A Republican recently told me regarding Sen Collins, "at least she doesn't embarrass us on the nightly news like Gov LePage." Well, I ask you, How low do you want to set the bar?
Collins Watch blog is a great resource for pointing out the hypocrisy of Sen Susan Collins, and pointing up why many of us call Susan Collins anything but moderate.
Collins's willingness to talk out of both sides of her mouth on these issues and others makes the job of reporters harder; it forces them to peel back the rhetorical facade and to do the boring, difficult work of sifting through her actual record in office if they want to get at the truth.
Bookmark this page for further revelations
Collins is trying to tie even a modest minimum wage hike to an Obamacare "fix" that would add $140 billion to the federal debt over ten years, cost 1 million Americans their job-based health coverage and leave 500,000 fewer Americans insured.
Why do I almost feel like Sen. Susan Collins is forgetting something?
"Unemployment insurance is critical to those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and are diligently searching for work but are unable to find it. That is why I recently voted to proceed to debate a bill that would extend federal emergency unemployment compensation benefits for three months, as the president requested.
When it became clear that this proposal would not have enough support, I worked, in good faith, with a group of colleagues on a proposal that could pass both the Senate and the House with bipartisan support."
Oh, right. It's that she voted against the very policy she's working overtime to insinuate that she supported.
It's not the first time Collins has tried to occupy both sides of the fence simultaneously. (Or the second. Or the third.) But it's another glaring example of the kind of duplicity that's bound to crop up when a powerful pol operates without any real accountability.
The Hill
As part of the Republicans’ alternative to a minimum wage increase, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) wants to move the threshold of who is covered by the employer responsibility provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from 30 to 40 hours a week. She and Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) are the sponsors of a proposal, the Forty Hours is Full Time Act, that would do just that. They contend that this will keep employers from cutting work hours to avoid providing insurance or paying the employer penalty under the ACA. However, this so-called solution isn’t one at all. It would only lead to more workers having their hours and pay cut while increasing the number of workers who will lose job-based coverage – and shifting costs to the federal government.
Read more: http://thehill.com/...
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Shenna Bellows on Marriage Equality
Susan Collins refuses to say whether or not she supports the freedom to marry.
Now, the [Mainers United for Marriage] coalition very much wanted her support during the campaign. We reached out multiple times to ask her to come out in favor of the freedom to marry. She did not do so then. She still has not done so, even though the voters of Maine have spoken.
And I think that this shows a lack of courage because presumably in 2012 she either voted yes or no. Presumably she didn't leave the question blank.
As Bethesda 1971 asks today
Don't we want another Elizabeth Warren in the Senate?