Congressional candidate Jared Golden has supporters talking about two things — his military service and working across party lines to get things done.

I investigated.

Military service of all forms should be honored, but it does not automatically qualify someone as the best option. I have numerous military veterans as friends and every one of them stated that using “I was in the service” for political promotion is unbecoming.

Working across party lines? I went back through Golden’s voting record in Augusta through the past two years as assistant House majority leader. He never once voted against the rest of his party. Even the common sense banning of genital mutilation? Nope. He even ignored the allegations of inappropriate relationships against now resigned Rep. Dillon Bates. That’s no surprise, given his connections to the Maine People’s Alliance and that group’s acceptance of a convicted sex offender as a volunteer.

That isn’t leadership.

Benjamin Martin, Lewiston