Politics is not a game, even if many “Progressive” Democrats think so. In Maine, one party has ruled for nearly 30 years, distorting reality, not caring about the hardships they impose on average people. Mainers, like Americans in 2024, are tired of manipulation, misrepresentation, and untruth.
Maine’s “Progressive” Democrat today represents the last stand of the lunatic fringe, and what happens, in fact, to a state that assumes the best, looks away, and wakes up to a nightmare.
Half a dozen truths should be recalled by every single Mainer – every American – whether they vote conservative, traditional Democrat, or just take things as they come, comfortably unaffiliated.
First, this Republic was formed to preserve as much liberty as possible for each citizen, consistent with that same exact right existing for every other citizen in the Republic. That was the plan.
What does that really mean? It means we have a “social compact,” going back to the Mayflower Compact, embodied in our Declaration, codified in our Federal and State Constitutions.
It is not theory, it is fact. And the “compact” rests on one idea: Freedom of the individual is assured only by putting limits on government. Said differently, our Founders knew – from experience – that concentrated power, at the federal or state level, is the enemy. It comes at the expense of liberty.
Think about it. If government asserts a right to regulate your speech or target you for your opinions, or if it starts to regulate worship, treat you differently for having faith, or tries to shrink your right to self-protection or to keeping and bearing arms, or say how safe you can be in your home, whether it can be invaded, whether you get a fair trial or not – this is all at the expense of individual liberty.
So, Point One: Government power and individual liberty are a “zero sum game.” The more power government takes, the less individuals have. The less government takes, the more People retain.
That is why the Founders gave us the 10th Amendment, short and sweet: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the People.”
Point Two: Practically speaking, when the government takes more money in taxes, gets in the way of the private sector, spends more and creates debt, puts out mandates, regulates, puts limits on what people and businesses can do with their property, says what they have to do, that steals freedom.
Point Three: The Government does not make anything. It can contract for things to be made. It can mandate things be done or not done, but it produces zero wealth, nothing. All the things around you now – look around – were MADE by businesses, by people who risked, worked, invested, and created.
Why does that matter? Because every dollar taken from The People in taxes, by regulations, by stopping people from creating and doing what the market wants, every job stopped, every barrier raised, hurts Maine, hurts people who must pay more, work harder, keep less of what they earn.
Point Four: Bad decisions – decisions that constantly grow government, concentrate power, take liberties away – are being made by tone-deaf, arrogant, power-hungry, self-absorbed, un-listening legislators and a Democrat governor, attorneys general, and secretaries of state; you hurt people.
What does that mean? It means, if you double the budget in seven years, doubles taxes, in a place already struggling with the highest property, near highest total tax burden, it gets unsustainable.
It means if you cut state police patrols, do not raise funding for patrols in almost 50 years, since 1977, make local law enforcement unaffordable, and then punish them for arresting out of state drug traffickers with kilo loads of fentanyl, heroin, meth, and cocaine, you will see thousands of new overdoses, kids dying at 40 to 70 a month, drive-by shootings, kids and adults addicted.
It means if you concentrate power, turn schools political instead of substantive – as they were in Maine, if you no longer demand real learning, serious effort at language, math, science, history, and “shop” or industrial arts, take those out of the equation, demoralize teachers, education collapses.
Bottom line: This is what has happened in Maine. The radical “Progressive” Democrats have treated politics like their sandbox, a game of one-upmanship, seized power, squeezed out any say for half the state, silenced conservatives, traditional Democrats, unaffiliated voices, and inflicted pain.
So, make no mistake, Maine is in peril. Unconstrained government growth steals personal liberties. It interferes with life until it controls it. It creates anxiety over bills, makes housing, oil, and groceries unaffordable. It imposes suffocating new taxes, mandates, and takes rights, like gun ownership, even as organized crime floods us. This is systemic political failure. That is where Maine is today. It can be reversed, but only if we get people back in charge who truly understand. Politics is not a game.
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).
RBC,
Overall, your article is dead on in describing the reality and trade-offs associated with politics. Something every thinking person should understand and appreciate. The only area where I disagree is that to the professional political class, politics is very much a game. Just not one that happens to benefit the public in most circumstances.
By professional political class, I am of course referring to the elected officials who have spent their entire adult lives, or near to it, being a politician. The folks that have never worked in the private sector and have NO understanding or concern about how anything works in the real world. They are essentially divorced from reality and live in an also alternate reality from the people they claim to represent. To them, they simply adjust their messages, promises and actions in office to the audience they are currently addressing to get a positive response and then, once the event is over, they quickly and conveniently forget everything they committed to do and move on the next event they are scheduled to speak at or the next vote they are scheduled to participate in.
Which is why you can have people like Chuck Schumer and many others, who in front of one audience states they are firmly in support for Israel and against antisemitism, and then can go address your standard, well-choreographed Democrat street rally, for photo op and yet more fund raising purposes, and proudly proclaim they for the Palestinian people of Gaza and their right to support the violent, terrorist extremists in Gaza. Obviously, two completely opposing perspectives, yet the professional political class doesn’t see any problem doing this on a daily basis.
I could offer many more examples involving contradictory stances on illegal immigration, trade policy, tariffs, national defense, spending, etc. but you get the general idea. To the professional political class, it truly is just a game to them and they neither care about the consequences of their actions nor fear any real accountability for the damage they happen to inflict along the way. Given the way a large percentage of the overall population usually votes, which is either by (D) or (R) or the last political ad they saw on TV, getting ousted is only a remote possibility in most cases. To the professional political class, it is just about saying or doing whatever it takes to get the next major campaign donation and getting re-elected yet again for another term. To them, the game is simply about power, influence and self-enrichment.
RBC, concur with you that “Politics is not a game.” Politicians have become so corrupt, they have completely (or conveniently) forgotten that they are a representative of the people who voted them in. Politicians have taken the game to a level that it is now considered a job instead of representation and only think of using this job to enrich their own greed since there is minimal chance of proper law enforcement investigation for this corruption. All one has to do is observe the type of persons that are being elected or appointed to their positions. Overall, it is not only Maine that is in trouble but the entire nation
Perhaps Maine will become East Coast California. I watched it happen there as I am age 70 and FINALLY had to leave MY home a few years ago. I still have family who are really hostages there – ones who can’t just pick up and move to another state. It breaks my heart but I tried for over 30 years until I lost everything. “They” want the entire country to be like California. They also will not ever stop. I pray for everyone working so hard to stop this horrible train-wreck of Democrat destruction of MY country. My sister and I CONSTANTLY say we are glad our parents don’t have to see this constant abomination. They were both very instrumental in winning WWII and politically astute. Thank you for your service and your well-written commentaries. I hope Maine survives.
How convenient it is to forget that the National Highway System was paid for by citizens taxes. All of the scientific advances of the space program – medical and communication were paid for by citizen taxes. And the companies that were contracted by the government to do this work made profits – citizens taxes. Are the billionaires building highways and bridges and water purification plants.? I don’t think so.
Sometimes it seems like Susan Collins is going along with the destruction of Maine. She is a smart person who seems like her primary concern is being re-elected. I hope she is better than that.
Best focused review of what is happening in our political system. Those who rise to serve but see themselves as the focus for service will destroy our country.
I’m against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports too. But if Governor Mills hadn’t challenged Trump, would Maine have even been mentioned in the author’s article? I think not. Republicans used to believe in state’s rights by citing he 10th Amendment. If Maine has been ruled by Democrats for 30 years, so what? I guess that’s what Maine citizens wanted. If they don’t like the governor’s position on transgender athletes, they’ll vote her out. And by the way, Maine is ranked 35 out of 50 states for poverty. Nine of the top ten are deep red states.