Will GOP defy voters on Trump?

We live in a country that celebrates freedom. We can’t turn around without someone is telling us how free we are.

We brag about the concept of one person, one vote. Then we make it difficult for some people to even vote once by eliminating the good old polling places and requiring a photo ID from those who manage to find it and get into the new one.





Sometimes, however, when in spite of all precautions the wrong person wins the election, it is an extenuating circumstance that warrants changing the outcome of any election, such as the Supreme Court’s anointing George W. Bush as president. Or bringing down democratically elected governments in tiny countries.

And now the Republican talking heads on television are telling us that even though Donald Trump crushed all opposition and was chosen by voters to be the standard bearer of the Republican Party, all is not lost. They tell us there might be a way that Republicans in powerful positions who do not like Trump can disregard the wishes of the millions of honest voters in their party who see Trump as our country’s only salvation.

It will be interesting to see if the majority of Republican voters can be brushed aside. In the interim, we certainly will learn more than we want to know about the guts and feathers of the curious Republican machine that would make it possible.

Robert Skoglund

St. George

Register Libertarian

If just 280 more Mainers register as members of the Libertarian Party, we will have Gary Johnson and Bill Weld on the Maine ballot for president and vice president in November. A national campaign is working to get them on the ballot in all 50 states. They are serious and viable candidates, bringing real hope for positive change.

Johnson, a popular and effective former governor of New Mexico, and Bill Weld, a popular and effective former governor of Massachusetts, are honest, competent, moderate and, above all, independent of the big money that has taken over the Democratic and the Republican parties. The Johnson and Weld ticket is a wonderful alternative to the disaster that our two-party oligopoly has given us. Not only are Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton bad options, but a victory by either will bring us four awful years of division and acrimony. Johnson and Weld can bring Americans together, as they did in their home states.

The Libertarian Party will be what we make of it. Liberty, equality and opportunity and justice for all are its key principles. Moderation, mutual respect, honest dialogue and solidarity are the path for the American people to regain control of our country.

This is an opportunity that we must seize. Registering as Libertarian is easy — just a short visit to the voter registry at the town office or download the registration form at lpme.org and mail it. Remember the deadline for getting Johnson and Weld on the November ballot is July 12.

Joe Steinberger

Rockland

Let states decide on GMOs

When people go grocery shopping, do they ever check labels to find out the sugar and sodium content of the food, whether it has fiber, the calories in it, if it’s low fat or kosher? Very often we base our choice of a particular item on what is or is not in it. We are concerned about what we put in our bodies.

Maine, Vermont and Connecticut have passed laws that would require GMO labeling. But Sens. Pat Roberts of Kansas and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan struck a deal with a bill that would take power away from states to pass laws to require GMO labeling and implement a national labeling system for GMOs.

They want to take away people’s right to know what is in their food and make informed choices about what they put on their table.

U.S. companies that sell their food products in other countries have no problem complying with the GMO labeling requirements of other countries. Why is there such an objection to them doing the same for us?

Several European countries have outright bans on even growing GMO crops. Why is that?

Contact Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins immediately. The bill comes up for a vote in the Senate soon after the July 4 recess. Tell the senators to defeat the Roberts and Stabenow bill. Tell them to preserve people’s right to know what is in their food.

Kenneth Horn

Hermon

No gun-free zones

To eliminate some gun-free areas, which draw mass murderers, Florida should consider changing the concealed firearm law to allow permit holders who are designated drivers or who go to dance but refrain from drinking to carry a concealed firearm into bars or nightclubs.

Paul Bouchard

Orrington

Americans need bigger share of wealth

I voted for Barack Obama for president. When he took his kids out of public school and put them in private school, I knew the fix was in. When Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell blocked Obama’s programs, I knew he was in a world of hurt.

Now Obama is on his way out, and Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are competing for the presidency. Trump is another Archie Bunker, so white males will vote for him. But Trump has lost the Hispanic, black, female and gay vote.

So let’s see what Clinton does.

She needs to propose constitutional amendments to limit our country’s debt and limit senators to one term of eight years. But she won’t.

So let’s hope she helps the people get a little more money in their wallets. But she won’t.

Anyway, we have the best government money can buy. But don’t look for any changes that will make our lives more prosperous. As the saying goes, “Oh, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” Unless the average American gets a bigger share of the wealth, our democracy will fail.

Paul Shanley

Old Town