Thursday, a Republican candidate wrote a column on the importance of bipartisanship (“What does it mean to be bipartisan?” by Holly JP Kopp, The Times Record, Aug. 6). I agree on its importance and think that on the state level it goes on more than we know. However, bipartisanship is limited, in my humble opinion, due to Republicans’  basic beliefs about government and their beliefs about people in need which these days include many in the middle class. I don’t know much about the workings of the two parties in the Maine State Legislature but certainly on a national level the Republican party is full of extremists who are disinterested in bipartisanship. Maine still has Tea Partyers in the Legislature who are mainly interested in greatly reducing government and believe that if a person needs support, it is primarily due to their failings. The author of the column mentions that she will seek to “work for solutions that are helpful for the community” but often the government needs to meet the needs of small groups of our communities. Finally, I can’t help but wonder why the candidate did not mention any of her priorities or beliefs or hopes as a Republican for what the legislature will do which is much more important than endless listening.