Lately, I’ve been pondering Sen. Susan Collins’ place in history. I think it will be tied to Donald Trump and the decay of the Republican Party.
The Republican Party used to stand for national security. It used to be patriotic. It knew that a good portion of the strength of America lay in its alliances, and the post-World War II institutions we created, and the fact that we were the aspirational country on the planet – the one other peoples admired and looked up to. With President Trump at the helm, making love to dictators and subverting our democratic institutions and our allies, this is no longer the case. We are well on our way to being loathed.
The Republican Party is complicit in all this. Some of its members actively encourage Trump, and others meekly follow along, with only the occasional, carefully calibrated objections. Most are just silent. There aren’t many profiles in courage.
I wonder why Sen. Collins stays with it. Perhaps she hopes to right the ship – but this won’t happen, and she must know this. She will be part of the club, increasingly compromised, complicit and tainted. The occasional brave stand will be ineffectual, or look like a stunt to play to the moderate side of her constituency – only to have Majority Leader Mitch McConnell kick her to the curb.
I realize that the Republican Party has been her home for decades. But sooner or later, one has to leave home, especially if it has become a house of abuse and destruction.
I’ve voted twice for Sen. Collins. I can imagine voting for Susan Collins, independent. But I won’t make the mistake of voting again for Susan Collins, Republican.
Geoffry Smith
Brunswick
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