Jennifer and their two boys. He is a member of the RSU 4 School Board, volunteers and serves on the board of several area non-profit agencies. Will can be reached through his blog, www.wtfmaine.com or via email at [email protected].