jm of Augusta, ME It would certainly be nice if Collins had voted more intelligently. She's an embarrasment to Maine.report abuse

Jim of Buxton, ME
JM,

Tom Allen does not represent or bring enough focus to Maine - Susan Collins brings us into the national spotlight, which only helps more legislation pass in our favor. Even Mike Michaud with his work of Veterans Affairs does more for Mainers directly through his role in the House. You can directly site examples of this success for the common good of Maine with Collins, Snowe, and Michaud. People in other states know these three, respect these three, and therefore support these three and what they have to say. And therefore the Maine interest is expressed and advanced. Nobody outside of Maine even knows who Tom Allen is, and that is not what we need in a Senator. He will get walked over in the Senate, but I am sure he would be excited to add it to his resume.

He is running solely on the platform that republicans are weak now. That is really brave coming forward when you want the "at least I am not the other guy/gal" vote. That is what you want in a Senator? And if you don't think that is true, then why is he running now, after many years of the same approval rating and being on the same Committees as he has been for years? I want somebody who does well by Maine, and although national issues are important and we can all question a few of Senator Collins votes (as we can with any congressman/woman if you look hard enough), look at who does the best by Maine and Mainers. And that is clearly Senator Collins (and for that matter Snowe and Michaud).report abuse

jm of Augusta, ME When the chips are down, Collins is just a rubber-stamp for all the outrageous excesses of the Bush Administration.

Her votes to promote the Iraq war showed her lack of critical thinking. She also voted in lock-step to pass (and renew) the "Unpatriotic Act" of 2001, which authorizes government agents to break into Americans' homes and businesses without ever showing a search warrent. She voted for the disgraceful Military Commissions Act of 2006 which authorizes kangaroo courts and removes habeus corpus rights. Our American freedoms that we used to take for granted have been placed in serious jeopardy by Collins' votes.

Susie also voted to confirm Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General, despite knowing that, as White House Counsel, Gonzales had advised Bush that he could ignore all laws (both domestic and international) and authorize torture. That vote destroyed all confidence in our system of "justice."

Add to these votes her rubber-stamping of Supreme Court justices Roberts and Alito, and you can see that the combination of Collins' poor judgement and blind loyalty to Bush has endangered our country and shamed the people of Maine.

I know that Jim of Buxton would like to pretend that Maine issues are more important than national ones, but I believe that it isn't going to profit us in the long run if, in order to help Maine a little, we lose our country. report abuse

Jim of Buxton, ME JM,

In terms of politics, at the end of day, what is good for Mainers is good for Maine. And yes, that is MORE important to me for a STATE senator to represent the state and THOSE CITIZENS IN THAT STATE first and foremost. Politics 101 jm -pure and simple. You can complain about Bush and policies all you want, and that type of attitude is why Tom Allen is trying to be the non-bush-party candidate. Really brave of him for a "true leader". He is another talking head and nothing more.

Susan Collins has done more for our state than most recent Senators. History will judge her legacy, but when you are cherrypicking specific votes out of thousands she has made, just to prove your point, then you are obviously pushing an agenda.

I said that Michaud does a great job too, so this isn't a partisan issue. But you have made it one, and it honestly seems like you have your liberal-101 book. If you want to make a true argument, look carefully at Tom Allen's very odd abstentions over the past 3 years, and the fact that after all these years nobody really knows who he is right now. Whether you like it or not jm, reputation and respect makes a Senator a true force - and Allen has neither.report abuse