Mainers shouldn’t credit Sen. Collins for a couple of recent votes that appear to buck the Trump administration. Vice President Vance’s performative tie-breaking allows vulnerable Republicans (Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Alaska) to appeal to moderate and independent voters in the lead-up to contests in 2026 and 2028, respectively.
These votes aren’t daring and principled stands against a runaway executive, but rather a face-saving act tolerated by a philosophically unmoored president who needs a Republican majority after the midterms to continue his project of destroying democracy.
Collins isn’t a rampart, she’s complicit.
Chris Indorf
Saco
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