Susan Collins gave a long-winded and defensive speech on the floor of the Senate when she announced that she would be voting yes to confirming the alleged attempted rapist Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. She told the women who were protesting yet another powerful man facing no consequences for his actions that they were being hysterical, in so many words, and that her support of Kavanaugh was in no way indicative of her failure to support survivors.
It’s not only those women who were angered by that speech. Collins’ political funders are withdrawing their support and funding her challenger, instead.
$3 million raised for Susan Collins' 2020 challenger after she backed Brett Kavanaugh.https://t.co/6snnH6iZaH pic.twitter.com/dbdsLwWo4E
— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) October 6, 2018
Maine People’s Alliance and Mainers for Accountable Leadership announced ahead of her speech:
‘If you fail to stand up for the people of Maine and for Americans across the country, every dollar donated to this campaign will go to your eventual Democratic opponent in 2020. We will get you out of office.
‘The people of Maine have made it clear that they want you to vote NO on Kavanaugh, and we’re counting on you to do the right thing.’
By the time GOP Sen. Susan Collins finished her speech on the Senate floor, Democrats in Maine had begun speculating who might challenge her. And progressive activists are pouring in money to fund the eventual challenger https://t.co/OntvxVnfAR pic.twitter.com/3l5eAjfztg
— CNN (@CNN) October 5, 2018
Apparently, this wasn’t an empty threat. The organization has already raised three million dollars for whomever challenges Collin’s senatorial seat when she’s up for reelection in 2020.
Susan Collins’ 2020 challenger already has a $3 million campaign fund, thanks to her vote on Kavanaugh https://t.co/nBKjzIqije
— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 6, 2018
Collins has complained bitterly about these threats, calling them “political blackmail.” Of course, if this truly bothered Sen. Collins, perhaps she shouldn’t have voted to confirm a judge who seems so supportive of Citizens United.
The fundraising against Collins is now just shy of $2 million, triggered if she votes to confirm Kavanaugh https://t.co/61i8EwValu by @ZaidJilani
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) October 5, 2018
The Maine senator will enjoy the approval by her party members after casting her vote, but the disapproval by her own voters will mean far more during her bid for reelection in just two short years.
Featured image via Flickr by Fortune Live Media under a Creative Commons license
