In a recent HuffPost article, senior politics reporter Laura Bassett concludes that Sen. Susan Collins is probably afraid of a competitive primary in 2020 against a more-right-wing challenger (Max Linn?), which is why she may be contorting so much to provide cover for her coming vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh despite the outpouring of contacts she has received over the past couple of months, asking or demanding that she vote “no”: in person, by proxy to her offices, by rallies and demonstrations, by phone, by mail, by email, by Facebook, by Twitter, by letters to the editor here and in other Maine papers, etc.

She is going to face a fierce re-election bid regardless, because there will be a Democratic contender as well.

Susan Collins is going to lose in 2020. Whether she loses in the primary to a right-winger riding the Trump Train or to a Democrat (I can think of several I’d like to see run) in the general election, and regardless of her coming vote on Kavanaugh, Sen. Collins’ time in the Senate is done.

She is a lame duck. As such, she should vote the way oh-so-many of her constituents are telling her to vote. She should vote her own conscience, if she still has one. She should vote to put country first and protect the rule of law. She should vote “no.”

Jeffrey Kaplan

Biddeford