My goodness, did Mainers just get lectured in the Sun Journal (March 22) by David Durenberger?

I am not sure who put Durenberger up to stepping into Maine’s politics from afar but whoever did must have a very short memory. I was just graduating in 1989 when Durenberger was being charged with multiple ethics violations by the bar association in the state he was elected to represent — Minnesota — not Maine. His shenanigans did not end there, as he was charged with a couple felony charges just a few years later that ultimately ended his time in the Senate when he chose not to run again, knowing his legacy was one of corruption and Minnesota would not re-elect him.

How far down to the bottom of the barrel did anyone have to go to find someone willing to speak poorly about Susan Collins? Susan Collins is my friend and she works for ME, not me, but ME. Susan works for Maine. We don’t need folks from away, specifically folks of questionable character and shady background, to lecture us about what works for Maine.

Do I always agree with her positions? Of course not. Maine is a diverse community with a large geographic footprint and our own unique demographics. It would be impossible to find a person who represents all Mainers.

Mainers are blessed to have such a thoughtful, intelligent voice representing us in the Senate. As people of this state, we will not always agree. Sen. Collins values all of Maine’s voices and does her level best to represent us all equally. I value that. She fights for our children and has been fighting to reduce insulin and prescription drug costs, long before it became fashionable. She is demanding that Mainers’ voices be heard, through her, in what has become a grotesquely partisan showdown over relief to this nation.

This is not the time for Mainers to falter and drink the snake oil Durenberger is known for peddling. We do not need disgraced voices from out of state to tell us what to think.

Mark Ferguson, Poland Spring