Maine Campus Media would like to recognize a fantastic new addition to our team, photography contributor Mackenzie White. 

Mac is a second-year electrical engineering technology student at the University of Maine, from York, ME. This is Mac’s first semester working as a photographer for the Maine Campus and has already exceeded our expectations. 

“From the first week he has gone above and beyond in his assignments and valued communication, collaboration and understanding along the way,” Olivia Schanck, photography editor for Maine Campus Media said. “He has stepped up when needed at the last minute and has been a truly skilled photographer.” 

Beyond UMaine, Mac hopes to pursue a career in renewable energy. In his free time he enjoys snowboarding and his favorite place on campus is the Stillwater River. 

Thank you Mac for joining our team and the great work you continue to produce for Maine Campus Media! 

Maine Campus Media would like to recognize the work of one of our excellent copy editors, Emmit Loguidice. 

Emmit is a second-year at the University of Maine, from Belvidere, NJ. They have been a copy editor for Maine Campus since the fall 2022 semester. They have shown up to production every week ready to edit many articles, and have repeatedly stepped up when we were short staffed. 

Emmit currently studies animal science with a minor in zoology. One day they wish to be a wildlife photographer, but ultimately they hope to have any employment that involves animals. Their absolute favorite animal is chickens. 

In their free time, Emmit enjoys drawing. Their favorite location on the UMaine campus is the Littlefield Ornamentals Trial Garden. 

Thank you Emmit for all the work you do for Maine Campus Media! 

The Red Wave that never was 

On Nov. 8, many of us expected a red wave in the election. The reality showed a different outcome with the Republicans expected to narrowly take the House and Democrats retaining the Senate. Why? I suspect that there are three reasons. These start with abortion being a bigger issue than anticipated and the level of quality of candidates in this election. This could also be because former President Donald Trump is the image of the Republican Party. 

Firstly, abortion is an issue that will need to be addressed by the GOP moving forward as the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case’s decision harmed the Republican Party in key areas. There are a couple of stances the Republican Party can take surrounding abortion moving forward. One option is to be completely against abortion at any stage of gestation.  The second option is to allow abortion up to 15 weeks as observed in several states such as Virginia. The third option would require more government spending. We could give families tax breaks for having children, as well as expanding sexual education and access to contraception. The Republican Party will need to find an effective approach through ideological moderation or face the same problem until Dobbs gets overturned. 

Another major issue is Trump.When thinking of the Republican Party, people jump to the thought of Trump immediately. I personally experienced this and for full disclosure, Trump should not be the nominee in 2024. Moving forward, the GOP should move beyond him, as his image has become hypertoxic to the party and shies away from actual policy. Instead, the presidential race becomes a bullying game and a popularity contest. There are others who can take the helm of the party. Some names include Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence, Tim Scott and so many more. If primary voters do not dump Trump, he is likely to face another general election loss to Biden or whoever the Democrats nominate. 

Finally, candidate quality nationwide is an issue seen from this most recent election. This is seen through the likes of Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, a far-right election denier who did not resonate at all with voters. Another is J.R. Majewski in Ohio’s 9th district, a QAnon proponent and Jan. 6 rally participant. Finally, there was Dan Cox in Maryland, who praised Trump while Jan. 6 happened and resonated with far-right presences in his state. Maryland notably elected Larry Hogan, a middle-of-the-road moderate in 2014 and 2018. Mastraiano, Majewski and Cox had one thing similar besides their views: their endorsement of Trump, who changed the course of the primaries by picking unelectable candidates. Finally, there was Kari Lake of Arizona, who dissed McCain Republicans within the state and promoted Trump’s ideals. This resonated in a state Trump lost very narrowly in 2020. Ultimately, the voters said no to Lake in favor of Democrat Katie Hobbs. 

Republicans lost the opportunity to go against Biden’s agenda this year. Let us not make the same mistake in 2024, which will require reform of the entire Republican Party. If serious reform does not happen, Trump as the nominee will only mean a Biden reelection victory in 2024.   

By Ilaria Bardini, freelance contributor

On the evening of Nov. 7, members of the University of Maine College Democrats and the Maine Peace Action Committee (MPAC) gathered at the Steam Plant Parking lot. The members’ goal was to decorate a 1946 Greyhound bus proudly driven by Sonja Birthisel, a member of the Orono Town Council and director of the Wilson Center.

With craft materials and speakers blasting music in hand, the group went to work covering the bus with phrases promoting the upcoming election.

Pictured: Sonja Birthisel begins work on the bus decoration process, hoping that she can encourage more students to engage in the voting process with the help of the bedazzled bus.

Birthisel, the organizer of the Get Out the Vote Bus (GOTVB), first came to Orono in 2011 to pursue her master’s degree and has been here ever since. She has become increasingly involved with the community by putting on programs at the Wilson Center, participating as a member of the Orono Town Council and engaging with UMaine student groups.

“I’m feeling happy and like I’m part of a wonderful community effort,” Birthisel said.

The thought process behind the GOTVB was not only to create a mobile reminder to vote but also to encourage community engagement.

“Voting is important because we rarely have the channel and means to change the lives of others and ourselves,” said Meredyth Waters, the vice president of the UMaine Democrats and treasurer of MPAC.

Waters explained that college students may be hesitant to engage in the voting process because they may feel like these issues do not impact them.

“With the startling rise in brash attacks on both our democracy and the rights of many groups in our community, it has never been more important to vote to protect what matters. While voting is only one facet of civic participation, it’s one too simple to fail to do,” added Nick Tiner, the president of the UMaine College Democrats.

It is a well-known fact that there is strength in numbers and collaboration is an integral aspect of maintaining democracy. However, with the sometimes scary and serious nature of the issues that are currently being discussed in politics, the need for a more lighthearted take on community action is needed.

Members of the Maine Peace Action Committee and College Democrats joined Sonja to decorate the bus. They were joined by Mike Tipping, candidate for senate, and his two kids.

“Decorating the vote bus was a joy. It is wonderful that great community leaders like Sonja work to provide an important resource for folks and have fun while doing it. I hope people were able to enjoy riding the bus as much as I did decorating it,” Tiner said.

Birthisel additionally highlighted the sheer extent of the community engagement that night.

“One of the candidates for office, Mike Tipping, stopped by and brought his kids, so it is a really wonderful group of folks coming together to promote democracy in our town tomorrow,” Birthisel said.

By Caty DuDevoir and Grace Blanchard

The faculty senate held a meeting tonight where they chose to table the motion that would recommend reinstalling classes on the last Wednesday in April — officially known as Maine Day.

Over 50 students gathered in the Wells Conference Center to vocalize what Maine Day means to them, as well as their disappointment in the administration’s lack of transparency.

The faculty senate has been discussing this since Sept. 14, after it was brought to their attention by the administration.

According to Nuri Emanetoglu, an associate professor of electrical & computer engineering and member of Faculty Senate, the administration told the Faculty Senate that they would be canceling and rebranding Maine Day regardless of the decision reached at the meeting on Wednesday.

“They asked us for support and the motion that we are discussing is whether or not we are supporting this or not. The students seem to have the impression that the Faculty Senate on its own is trying to cancel Maine Day,” Emanetoglu said.

President Joan Ferrini-Mundy quickly defended her administration’s intentions that public safety is their ultimate concern and their goal was not to cancel Maine Day.

After considering the students’ voices, Ferrini-Mundy decided to form a task force with people passionate about finding a solution to the public safety interests expressed by the administration.

Multiple students vocalized their worries about the lack of transparency from the administration to the faculty and students regarding Maine Day.

“The lack of transparency around the discussions on canceling Maine Day is ridiculous and has only compounded issues,” said Jacob Chaplin, the vice president for the Honors Student Advisory Board and student representative for the faculty senate.

Conversations about the rebranding began during the spring of 2022. According to Vice President for Student Life and Inclusive Excellence and Dean of Students at the University of Maine Robert Dana, emergency medical technicians and police officers reached out after receiving roughly 40 medical calls from students partying at the Avenue (Ave) apartment complex.

Dana commissioned a Maine Day committee due to the safety concerns.

Members of this committee consisted of Dana, the Assistant Town Manager for Orono Belle Ryder, the Assistant Dean and Director of Community Life Lauri Sidelko and Lisa Morin, the coordinator for Barbara Higgins Bodwell Center for Service and Volunteerism. They met over the summer to discuss possible alternatives to the University of Maine’s annual tradition.

“I am part of a committee that was commissioned by Vice President Dana to talk about the future of Maine Day,” said Sidelko to several members of the student government on Sept. 6. “Essentially, after the past few years, the situations that have occurred have been significantly negative, have been so significant, the university has decided to take a look at the future of Maine Day.”

At the faculty senate meeting, Sidelko and Ryder mentioned they conducted interviews with EMTs, Orono residents and students to understand the issues surrounding Maine Day.

“I’m aware of the Maine Day committee, as the President of student government is supposed to be a member, but I was not asked to be a part of the conversations over the summer,” Alyssa Ciasullo, the president of UMaine Student Government, said.

Echoing the attitude of many students, Ciasullo expressed her grievances about the lack of transparency and student involvement during the Faculty Senate meeting.

“The way to foster school spirit on campus is not to take away the school’s oldest and favorite tradition in conversations behind closed doors,” Ciausullo said. “My role as student body president is to represent student opinion which has been majorly overlooked, especially in conversations regarding Maine Day.”

Prior to the full faculty senate meeting on Sept. 14, Dana provided Mary Jane “MJ” Sedlock, the president of the faculty senate, with a report containing links to publicly available videos on social media depicting parties at the Ave going as far back as 2018. Sedlock shared the links with the rest of the faculty senate. Sept. 14 was also the first time the faculty senate discussed the administration’s stance about Maine Day.

Maine Day has been a valued tradition of the UMaine community for the past 90 years. It started as a day of service, which was a point raised by many students during the faculty senate meeting. Students also encouraged the faculty senate and administration to recognize the need for harm reduction tactics.

“I have seen the police and EMTs there. I’ve never seen a medical tent set up to provide care for students to safely go to as the day progresses in case they’re worried about their friends,” Ben Parks, a fifth-year student at UMaine, said. “I know there was a barricade setup last year which caused students to have to trek through the woods in swamp-like conditions, which I feel like definitely contributed to the injuries that were presented that day.”

Chaplin questioned the sincerity behind the administration’s safety concerns.

“The basic idea is that they want to cancel Maine Day for ‘safety concerns,’ but that really just means their liability is what they are concerned about,” Chaplin said. “Canceling Maine Day won’t do anything about the party, but it definitely will reduce the amount of service hours done in this community.”

While Chaplin’s opinions are not a reflection of the entirety of the student government, many other students expressed the same sentiment.

According to data from local police departments, Dana stated that there were roughly 3,500 students participating in parties at the Ave.

Multiple students attending the meeting highlighted that Maine Day is not all about partying. The philanthropy services traditionally conducted would be affected detrimentally if classes were made mandatory.

“You are talking about reinstating classes and trying to enforce service days in the winter earlier, and quite simply, that’s not going to work. As somebody who runs several organizations on this campus, you are not going to get the amount of service hours [from] students if we don’t get classes off,” said Nick Turner, the president of the Green Team and College Democrats, to the faculty senate. “I will also say that service hours [is] part of that […] pride in your school, a pride that will probably be lost to some degree if the students feel like they’re getting shafted and losing Maine Day.”

Members of the Faculty Senate also recognized the lack of consideration to student voices.

“I would like to propose that the administration really bring the students in. This place exists, we exist, because of these students that pay the tuition,” Sara Lello said, a lecturer in the department of English and a student success advisor.

Lello was one of the members of the Faculty Senate who encouraged the administration not to reinstate classes on Maine Day.

“We have taken away too much. This is their university, we are all in this together,” Lello said.

Influenced by student presence and voices at the meeting, Ferrini-Mundy decided to dedicate a committee of students, faculty and administrators to find ways to mitigate any harmful activity that could occur on Maine Day.

“I am also very persuaded on how deep and complex the issue is by your conversations today,” Ferrini-Mundy stated.

While the discussion is tabled indefinitely, students concerned about the future of Maine Day or who are interested in being part of the collaborative team should reach out directly to Ferrini-Mundy at umpresident@maine.edu.

The administration plans to have a final decision by the end of the fall semester.

(Developing Story)

According to the New York Times, officials expect around 97% of votes by noon on Wednesday. Full unofficial results are expected by Thursday, but if candidates do not receive a majority in ranked-choice voting races, it could go until the following week.

STATE COVERAGE

Mana Abdi won a seat in the Maine House of Representatives, making her the first Somali-American to serve in the Maine legislature. According to reports from Bangor Daily News, Abdi ran unopposed after Republican candidate Fred Sanborn-Silbers bowed out. She will represent Lewiston for House District 95.

Democratic incumbent Pingree declared victory over Ed Thelander, making this her eighth term in office.

“I know it’s going to be a long night of challenging races across the country, certainly in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, but I’m very excited that I get to know this information this early in the night,” Pingree said to a crowd of supporters in Portland.

Democratic incumbent Mills declares victory over former Gov. Paul Lepage. According to reports from the Portland Press Herald, President Biden called Mills to congratulate her on the win.

Mills was the first female governor elected in Maine and has now secured a second term in office. Lepage, who led the state from 2011 to 2019, has yet to officially concede but told his supporters, “next time.”

NATIONAL COVERAGE: Making history

Maura Healey of Massachusetts was elected the first openly lesbian governor in the U.S.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders defeats Chris Jones in Arkansas governor’s race, making her Arkansas’ first female governor.

Wes Moore of Maryland becomes the state’s first Black governor.

Becca Balint becomes Vermont’s first woman and openly gay representative to be elected to Congress.

Maxwell Frost of Florida becomes the first Gen Z congressman.

POLLING UPDATES

12:32 a.m.

Mike Tipping won the race for Maine State Senate in District 8 with 54% of the vote (7,305).

Nov. 9 at 12:03 a.m.

Democrats and Republicans are currently tied in the Senate race, each having 46 seats. In the House race, Republicans won 184 seats while Democrats have 151.

11:54 p.m.

Mills wins the gubernatorial race with 53.6% of the vote.

11:38 p.m.

Officially, over 50% of votes are in for the governor race and house seats. Mills continues her significant lead with 53.3% (205,116), and LePage maintains 44.8% of the vote (172,469).

Democratic incumbent Golden is holding onto his lead with 48.2% (93,689) of the votes, but Poliquin is not far behind with 44.9% (87,286).

11:19 p.m. Nationally, with 435 House seats up for election, Republicans currently secured 139 of them, while Democrats have won 80 seats so far.

11:05 p.m. 

Almost 50% of the votes are in as 305,022 have been recorded in Maine’s gubernatorial race. Mills is holding the lead with 52.4% while LePage trails behind with 45.8%.

“Right now, the election doesn’t look very well,” LePage said at his campaign HQ in Lewiston.

10:53 p.m.

Pingree wins re-election to Maine’s 1st Congressional District

10:36 p.m.

More than one-third of the votes in Maine have been counted.

10:24 p.m.

With 24% of votes in, U.S. Rep. Pingree is projected to win Maine’s 1st Congressional District. Pingree was the first woman elected to Congress from District 1 in 2008. She has since held her position, defeating Republican Jay Allen in 2020.

In the town of Brewer, Mills and Golden win the majority of the vote.

In the rest of the state, Mills holds 52.2% of the vote with LePage at 45.9%.

Golden leads with 46.9%, putting Poliquin at 46.3% and Bond at 6.8%.

10:12 p.m.

Golden pushes forward with 47.4% of the vote while Poliquin holds 45.7%.

Mills continues with a lead of 52.9%  and LePage has 45.3% of the vote.

A total of 195,963 votes have been reported at this time.

9:44 p.m.

Mills continues to lead with 53.7% of the vote. LePage trails behind with 44.5% and Hunkler with 1.9%.

Poliquin holds 50.3% of the vote, and Golden falls behind with 42.8%

In District 1, Democratic incumbent Chellie Pingree is leading with 64.7% of the votes. Republican candidate Ed Thelander is trailing with 40%.

9:24 p.m.

With 11% of votes counted, Mills leads with 58.5%, and LePage trails behind with 39.7%. Hunkler has 1.9% of the vote.

Poliquin is at 15,005 votes with Golden falling behind with 12,959 votes.

9 p.m.

LePage leads with 54.8% of the votes, while Mills holds 43.1%. Hunkler trails behind with 2.1%. Less than 25% of all votes have been counted.

8:25 p.m.

1,385 votes have been counted. Poliquin leads with 761 votes. Golden trails behind with 540 votes, and Bond has 84 votes.

8 p.m.

Polls are now officially closed. According to Orono town clerk Shelly Crosby, roughly 3,600 people voted in person at the field house.

Photo by Ilaria Bardini

“It’s always a good day to get out and vote. I feel like I’m
doing something,” said Ryan Shetzline, a third-year electrical engineering student.

5:15 p.m.

At least 1,000 Orono residents have voted at the New Balance Field House and Memorial Gym.

Photo by Ilaria Bardini

“I’ve been up super early and the energy is good in the polling
locations. Everyone is here. I’m feeling hopeful and I see a lot of people coming out to vote,” Jordyn Miller, a third-year UMaine student, said.

3 p.m.

Polls in Orono opened at 7 a.m. to the New Balance Field House and Memorial Gym.

As of 1:40 p.m. 235,164 absentee ballots have been returned in Maine. The Independent Voter Project puts the total number of registered voters in Maine at 1,063,383, putting the percentage of voters who have voted by absentee ballot at 22.12%.

Photo by Ilaria Bardini

Sonja Birthisel, member of the Orono Town Council and director of the Wilson Center, drove her 1949 Greyhound bus bedazzled with chalk and car paint on Nov. 8, 2022, to encourage college students to vote.

By Nathan Deveney, freelance contributor

Maine is now approaching its fourth election using ranked choice voting (RCV) for its elections to federal offices. While 82% of Mainers say that they find RCV easy to understand, it doesn’t change the fact that if you are used to other voting systems you might need an explanation of how this system works.

At least 50 jurisdictions have adopted this system in the United States according to the Congressional Research Service.

Here in Maine, our RCV is done using an instant run-off, meaning that we knock out candidates until we have a candidate with a majority of the vote. Here’s how it works: if there is no candidate with a majority of the vote in the first round, then a new round is started removing the candidate with the least votes from the ballot. If your first choice was the candidate who was removed from the ballot then in the next round your ballot will count for your second choice candidate. These knockout rounds continue until a candidate receives 50% +1 of the vote.

Let’s use a Maine sample ballot from the 2020 Presidential Election to more clearly explain:

In 2020 there were a number of third-party candidates running, which makes this election a good one to demonstrate the main goal of RCV, which is to encourage “sincere” voting. Sincere voting is voting for whichever candidate you most align with instead of voting for a party-line candidate to win.

RCV is meant to help combat this by making it so you can vote for a candidate who is unlikely to win and not throw away your vote. For example, if you’re very far left in your political beliefs, you might want to vote for the Green Party candidate, but you also don’t want to throw your vote to someone much more likely to lose in the election. In RCV you can vote for the Green Party more “safely.”

According to the MIT Election Data + Science Lab, RCV in Maine led to a 5-point increase in vote share for non-major party candidates.

RCV was adopted in Maine via a statewide referendum in 2016, making it the first state to adopt the system for federal elections. The initial referendum was for all Maine state-wide elections. However in 2017 the Maine Supreme Court ruled RCV unconstitutional for some Maine elections. So while Mainers have RCV for all federal elections, the offices of State

Senator, State Representative, and Governor are still decided with first past the post elections.

Maine also has same-day registration, which means that even if you have not yet registered to vote, you can still vote. According to data from the Pew Research Center, 51.8% of voting-age citizens went to the polls in the 2018 midterm election, so you should do your part in increasing voter turnout and cast your ballots on Nov. 8.

Where to vote:

Voters registered in Orono will be voting at the New Balance Field House and Memorial Gym. Voters registered in Bangor will be voting at the Cross Insurance Center.

Maine is open to same-day voter registration.

It’s time to vote. No vote, no voice and nothing can be more important than our being willing to use our voice for change, for progress and for good. American youth have a low rate of voting compared to other demographics in the U.S., but you can help change that factoid. It really is VERY important to weigh in when you have a chance, and when election time comes around that is our chance! This year in Maine there is a race for the Governor’s office, a congressional seat and many local candidates and issues. You might feel too busy or too tired or too disinterested to think that your vote matters, but it does.

By voting you affirm your part in our democracy, you reinforce the importance of being involved and you support the most important part of any functioning society: a healthy and participative community. Sure, I get it, there’s a lot of noise and banter that comes around election time and a lot of the issues and races can seem unimportant at first blush. But I promise you once you start exploring the positions these candidates take, the issues being discussed and the downside of losing your voice, it’ll become quickly obvious why your vote counts. You’ll be able to say, with pride, that you’re invested, that you care and that you did your part in your community. That makes us stronger as individuals and stronger as a community. We become part of the solution vs. sticking our head in the sand and turfing that responsibility to someone else.  

In most college students’ lifetimes this has never been a more important time to vote. Recent events like the attack on the U.S. Capital, the COVID–19 pandemic, politics of division and distrust and racial reckoning and global climate change matter in huge ways. As we grow and change as human beings and our society and our campus evolve to be stronger, more inclusive, more welcoming and a safer place, you have every reason to vote. 

Your voice matters. 

Almost every day we hear about hate, incivility and intolerance and that makes this a particularly good time to reaffirm our values of unity, compassion, inclusivity and civility. These values are, for me, unwavering and probably everyone agrees they are good guides for all of us. 

Our commitment to each other as members of caring communities persists. The most productive societies – some might say the North Star of societies – are distinguished by equal access to change-making opportunities and by civilly engaging with difficult issues to make the changes necessary to improve the world we inhabit.  

Your voice matters.

My hope is that these anxiety-provoking times will work to strengthen us and not divide us, to encourage us to find our voices to work toward a healthy democracy where people are dignified, respected and supported. It’s a lot to ask, but it’s within our reach.

Our first step is to own the vote, so whether you vote in-person or by mail let your voice count. You’ll be empowered and you’ll be part of a democracy that needs every one of us at the table.

For more information https://www.campusvoteproject.org/stateguides/Maine  

And, if you live on campus or in Orono you can vote and register to vote on November 8 on campus in the Field House.

Our local hospital, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (NLEMMC) needs the community’s help. There have been recent concerns about the administration’s management of the hospital, in particular the problem of compromising patient safety and short staffing issues. 

NLEMMC is the second largest hospital in the state of Maine and has received money from the CARES Act and the Recovery Act. We, as citizens of Maine, have a right to use that money to demand that patient safety is being met and that staff levels are adequate for proper patient care. 

I have created a petition in an effort to raise the issue to the administration to make them realize what happens when executives refuse to fully staff our hospital. Healthcare workers like Dr. Anne Yered, an intensive care medicine specialist and pediatrics expert, are being pushed out of the hospital, which will inevitably lead to a public health crisis in our community. Dr. Yered raised concerns of patient safety back in 2020 to the CEO and President of Northern Light Health. Shortly thereafter, Yered was without cause required to leave her position at the hospital. 

Dr. Michael Melia, the chief of emergency medicine at NLEMMC, feels that healthcare workers are not being protected due to the overcrowding settings within the hospital. Melia told the Sun Journal that some patients are being abandoned in emergency departments by their families and the state, which has resulted in an increase in violent nature across the department. 

My hope with this petition is to show hospital administration that we are serious about solving this potential crisis. I hope that hospital executives will join with the important stakeholders and conduct round table discussions about ways to improve the situation outlined in the petition. 

As a community we do not want deteriorating care and working conditions to drive healthcare workers to leave NLEMMC and our community. Speaking up now and signing my petition should be a moral obligation for everyone who has ever been treated by the hospital and its healthcare staff. 

This petition is a way of not limiting our influence on healthcare decisions to a merely ephemeral role as citizens voting in an election. Please sign the petition and help us demand transparency in our quest for answers and action.

No party differences: don’t believe it.

Recently, I asked my 19-year-old son if his friends planned to vote in the upcoming election. Some were, he told me, but others dismissed the notion with the argument that both major political parties are basically the same. That’s no big shocker. I, too, felt fed up with both parties as a young person, and the politics of Republicans and Democrats today definitely share some commonalities. Yet even a cursory glance at where Republicans and Democrats focus their most vigorous efforts reveals a dramatic divide between the two — differences that may well determine whether we survive as a species, not to mention a free nation.

I often write about climate change because, with the possible exception of nuclear war, it is hands-down the number one problem humanity faces. The scientific evidence for climate change is overwhelming, but at this stage you don’t need scientific evidence. All you have to do is notice the unprecedented heat, drought, tornadoes, crop losses, wildlife losses and other dramatic signs that surround us. So how are the two parties handling this issue that threatens to wipe (or more accurately roast) our species from the planet? Republican leadership has adopted a four-pronged approach:

1. Deny the problem exists — or promote the absurd notion that humans are in no way to blame.
2. Attack expert scientists who study the issue and actually know what they are talking about.
3. Blame and villify liberals who are somehow against the poor humanitarian oil companies. 
4. Propose solutions that allow fossil fuel industries to continue to make obscene profits while doing almost nothing to address the problem.

Democrats have a far different strategy — one showcased by the recent major legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Biden. This legislation contains multiple, flexible solutions that will dramatically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide the United States releases into Earth’s atmosphere. These solutions range from making it easier for average people to buy electric cars and rooftop solar panels to offering long-term incentives to agriculture and other major industries to reduce their production of heat-trapping greenhouse gases and increase carbon storage. In other words, Democrats are actually doing something about a real issue instead of playing a catastrophic game of smoke and mirrors.

The divide between Republican and Democratic leadership plays itself out on many other major issues as well. While Republican politicians just talk about freedom, they pursue policies that seek to rob us of voting rights, erode economic equality and impose greater government, corporate and religious control on our lives. Democrats, on the other hand, are actually passing legislation to ensure our rights to vote, level the economic playing field for middle and lower class families (including college students) and protect our freedom of privacy and beliefs.

Democrats’ path forward is at times bungling and messy, but they are working for all of us, not just wealthy contributors with an insatiable need for more money and power. This November, we are blessed with an outstanding selection of Democratic candidates who care deeply about all Americans, and have the knowledge, skills and intelligence to work on our behalf. They stand ready to replace Republican intransigence with actual solutions. Find out who they are. Most importantly, get registered to vote and cast your ballots to ensure we have a future to look forward to. No difference between parties? Don’t believe it. 

(Sneed Collard is the author of more than 90 books for children and adults, and is a regular contributor to outdoors and lifestyle magazines. He is the father of a University of Maine student and makes his home in Missoula, Montana.)