Susan Collin's went on the Sunday Talk Shows, apparently, instead of coming back to face the people of Maine over the weekend. She's hoping that her betrayal of them last week will be forgotten by next November, putting 50,000 of them off of health insurance (at a minimum) raising the rates for most of the rest of Mainers who have insurance and, most obvious in her many betrayals in voting for the Republican billionaire bonanza bill, making the election day vote of Mainers to expand Medicaid under the ACA a dead letter.
Collins did what she did so that she and her party can still reap the rewards of serving the billionaire class, she did it because she wants that money for her planned run for governor and so that they won't fund her challengers for the Republican nomination, a group that already includes the putid Mary Mayhew who did so much to shaft Maine's poor and lower middle class on behalf of Paul LePage. It shouldn't be forgotten that the "moderate" Collins endorsed the paleo-fascist Paul LePage for governor, the "Trump before Trump" as he bragged of being. She also provided cover for the installation of the ultra-racist, ultra-bigot, perjurer and likely colluder with the Putin regime, Jeff Sessions, playing a prominent role in his installation as Attorney General, lying about his long history of racism to do that.
Collins has always been the beneficiary of the habits Mainers have of treating Republican women with kid gloves, a habit developed during the political career of the legendary Margaret Chase Smith. But she should be reminded that Margaret Chase Smith's legend wasn't enough to win her last reelection bid when she was defeated by Bill Hathaway. One of the issues in that election was that she had lost touch with the people of Maine while enjoying being a national celebrity. One of the issues was that she didn't maintain an office in the state. What Collins did, after how Mainers voted on Medicaid expansion is far worse than what defeated Smith in 1972. The ACA betrayal was only the tip of the iceberg, as she also voted to shaft the majority of the people of Maine who don't belong to the leisure class of wealthy coastal residents and other oligarchs.
Susan Collins deserves to be retired for what she did Friday night, she doesn't deserve to be governor of a state for whose voters she demonstrated such total disregard as she did in her vote to thwart their will. She deserves to have her past career opened up for the first real and clear-eyed assessment for what has been a typical Republican career of service to the rich. For the first time, she should get a real look, without the legendary treatment.
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