Since the election, I’ve been asked numerous times what lies ahead for Maine Republicans. Now that I have been elected as the assistant GOP leader in the Maine House, I’ve fielded the same question in media interviews. Although no one comes right out and says it, they seem to be wondering how we can possibly recover from such a tough loss.
Actually, I am optimistic. I believe that bedrock Republican principles are the same values held by most Maine citizens. Those principles include individual freedom, limited government, fiscal responsibility and a belief that free enterprise is the best path to prosperity.
If you want evidence that these basic values have vast appeal in Maine, take a look at what Democrats campaigned on. I knocked on doors and stopped at gas stations in almost 40 House districts in this election cycle. Not once did I see a Democratic “palm card” or flier that said they wanted to raise taxes or increase the size of government.
By and large, Democrats ran on the Republican platform because Mainers respond well to commonsense principles. As history shows us, of course, once they are elected, Democrats go right back to their old ways — big government and higher taxes. But who knows, maybe this time it will be different.
There’s no question that we suffered a significant defeat. In the Maine House, we went from 78 GOP members to 58. What is striking is that we sustained such large losses after the landmark accomplishments of the last Legislature, the first one with a Republican majority since 1974. We took on the heavy lifting that Democrats had pretty much ignored for years.
With pension reform, we rescued the retirement system for teachers and state workers, putting it back on sound financial footing without cutting benefits for anyone. We passed a $150 million tax cut package that eliminates the state income tax for 70,000 low-income filers and provides an annual reduction of more than $300 for middle class Mainers. By cutting regulatory “red tape,” we made life easier for company builders and entrepreneurs so they can concentrate on business and create jobs instead of battling the bureaucracy.
Through these changes and many others, we upgraded Maine’s business climate, making big leaps in national rankings of the best states for business. In a recent report, the Maine Labor Department said employers added 7,400 private sector jobs last year after Republican pro-growth policies kicked in.
With a record like that, we hoped to do well on Election Day. In retrospect, we know the cards were stacked against us. Democrats and their allies outspent us by two to one and turned out a large number of new voters. President Barack Obama carried Maine by a 15-point margin, and Democrats rode his coattails. Moreover, an onslaught of negative ads distorted our record beyond recognition.
After looking at voter enrollment numbers, it is clear that we Republicans have some work to do. Among registered female voters, 29 percent identify themselves as Republicans as opposed to 39 percent who align with the Democratic Party. The gap is even worse among voters aged 18 to 25. About 19 percent of them are Republicans compared to 33 percent who register as Democrats. That leaves about half of these young voters unenrolled.
So why am I optimistic about a Republican rebound? As the youngest House Republican, I know that all is not lost for our party and the youth vote. College students and recent graduates are like everyone else. They want decent jobs and careers with a chance to live a good life. When you talk about getting government out of the way so the entrepreneurial spirit can thrive, they get it – most of them, anyway. By getting across our principles to young voters and everyone else, I believe we will do well in the future.
The incoming House Speaker Rep. Mark Eves said recently he looks forward to forging alliances with House Republicans to do what is right for the people of Maine. If Democrats are willing to join us in building on the achievements of the last Legislature, I think this will be a productive session.
House Republicans know there is work to be done. We know it’s important to pay our hospitals the MaineCare money they are owed, more than $400 million, including the federal match, to save jobs and lower health care costs. We need to continue eliminating barriers that prevent companies from hiring. And we need to make sure our schools continue to innovate so the next generation of Mainers is well prepared for the future.
These are things that will benefit all Mainers, and we are eager to get started.
State Rep. Alexander Willette, R-Mapleton, is the assistant leader of the House Republicans.
Someone who can call the results of the last legislature accomplishments certainly is less concerned about Maine citizens than he is about his political party.
This guy is very deluded about why his party lost. Keep up that thinking and outlook and you will continue to lose elections. I saw tons of negative ads directed at Obama here in Maine, just for starters. People were energized in the Democratic Party. It was not all about the money ,(but leave a Republican to focus on that aspect). Romney thought he could buy the national election. He didn’t realize that people needed to think he understood them and what was important in their lives. He didn’t/doesn’t have the remotest idea. One reads the commentary of Mr Gagnon and now this Representative and it is clear they are still making excuses. Doesn’t bode well for them.
No, Mr Willette….”the cards were not stacked against you” (it is hard not to laugh at that). You did it to yourselves.
America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system, but too soon to errect the Guillotines. The GOP will thrive when it chucks the RINO’s, the religious social conseratives idiots, and the neo-conserative warmongers. The revival is in progress as the Libertarian message resonates with thoughtful citizens through out the land.
If the neo-cons and the churchy set aren’t the RINOs, who are?
Gothgirl (Snowe now gone), Collins (soon to be gone), McCain, Karl Rove, any sur-name of Bush (gone), Romney (gone), Newt (gone). Scott Brown (gone).. linsey graham, 1/2 of the Fox news contributors and namely hasbeens O’Reilly, Huckabee, and Hannity, Giuliani, LaHood, SC Judge Roberts, and 1000’s more.
Okay. Who are some “real” Rs?
Sen’s Rand Paul and James Demint, Fox’s Stossel and Judge Napolitano, Gov’s LaPage and NH Lynch, 44 new house members that refuse to bend to Boehner, Gary Johnson, anyone associated with the CATO Institute, and 1000’s more.
Fair enough. But this is the same Jim Demint who said I can’t be a fiscal conservative without being a “social conservative?”
The same and a shame.. but purity is rare. Even gold jewelry is alloyed to be functional and practical .. especially in South Carolina.
Too true
LePage is an Alec puppet without an individual thought in his huge head. R’s would do better to moderate. JFK would look at today’s D’s and call them extreme, yet he is still held as the model for which D’s should strive. On the other side of the aisle, the R’s have Reagan as their idol, he was extreme and his fiscal policy was a huge failure. The R’s continue to bolster failures. Reagan and Bush II are prime examples. Why model the standard of “the perfect Republican” after failures? The party had a great leader with tons of success in Guilaini, but he wasn’t extreme enough for them I guess.
Giuliani will always be remembered as a great mayor. Though being pro-choice and for sensible gun regulations certainly doesn’t bode well for a potential GOP presidential candidate.
If not for his ignorant foreign policy stances, I probably could have gotten behind Rudy, though that was a deal breaker…though in retrospect, I suppose they weren’t all that different from McCain’s.
It is a rare thing when all the pieces come together. Good domestic policy usually means the person has a lousy foreign one. Look at Clinton, worked well with others in the House and Senate, America thrived under him, we had welfare reform, and the earned income credit. Then he goes and bombs an aspirin factory. Bush 1 did great getting nations around the world to support the liberation of Kuwait, but I don’t think he could find Nebraska on a map.
Can’t argue with that…there never has and never will never be a flawless presidency…one can only hope the positives outweigh the negatives.
The 2008 election was about “Who loved Jesus more” and more mid-east “Shock and Awe” prime time entertainment. Obama was neither.. he only was committed to bankrupting America which was a winning strategy.
Obama won on a wave of anti-GOP sentiment, his cult of personality and optimism, not any specific issue.
The country is going to survive. We will not go bankrupt.
Obama didn’t win.. Social Conservative Republicans lost the election for the GOP. American believed that democrats picking ones wallet clean was a better choice than republicans who demanded access to ones bedroom, control over ones wives and daughters birthing apparatus, medical research labs, control of non-active brains connected to tubes, the chapel aisles, forced funding of “faith based initiatives”, and all other family health issues.
Social Conservative Republicans…so who would have been the right candidate in 2008? Dr Paul?
I actually am a big fan of the good doctor in many ways, though he’s not really presidential material. And very socially conservative.
Choke. If these are the ‘real’ Rs then it is good-bye to the party. The stream they are standing in is not mainstream.
Lincoln. Eisenhower.
Ah, but Lincoln was a member of a party that was actually quite progressive in its day. And Eisenhower was probably the last President that had most of America, Rs and Ds, approval. If we could get back to the Eisenhower GOP then the great divide might just disappear.
Obama wants the roads bill passed, R’s said no… Eisenhower Interstate System… Seems the R’s have forgotten where they came from.
While I consider myself a social libertarian, libertarian economic policies are not at all realistic – far too draconian. Far right economic policies would be just as bad as far left policies.
The blessings Liberty to enjoy a free lifestyle come at a price. Mainly, self-responsibility and the Libertarian covenant of “Do no harm to others”. A balanced budget, a capitalist free market, stable money, blind justice, with a small efficient government to enforce the legislated rules with minimal intrusions in private lives is the direction of sensible governance.
It all sounds great on paper, though when one thinks objectively about what pure unbridled capitalism would truly mean, I don’t see how anyone can consider it seriously. “Do no harm” is great – though the flip side “do not help”, is not.
because if corporations are known for one thing, it is being socially and environmentally responsible and putting people before profit. i find your views to be wildly unrealistic.
How many of those 7,400 jobs that the GOP is crowing about pay “public assistance” wages and are actually a drag on our economy, not a boost? If a job doesn’t pay enough to live on, it is a liability to the rest of us, not an asset. Big Lots opening a new store in Farmington is a great example. 55 part time jobs that pay minimum wage. All of these new employees are going to need help from the tax payers to bridge the gap between what big corporate America “pays” and what it takes to survive in 2012 America. We need real jobs, not more McJobs.
Fiscal responsibility also means not passing tax cuts that can’t be afforded. You guys talk big game when it comes to principles, but there is little real action when it comes down to it.
Well put. “We need to cut!” “Okay, let’s cut ____.” “Well, can’t cut that.” “How about ______?” “Jeez, no…in fact, we need to increase that.”
Thank you Mr. Willette, history will remember how those of us who believe in American values tried to save this country from the onslaught of socialism and bankruptcy. However, at this point in time, it seems most people only care about free birth control and punishing the successful. Four years of pain (six if you count when they took over Congress) was not enough for them to comprehend why their policies are causing unemployment, divestment, higher costs of living, increased poverty and eventually the end of Social Security and Medicare as we know them.
Okay, we know where you get your facts from. That alternate reality the Rs in control have constructed. There are Rs that don’t live there. Hopefully they will prevail. Maybe not in the short term, I mean look at who the elected as their minority leader in the Senate, but eventually some semblance of the Grand Ole Party may be revived. Because you are NOT living up to that moniker at the moment.
This man has a future in Maine politics. Mark my words.
Oh, please, you “rescued” the retirement system without cutting benefits for anyone? Please explain. You cut taxes by 150 million and now we have a 130 million gap? How does that help? And is anyone talking about making it up from increasing revenue? No. It’s cut cut cut cut and cut yet again.
Much of it Alexander, comes back to who the GOP nominated for governor back in 2010. Right or wrong, LePage’s style of governing (and those that went along with it), cast a bad light on the 125th – which is not to say I agree with everything they worked on – though I do believe Mainers would have been far more receptive to it had more respect and dignity been rendered. A few of the Republicans attempted this approach (Katz most notably comes to mind), but the damage was done. Come back in 2014 with a new nomination for governor for starters.
I know Alexander very well you and you would find it very difficult to find a person that works harder for the state of Maine and its People. The state is very lucky fo have Alex trying to make Maine a better place to live and to iron out our problems. Way to go Alexander. Keep working for Maine and its Citizens as you always have.
Are you sure it is the citizens he is working for or businesses that use Maine’s citizens?
I am sorry but this is so disingenuous. You talk about paying hospitals after you gave health insurance companies the largest premium increase in years taking money out of the pockets of the most vulnerable in Maine. You talk about removing barriers to business without talking about the responsibility of business to pay a living wage so their employees do not have to ask for public assistance to make ends meet. You lost the election because we, the people of Maine, saw that you have no concern for us as workers, as retired citizens, as poverty stricken wage earners, as students, as teachers, need I go on? Point that finger right back at yourself. You are the ones to blame for your losses. No one else.
Two terms of John Baldacci is the reason that Maine is committed to huge debt, the skilled worker departures, increasing health insurance rates, fiscal mismanagment, a bloated hack infested state house, and outrageous public pension liabilities. Baldacci steared the ship of state into the rocks .. even in the boom years of the 2000’s. If it wasn’t for the GOP attaching themselves to the idiotic stem cell research-gay marriage-abortion crowd .. senible voters would have tuned him out or damanded a empeachment.
Let’s see which finger pointing shall I take on? How about the unfunded state pension liability. Point that one at McKernan. And try this on for size regarding health insurance rates:
Like many other states, Anthem Health Plans hold a monopoly on the
individual insurance market in Maine, controlling 79% of all the plans.
Also like many other states, they are licensed to sell insurance
through the Department of Insurance, who must clear all rate increases
prior to implementation. Originally, Anthem Health Plans were a
nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield corporation licensed to practice in
Maine since 1939. In 1999, Anthem bought the business and began to
operate it as a for-profit company. Since that point, Anthem has raised
premium rates 10 times, and 8 of those times have been double-digit
rate increases.
Jan-99: 20.4%
Nov-99: 15.7%
Jan-01: 23.5%
Feb-02: 12.7%
Jan-03: 3.4%
Mar-05: 14.5%
Mar-06: 16.3%
Jan-07: 16.7%
Jul-07: 1.3%
Jan-08: 12.5%
The average individual Maine rate-payer is paying four times as much for insurance than they did ten years ago.
Yes, McKernan, the sparkle of Sen’s Snowe eye and bedroom, who is also being investigated for an education scam. So, who did Republicans keep sending off to the senate.. yup -, the one and the same. RINO deceptions again trumps principle. But now Gothgirl is gone.. Long live the corrupt hag.
Baldacci had 8 years to fix the unfunded pension liability.. he didn’t .. and with RINO Sen. Rosen at the Republican helm.. they were able to keep this one locked away from public view. And who did republicans keep sending back to the powerful committee slot… yup.. him truely..and now he’s gone. Long live the corrupt cad.
As for health insurance.. there was a reason that BC/BS sold the francaise.. health care is unprofitable in Maine due to the crass nature of the scamming population that would rather have their drugs, concerts, tattoos, iphones and ipod, ATV’s and RV’S and moose hunting licenses than buy health insurance.. and it’s free if you don’t sign up and the hospitals just nail the cost to the insurance companies of the patients that do. Wait till you see next years increase .. under Obama care. It will be a puker.
Funny how in the last 30 years Republicans had control of the Governor’s Office but attacked workers and the Pension system and see where they ended up in the next election? They don’t have a clue why they lost but when you attack workers and their benefits you won’t win again in another 30 years I hope.
My thoughts are that it does no good to criticize the other party if you want to work together. Plus, Willette can brag about what he considers accomplishments of the last Legislature, but many of us find it offensive that he thinks these were true accomplishments when they hurt so many. Willette would be well advised to sit back and listen so he can learn something.