Westbrook, MAINE - In case you missed it, Mainers across the 2nd Congressional District are not happy with Congressman Bruce Poliquin, taking to the opinion pages of their local papers to express their disapproval of his votes to: 

  • gut Medicaid and repeal the Affordable Care Act;
  • weaken financial protections;
  • give huge tax breaks to the wealthy instead of prioritizing middle-class Mainers;
  • take campaign donations from big dollar donors and PACs; and
  • hide from his constituents by refusing to answer questions or hold town halls.

Below is a sampling of recent letters to the editors:

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Lewiston Sun Journal: Tax Breaks Go to the Big Guys - 3/27/18

“My congressman, Bruce Poliquin, is always talking about wanting to help small business owners. What my small business in rural Maine needs is customers, not tax breaks. Few small businesses, such as mine, pay much in corporate taxes because we are making very little in profit. Almost everything goes back into the business. The biggest, wealthiest corporations will benefit most from the cut in the corporate tax rate. Tax breaks for my massive competitors just ships Mainers’ money to Wall Street or overseas.

“Public investments in health care, education and affordable renewable energy will help strengthen rural communities and support a sustainable customer base who can then utilize my small business.”

 

Bangor Daily News: Poliquin’s Wealthy Sponsors - 3/26/18

“...only 1 percent of his campaign funds are from small, individual contributions of less than $200 dollars, or $21,662. This speaks volumes about the connection he has with his voters he supposedly represents. Most shocking however, is the fact that 50 percent of his contributions are from large individual contributions, and $700,000 from special interests like credit card companies, banks and insurance companies. The National Rifle Association has spent $201,398 on his behalf.

Poliquin has showed his true colors with the money he chooses to take, but also his vote for the House version of the Trump tax bill, which the Senate amended. The bill would have counted waived tuition for graduate students as taxable income, eliminated the student loan interest deduction and altered the American Opportunity tax credit.

As a prospective university student trying to find a way to pay for my tuition, this terrifies me. How am I supposed to get ahead in this country if politicians like Poliquin are making the very idea of a higher education soul-crushing?

 

Lewiston Sun Journal: Vote Poliquin Out of Office - 3/22/18

“Bruce Poliquin usually lays lower than low (recall his infamous duck toward a ladies’ bathroom), while quietly voting to immiserate our neighbors and enrich his Wall Street friends. This feel-good bill, endorsing female representation on small currency, seems designed to provide him with political cover while he continues to betray the material interests of so many living women and girls.

“I support those who support us — we, the people. Together we, the people, can vote Poliquin out of office in November.”

 

Bangor Daily News: Poliquin’s Health Care Vote - 3/17/18

“My family, friends and I will remember, in November, who voted to take our health care away. Out of Maine’s four representatives to Congress, only Rep. Bruce Poliquin voted to take our health care away. I want to urge my fellow Mainers in the 2nd Congressional District to remember that come November.”

 

Ellsworth American: We Must Demand Change on Guns - 3/16/18

“Vote for candidates who clearly care more about your children than they care about the gun lobby. Are you listening, Bruce Poliquin, recipient of the highest rating from the NRA?”

 

Kennebec Journal: Politicians Should Return NRA Blood Money - 3/7/18

“Every candidate who takes NRA money is receiving the very worst kind of blood money, and now we know how to price it. If they have any honor, Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Bruce Poliquin would declare immediately and publicly that they will not accept one more penny from the NRA and that they will return any funds in their campaign coffers that came from that source.

“If they do not, every voter will know exactly how little their honor is worth, and how much they will accept for a murdered schoolchild.”

 

Bangor Daily News: NRA’s Deep Pockets - 3/5/18

“To say that Rep. Bruce Poliquin has only received $16,800 from the NRA in his career…is a false equivalency and adds yet another ‘alternative fact’ in the support of partisan agendas to our national debate. In fact, the NRA spent at least $55 million to influence the 2016 election and spent $175,400 to re-elect Poliquin.”

 

Portland Press Herald: Poliquin Has Backed Bills That Hurt Seniors, Help NRA - 3/4/18

“If you believe that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are programs that need to be expanded, I want to tell you that Rep. Bruce Poliquin voted in favor of the Republican tax bill, Public Law No. 115-97.

“This plan will give trillions in tax breaks to wealthy Americans (like himself) and big corporations and will automatically trigger $25 billion in cuts to Medicare annually. Over 300,000 Maine seniors access health care through Medicare. That is nearly a quarter of our state’s population, and Rep. Poliquin voted to cut their health care so he could get a tax break.”

 

CentralMaine.com: Keep a Close Eye on Rep. Poliquin - 3/3/18

“...did you notice that Rep. Bruce Poliquin had no problem stuffing his own pockets and he hardly got any blame at all? The tax cuts he supported are spending increases, just out of another pocket. These were designed to give huge gifts to the richest 1 percent — a group that includes him and most of Congress.

“From now until November, keep your eyes open. Watch how much Poliquin says we must cut spending to reduce the deficit. And while you’re at it, look at your pay stub to see if FICA taxes are withheld from your pay each payday. Register to vote, and when you go to the polls, remember that you can’t trust your future to a hedge fund manager. He’ll always make out much better than you.”

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