Susan Collins

Obscene Vote In US Senate On Jobs For Teachers And First Responders: How Can This Be Justified?

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In an attempt by Senate Democrats to pass part of President Obama’s jobs plan, a proposal for $35 billion in spending on hiring or retaining 400,00 teachers and first responders was brought up in that chamber last night, resulting in a 50-50 tie, with all 47 Republicans and Democrats Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut joining them in opposition!

The jobs bill had been touted by Vice President Joe Biden as essential to help promote education and safety and security in local communities, and it would have been financed by a half penny tax on millionaires on incomes over one million dollars, meaning if one had two million in income, he would pay $5,000 in extra taxes, a small amount of contribution when compared to income and the public need!

It is shocking that Joe Lieberman would vote against this, and that Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine would vote against this as well!

At a time of the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, the Senate minority and even a few Democrats seem tone deaf to the reality of what is going on in America!

These 50 Senators are to be condemned for playing politics and being short sighted in a time of need!

A Leading Senate Race For 2012: Senator Scott Brown Vs. Elizabeth Warren In Massachusetts!

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It is clear that one of the leading Senate races of 2012, and one of the best hopes to regain a Republican seat, is the potential match up of Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Harvard Law School Professor and consumer rights advocate Elizabeth Warren!

Warren helped Barack Obama to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but so antagonized Republicans that it became clear that she could not be approved by the Senate to become its head, and the GOP is working very hard to weaken the new agency!

Warren is an inspirational reformer, but it will be hard to win the seat from Brown, who has come across as moderate and mainstream more than any Republican Senator with the exception of the two Maine Republicans, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins! Brown has worked hard to gain support from the normally liberal Democratic constituency of Massachusetts politics.

Warren, being an intellectual, might have trouble convincing blue collar Democrats to vote for her, and additionally, she faces up to six opponents for the Democratic nomination, which is far from guaranteed. The primary takes place a full year from now, and therefore, allows less than two months from winning the primary to the fall election against Scott Brown, who will face no opposition in the Republican Party statewide or nationally, just happy to have another Republican vote for organization of what might be a majority GOP Senate in 2013!

Here We Go Again: Sarah Palin, Feeling Neglected, Drops Hint She Will Run! Don’t Bet On It!

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Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is feeling neglected lately, so in an interview with Newsweek Magazine, she is dropping hints she will run for President.

It is very obvious that Palin is upset that Michele Bachmann seems to be sucking up all of the oxygen in the Republican Presidential race, and there is nothing like a woman who feels slighted by another woman! It brings out the aggressiveness that two ambitious women have in politics–to work to undermine their enemy who took away the attention they felt they deserved!

In this respect, Michele Bachmann is a lady, as she has made it clear that she has no desire to get involved in a wrestling match with Palin, but that does not mean that Palin, younger, less accomplished, and frankly more ignorant on all of the issues, is not resentful, behind the scenes, of Bachmann.

If Palin were to enter the race, one can be sure she would get nasty with Bachmann, and that would force Bachmann to become more so, and that would be something to watch, to say the least!

But it would also, sadly, undermine women in politics, as both Bachmann and Palin are poorly qualified to be President, and their ignorance is so total that they are both an embarrassment to their gender!

Oh, where oh where, are qualified women in the party, such as Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, and Kay Bailey Hutchison?

Oh, and how Hillary Clinton, Amy Klobuchar, Claire McCaskill and other Democratic women are looked at longingly, on the 27th anniversary today of the nomination of Geraldine Ferraro as the first female Vice Presidential candidate in 1984!

Moderate Centrist Republicans In Senate May Be Crucial Voting Bloc!

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It used to be that Senator John McCain of Arizona was considered a moderate, centrist Republican, but no more.

But now, there are a group of moderate, centrist Republicans who look prepared to cross party lines and sometimes back the Obama Administration, although as the year 2011 develops, we will see just how often they will be willing to do so.

With the rise of the Tea Party activists, such a decision will require courage and statesmanship, so it will be one of the most interesting political signs to watch in 2011.

Among the centrist moderates would be the following:

1. Olympia Snowe of Maine, who is likely to face a Tea Party challenger in the primary in 2012.
2. Susan Collins of Maine, who has often seemed willing to cooperate, although she tends to “drive a hard bargain” for her vote.
3. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who despite his win with early Tea Party backing in January, now seems to be moving toward the center in liberal Massachusetts, but will almost certainly face a Tea Party challenger in the primary in 2012.
4. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has become liberated by her independent win over Joe Miller, and voted for every part of the Obama agenda during the recent Lame Duck session of Congress, and has made clear she will defy the rightward trend in her party.
5. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the most respected Republican in the Senate, usually conservative, but still with an independent streak, who faces a likely Tea Party challenge in 2012.
6. Mark Kirk of Illinois, newly elected, but already showing signs of independence, as he was defined as a moderate Republican in his years in the House of Representatives.
7. Bob Corker of Tennessee, who has shown signs of moderation in his four years in the Senate, and may face Tea Party opposition in the primary in 2012.
8. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who is moderate sounding sometimes, although he seems to work at having a right wing image at times, as well.

Along with Independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, this bloc of Senators will play a likely historic role in dealing with the many domestic crises and foreign policy controversies facing the nation over the next two years!

An Historic Day In The US Senate: Repeal Of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Finally Accomplished! :)

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A seventeen year injustice toward military personnel has finally ended today with the vote of the US Senate just completed at 330 pm this afternoon.

The adoption of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on the subject of sexual orientation in 1993 was discriminatory from its inception, and has led to approximately 13,000 top notch, talented military personnel being dismissed.

After a long struggle initiated with the full backing of President Obama, finally the United States military meets the same standards as most European countries, Canada and Israel.

This is a major civil rights victory, and continues the difficult struggle for gay rights that has been going on for a long time.

On the vote to end the filibuster, six Republicans courageously joined 57 Democrats, so that the vote was 63-33. Those Republicans were Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, George Voinovich of Ohio, and Mark Kirk of Illinois.

It is interesting that Voinovich, a retiring Senator, and Kirk, a newly sworn in Senator, both voted in a way not expected.

Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut must be commended for leading the fight to accomplish this repeal, although he failed to budge his good friend and colleague, Senator John McCain of Arizona, who stubbornly refused to reconsider his hard line attitude on the subject, despite earlier having stated that if the military leaders and the Defense Secretary advocated lifting the ban on gays in the military, that he would go along with them. So this is not one of John McCain’s better moments in the Senate. One can compare it to his predecessor in his seat, Barry Goldwater, who stated that you don’t have to be straight to know how to shoot straight!

The final vote has just occurred and is 65-31, including some Republicans who voted “no” on ending the filibuster, but have now voted for the legislation–Richard Burr of North Carolina and  John Ensign of Nevada.  So this makes a total of eight Republicans who backed the final passage.

This is a pleasant surprise, and makes for eight Republicans joining all Democrats who voted “aye”.

Overall, this is a great day for the United States and its military! 🙂

John McCain, Robert Gates, And Gays In The Military!

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Senator John McCain of Arizona, already criticized by his own wife and daughter, and coming across as an angry “old man” since his loss of the Presidency to Barack Obama, has lashed out at Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the report commissioned by the Defense Department on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the military! 🙁

Showing disdain for Gates, an appointee as Defense Secretary by both Presidents Bush and Obama, McCain was rude and arrogant in his criticism of the survey of the military, although Gates gave back as good as he got! 🙁

Not only that, but three members of the committee, who had not indicated their view on the repeal of the policy–Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia, and Republicans Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Susan Collins of Maine–gave hints that they disagreed with McCain’s bitter attacks and criticism of Gates, and might support repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, which would be crucial to possible action this month to end the policy!

At least two Republicans will be needed to overcome a filibuster and get the repeal accomplished, and finally end discrimination in the military and allow talented people, who have important skills, to contribute to the military defense of the United States!

Senator McCain is creating a record for himself in his later years in the Senate that will serve as an embarrassment for his historical reputation! 🙁

Lisa Murkowski Victory Over Joe Miller A Blow To Sarah Palin And Tea Party Movement!

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The miraculous write in victory of Senator Lisa Murkowski over Republican nominee Joe Miller in Alaska is a serious blow to the Tea Party Movement and to Sarah Palin, and that is a good thing!

Murkowski was too lax in seeking another term as Senator, and lost the GOP nomination to Joe Miller, but then decided not to give up, and to mount a write in campaign against a candidate who came across as radical and objectionable in his behavior and his views on issues!

Murkowski, while generally considered a conservative, is a mainstream conservative, with only Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown being more moderate than she is.

So in the GOP caucus, she is actually the fourth most moderate or liberal in her views, far preferable to Joe Miller, who would have been close to being further right wing than almost anyone in the Republican party, except maybe South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, and Oklahoma Senators Tom Coburn and James Inhofe!

Murkowski has made clear her opposition to the Tea Party Movement, and her support of earmarks, despite the GOP announcement that they would oppose any earmarks over the next two years.

Any victory for a more moderate conservative candidate in the Republican party is good for the future of the party, and anything which lessens the appeal of Sarah Palin, as she hints she will seek the Presidency, is also good, as she would be a disaster for the Republican party, were she to win the nomination!

As Senator Murkowski said, Sarah Palin does not enjoy governing and making decisions, and she is also not intellectually curious enough to be qualified for the Presidency!

Lisa Murkowski is very wise and perceptive, and it is good for the Senate that she retains her seat, and Joe Miller goes back into obscurity!

Profile In Courage Needed By Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Richard Lugar, And Lindsey Graham Against Tea Party Movement Threat To Honored Traditions Of GOP!

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In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy began his anti Communist rampage, promoting fear and hysteria in millions of Americans; destroying the reputation of many public figures in government, media, Hollywood, and the professoriate; and silencing most members of the Senate who feared to speak up against him and his witch hunt! 🙁

But early on, a courageous woman Republican senator, Margaret Chase Smith, spoke up against McCarthy when no one else was willing to do so!

Smith was the first long serving woman in the US Senate, ultimately serving four terms from 1949-1973 for the state of Maine! She was truly a “profile in courage”, the title of a Pulitzer Prize winning book by Senator John F. Kennedy a few years later, although Kennedy was unwilling to speak out against McCarthy, particularly because his own father was supporting and financing the Wisconsin Senator!

The kind of courage Smith displayed, showing she had principles and was willing to risk her career to speak out against McCarthy’s tirades, needs desperately now to be copied by several Republican Senators, who are decent, mainstream Republicans, and who in their heart and mind, cannot be imagined to be supportive of the Tea Party Movement trying to usurp power and take over the Republican Party! 🙁

I am referring to Maine Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.

Graham has, actually, been courageous to express doubts and criticism about the Tea Party Movement, but the others have remained silent. It could be because Snowe and Lugar face reelection contests in 2012, while Collins and Graham face it in 2014.

Graham has set the standard and needs to convince Collins, Snowe and Lugar to condemn what is going on, even if the result is a challenge to their seats when reelection time comes!

Sixty years later, we need some reputable GOP Senators to uphold the honored tradition of the party at a time when the party is in deep trouble and about to commit potential suicide!

Finally, Federal Government Aid To States For Education And Medicaid Support!

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Thanks to the two Maine Republican Senators (Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins), the Senate was able to overcome a GOP filibuster and provide $26 billion in aid to the states, to help support education and medicaid, and partially relieve the crisis in state budgets in this worst economy of the past 75 years!

Approximately 160,000 teaching positions nationally will be saved, and medicaid assistance to the states will help to plug the shortfall which threatened the continuation of the essential programs for the poor and handicapped!

The House of Representatives had adjourned for the summer break, but will return next Tuesday to pass the bill and help to relieve the economic crisis for the coming year!

Again, however, the Republican leadership in the Senate, headed by Mitch McConnell, complained that the states should not receive this extra aid, an amazing assertion when McConnell’s own home state of Kentucky is one of the poorest, most backward of all the states, and yet McConnell seems to have no concern! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND DISGRACEFUL! 🙁

Financial Reform Legislation Finally About To Pass, Thanks To Three Republican Senators! :)

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The most significant financial reform legislation in generations is about to pass the Senate, after patient behind the scenes negotiations by Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Obama Administration!

With the loss of Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the opportunity of gaining 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster seemed unlikely, but as on the economic stimulus legislation, three Republican Senators from the Northeast, seen as moderates in a party more right wing than ever, have had the courage to cross party lines and back the President!

On the economic stimulus bill last year, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania backed the President, and then switched parties.

So Maine Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe are now joined by Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, who has proved to be an independent in many ways, and very hard to predict what he will do on any legislation!

At a partisan time such as now, with the fall campaign already in motion, it is important that we salute Senators Collins, Snowe, and Brown for bipartisanship of the best kind!

Thank you, Senators, for doing what is best for the American people! 🙂