Mainers expect our elected officials to have and act with integrity, no matter the party they belong too. Consider Sen. Susan Collins’ actions and words for two major political decisions she made in the last three years.

The first was her ever-evolving reasons for voting in favor of President Donald Trump’s tax cuts. There was not a single public or committee hearing on the 1,000-plus page tax law that included handwritten pages. First, Sen. Collins said a deal was struck with President Trump and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to mitigate the effects of effectively repealing the Affordable Care Act mandate, which she voted for, as long as Republicans passed the bipartisan Alexander-Murray bill to stabilize the ACA exchanges.

Then it was a promise of two bills being brought to the floor for votes to shore up the ACA. Then it was the bills would come forward in 2018, and finally, she says her vote was never contingent on the bills.

Next came the highly contentious Kavanaugh confirmation. In her floor speech justifying support of Kavanaugh, Collins stated, “I found her testimony to be sincere, painful, and compelling. I believe that she is a survivor of a sexual assault and that this trauma has upended her life.” Then she said Dr. Blasey Ford must be mistaken.

Obviously, Sen. Collins has never spoken with a psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in treating victims of sexual abuse. I know survivors, and Sen. Collins gave deference to the accused over a victim, from the floor of the Senate.

Shortly Sen. Collins will have to cast the most important vote of her political career representing us — on impeachment. Do you have questions about her integrity?

 

Mike Grove

Belgrade