Collins turned her back on promise to fight for campaign finance reform “all the way”
When Mainers first sent Susan Collins to the U.S. Senate, she claimed that getting money out of politics was a top priority for her and for the people of Maine. But eight years ago today, Collins helped her party block the DISCLOSE Act, which would have increased transparency and limited dark money meddling in federal elections.
Senator Collins has actually voted to block the DISCLOSE Act four times, including casting a deciding vote to kill the bill in 2010. And in 2014, she voted against a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, which kept the floodgates open to allow millions in anonymous and corporate money to flow into our elections..
Now, Collins is reaping the benefits of the system she helped create. In her re-election bid, she has been more than happy to accept the support of shady Super PACs and dark money groups backing her reelection. In the past year alone, Collins has already benefited from $4 million in dark money spending on her behalf.
Just today on the very anniversary of one of her votes against the DISCLOSE Act, dark money group One Nation is going back on air in Maine to prop up her re-election campaign.
“Susan Collins has voted to uphold the very worst parts of the system that she promised Mainers she would fight when we first elected her to the Senate,” said Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Lisa Roberts. “Her consistent efforts to block getting dark money out of politics demonstrate that she’s abandoned the very values she originally campaigned on, and put corporate special interests ahead of doing what’s best for Maine.”
###