A new op-ed from Jane Calderwood, Olympia Snowe’s former chief of staff, articulates why Senator Susan Collins has lost the support of so many Mainers who voted for her in the past. As Calderwood sees it, Collins “has proven unwilling to stand up to the President and too enamored of political power to speak up for the good people of Maine.”

 

The facts support Calderwood’s assertion. When Mainers asked Collins to oppose the GOP tax giveaway to corporations and the wealthy, reject the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, and hold Trump accountable in the impeachment trial, their pleas were met with silence as Collins voted in lockstep with her party. After having voted with Trump 94% of the time, Senator Collins’ claim to still be an independent voice for Maine rings hollow.

 

Seacoast Online: OPINION/GUEST VIEW: I can no longer support Sen. Susan Collins

 

By Jane Calderwood

August 30, 2020

 

Key Points:

 

  • I was raised to believe I should cast my vote for the person with the best ideas, regardless of their party. My father took me down to Bangor City Hall when I turned 18 to get me registered to vote. He jokingly said he was afraid I would register as a Democrat – perhaps because our neighbor, who was a Democrat, worked there. That had never been my plan. In fact, I remained a registered Republican, even when I lived and worked in Washington DC where I was one of a minuscule number of Republicans.

 

  • For nearly 20 years I proudly worked for Senator Olympia Snowe in the House and the Senate.

 

  • Like my former boss, I have always formed my views and opinions based on the individual issue and the facts, not the person or party pushing the issue.

 

  • Sadly, I can no longer support Senator Susan Collins. She has proven unwilling to stand up to the President and too enamored of political power to speak up for the good people of Maine. I am tired of hearing about how “concerned” she is. These times demand strength and action and she has shown neither.

 

  • I put up with a lot of grief in Washington because I worked for a “moderate” Republican. And I swore for decades that I would not be driven out of my own party, despite what I saw as their best efforts to do so.

 

  • The election of Donald Trump, as a Republican, however, was the last straw. Trump chose the Republican party because there was an open slot not because he possessed any strong belief in the party and its’ policy goals, so, reluctantly, I changed my party registration.

 

  • Not because I wanted to leave my party, but when they nominated Trump to represent the Republicans as their presidential candidate, the GOP left me.

 

  • It is not because we disagree with Trump on one issue or three, it is because his entire approach to governing is inflicting harm on our nation. His unwillingness – or inability – I’m not sure which - to address the COVID-19 pandemic is unbelievable and unforgivable, and only one of many examples, though the most damaging to date, of his unwillingness to protect the American public. He has spread misinformation about medications, refuses to tell people to wear a mask, ignores and then sidelines actual medical experts, and he has left all 50 states on their own to figure out how to deal with this pandemic.

 

###