For all the ruckus regarding the federal government shutdown, we’re happy to report that four Mainers affiliated with the collapse came out seemingly unscathed: Rep. Mike Michaud, Rep. Chellie Pingree, Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Angus King. These four failed statesmen and women continue to bring home their bacon, at $174,000 per year plus benefits, while Americans reliant on Social Security, disability and veterans benefits are left to wonder what will happen in the shutdown showdown, praying to the Washington gods for their daily bread.

And the sad thing is, it’s all for naught. If Congress and the president, both of whom obviously enjoy the power associated with bringing the country to its knees, had the best interests of their fellow citizens in mind, this wouldn’t have happened. And even if they settle the dispute before the debt-limit clock stops Oct. 17, they’ve already failed because they couldn’t reach consensus prior.

While the Democrats and Republicans say they are fighting on our behalf in D.C. – and they dupe us every couple of years into believing their hogwash – the actions of these so-called public servants belie their words. With one self-imposed crisis after the other in recent years – all perpetrated in the midst of a teetering economy – the American public is finally catching on to the games our representatives are playing. Shame on them for playing politics with our great country, once held in high-esteem by the world, and shame on us if we don’t remember it in the next election.

The federal government isn’t a nameless, faceless amalgam of bureaucrats. For Mainers, our envoys to the federal level are Angus King, Chellie Pingree, Mike Michaud and Susan Collins. While corporate, across-the-board blame is warranted, voters must also target individuals when they enter the polling booth. And when it comes to the federal shutdown and Maine’s part in it, King, Collins, Michaud and Pingree are to blame.

Collins has a lot of cache, but is apparently powerless. Pingree seems more interested in being partisan than leading. Michaud, who has the audacity to think he can run the great state of Maine, is a consistently impotent voice for us in Washington. And King, well, he’s just a disappointment.

It’s unfortunate this folly is happening in October 2013, so long before the next election. Voters need to remember this feeling and remember how powerless our representatives were. What an embarrassment. And voters need to remember how they talk a good bipartisan game, but in the end side with their party on every issue that matters, even when that partisanship leads to malfunction and trickle-down pain.

Perhaps the only good thing to come out of the shutdown is that folks are beginning to realize that maybe we can do without all these bunglers within the Beltway. As in any job, if you bungle the work a certain amount of times and manufacture crisis after crisis for management, eventually you’ll be fired. Mainers, you’re the boss and it’s time to fire your bungling representatives. Find their contact information on their websites, and let each of them know you’ll remember their failure to lead come the next election.

–John Balentine, managing editor