Sen. Susan Collins just loves playing the voice of Republican reason, the brave woman willing to buck her leadership when it comes down to matters of real principle. We're here to remind you that that's all bullshit.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Wednesday defended her vote to uphold a measure to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., during a debate about attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions Tuesday night. […]
“Senator Collins fully supports Senator Warren’s right to say whatever she wants, whenever she wants, off the Senate floor,” Collins’ spokeswoman, Annie Clark, said via email. “But on the Senate floor there are rules which govern debate and procedure and it is important for all Senators to follow those rules.”
King’s spokesman, Scott Ogden, said by email that the senator "was troubled by previous—and certainly more egregious—instances where the rule was not enforced, which led him [sic] to question whether invoking the rule in this instance was truly an attempt to maintain civility, as the rule intends, or more of an attempt to stifle debate of a major Cabinet nominee."
Oh, okay, she is troubled. [Note: the quote was from King rather than Collins, but the criticism of Collins and her bs “it’s the rules” excuse for not doing the right thing stands.] Well that certainly didn't stop her from voting to protect Warren's right to stay on the floor and continue to debate the nomination. It's bullshit. Four male senators subsequently stood on the floor and read that same letter. Where was Collins for that? She certainly wasn't on hand to make sure the "rules" were applied equally to male and female senators.
Collins has taken one vote—one—against Popular Vote Loser Donald Trump's cabinet, voting against Betsy DeVos at Education. That vote was almost certainly cleared by Mitch McConnell, who rigged the votes to make sure another Trump nominee—Jeff Sessions—would be confirmed after he had the chance to vote for DeVos. Once McConnell had his 51 votes lined up, he could allow Collins (and Lisa Murkowski [R-AK]) to pretend to cast a "principled" vote.
Don't buy any of it. She's as much a Republican as any of them, and more performances like this will cement her position in the party of Trump—the faker.