I voted absentee ballot for Jean Hay Bright, Democrat for the U.S. Senate. I believe in her positions on the issues which can be read on her Web site, www.jeanhaybright.us. Sen. Olympia Snowe, Republican, proclaims herself a moderate. According to the Congressional Quarterly, she voted with the Bush administration 82 percent of the time, voted for the Iraq war and its continued funding, for Judges Alito and Roberts to the Supreme Court.

Snowe voted for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while voting to reform the bankruptcy bill and was against an amendment to protect families of active-duty troops. She even wrote the bill making Bush’s warrantless wiretapping of Americans legal retroactively. To me, these actions are not moderate.

According to www.opensecrets.org, Sen. Snowe’s, R, top financial contributors include O’Hara Corp., New York Life, General Dynamics, Verizon Communications, Spectrum Medical Group, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and many other powerful PACs representing big business.

Are these large financial contributors moderates who help the working people of Maine? Are Snowe’s votes to support Bush “moderate”?

I urge you to read Hay Bright’s positions and then join in voting for this next senator from Maine.

Gary A. Watson

Bangor