Susan Collins committed one of the worst errors in her 24-year political life. She used to be a regular moderate Republican, but something happened. That something lays beneath her error and has a name.
Yes, Collins held the nation’s collective attention as she danced back and forth between voting for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and voting against him. He was one of the most right-wing candidates. At the last moment, the Maine Senator voted for him.
Did she change or had she been mesmerized by a man carrying a heavy name? Some from her state believe that she is afraid of the 45th president, Donald Trump.
Then, Democratic candidate sitting State House Speaker Sara Gideon stepped up to the plate and started hitting home runs that caught Collis right in the gut. The Facebook page Kick Ass News wrote:
‘Sara Gideon #vote blue 🇺🇸’
A registered Republican State Representative in Maine Heidi Sampson has supported Collins for years, but she noted she had not been surprised about the senator’s drop in popularity, according to The POLITICO:
‘I get phone calls from upset people. I get emails from people. Constituents will come right up and complain about Susan to my face. People get really emotional.’
The Director of Mainers for Accountable Leadership Marie Follayttar said:
‘We tried every possible nonviolent tactic to get Collins to listen, but nothing worked. So we created an electoral crisis to send the message that Mainers won’t back her if she turns her back on us.’
Collins gave a 45-minute speech on the floor of the Senate after voting for the attack Justice, speaking as if the longer she talked the better she could explain away her Kavanaugh vote:
‘[A] confirmation process that has become so dysfunctional, it looks more like a caricature of a gutter-level political campaign than a solemn occasion.’
Collins continued:
‘I am doing exactly the same thing I’ve always done. I’ve always cast votes with an eye to how they affect the state of Maine and our country.’
Collins’ polling numbers, which tanked after her vote for Kavanaugh, never recovered:
‘But has Collins turned her back on her supporters? Has she actually transformed from a reliable check on Trump, as she seemed to be in the early days of his administration, to a dependable ally who offers token criticism but votes with him on all key issues? Or have voters become so rigid in their opposition to Trump that they can no longer abide her support for anything that might be considered helpful to the leader of her party?’
She’s been lampooned by NBC Saturday Night Live (SNL). That bit of comedy hurt Collins:
‘The New Yorker recently satirized her for taking hours of deep reflection before deciding to order whatever Mitch McConnell is having for lunch.’
A political science major at the University of Maine in Orono is the president of the College Republicans on campus Anna Zmistowski, interned with Collins for two months. She said it was “absolute insanity:”
‘It was brutal. I was called all kind of names and told to go do all kinds of things.’
Zawistowski continued:
‘We tried every possible nonviolent tactic to get Collins to listen, but nothing worked. So we created an electoral crisis to send the message that Mainers won’t back her if she turns her back on us.’
Maine voter Hope Eye wanted Collins to get that she “is floundering:”
‘I want Collins to realize she is floundering with us. She really needs to make headway in coming back and being able to hear our problems. f she can do that, then maybe I’ll think about voting for her again. Maybe.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
