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.

Joni Ernst??? Seriously, what's up, Iowa???

Watching the “official” Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address left me with a question that keeps gnawing at my gut: what the heck is wrong with Iowa?
Joni Ernst, the freshman senator from that state read off the response (watching her eyes follow the teleprompter became fairly distracting; she possesses a certain Bachmannesque quality whereby you expect a counter-clockwise movement to develop at any moment), and she nearly drowned in her own sea of platitudes before the first few minutes had passed. She’s a mother, she’s a soldier; she came from poverty, not privilege. She shared her story of plowing the fields, working construction, and owning only one pair of shoes. You would think we’d be safe in assuming that here is a legislator with genuine empathy, and perhaps an understanding of income inequality.
Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. In doing a little research into her record, it became obvious that Iowa replaced Senator Tom Harkin with a right-wing extremist. What’s up, Iowa?

Ernst talked about stagnant wages, but she vehemently opposes any increase in the federal minimum wage. She talks about the virtue of being raised to live simply, but demonstrates a fanatic allegiance to the 1% by opposing any tax increases that could affect them adversely – even if it means enacting a series of proposals to benefit the Middle class: universal free community college, guaranteed paid sick leave time, cutting mortgage costs, and tripling the childcare tax credit. Ernst is so determined to gut the Affordable Care Act that it sounds as though she’s perfectly likely willing to sacrifice the insurance policies acquired over the past two years by over 10 million previously uninsured Americans. What’s up, Iowa?

Ernst is an anti-choice extremist who supports fetal “personhood”. Ernst is an avowed opponent of same-sex marriage. Ernst has consistently called for state nullification of federal laws, even as the courts consistently rule this unconstitutional. Ernst recklessly called for President Obama’s impeachment and referred to him as a dictator. It’s clear she has no real understanding of our nation as a whole, of its checks and balances, and of due process. In her extremism she’s called for the elimination of the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency (a fierce opponent of Clean Water legislation), and the IRS (given their popularity this is a brave stance indeed!). What’s up, Iowa?

One thing Joni Ernst does love is guns; here, there, and everywhere. No questions asked.
Tom Harkin was such a thoughtful Senator… what’s up, Iowa?