Once again, Thomas Shields is spreading propaganda touting the virtues of conservative politics (March 19).

Americans don’t support welfare as a way of life. Certainly fraud shouldn’t be tolerated. What conservatives and liberals disagree on is how to fix it.

According to usgovernmentspending.com, welfare is 6 percent of the 2016 Maine budget and 7 percent nationally, both steadily decreasing since the height of the recession in 2010. Welfare demands increased beginning in the 2008 because people’s needs increased, causing conservative heads to explode — an un-American response when Americans needed help the most.

Welfare reform won’t fix America’s problems. Thinkbynumbers.org says the U.S. spends roughly 50 percent more on corporate welfare than public assistance, yet conservatives are silent about that.

Americans aren’t being denied religious rights.

Illegal immigration is down and deportation up under President Obama (pewresearch.org).

The national debt is a result of lower tax receipts from the 8-year financial crisis and welfare spending increased to help struggling families. It’s not rocket science, just economics. No conservative has balanced a budget in my lifetime.

Claiming the Affordable Care Act is a failure is foolish.

The U.S. is more respected now than in the past 16 years.

The Justice Department and Congress found nothing on Benghazi, despite 21 hearings.

Many respected government officials have also used private servers for e-mail.

Watching the circus that is the Republican primaries is all anyone needs to know about conservatives — there isn’t a statesman among them.

Conservatives don’t understand accountability or how to govern. Sad but true.

David Marquis, Lewiston

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