Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
Candidates listed in alphabetical order. Interviews conducted in person.
On the Economy:
Frary: “I’d say the first thing is for the government to attempt to establish a clear pattern of what to expect. That unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere out of it except to pass some smelly, stinking bill to restore confidence in the banking system, which is going to cost money. And there’s a lot of speculation about how much they are going to get back. . All the mortgages they buy up are attached to properties, which the government then at some point should sell off. One can only hope the Treasury Department will do a competent job selling them off for maximum profit, but it still leaves the taxpayers with a heavy bill to pay. … I support it [the bailout] with the utmost reluctance and disgust.”
Michaud: “I think we already are in a recession, and it hopefully will be able to turn around before it gets worse. If you look at, in Maine, ever since NAFTA, [Maine] lost over 23 percent of our manufacturing base alone, because of failed trade policies. So we have to make sure that whatever we do in Congress doesn’t affect us negatively here in Maine and … other states. … I introduced legislation … [that] looks at our manufacturing, our natural resources – we have agriculture, fishing – and education. Education is part of the bill because I realize if we’re going to move this country forward, we’re going to have to have a workforce. A workforce that’s educated. And if not it – tend to what the needs of the economy, at least have the ability to retool the workers, so there’s actually an education component to the legislation. … We definitely need more regulations in the industry. We have to look at how the corporations are running as far as some sort of corporate governance.”
On Education:
Frary: “I think they should use more of their endowment for scholarships. I think the issue is college education. They’ll have to make up their mind about whether they want to finance more and more research. … There was a time when my institution decided to change the textbook [for a class I was teaching]. … That meant millions of dollars in textbook sales for a textbook that went for $75 each. So I was under siege by booksellers to get my approval for their textbook. … They came and they gave me their pitch. … Do you know what subject never came up? Cost. … The university and the faculty have to start thinking seriously about reducing costs themselves and not passing them on to the taxpayer or the student. … There is no credible connection to expenses and results.”
Michaud: “I think it’s outrageous that federal aid has been decreasing. When I look at where we’re heading as a nation, we definitely have to build infrastructure and that’s not only bricks and mortar; it’s our educational infrastructure as well – making sure that our future generation has the tools that they need to lead this country forward. … I think it’s very important that we make education affordable and that anyone who wants to forward their education, they have the opportunity to do that. I don’t want a country where the only ones that can afford an education are those that have the resources to afford it. So we have to do everything we can to make education affordable throughout the country.”
On Energy:
Frary: “We will be spending money on oil – period – as far as anybody can see at the present time. Now this could be foreign oil, which will enable Arabs to build indoor ski slopes in the desert, or it can be American oil, which the government will be in the happy position of taxing. Now, if they want to divert some of that to subsidizing alternative energy, they’ll probably screw it up badly, but there will be some benefit from it. … The rising costs mean we need intensified conservation. I expect to turn my heat down to 64 degrees. Other people will do the same.”
Michaud: “I think that’s one of the reasons why I believe we’re in Iraq today is under the Bush Administration was looking for the oil in Iraq. … We have to look at alternative energies: Off the coast of Maine we have huge potential for wind power that will be extremely beneficial for us here in Maine as far as getting a different alternative energy. Natural gas – I think natural gas is another area; there are some communities in Portland that have pretty much hooked up to natural gas. I think we got to be more aggressive in making sure the pipeline is there so if other communities such as Bangor or Orono we can tap into that potential. Tidal power, solar power, here again, those are the areas of energy that we ought to be more aggressive. On research, I know that the University of Maine [in] Orono is doing a project on wind propellers as well, with Habib, Dr. Habib Dagher, so I think there is a lot of potential. It’s not going to happen overnight; it’s going to take a while to actually deal with it. And drilling for oil domestically is going to have to be part of that solution also.”
On War:
Frary: “The constitution makes the president the commander in chief. Now opinions vary on the competency of President Bush, and they are wholly unfavorable. But, if military history communicates anything it’s this: That one dumb commander is a lot better than 435 bright commanders. We don’t need 435 horseless, hatless Napoleons trying to dictate against the rules of the Constitution, the course of strategy. … Cut off fundings? Never going to happen because nobody can be sure of the consequences of headlong withdrawal, and the Democrats don’t want to be held responsible when they can hold everything that Bush says on record. … Timetables are fine. Like, let’s tell Hezbollah and the Iranians and the rest, ‘just hold your fire a bit, we’ll be out of here by such-and-such a date, then you can really get going.’ The sooner you get out the better. Timetables, that’s a different proposition. Afghanistan, well, it’s a hellhole. That’s a strategy in most places is courseless. Establish a stable government. Hope for a democrat. We’ll see. And build our backwards security forces. And then turn the whole mess over to them. One hopes this will work. I don’t know what the alternative is supposed to be. Pull out and hope for the best.”
Michaud: “I think we ought to let the Iraqi government know that we’re going to be withdrawing our troops from Iraq and they are going to have to take the lead and, actually, that exactly is what is happening now. … Unfortunately when you look at what’s happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iraq was the wrong war, the wrong time and the wrong place. Most Americans and most leaders around the world and I agree that going into Afghanistan was the right move. That’s where Osama Bin Laden was; that’s why we had the attacks on the United States on Sept. 11. Unfortunately the United States diverted it’s attention to Iraq, we took the eye off the ball and Afghanistan now has been more problematic than Iraq, and we’re going to have to focus on how to deal with that. … I think we definitely have to make sure that the Afghan government has the resources and the technology that we can provide them, and there’s definitely the need for more troops as well in Afghanistan.”
Bangor Daily News