Action 112 – CALL OUT COLLINS – ON MAY 31
Background: The Maine Democratic Party has been DONE with Susan Collins for multiple election cycles but we haven’t been able to defeat her, yet. Sara Gideon ran against her in 2020: the result was 51%-42%. Shenna Bellows ran against her in 2014: the result was 68%-32%. Tom Allen ran against her in 2008: the result was 61%-39%. Chellie Pingree ran against her in 2002: the result was 58%-42%. Joe Brennan ran against her in 1996: the result was 49% - 44%. That was her first year as Senator, when she succeeded the popular William Cohen who retired and endorsed her. Back then, she pledged to serve only two terms. We can see how she has kept her word on that pledge (NOT). Before that, she ran against Angus King for Governor and lost.
She has been criticized for her votes to confirm problematic and consequential picks for the Supreme Court (John Roberts in 2005, Sam Alito in 2006, Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and especially Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.) Even though she voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial (February 13 2021), during Trump’s current term she has voted to approve numerous laughably unqualified and/or dangerous cabinet members (e.g. Linda McMahon, Howard Lutnick, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Russell Vought, Pam Bondi, Lee Zeldin, Kristi Noem.) She has become a butt of jokes for her frequent comment that she is “concerned” about something that is obviously evil and destructive, and for her comment that she thought Trump had “learned his lesson” after his first impeachment. Her presence on the national stage is lampooned as a pearl-clutching, timid apologist for the Trump Republicans. She has at least two challengers already in the upcoming election: Phillip Rench, Republican of Waterboro, a former engineer at SpaceX; and independent Daniel Smeriglio of Frenchville, founder of Voice of the People USA Radio. She is now a weaker candidate than she has ever been.
It is now common knowledge that she burnishes her “bipartisan” credentials by voting with the Democrats when her vote won’t change the outcome, because the Democrats’ cause is either hopeless and the Republicans will win without her vote, or the Democrats’ cause has all the votes they need. In other words, she does not take strong, vocal, principled stand on anything. In our recent Action 109, we called on her to have, finally, her “Margaret Chase Smith Moment” We have been urging her to take a stand since the turn of the century, over 25 years ago. E.g., by calling for Trump’s impeachment with a declaration of conscience as forceful as Smith’s, she could have a real influence on the voters in this independent-minded state and perhaps help steer the nation away from looming destruction.
Action: Sign up for the MAY 31 event: details here: bit.ly/4jN0Igh Or use the QR code below.
Registration is required (for good reasons)
Extra Credit:
>https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate This site is fascinating in its amount of detail. Once you get to the Susan Collins file, click on “ratings”. You will see how she is viewed by a wide range of interest groups in over 60 categories of issues. For example, she gets a ZERO % approval rating from Common Cause and End Citizens United on the issue of Campaign Finance. She fares pretty poorly on the issues of Entitlements and the Safety Net, Health Insurance and Education (both K-12 and higher ed). But the right wingers don’t view her highly, either, on many issues of importance to them. Her ratings are a very mixed bag.
Calling out Collins - May 31