Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Susan Collins: Time to Head for the Exit


     Once upon a time, Maine had a Senator who would occasionally (albeit rarely) cross the aisle of  a divided chamber to cast a bi-partisan vote.
     However, the days of Susan Collins being anything but a partisan hack are long gone.  According to FiveThirtyEight, she has voted in support of Donald Trump’s corrosive agenda 66.4% of the time--hardly indicative of any "independent streak".
     In addition, according to Maine Beacon, she’s voted to put over 100 of Trump’s judicial nominees onto the Federal bench.  She did summon her "courage" to oppose four other Trump nominees.
Four... how pathetic is that?
     Susan Collins has claimed to be “one of us”, and cast herself as the patron saint of small business.  This is ludicrous given the fact that 95% of her itemized campaign contributions have come from outside the state, and that she voted enthusiastically in support of giving 100 billion in tax breaks to drug and insurance companies.  By doing this, she willingly collaborated with the repeal of key components of the Affordable Care Act and potentially placed Medicare and Social Security on the Trump chopping block.
     Now she’s trying to pretend that she hasn’t already made up her mind as to how she’ll vote when the Trump impeachment trial unfolds in the Senate.  One need only recall that she scrapped whatever remaining principles she may have had to cast a vote putting Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court to realize there’s no doubt she’ll vote to acquit the Donald.  He's laid claim to her soul.  Susan Collins is petrified that unless she tows the line, a Trumpite might decide to challenge her in the Republican primary. So, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski now stands alone as the sole voice of reason in the GOP swamp.
     After 22 years in the Senate, it’s time for Susan Collins to put aside her own ambitions  The state of Maine deserves a new dawn.