I have no doubt that Sen. Susan Collins cares deeply about the well-being of Maine’s people and communities as she has served as our U.S. senator for the past 23 years.

At this historic time, as she seeks to serve a fifth term in the Senate, I yearn to see her as a national leader, as a senator who is recognized for her integrity, independence and honesty. Currently, I lack that image as she has been unwilling to make a public statement about her support for or opposition to Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Sen. Collins’s silence is puzzling and deafening.

As a constituent, I have several questions at this pivotal moment. How can Sen. Collins remain silent about who can best inspire the next generation? How can she justify tacit support for a president who lies, is vulgar, who has been and still is unwilling to disclose his financial records, who demeans women and minorities, and who has undermined international climate-change initiatives and the environmental laws that protect Maine’s natural resource-based economies?

Sen. Collins hails from Caribou, Maine, where our state motto is Dirigo — “I lead.” I ask her to stay true to that motto and join her Republican colleagues, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, President George W. Bush, Sen. Mitt Romney, and Gov. John Kasich, who have shown the courage and integrity to stand up and directly oppose the president’s re-election.

This is Sen. Collins’s Margaret Chase Smith moment. I am counting on her to seize the day.

Theresa Kerchner
Wayne

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