2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 12/13/07 Section: Soap Box
Dear People of Maine: Margaret Chase Smith would have a lot to say if she returned to Maine and saw what was going on today. She was a person who saw what had to be done and said what had to be said. She spoke forthrightly about the pressing needs of her day. She made her Declaration of Conscience, which transcended the time she was in and spoke to history and those in the future about what they must do if they saw trouble and felt called to address it.
I am acting on her behalf and in her name and with the courage I believe she would invoke to decry the perilous actions of those who say they are our leaders but who are not leading. She would call to the consciences of all who can step forward to speak to the true interests of the state she loved and to act on its behalf.
Especially since the leaders of our Senate from Maine are now women, I am calling to them and calling upon their consciences, for I do not believe they are doing what they must to change the political situation. Senator Smith put Maine on the map and forever gave us the charge to act upon our consciences.
It is her actions that have emboldened me in my efforts to also call upon Mainers to support my efforts to run for Senate on their behalf - to offer them a campaign that gives us a living reminder of her past actions to bring conscience to the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Why is this so necessary now? Isn't the fact that we have our two senators as women a reminder enough of her fine calling and her noble undertaking? I wish it were enough, but being a woman is not enough. It is necessary to be a person of conscience and character. How can you tell that a someone is a person such as that? You must look at their actions and their willingness to take a stand on principle, not just on passion or political expedience.
In ordinary times, perhaps Senator Collins, who I am running against for Senate, would be a sufficient leader, but these are not ordinary times. Collins has not shown that she will stand alone amongst Republicans to oppose the Bush war policy. Her record is mainly of compliance with the Bush war machine and its financial priorities, which have hurt our economic well-being, not to mention our standing in the world. I have taken such stands in the past, when I ran a race for State Rep. in 2002 to oppose the war, before it was deemed acceptable to make a call against my party.
I am acting on her behalf and in her name and with the courage I believe she would invoke to decry the perilous actions of those who say they are our leaders but who are not leading. She would call to the consciences of all who can step forward to speak to the true interests of the state she loved and to act on its behalf.
Especially since the leaders of our Senate from Maine are now women, I am calling to them and calling upon their consciences, for I do not believe they are doing what they must to change the political situation. Senator Smith put Maine on the map and forever gave us the charge to act upon our consciences.
It is her actions that have emboldened me in my efforts to also call upon Mainers to support my efforts to run for Senate on their behalf - to offer them a campaign that gives us a living reminder of her past actions to bring conscience to the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Why is this so necessary now? Isn't the fact that we have our two senators as women a reminder enough of her fine calling and her noble undertaking? I wish it were enough, but being a woman is not enough. It is necessary to be a person of conscience and character. How can you tell that a someone is a person such as that? You must look at their actions and their willingness to take a stand on principle, not just on passion or political expedience.
In ordinary times, perhaps Senator Collins, who I am running against for Senate, would be a sufficient leader, but these are not ordinary times. Collins has not shown that she will stand alone amongst Republicans to oppose the Bush war policy. Her record is mainly of compliance with the Bush war machine and its financial priorities, which have hurt our economic well-being, not to mention our standing in the world. I have taken such stands in the past, when I ran a race for State Rep. in 2002 to oppose the war, before it was deemed acceptable to make a call against my party.
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