Susan Collins, a Fixture in Maine, Has Twin Troubles: Trump and Kavanaugh

[DonViejo]

Senator Susan Collins at the Fourth of July parade on Thursday in Eastport, Me. Ms. Collins said she would decide this fall whether she would seek re-election, but she faces a shifting political landscape.CreditCreditSarah Rice for The New York Times

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
July 6, 2019

EASTPORT, Me. — Senator Susan Collins jogged her way through the Fourth of July parade in this picturesque little port city, handing out American flag stickers to cheers and shouts of “Thank you!” But beneath the bonhomie, there were hints that the once untouchable Republican may be in trouble because of two men: Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and President Trump.

A retired restaurant worker shouted at Ms. Collins on Thursday to “get those kids out of cages” — a reference to border detention centers — and later invoked her vote to confirm Justice Kavanaugh. An organic farmworker shouted “Kavanaugh!” as the senator ran past. A local shopkeeper has been sending Ms. Collins letters urging her to live up to the example of Margaret Chase Smith, the iconic Republican senator from Maine who stood up to Joe McCarthy.

All three voted for Ms. Collins in 2014, persuaded by her reputation as a true moderate. “I want to vote for her again,” said the shopkeeper, Linda Cross Godfrey, 72. “It will be up to her whether I do or not.”

Ms. Collins, who coasted to a fourth term in 2014 with 68 percent of the vote, will be difficult to beat. But the polarization that has swept the nation is seeping into Maine as well, even here in the Collins-friendly northern part of the state, where the nationalization of politics should seem far away. That has raised an important question: Can a cautious politician like Ms. Collins — at 66, the sole remaining New England Republican in Congress — survive in the loud and angry era of #MeToo and Trumpism?

In an interview, Ms. Collins said she would decide in the fall if she would seek re-election. For now, she is behaving like a candidate.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/06/us/politics/susan-collins-election.html?emc=rss&partner=rss

[Funtatlaguy]

1. She's very concerned about being concerned 😟

[ProudLib72]

5. Indubitably

[Submariner]

2. DANGER: Fret Level HIGH ***Fret Level HIGH ***Fret Level HIGH ***

[50 Shades Of Blue]

4. ROFL!

[llmart]

3. We need to get her out of there...

if for no other reason but to send her a message that there were consequences for her vote for Kavanaugh.

What on earth are the people of Maine thinking? Better yet, what are the women of Maine going to do about this? One would think the women voters would vote her out overwhelmingly.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

6. She owns them both.

Whether she likes it or not.