Owner: Collins Watch URL:http://collinswatch.blogspot.com Join Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 12:30:43 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Keeping an eye on Maine's junior senator. Site statistics:Click here
Get Out of Jail Free 2007-07-02 18:21:00 Where does Sen. Collins stand on the Libby commutation?Just asking.
An Inconvenient Truth 2007-07-02 07:22:00 It's good to be back. And it'll take us a while to get caught up.But for starters, here's a piece from Wired News that caught our eye:Much of this apparatus, including the recently revealed NSA eavesdropping and phone record-mining programs, has no oversight...Senators have abdicated their Constitutional duty to provide checks and balances on the executive branch...Today, Senator Susan Collins, a moderate [sic] Republican with a fairly strong privacy record, met with Gen. Michael Hayden, the former head of the NSA who has been nominated to lead the CIA.The best Collins could muster after her meeting with the man who ran a program the Administration says Congress has no right to oversee was that she was "pleased he was nominated," but "the administration must be more forthright with Congress about these programs so we can exercise our oversight responsibilities. These surveillance programs should also be subject to the confines of law to ensure oversight and judicial review."(Emphasi Read more:Truth
, Inconvenient Truth
The Opposite of Leadership 2007-07-08 19:29:00 As Senate Guru notes, Sen. Collins has penned a column for today's Lewiston Sun Journal on the subject of Iraq.(Hmm. And no time for even a soundbite about the Libby commutation?)Her take-away message?At this point, Congress should consider all options.And:The time for partisan politics to determine the direction of our policy in Iraq is long over.If Collins is more interested in forcing a change in policy than she is in skirting the tough questions via empty bromides--and by playing the tired "partisanship" card--she sure has a funny way of showing it. Read more:Leadership
Silence on Libby? 2007-07-08 19:21:00 By July 3, Rep. Tom Allen had publicly condemned the Libby
commutation, telling the Associated Press:The words engraved over the door to the Supreme Court read 'Equal Justice Under Law.' The president's action yesterday amends that to 'unless you're Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff.'But five days later, I'm still unable to find a statement about Libby from the junior senator. (Anyone else find one?)At a certain, one has to assume she doesn't have a problem with it.
The Education of Sen. Collins 2007-07-06 13:32:00 First: Welcome, Daily Kos readers! And thanks to MissLaura for the link.Senate Guru has an excellent post up at Turn Maine Blue detailing the junior senator's about-face on the importance of the Iraq issue to Maine voters.But I would add the following point: Even as Collins
escalates (slightly) her rhetoric on Iraq--bemoaning the failures of the current policy, expressing concern about the lack of progress, etc.--there's still no evidence that she's willing to act on these misgivings.The question we must continue to ask is not whether Sen. Collins is capable of stringing together a few moderate-sounding, sensible-seeming sentences. It's whether she's willing to cast the kind of votes that will force a change in policy. Read more:Education
Quote of the Month 2007-07-05 19:58:00 Many of you probably caught this while we were away. But in case it didn't make as big a stir as it should have, here's Sen. Collins, via Hot Air, talking to the Los Angeles Times about Sen. Joe Biden's (D-DE) plan to decentralize Iraq's government:"It’s essentially giving federal approval to ethnic cleansing," Collins said. "On the other hand, nothing seems to be working."Then again, this is what passes for serious foreign policy analysis in George W. Bush's America. Read more:Quote
, Month
They Write Editorials 2007-07-12 07:35:00 Yesterday's Portland Press Herald, in an editorial on Iraq policy, offers a succinct summary of the current landscape:For Snowe and Collins, the choices remain difficult.Surely, they want to be supportive of a Republican president, and they don't want to alienate conservatives who believe pulling out of Iraq would be tantamount to surrender. But just as surely, they feel pulled in the other direction by the truth. Read more:Write
Collins Q2 2007-07-11 12:40:00 Via My Two Sense we learn that Sen. Collins
raised $1.26 million during the second quarter.(That's more than Rep. Allen's $1.1 million total--but not much more.)
On the Air 2007-07-10 13:35:00 The DSCC launches a new Collins ad, slated to run in Portland and Bangor.Wouldn't call it elegant, exactly. But it does get the point across.Thoughts?
It's Too Late 2007-07-09 19:43:00 When you look at Sen. Collins' recent public comments, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that she's getting ready to pivot on Iraq.It could take several weeks--although I wouldn't be surprised if it happened within days. But sooner than later, it seems likely that the junior senator will get behind a congressional measure that seeks to force a change in Iraq policy.And those of us who've been calling for just such an about-face need to think about how to greet a Collins reversal.Naturally, the first thing to say is that it would be welcome: Any effort to dislodge the current Iraq policy will be difficult, and those of us urging change need all the votes we can get.But that, of course, isn't the whole story. It's not even half of the story.Because the fact is that Sen. Collins' conversion, when it comes, will represent the opposite of leadership.Instead of speaking up in 2004, 2005 or 2006, Collins will have waited until scores of her Republican colleagues have stated the obviou
Allen Q2 2007-07-09 15:24:00 Rep. Allen
raised roughly $1.1 million in the second quarter, according to his campaign, from 9000 contributions averaging $122.Obviously, it will be interesting to see how the junior senator's numbers stack up.
Habeas Shmabeas? 2007-07-17 20:44:00 Firedoglake lists Sen. Collins as on-the-fence on habeas restoration.So where exactly is the junior senator on the issue? And why is it that we so often have to wait till the last minute to find out how Collins will vote on the most pressing matters facing the Senate?(Hint: If you answered, "because of her decisive nature and commitment to principle," then you haven't been paying close enough attention for the last eleven years.) Read more:Habeas
The Fog of Logic 2007-07-17 18:01:00 The Portland Press Herald runs a confused and confusing editorial that expresses these three sentiments:1. "There's no question that what we're doing now [in Iraq] is failing."2. "The president seems unwilling to change course."3. "The need to get the Bush administration to reverse course is clear."And yet--here's the kicker--the editorial is largely sympathetic to the junior senator's refusal to support any legislative attempts to force the President's hand.I know these things are often written by committee. But if anyone can square that circle, I'd like to know. Read more:Logic
Collins Wants Bush's Help 2007-07-17 10:29:00 Via The Politico:Sen. Susan Collins
(R-Maine) hesitated. She abandoned her thought mid-sentence and sighed.It was the question: Would she accept assistance from President Bush for her 2008 reelection campaign? "Oh, jeez," Collins said. "I don't anticipate ... well, who knows? I really haven't focused on that, but my general view is, anyone who legally wants to help raise money ..."(Emphasis added.)In short, Collins' opinion about a Bush fundraiser in Maine?Bring it on.(An aside: Does the junior senator really want to go on the record expressing her willingness to accept fundraising help from literally anyone who can legally raise funds? Because my hunch is that David Duke is probably available.)To be serious for a moment, I think her refusal to cut the cord with Bush--in spite of all her recent tsk-tsking--reveals more about her true attitudes toward the man than her campaign might have liked.
Department of Huh? 2007-07-16 20:36:00 From Sen. Collins' op-Ed in The Boston Globe--co-authored by none other than Sen. Joe Lieberman (CFL-CT)--touting her work on the homeland security front:Another important provision for inclusion in the final bill would encourage the general public to report suspicious activity.Glad they're focusing on the really difficult stuff...CapeDem has more. Read more:Department
Mislede 2007-07-18 20:32:00 The Portland Press Herald muddies the waters again.The headline? "Collins sides with Democrats on war vote."The substance (four paragraphs down)? "She opposes the [Democratic] legislation...[Collins spokesman Kevin] Kelley said.It's understandable that the Collins camp would want to obfuscate their candidate's position on Iraq. But does the Press Herald have to play along?
The "Partisanship" Pander 2007-07-22 18:55:00 Kevin Wack has an illuminating article in the Portland Press Herald about the junior senator's predicament on Iraq.A key passage:When Sen. Susan Collins rose to address the Capitol chamber shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday, she urged her Senate colleagues to find a middle ground between President Bush's Iraq policy and a Democratic-sponsored plan for withdrawal."We have got to put aside such a fractious political approach to such a grave crisis," the Maine Republican said. "We need to work together in a bipartisan way."Such conciliatory rhetoric has served Collins well in the past...But today's polarizing war debate--along with President Bush's unpopularity and Collins' upcoming campaign against Democratic Rep. Tom Allen--is testing the limits of the approach's effectiveness..."The problem for Collins is that most voters tend to see this issue in black and white," said Jennifer Duffy of the Cook Political Report in Washington. "And she's trying to highlight the shades of gray. And s
The Senior Senator 2007-07-21 20:24:00 Bill Nemitz doesn't break any new ground in his Friday column, but he touches on an issue that's been puzzling me:Snowe, Hagel and Smith broke ranks for an obvious reason: They plan to support the Levin-Reed plan if it ever comes up for an actual vote.Not so for Collins...It's but one example of the widening gap between Collins and Snowe--who's not running for anything in 2008--on how best to proceed in Iraq.Snowe, in her floor speech Tuesday evening, could not have been clearer: "We can no longer afford to place American servicemen and women in harm's way to instill a peace that the Iraqis seem unwilling to seek for themselves."And Collins? Not so clear...Collins has co-authored a proposal with Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska.That measure "would immediately require the President to change the mission of our troops away from combat and toward counter-terrorism operations, border security, and training Iraqi forces," Collins said in her news release.What it wouldn't do...is Read more:Senator
Seriousness Watch 2007-07-24 08:03:00 Via Congress Daily:House and Senate lawmakers and their aides will continue behind-the-scenes negotiations this week on legislation implementing unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, after failing to wrap up work last week...Another wrinkle to completing the legislation emerged late last week because conferees approved an amendment to the bill that would require the Homeland Security Department to ensure, within five years, that most cargo is scanned before it is shipped to the United States. The amendment only makes an exception for shipments of cargo and equipment for the U.S. military.Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she would not sign a final conference report if the provision remains, indicating that she will try this week to alter or delete the cargo-scanning language from the bill.Hmm.What does Sen. Collins have against cargo scanning? Anyone?Is the idea that the war in Iraq has made us so much safer that defens
Muddle Watch 2007-07-23 13:00:00 The Collins camp's efforts at obfuscation are bearing fruit: Maine's Channel 8 News mislabelled the junior senator as an Iraq timeline supporter on this morning's telecast.A retraction is allegedly forthcoming.
The "Pretty Please, Mr. President" Act of 2007 2007-07-26 19:22:00 Nowhere in Sen. Ben Nelson's (D-NE) Bangor Daily News column does he defend, explore or even mention the fact that the legislation he's proposed with Sen. Collins amounts to a series of waivable recommendations--that the bill has been crafted to give the President
wide latitude to ignore its provisions.It's hard to understand why a senior Democratic pol would pen an op-Ed to give political cover to a member of the opposition party. But since Nelson was going to all the trouble, he could at least have made sure that the final result was something other than an exercise in disingenuousness.Missed opportunity, I guess. Read more:Pretty
, Please
Devils, Details, Etc. 2007-08-02 18:52:00 Apparently, Sen. Collins now backs "binding legislation that would order Bush to restrict the mission of U.S. troops to counterterrorism, training Iraqis and protecting U.S. assets."It depends on the details, but it sounds like this at least might be step in the right direction for the junior senator.That said, President Bush has demonstrated repeatedly that he's working with a very expansive definition of "counterterrorism." So mark me down me as far from convinced that this counts as progress.
Allen: Collins Will Pivot on Iraq 2007-07-29 20:17:00 Via Senate Guru, we learn that MyDD has an interview with Rep. Allen
.And it's a douzy.Among the choice tidbits:Jonathan Singer: With Susan Collins
being such a moderate and being right down the middle and being so popular, how do you have the audacity to go up against her?Tom Allen: Well, because it isn't true. The story just isn't true. I explain to people up in Maine that Susan and Olympia have had very soft press coverage for the last decade. I just run through my differences with her, with Susan.Basically she's been for the President's policy in Iraq
from the beginning. She voted for the war. I voted against it. I've been a steady critic trying to change the policy for four and a half years.She voted for every single one of the President's tax cuts for the rich, including the '03 tax cut, which Olympia did not vote for. She voted for the energy bill, which moved $14 billion to oil companies. [She voted] for the Medicare Part D, which moved tens of billions in excess profits Read more:Pivot
Free Money 2007-08-08 11:09:00 Jim Cyr, a Republican, has an offer:10 bucks to anyone who can explain how someone serves as John McCain’s campaign co-chair, and claims to have deep philosophical kinship with Joe Lieberman, yet, on what’s our most vital national issue by far, can stubbornly peddle a position diametrically opposed to the one held by [them].The explanation, of course, is that while Sen. Collins has "peddled" an anti-surge position, she hasn't lifted a finger to effect a change in policy.So, yes, she's abandoned Sen. McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Lieberman (CFL-CT). But only rhetorically. Read more:Money
, Free Money
PH Gets It Right 2007-08-12 18:06:00 I've been critical of the Portland Pres Herald more than once.So it's worth giving the paper credit for the strong piece it ran on Friday, which generated a good deal of blog interest: Reporter John Cheves drew attention to the gap between Sen. Olympia Snowe's (R-ME) views on Iraq and those of Sen. Collins.What distinguished the article--and made it illuminating--was Cheves' willingness to cut through the spin to focus on the key distinction between Snowe's and Collins' views: That only one of the senators supports a deadline for troop withdrawal. (Hint: It's not Sen. Collins.)But I'd like to make another observation.Namely, I've been struck by how little we've heard from the junior senator on Iraq lately.Even as she's held fast to a view rejected by her constituents and Maine's senior senator, she's made virtually no effort to lay out her assessment of the Iraq landscape, no effort to enumerate the principles that are guiding her decision-making, etc.There've been no ext Read more:Right
Maine Papers: Recording Collins Unfair 2007-08-15 08:35:00 In today's editions, both the error-prone Portland Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News chastise those dastardly, mean Democrats for the unsavory, sneaky and downright despicable tactic of...recording Sen. Collins
in public.In explaining the practice of tracking, the PPH editorial notes:It is meant to capture the opposing candidate off-guard, saying something that he or she probably wouldn't blurt out if given time to think.Shocking but true: Maine
Democrats want to take Collins' unscripted, public comments and, y'know, hold her accountable for them! As part of a political campaign!What will they think of next? Buying time on television and then running advertisements that point out their candidate's strengths and Collins' weaknesses? Because that would really be over the line.In all seriousness, these editorials--while ridiculous and out-of-touch--are also a bit disturbing.Here we have two news gathering organizations telling readers that the unscripted public comments of thei Read more:Recording
More On Tracking 2007-08-14 20:46:00 As Maine Democrats notes, Sen. Collins hasn't exactly been a privacy rights absolutist.So it is a bit rich of her camp to take such umbrage at the videotaping of her public appearances.And one more point: The only political campaign I ever worked on--way back in 1994--used tracking. And I'm pretty sure our guy was followed around as well.So the notion that this is a new practice--and, implicitly, that it represents some sort of "escalation"--is just plain wrong. Read more:Tracking
Tracking The Trackers 2007-08-14 08:39:00 When I saw this headline--"Collins says 'tracker' got in her face"--I figured some overzealous Allen campaign operative had crossed the line, invading the junior senator's personal space during a public event.But when you read the article, it quickly becomes clear that nothing anywhere near objectionable occurred.Because (shame, Press Herald) the article doesn't deliver what its headline promises: There isn't any allegation that anyone "got in [Collins'] face."All that's alleged, by Collins' Chief of Staff Steve Abbott, is that the very presence of a video tracker "demean[s] the political process" and that the Democratic party tracker got "too close" to Collins when she was talking to constituents. Abbott never defines "too close"--but, tellingly, elsewhere he criticizes the tracker for standing "five feet away." The tracker maintains that he stayed out of Collins' personal space.Look, I'm sympathetic to the notion that pols deserve not privacy in public, but a freedom from t Read more:Tracking
Collins' "Plan" 2007-08-20 08:09:00 It's worth restating: To the extent that Sen. Collins
has a "plan" for Iraq, her plan is to leave President Bush in charge of our mission there.So the Portland Press Herald obscures more than it clarifies when it reports:Most of the 20 people who were questioned during swings through six towns in Cumberland and Sagadahoc counties disapproved of Allen's call for an exit deadline...More of those interviewed liked Collins' plan than Allen's approach.This tells us almost nothing.The obvious truth missing from this survey is that neither Collins nor Rep. Allen is going to be commander-in-chief any time soon. Given that fact, neither will have an opportunity to implement the plans they're setting out.So to focus on the specifics of their views for Iraq's is like asking Gov. Schwarzenegger (R-CA) how he proposes to rectify the Minneapolis bridge collapse: It's a misplaced question.Unless Allen and Collins both decide to run for President, the particular contours of their Iraq plans are
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