Blue States – Out of Touch

Maine’s Democrats are emblematic of what is wrong with “blue state America” – out-of-touch governors and legislators who play shell games with money, spend what nobody has on what nobody wants, fail to address the big issues – public safety, oppressive taxes, a broken education system. The jig, however, is about up.

Maine’s “progressive” Democrat leadership embodies what Trump, many Republicans, “unaffiliated” and moderate Democrats disdain –arrogance, how power corrupts. But light … may be coming.

Over the past 30 years, Maine’s Democratic party – like many other blue states – has lost its compass, drifted away from the dock caught in the national leftist current, indifferent to real-life issues – how drug traffickers and organized crime, overspending, overtaxing, and forsaking kids – hurts those they serve.

Examples would fill a book but suffice to say “the bell tolls” for these Democrats – who for too long have glibly operated with one-party dominance, unaccountable, twisting rules, hollowed out their states.

A bird’s eye shows failure after failure in the state’s capital, Augusta, under a Democrat governor, senate, house, attorney general, and secretary of state – core functions eroding. But the public is waking up.

Here is a beautiful state – like other mismanaged blue states – that should be thriving, safe for citizens, respectful of citizens, and free of organized crime and drug traffickers. It should have a modest budget, modest taxes, low-income taxes, and less regulation – inviting businesses into the state and incentivizing our kids to stay.

Like other states – and Maine’s history – kids should be a major focus, their safety, confidence, job prospects, and education, equipping them to be strong mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. That is the Maine I grew up in. That is the America most of us grew up in.

But what do we have? The exact opposite – a betrayal of public trust by those in charge, presenting leftist ideology as truth, even as the numbers – across the board – prove failure, heartbreaking failures.

Is the word deception too strong? Deflection, misrepresentation, or misstatement of fact to misdirect the public away from the tragedies? Average people often do not know why their lives are so different, fear now on the streets, for their kids, days about economic survival, and the promise of a good public education broken.

Let’s lay it on the line. One-party-dominated Democrat states – like Maine – concentrate power. They abuse power, no checks.  What has that meant in Maine? On public safety – my life’s focus – they have gone from a handful of overdoses to 10,000 last year. Maine loses 40 to 70 kids a month. Organized crime is dividing up the state, ravaging towns from south to north.

Why? Maine Democrats have lost the con and traded deterrence for appeasement. In a dozen ways, they have delegitimized and demoralized law enforcement at all levels – local, state, and federal. Officer recruiting, retention, and morale are in free fall. Instead of honoring their sacrifices, they are punished for doing right.

While resuscitating overdose victims is vital, a second chance – is not treatment. This governor hands out 20,000 units of Narcan a month, calls it a day. The state is overrun by Dominican, Mexican, and Chinese traffickers, drive-by shootings now occurring.

Bluntly, this is not how Maine was or should be.  Public safety must be restored, and maintained – and would be under a governor and attorney general who understood, came to grips with the failures, and cared. Effective treatment for all who need it, not harm reduction but genuine recovery, “get well, stay well” – is needed.

On spending, the Democrat head fake – more always needed – is too much. Mainers know it. It is no longer credible. Seven years ago, Maine’s budget was 6.8 billion dollars. The Democrat governor just dropped a budget of 11.6 billion. Has Maine suddenly doubled in size? Hardly.

Worse, in a state with a per capita income of $42,000, already top taxed in property, near the top in other areas, who pays the bill when taxes double? Now, the state faces a half-billion-dollar deficit. Democrat answer? Regressive taxes on fishing, hunting, cigarettes, and kids’ Disney and Netflix programs. Really? To fund wind farm fantasies, solar panels to the horizon, and housing for thousands of illegal aliens. It makes no sense.

Maybe the worst is how Democrats put Maine’s education system in reverse, tragic. Here is a state that – in my youth and up to the early 2000s was top five in the country. Now, it sits at 49 of 50. Why? Democrats lost focus, and prioritized ideology, genderism, political activism, critical thinking, diversity of ideas, and family.

No more than four years of math and science, classics, writing to a high standard, languages, shop, and history.

Life is often simple: If you replace what works with what does not, you slide. They took a state from humming, educating leaders, workers, writers, tradesmen, and women, confident – to the opposite, ran us into the ditch.

Even Maine teachers suffer low morale. Any wonder? The top eight education union staff pull down $250,000 a pop, money taken from Maine teachers who start at $40,000. We could have 50 new teachers for that money.

Maine represents what is happening around the country – from California to New York, Democrat-controlled states taking advantage of people. As Trump returns common sense to the nation, we need it at the state level.  As people realize how they have been misused, “common sense” should return. It cannot happen fast enough. 

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).