I am so disappointed in Sen. Susan Collins. She has been our hope for a sane voice in the Senate in these most contentious days.

I had hope. I thought that she voted the nomination of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education out of committee because it was a moot point. Let it go. When it goes before the Senate, she put forward her “no” vote. And then, she stopped.

She threw the old dog a bone. The Maine Teachers Association got to chew on it. She said she was listening to them. Politics at its best. However, she failed to use her power, which is considerable, to sway just one more Republican senator to vote “no.” Just one was all that was needed.

Instead, the vice president had to step in and break the tie — of course, in favor of DeVos.

Collins deserted the teachers of Maine and every other state in this nation with her failure to secure one more vote for DeVos’ demise.

Does she look good to her constituents in Maine? Yes, if she thinks them mindless fools who underestimate her power in D.C. However, the answer is “no” to the real people of Maine who she let down and know it.

We all expected better from her.

Nancy K. Dykstra

Winthrop