Susan Collins Sounds Ready to Screw Us All Over Again

[Celerity]

On Tuesday, the Maine Senator had a private meeting with Pete Hesgeth, Trump's pick to run the Defense Department. She declined to officially endorse him, but we've seen this film before...

https://www.jezebel.com/susan-collins-sounds-ready-to-screw-us-all-over-again



In November, Donald Trump nominated Fox News talking head Pete Hegseth to run his Defense Department. And pretty much every other day since, new, disturbing reports about his behavior have come to light — from a 2017 allegation that he raped and potentially drugged a woman at a political convention, to reporting about his alcoholism at his past places of work. Hegseth even had to promise one GOP senator that he’d stop drinking if confirmed. His nomination initially appeared to be in jeopardy amid reports that GOP senators like Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, and, of course, Susan Collins, would block him. There were even reports he’d be replaced with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But the tide seems to be turning in Hegseth’s favor again this week.

After expressing that she’s “concerned” by the rape allegation against Hegseth, Collins had a meeting with him on Wednesday. She described the meeting to reporters as a “good, substantive discussion” and detailed the wide range of topics they discussed, from NATO to, ironically, addressing rampant sexual assault in the military. Collins ultimately declined to formally endorse Hegseth’s nomination, and said she’d wait for the Pentagon and FBI to complete their background checks of him before arriving at a decision. Of course, that’s hardly reassuring: In 2018, Collins similarly said she’d make a decision on whether to confirm then-Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh based on an FBI background check. And the rest, as you know, is history! In other words, we’ve seen this film before. Hegseth, meanwhile, wasted no time kissing ass, insisting to reporters that he intends to “earn” Collins’ vote, and describing his meetings with GOP senators as “an amazingly educational process.”

His meeting with Collins follows his meeting with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) on Monday, which ended in Ernst, who previously suggested she was on the fence, coming out in support of Hegseth. Ernst is a veteran and sexual assault survivor who’s led the Senate on efforts to address endemic gender-based violence within the U.S. military. Hegseth, you’ll recall, is not only accused of rape but has previously argued that women shouldn’t be allowed in combat roles; he’s since suggested he never said this, even though he did… literally on camera. In college, as the editor of a conservative publication, he also published an op-ed arguing that raping an unconscious person isn’t rape. Nonetheless, Ernst and Collins both touted supposedly productive conversations with Hegseth on violence against women in the military, specifically.

Ernst on Monday called her conversation with Hegseth “encouraging,” and said that he “committed” to appointing officials “who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks.” She continued, “As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.” Through all the deserved turbulence of Hegseth’s nomination, Trump has publicly stood by him, despite the whispers about looking for a replacement. Hegseth is one of several of his male nominees with sexual abuse allegations; Trump, himself, is a legally recognized sexual abuser. As someone similarly plagued by bizarre and disturbing allegations his whole political career, Trump probably finds this man relatable. That, and as Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-IL), a veteran, has pointed out, the main reason Trump picked Hegseth is probably that he objectively looks good on TV. Apparently, a handsome, camera-friendly guy is worth all the trouble in the world to Trump.

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flashback pic:

Mr. President, we’ve heard a lot of charges and counter charges about Judge Kavanaugh. But as those who have known him best have attested, he has been an exemplary public servant, judge, teacher, coach, husband, and father. Despite the turbulent, bitter fight surrounding his nomination, my fervent hope is that Brett Kavanaugh will work to lessen the divisions in the Supreme Court so that we have far fewer 5-4 decisions and so that public confidence in our Judiciary and our highest court is restored. Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.

[Blue_Tires]

1. So in other words, it's a day ending in 'y'

[Progressive dog]

2. She is what she is.

[Solly Mack]

3. Concern. Convinced. Confirmed. That's her MO.

[ForgedCrank]

4. Maybe I

missed the conversation. Were we expecting something different that isn't predictable?

[Celerity]

5. That is a question for Maine Democrats who voted for her.

Do Democrats Who Supported Susan Collins in 2020 Regret Their Vote?

Nope.



https://washingtonmonthly.com/2022/01/17/do-democrats-who-supported-susan-collins-in-2020-regret-their-vote/



Mary Ann Lynch, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, is a model Democrat. She began her political career as a staffer for Democratic Governor Joe Brennan and has supported the party with donations and volunteer work for more than 40 years. In the past two elections, she voted a straight Democratic slate—Joe Biden, U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree, Governor Janet Mills—with one exception. Last fall, with control of the Senate on the line and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings a traumatic recent memory, Lynch cast a ballot for Republican Senator Susan Collins. She has no regrets.

“I’m a ticket splitter,” Lynch told me. “I don’t often split, but I do split. I vote for the person who I feel would be the best for Maine and for the country. Instead of saying we need more Democrats or more Republicans, I would say we would need more people like Susan Collins who reach across the aisle to get things done.” Lynch does not share the ominous feeling, increasingly common among Democrats, that time is running out. A paper-thin majority in Congress is likely to disappear next year, leaving just months to pass paid family leave and protect voters from conservative attempts at disenfranchisement. As the likes of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema pettifog and delay, many Democrats wish for just one more Senate seat. And as Texas and other states pass restrictive abortion laws unchecked by the Supreme Court, frustrated Democrats turn to voters in Maine, who returned Collins to the Senate last fall despite her vote for Kavanaugh and the Republican tax bill, and ask: Why?

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin endorses GOP Sen. Susan Collins for 2020

https://rollcall.com/2019/04/11/democratic-sen-joe-manchin-endorses-gop-sen-susan-collins-for-2020/

Exit polling indicates that 13 percent of Collins’s support in 2020 came from registered Democrats. Women overall broke for Collins over her challenger, Sara Gideon, 49 to 46 percent. How did these constituencies make a decision seemingly so against their own interests? How do they feel about it now? Ask them, and their answers often evoke nostalgia for things lost—paper mills, union jobs, and a bipartisan, collegial Congress. They also share a lack of urgency about the slow-moving constitutional crisis instigated by Donald Trump, a sign, along with the election of Glenn Youngkin in Virginia this fall, that Democrats will have to do more to win than point to Trump’s misdeeds, especially now that he’s off the ballot.

snip

Collins’s votes in the Senate since her reelection have been just fine with Green, too. This summer, she helped defeat the For the People Act, arguing that its sweeping voting rights provisions—making Election Day a federal holiday, restoring eligibility to felons who’ve served their sentences, keeping names on voting rolls, automatically registering eligible voters—went far beyond preserving the right to vote. Green wasn’t convinced either that such sweeping action was necessary in response to laws such as Georgia’s, which forbids giving water to people waiting to vote. (With many polling places closed in Black areas, lines are often long.) Should people be allowed, Green mused, to give voters even such small gifts as a bottle of water? “What is that law saying? I don’t know,” he said. “Leave it to Susan. I trust her.”

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[sakabatou]

6. Concern troll Collins about to just rubber stamp Trump's list?

[Celerity]

9. The more Trumpy POS she votes to confirm, the more likely it is she is running again in 2026.

[JohnSJ]

7. What did you expect? The creep will get confirmed. I don't know why some keep

thinking things will be different.

This election the choice was very clear. It doesn’t take rocket science what the next four years and probably much longer will be like.

[WarGamer]

8. She's still a Republican...

[comradebillyboy]

10. Was there ever any doubt. Susan toes the party line every time.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

14. Yup, no shock there.

[keithbvadu2]

11. Susan Collins' integrity...

Susan Collins pledges to serve only two terms.

&feature=emb_logo

[La Coliniere]

12. That gal is a true "cave" woman

It’s her true nature.

[Rebl2]

13. 😱

What a surprise—NOT!