Just like her hero Sen. Margaret Chase Smith declared hers 75 years ago, it’s time for Sen. Susan Collins to declare her conscience.

On June 1, 1950, with the terror and lies of the Red Scare ascendant, Sen. Smith had the courage and integrity to denounce the actions of her own party while her colleague and one-time friend Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the leader of the ignoble inquisition, sat two rows behind her. She lamented that her party was seeking to “ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny: Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear.”

She added, “Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism: the right to criticize, the right to hold unpopular beliefs, the right to protest, the right of independent thought.”

She concluded, “It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian technique — techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.”

Sound familiar?

In 2010, Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe co-sponsored a resolution designating June 1, 2010 as “Declaration of Conscience Day” to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Margaret Chase Smith’s historic speech. On Sen. Collins’ website, Sen. Smith is mentioned 38 times.

Sen. Collins recalls meeting Sen. Smith when Collins was still a senior in high school. “What I remember most,” Collins writes, “was her telling me always to stand tall for what I believed, citing her ‘Declaration of Conscience’ as an example. Her eloquent words still ring true today. Her ‘Declaration of Conscience’ is a template for standing tall. And now that I serve in the United States Senate, holding her former seat, her example of moderation, independence and integrity continues to inspire me every day.”

Moderation. Independence. Integrity. Now it’s time for Sen. Susan Collins to declare her own conscience.

Despite over 100 days of cruelty and corruption, while the leader of her party has been dismantling the pillars of our rights and freedoms, demonizing the powerless, flouting due process, imperiling our national security and defying the Constitution, Sen. Collins has remained, far too often, silent.

Sen. Collins is a skilled politician who has won over a majority of Mainers, including Republicans, Democrats and independents, for nearly 30 years. She was one of seven Republicans brave enough to support the articles of impeachment against President Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. She was one of two Republicans with the fortitude to vote against the grossly underqualified Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. She has earned the powerful position of chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

And yet the senator has remained mostly quiet while President Trump and his toadies threaten to withhold federal funding for Maine over an unresolved legal dispute targeting some of Maine’s most vulnerable citizens, taxpayer money that in many cases was already approved by Congress. We hope that her recent outrage about proposed biomedical research cuts at the National Institutes of Health is the start of her finding her inner Smith.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an ally of Sen. Collins, recently confessed that in the Senate, “We are all afraid … Retaliation is real.” If Sen. Collins speaks what we expect is truly on her mind about the Trump administration’s frightening overreach, she risks becoming a target of Trump’s vicious, relentless ire and facing a Musk-backed primary opponent.

We urge Sen. Collins to follow the example of Sen. Angus King, who gave his own bold version of the Declaration of Conscience speech on the Senate floor last month. As Sen. Cory Booker reminded us during his 25-hour plea for justice, “This is not a partisan moment. This is not a right or left moment. This is a right or wrong moment.”

Sen. Smith’s speech in 1950 did not end McCarthyism. It resulted in predictable name-calling from McCarthy. She and the Declaration’s co-signers were demeaned by him as “Snow White and the Six Dwarfs.” But her speech was an early and mighty blow against a fearsome, growing wall of un-American injustice. And cracks began to form. Supportive editorials popped up around the nation. Maine constituents supported her stand by 8 to 1. And four years later, Sen. Smith was present to support an overwhelming vote of censure against McCarthy. The seemingly impregnable wall had crumbled.

We encourage all Mainers to join us in writing postcards to Sen. Collins this week in honor of the coming anniversary of “Declaration of Conscience Day.”

This is your moment, Senator, to stand tall, to shift history toward America’s noblest ideals, and to make generations of Mainers proud once again.