To the Editor:
I have to respond to the letter from the Highlands Precinct Chair of the Macon County Republican Party in your July 8 publication.
He attacks Democrats for believing that there is a place in our great country for socialist programs — like Social Security and Medicare. He attacks the 65% of Democrats who sympathized with the Palestinians whose homes in Gaza and the West Bank have been systemically destroyed by the Israel military with bombs supplied by the United States. In the process, they have killed over 100,000 men, women and children. Israel continues the slaughter today, even though Trump claims he brought peace to the region in October 2025. That’s not anti-Semitic. That’s believing in the sanctity of human life. I’m actually surprised that it’s only 65% of Democrats who oppose the war crimes being committed by Israel with support from the United States.
Mr. Catlin attacked House Democrats in Congress for not supporting a resolution to honor the life of Charlie Kirk. Although his assassination was a tragedy, his beliefs were not viewed favorably by many. He did not believe in the separation of church and state — even though that is a main tenet of our Constitution. He said he believed in free speech but encouraged college students to report their professors for speaking about ideas they disagreed with.
He said mass killings was the price our society had to pay for the right of everyone to own guns — any type of gun. He believed the United States is a Christian nation, and that “Islam is the sword the left is using to slit the throat of America.” He supported Israel but believed American “Jewish donors have been the number one funding mechanism of radical open border, neoliberal, quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and non-profits.” And he was anti-LGBTQ. It was unfortunate he was killed, but he was not an American hero to most.
Instead of attacking Democrats, Mr. Catlin should take a closer look at what his party has become under President Trump. Trump began his term pardoning those people who stormed the Capitol in 2021, at his urging, in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power to Joe Biden. That’s something that has never happened in our history. He’s rolled back environmental laws that protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, damaging people’s lives. His Big Beautiful Bill has caused millions to lose their health insurance and SNAP benefits in order to pay for his tax breaks, which gave the wealthiest 10% of the population 90% of the tax savings.
He has tried to erase our history by eliminating any information that reflects badly on us as a people in our national parks and government websites. As if not talking about slavery, Jim Crow laws or the Japanese internment camps will make them go away. He has disavowed climate change even though the world is getting hotter every year, bringing droughts, floods, extreme heat, tornadoes and hurricanes. To this end, he has canceled all renewable energy projects and is doing everything he can to increase the use of fossil fuels, including coal, all of which are driving climate change.
He appointed a vaccine skeptic, Robert Kennedy Jr., a lawyer, as the head of Health and Human Services, who recently cut funding for contraception for the poor. He appointed the former head of World Wrestling Entertainment to lead the Education Department with the express purpose of dismantling it. His Department of the Interior’s new policy has significantly weakened protections for 1,700 threatened and endangered species from extinction by rolling back protections for their habitats.
Trump has weaponized DOJ and the FBI to go after anyone who criticizes him. He’s cut funding for cancer research. He pardons convicted felons who have donated millions to his campaign fund, while canceling the restitution they owe their victims. He bulldozed the East Wing of White House without authority. He attacked Iran, killing thousands and driving up gas prices all over the world even though he eliminated Iran’s nuclear threat last summer.
But Mr. Catlin III doesn’t want to talk about any of that. He just wants to label Democrats socialists, or even worse, communists to scare people while his party is making Americans poorer and less healthy each passing day. Let’s hope the American public is smarter than that and will vote in candidates this November who will put a stop to Trump’s madness.
P.S. Graham Platner is no longer a candidate for the Senate in Maine. The Democratic Party, unlike the Republican Party, doesn’t tolerate sexual predators.
Steven Berner
Franklin