On Wednesday, Mainers, like all Americans, awoke to a political landscape significantly different than what had existed the previous day. But unlike many Americans, Mainers were largely spectators to the tectonic shifts in the political landscape.And in many ways, that bodes well for Maine. The call to “throw the bums out,” went unheeded in Vacationland because Maine has a scarcity of bums. Large-scale corruption, moral depravity, hypocrisy and blind allegiance to the politics of fear and loathing are things that seem to happen elsewhere. While there are Mainers on both sides of the aisle who may disagree, most do not. We are proud of our Republican senators, both of whom seem to understand they are in office to serve their constituents and this understanding served them well as insulation against a tide of disgust.
    In local races, incumbents also fared well.
    This should serve as a comforting reminder that while Maine has its problems and many theories on how those problems ought to be addressed, it is not all doom and gloom. This observation is reinforced by Mainer’s wise decision to reject the so-called “Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.” While TABOR’s critics may say it was the politics of fear that killed the referendum, there is a more hopeful interpretation: that Maine retains a fundamental faith in the system as it exists and it is through that system that we can and will address the issues of inequitable and inefficient taxation.
    Perhaps Maine’s insulation from charges of corruption and avarice is the very personal relationship citizens have with their government and elected officials. In many states, politicians aren’t so much elected as hired. They manage their citizen’s money with little curiosity on the part of those citizens about what happens after they leave the polls.
    Mainers may be skeptical of their elected officials, but they are not cynical about their government.
    Many of the politicians we are sending to Augusta campaigned against TABOR. They promised there are better ways to reform our tax codes. People in South Portland and Cape Elizabeth seemed to agree, but many remain skeptical. It is imperative that our representatives do not let us down, or else that skepticism may turn into cynicism.                      –Ward Peck