After reading the Sun Journal’s front page story dealing with “dark money,” Citizens United and We the People Maine (May 28), I thought it would be a good time to recall a quote from former Gov. Ken Curtis, as reported May 9, 1981, in the Bangor Daily News. He was addressing some 1,600 graduates at the University of Maine in Orono. He noted that voter apathy has “… in effect, offered up this greatest of democracies for sale.”
Large numbers of Americans don’t vote, while thousands of political action committees representing special interest groups contribute more money to candidates than political parties do.
Curtis went on to say, “How can we expect to prosper and be well, as a nation, when we yield our opinion, our voice, our vote to narrow interests who will spend millions to throw leaders out of office or put them into office over one issue?”
His words are certainly worth pondering as we enter this latest political season.
Frank Koris, Rumford
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.