Sen. Susan Collins “presses RFK Jr. during contentious hearing.” How many times have we seen this headline? In this case, it reminds me of someone asking an arsonist to explain why he kept starting fires after hiring him to be the chief of the fire department.

As I recall, the senator explained that her vote was based on Kennedy’s “assurance” to produce a “tick vaccine” or some such nonsense.

This is so typical of Sen. Collins and has worked for her for so very long. Optics over substance.

She has had a number of opportunities to make important votes of consequence, such as on impeachment, judicial appointments and executive cabinet selections (like Kennedy), where she has failed the “profiles in courage” test and explained it away with some pithy reason or other. But give her an opportunity to “press” a hapless witness in a “contentious” hearing — without any political risk to herself — and watch out!

Let’s put Sen. Collins on the witness chair and “press” her on her voting record and, for once, see what her core values really are.

Ken Maclean
Scarborough