By Jon Fetherston
Here is a nickel’s worth of free advice for every Republican running for office in Maine: Stop campaigning like Democrats deserve the benefit of the doubt.
They do not.
Every Republican candidate should spend the rest of this election reminding working Mainers exactly who fought to let them keep more of their own money—and who stood in the way.
Talk directly to bartenders, waitresses, barbers, hairdressers, hotel employees, delivery drivers and every other Mainer who depends on tips to pay the bills. Remind them that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans delivered a new federal income-tax deduction for qualified tips.
Then remind them that Gov. Janet Mills and Democratic leaders in Augusta did not want Maine to provide the same break on state income taxes.
That should be written on campaign literature, printed on signs, repeated at every debate and included in every advertisement.
Democrats love to claim they represent working people. Their record says otherwise.
They will happily pose for photographs in diners, shake hands at fairs and talk about the dignity of work. But when they had the opportunity to let tipped employees keep more of the money they earned, they chose Augusta’s spending machine instead.
Republicans should make sure every tipped worker understands that.
When you pay a restaurant bill or close out a bar tab, leave a respectful note with the tip: Republicans fought to let you keep more of what you earn. Janet Mills and Augusta Democrats fought to tax it.
Do the same with overtime.
Talk to police officers, firefighters, corrections officers, public works employees, nurses, emergency responders, factory workers, truck drivers, construction laborers, warehouse employees and shipbuilders.
These are the people who answer the phone when everyone else is asleep. They work nights, weekends, holidays and double shifts. They miss family dinners, birthday parties and school events because someone has to keep the state operating.
Trump and Republicans enacted a federal deduction for qualified overtime compensation.
Mills and Democratic leaders again resisted extending that relief to Maine taxes.
Republican candidates should stand outside factories, distribution centers, mills, hospitals, public works garages and shipyards during shift changes and make the message impossible to miss:
You worked the overtime. Democrats wanted the taxes.
That is the campaign.
Stop allowing Democrats to hide behind vague slogans about fairness, compassion and protecting the middle class. Ask them a direct question: If you care so much about working people, why did you oppose letting them keep more of the money they earned?
There is no good answer.
Republicans should also speak directly to Maine seniors.
Older Mainers are being crushed by property taxes, heating costs, grocery bills, insurance premiums and prescription expenses. Many are living on fixed incomes while Augusta continues spending as though taxpayers have unlimited money.
The federal law created an additional income-tax deduction for qualifying seniors. It was not a direct property-tax exemption, but it could leave eligible older Mainers with more money available to remain in their homes and cover rising household expenses.
Mills and Democratic leaders did not view that relief as a priority.
Remember that the next time Democrats claim they are protecting senior citizens.
They protect government first.
They protect new programs, larger budgets, political allies and the bureaucracy that keeps them in power. The taxpayer comes last. The worker comes last. The senior citizen trying to remain in a longtime family home comes last.
Republican candidates must stop treating this as a minor policy disagreement. It reveals the central difference between the two parties.
Republicans believe the person who earned the money should keep more of it.
Democrats believe Augusta has the first claim on every paycheck.
That is why every campaign message should return to the same question: When Maine Democrats had the chance to provide state tax relief for tipped workers, overtime earners and seniors, whose side did they choose?
They chose government.
The same Democrats who made that choice are now asking Mainers to hand them power again in November. They will knock on doors and pretend they understand the pressure families are facing. They will blame Washington, corporations, landlords, oil companies and anyone else they can find.
Do not let them escape their own record.
Ask every Democratic candidate whether they support taxing overtime at the state level.
Ask whether they believe Augusta needs a waitress’s money more than the waitress does.
Ask whether a police officer who accepts an extra overnight shift should be rewarded or punished.
Ask whether a senior citizen struggling to pay a property-tax bill should send more money to Augusta so politicians can spend it.
Force them to answer.
This election should not be fought on Democratic talking points. It should be a daily referendum on the Mills administration, the Democratic Legislature and their belief that government is entitled to more of everything Mainers earn.
Republicans should carry that message everywhere.
Put it on roadside signs near factories and shipyards.
Put it in mailers sent to senior citizens.
Put it in digital advertisements aimed at tipped employees and overtime workers.
Put it in every speech, debate and interview.
Do not say it once and move on. Say it every day until Election Day.
Democrats had power.
They had a choice.
They could stand with workers and seniors, or they could stand with Augusta’s appetite for more money.
They chose Augusta.
Now Maine voters should choose someone else.
