It’s less than two weeks from the election on Nov. 2. This election will not only be a national referendum on the liberal/progressive agenda of the Obama administration of the past two years, but will also determine if Maine will continue along the liberal path of the past four decades.

Let’s take a look at where Maine stands after 40 years of “progressive” government:

• We’ve been burdened by our state government with almost $9 billion in unfunded liabilities, much of it related to pensions for public sector employees.

• We’re facing a $1 billion state budget shortfall this coming legislative session.

• Almost 1/3 of Mainer’s receive some form of welfare – food stamps, TANF or Medicaid.

• Our schools, once among the best in the nation, are now among the most costly in the land, and deliver consistently mediocre results.

• The largest employer in the state IS the state. Maine’s once vibrant economy has disappeared.

• Last week, “Forbes” ranked Maine as the worst state in the nation for business and careers.

As happens every two years, all of our state representative and Senate seats are up for grabs. This year we also elect a new governor- let’s look at the choices there first.

The Democrats have put up Libby Mitchell, a life-long Augusta insider. During her tenure in the Legislature, Mitchell has played a major part architecting many of the problems we now face with her penchant for spend-and-tax policies. Her plan if elected governor? More of the same – increased spending and government.

Eliot Cutler, after spending most of his life away from Maine, tells us that he, as an Independent, has the answers to Maine’s problems, but provides little specificity. This is not surprising considering that Cutler is but another liberal/progressive cut from the same cloth as Mitchell. In fact, Cutler was part of the Carter Administration during the ’70s – another Democrat believing in big government, big spending, and that he knows what you need better than you do.

Paul LePage is the Republican choice. LePage has a compelling life story of the self-made man. He has an impressive resume of accomplishments in the business world, and is a successful mayor of one of Maine’s larger cities. Unlike Mitchell, LePage has laid out very specific plans for his priorities if elected – welfare reform, education reform, and overall streamlining and reduction of state government. He wants to get government out of the way of business. If he’s successful in doing so, we will all benefit.

The legislative races are actually more important than the one for the Blaine House, for it’s the Legislature that controls the spending in Augusta. We’ve got some outstanding candidates in the districts of the Lakes Region: Rich Cebra in Naples; Paul Waterhouse in Bridgton; Mike McClellan in Raymond; Ralph Sarty in Denmark and Ann-Marie Grenier in Windham to name but a few. They all recognize what needs to be done in Augusta, and they all believe in you more than they do government.

Do we continue pursuit of the same old and tired policies of the past 40 years, or do we admit that “it ain’t working,” and return to the proven model of reducing government meddling in our businesses and personal lives, and reclaim responsibility for ourselves?

This is what it boils down to, folks – a choice between the liberal/progressive school of thought that big, nanny-state government is good government, or the old-school conservative doctrines of personal responsibility and less intrusive government.

Who will you vote for on Nov. 2? The Party of Food Stamps, or the Party of Paychecks?

Ted Ropple, of Casco, welcomes feedback at www.tedropple.com.