In “Another View: Collins’ spokesperson: Column didn’t stand up to real record” (Jan. 14), Annie Clark, communications director for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, makes much of Collins’ vote against Betsy DeVos for education secretary and that it didn’t matter. That’s the truth, and it’s typical.
Collins’ specialty is making speeches and votes that don’t matter and voting the opposite direction when they do. Collins supported the bigot Jeff Sessions as a fine, “honorable” man and marched in lockstep with Donald Trump’s other Cabinet nominations, notably white males committed to destroying protective laws and regulations, and a Supreme Court nominee whom extremists count on to roll back Roe v. Wade and other gains for women. That’s not moderate. It’s cynical and hypocritical.
But nothing is more cynical than Collins’ vote for the Republican corporate tax cut measure, a bill to give billions and billions of dollars to global companies like Apple, Spectrum and Exxon that already make billions, in exchange for brushing a few crumbs off the table to some of Maine’s working voters. To do this, it increases the deficit by $1.7 trillion – after a lifetime of Republicans blocking social benefits because of cost – and sets up a future confrontation involving Social Security, Medicare and the military, because where else are you going to get the money?
Finally, Ms. Clark notes the ranking by the Lugar Center – set up and presided over by retired Republican Sen. Richard Lugar – and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. They rate Bernie Sanders as the most partisan senator. I guess we know where they stand.
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