One of the ads by the president attacking Gov. Romney has excerpts from a speech Romney gave detailing the 47 percent of the public that he is not concerned about and cannot win their vote. The reason is that they receive some sort of government benefit, are dependent on the government and effectively would not vote against their best interest.
What Gov. Romney won’t say but I will is that he is correct, and if that number ever goes over 50 percent on an Electoral College basis, this country will truly become a welfare state.
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In my everyday life, I interact with people, and able-bodied citizens tell me they receive disability payments because of some ailment, mental or physical. Yet they can spend time on Facebook, walk, talk and sit still for hours at a time.
But they can’t hold a job as a telemarketer, customer service rep, burger flipper, eBay entrepreneur or whatever position that this country may offer them. Why is that? I believe it is because they don’t want to.
When I was a teen, I probably had ADD. I still see the effects today. However, it did not stop me. I’m a retired major and hold a license as a registered nurse.
My latest Social Security statement said I qualified for disability benefits of about $1,200 per month. Wow, half my salary to sit at home and spend time on Facebook.
If the president is re-elected, I think I will become a taker and let those of you who work and support the president take care of me for a while.
Albert Dow
Augusta
GOP hopefuls miss chance to inform the voting public
For the past five years, the League of Women Voters of Maine has published an Easy-to-Read Voter Guide that includes information on the voting process, summaries of statewide ballot questions and profiles of candidates seeking federal offices.
This year, we expect to print and distribute 25,000 copies of the Guide through Maine libraries, adult education offices, literacy volunteer programs, schools and social service agencies.
The guide is also available on our website and through the national League’s Vote411 website (www.Vote411.org) that offers side-by-side comparisons of candidates’ positions.
It is an accessible and important resource for Maine voters, and that is why it was so disappointing to learn that the Maine Republican Party — on behalf of Jon Courtney, candidate for the 1st District U.S. House seat, and U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Summers — failed to submit information to the guide.
Political parties and candidates submit their own bios, statements and goals and are, therefore, able to emphasize the information they most want voters to know. The guide simply offers a free, nonpartisan way to provide that information to the voting public, so it is unclear why they would not participate.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization that supports and values informed and active participation in government.
Encouraging civic engagement and providing election information have been at the heart of the League’s education mission for nearly a century, and we are proud to support Maine’s rich voting tradition. It is unfortunate that this opportunity to inform Maine voters was not taken by everyone.
Polly Ferguson
South Portland
Obama opponents unfairly face accusations of racism
In 1965 I was discharged from the Navy in Pensacola, Fla.
On the way home I stopped at a car dealership in South Carolina to use the men’s room. I saw three doors: One said “Men,” one said “Women,” the third said “Colored.”
This was a shock to me then. But I think racism is worse today than it was in 1965.
Democrats are using racist tactics to bully people into voting for President Obama.
If you disagree with any of Obama’s policies, Democrats are quick to say, “Oh, you must be a racist!”
I recently saw a woman on television say that she is voting for Obama “because he is the black candidate.”
I immediately had a flashback of Gov. George Wallace and the time when he blocked black children from going to a white school and wondered who was so stupid as to let this racist on television.
If someone had said they were going to vote for Romney because he is the white candidate, I doubt that they would have been allowed on television.
When you vote for someone because he is black, you are voting against someone just because he is white. That is just as racist as voting for someone because he is white and against someone because he is black.
Trying to prove that you are not a racist by voting for someone just because he is black only proves you are a racist.
People need to take race right out of their thoughts and vote for the person who has the best policies and ideas to help America.
I’m voting for Romney, and it has nothing to do with race.
He is pro-life, pro-gun, pro-Constitution, loves America and has shown he knows how to create jobs, improve the economy and help the middle class.
Thomas O’Connor
Falmouth
Civil unions better option for gay, lesbian couples
Some people may think that we are depriving gay couples of their rights if we do not approve of gay marriage. This is definitely not the case.
Gay people have a right to live together in a civil union with many benefits available. My objection is to calling it “marriage.”
The word “marriage” has always been to refer to one man and one woman. Please call it a “civil union,” not “marriage.”
Rita Keylor
Auburn
Anti-King fundraising has suspect motivation
We’ve got to wonder why big money from out of state is pouring into Maine to defeat an independent in the Senate race. I think it is because they want puppets they can control and they know Angus King is certainly not someone they can control.
We Maine voters have been pretty good at seeing past big money. I feel confident we will get out and vote for Angus, someone who will work for us.
Mort Mather
Wells
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