Susan Collins, Maine’s true independent senator, has some folks upset once again.

Unlike partisans, Susan votes her conscience. Sometimes she goes with her party; sometimes she goes against them. When she goes against her party, she is lambasted by Republicans who call her a traitor. But when she does so, she has never required security protection. When she voted against the repeal of Obamacare, conservatives threatened not to vote for her again, but that was the extent of it.

Contrast their reaction to the present behavior of the Democrats and liberals when she voted to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Now she is no longer a darling of the media. She’s considered a rape apologist and is subject to death threats because she once again voted her conscience. She needs protection for her personal safety!

Sen. Collins had her Margaret Chase Smith moment. Liberals were calling for it. Unfortunately, they forgot what Sen. Smith opposed in her famous speech. She was against McCarthyism, “a campaign or practice that endorses the use of unfair allegations and investigations.” That definition captures all of the reprehensible antics of the Democrats and liberal activists throughout the Kavanaugh hearings.

Unsubstantiated charges do not render a person guilty. That is the bedrock of the American judicial system. One is innocent until proven guilty, and no evidence was ever presented that proved Judge Kavanaugh guilty of a sexual assault on Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. That is most likely the fact that caused Sen. Collins to vote her conscience in this case and vote to confirm the judge.

Extreme pressure was applied to Sen. Collins to influence her vote on this confirmation, with the Crowdpac campaign funding her next opponent the crowning touch.

Sen. Smith also had advice regarding pressure: “When people keep telling you that you can’t do a thing, you kind of like to try it.”

Gerald Caruso

Falmouth