Sometimes when elections are over, there’s admiring talk about how our country transfers power peacefully. But while we’ve had no violent coups, this year that shining system has been profoundly undermined. You see, for the peaceful transfer of power to be meaningful, the underlying expectation is that institutions don’t change in any fundamental way before […]
In the continuing saga of Bruce Poliquin’s efforts to overturn the results of the November election in Maine’s Second Congressional District, a new player emerged. In the second court proceeding on ranked choice before Trump appointed federal judge Lance Walker, testimony by Poliquin’s expert witness, Prof. James Gimpel, took up most of the time. But […]
Election Day 2018 marked a turn away from fear and an embrace of hope. Prompting the highest voter turnout for a midterm election in over a century, multitudes went out to talk to their fellow citizens, knocking on doors in the warmth of summer and the chill of fall. After horrible incidents these last two […]
Even after Jared Golden was declared the winner of Maine’s Second Congressional District race, incumbent Bruce Poliquin proclaimed he would continue to fight the voting process in court. Poliquin’s attorney asked for arguments to be heard soon so a decision can be reached on whether ranked choice voting is constitutional by mid-December 2018. A look […]
In the face of aggressive voter suppression and gerrymandering in many states, voters delivered a rebuke to President Donald Trump and his party, rejecting their policies, use of xenophobic messaging and corruption. With small donations adding up to large amounts of campaign funds and floods of volunteers talking to their fellow voters, Democrats had their […]
When you really need a hospital, you’re grateful its specialized equipment and medical professionals are there. Everyone in my family has had to go to a Bangor hospital — after a mishap on a sledding hill, a fainting spell at a track meet, intense abdominal pain, or a near-fatal pulmonary embolism. For people in rural […]
There’s been a lot of publicity about the health bills Poliquin voted for in 2017. Key aspects of the bills include the cuts in coverage for middle-class and low-income working people and the much higher rates for older people and people with pre-existing conditions, making it impossible for some to get care and coverage. In one […]
It’s not a mystery what was in the two bills to repeal the Affordable Care Act that Rep. Bruce Poliquin supported. To know what the repeal bills included doesn’t require peering into the mists of time. No one has to try to decipher faded letters on stone tablets. This isn’t a matter of he said-he […]
In another intense, chaotic week, former Maine Sen. George Mitchell provided clarity and wisdom. Speaking in Bangor, Mitchell recounted that a participant in the Northern Ireland peace process told him that what mattered greatly was two years of Mitchell’s persistent listening. On the day Mitchell explained the importance of listening, Americans were in the midst […]
The public is restive. Office holders are under pressure, as people are riled up for the most common of reasons — broken promises on issues that hit home. Americans who were economically frustrated are still struggling because while most economic indicators are positive, this hasn’t translated into prosperity for most. The swamp rises, with lobbyists […]
