Campaign Action
There are just two parties in the U.S. now, as Mark Sumner so succinctly states: traitors and patriots. It's now or never for Senate Republicans in particular to decide which side they're going to be on, and in their response thus far to the Trump-Putin Surrender Summit, they're landing in the wrong place.
Let us take just this one example, the one who could potentially do the most good right now, at this point in time: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). Immediately following Trump's internationally broadcasted capitulations, Collins was less than forceful in condemning him: "It's certainly not helpful for the President to express doubt about the conclusions of his own team. […] He has assembled a first-rate intelligence team handled by Dan Coats and I would hope that he would take their analysis over the predictable denials of President Putin." No, it is not helpful, about as not helpful as those remarks.
With night to sleep on it, Collins has decided that the best response from her—a senior member of what is supposed to be the world's greatest deliberative body—is to throw up her hands in surrender:
"We can't tell the president what to say. All we can do is make very clear that we disagree with the approach the president has taken."
Have you ever seen a more pathetic display? She's a goddamned senator. There's a whole article of the Constitution devoted to the House and the Senate—the first one! Before the executive branch. And in fact, one of the sections of the executive branch's Article Two talks about how the Senate is supposed to restrict the president's powers. Like in making war and—particularly appropriate for right now—advice and consent on nominations. Like to the Supreme Court.
So let's start there, Senator Collins. Let's start with the fact that this president, whose presidential campaign is under criminal investigation at this very minute, is about to shape the Supreme Court for generations to come, not to mention potentially deciding this president's fate. And the part where the guy he's chosen has written. "We should not burden a sitting president with civil suits, criminal investigations, or criminal prosecutions."
There's a great deal a senator can do, particularly if that senator is Susan Collins. She can start by withholding her support for the nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. She could lead other Republicans who constantly make noises about resisting Trump—Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse—in actual, effective resistance.
Instead, she's deciding to abdicate her responsibilities, to pretend she's helpless. To be on the side of the traitors.
If you're in Maine, call her on it. Directly. Every day. At her office numbers: (207) 622-8414, (207) 945-0417, (207) 283-1101, (207) 493-7873, (207) 784-6969, (207) 780-3575, (202) 224-2523
Do you live in Maine? You have a powerful voice in stopping Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Click here to write Sen. Collins.