Dear Editor:

What is it with Republicans and democracy?

Our governor intends to go to Washington, D.C. next week to urge the White House to rescind the National Monument designation for our our future Katahdin Woods and Waters National Park; failing that, he wants to push Congress to change the 111-year-old Antiquities Act, to require local and state approval for future designations.

The majority of Mainers support preserving the 87,000-acre tract, donated to the National Parks System by Roxanne Quinby, who added a gift of $40 million for its maintenance. Evidence of the economic benefits to the depressed Millinocket region is already accumulating, from real estate values to restaurants and retail shops to hunting and fishing guide services.

Like his opposition to the 3 percent income tax surcharge on wealthy households to support public education in Maine, Paul LePage is ignoring the will of the people and pursuing his ideological agenda of benefiting the rich, regardless of the damage it does to our state. His fellow Republicans, Susan Collins and Bruce Poliquin, are too timorous to challenge this right-wing orthodoxy; neither will speak out against his malicious and gratuitous trip to the capital.

Let the governor know that you support a second national park in Maine by calling (207) 287-3531. Inform Collins (202) 224-2535 and Poliquin (202) 225-6306, as well. A final call to NPS Acting Director Michael T. Reynolds would also be in order: (202) 208-6843.

Bill Hammond

Trevett