“I received assurances.” That is what Sen. Susan Collins said she received from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding development of vaccines. That is what she said Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh gave her, regarding not overturning Roe v. Wade. Is the senator naive or does she think we don’t remember?

In the first place, we don’t base hiring decisions on what people tell us they will do, we decide based on what they have said and done in the past. Those are the only true predictors; none of us knows what we will do in the future.

What Sen. Collins did was melt under pressure. We could see it coming when she made her trip to Mar-a-Lago. Kennedy is one of the most unqualified nominees for a cabinet position in U.S. history. His selection was simply a test by Trump to see how compliant he could make the Senate. Now we know.

When we needed courage in the Senate, we got capitulation.

Dewey Meteer
Nobleboro