Star Struck

PPH, with ample access to Sen. Collins, apparently chooses not to ask her a single penetrating question.

(Or maybe they did, and just decided not to report on it.)

Standing Out

Credit Sen. Collins for standing up to her GOP colleagues, at least so far, on Afghanistan:

Ten of 11 Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee are...marking Veterans' Day with a joint letter urging the president to give the commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the forces he has requested.

The letter was signed by every Republican on the committee save for moderate Susan Collins of Maine.

Collins is going her own way. She said she agrees it’s time for Obama's decision on troop levels but "I did not wish to sign on to a letter telling him what decision he should make as commander in chief."

"Once his decision is made and justified to Congress, I will assess and comment on it."

Disingenuousness Watch

Reputedly pro-choice Sen. Susan Collins:

"If Congress makes the mistake of establishing a new government-owned insurance company, it would need to extend the prohibition [on abortion coverage] to that company because it is using federal funds."

Collins is widely considered "pro-choice." It's a key part of her moderate branding.

But that self-description is--at best--a huge oversimplification of her views. If you were inclined to be less generous, you might even call it a deception.

More here.

Just Stop It. Seriously.

Shame on Sen. Susan Collins. Tons of bluster, zero self-examination.

And remember, HHS Secretary Sebelius hadn't even been confirmed when Collins stripped $780 million in pandemic flu preparedness funding from the stimulus bill.

If Collins knows a way to speed the production and distribution of vaccine, she ought to go ahead and share that information with the scientists.

And while she's got them on the phone, she ought to apologize for this:

Profiles In Shhh

Rep. Pingree speaks up about Question 1. Sen. Collins? Not so much.

Hypocrisy Watch

From MPBN:

Maine Sen. Susan Collins has come out in opposition to President Obama's nomination of Rafael Borras for a top post at the Department of Homeland Security.

[...]

Collins says in his current position, Borras manages 100 people, and in the new DHS position, he would manage more than 200,000 people, along with a $50 billion annual budget.

Collins says Borras also made numerous tax errors on recent federal income tax filings, mistakes she says "show a lack of attention of detail and a pattern of carelessness."

Despite the objections of Collins and other Republicans on the panel, Borras nomination was approved by a vote of 7 to 3.

Borras managed fifteen hundred people during his time as a regional administrator for the General Services Administration's Mid-Atlantic region during the 1990s. And before that, he was deputy assistant secretary of the Commerce Department. So he's certainly got experience as a manager.

So is the main objection supposed to be a few unspecified tax errors? Is there more to the story? It's not entirely clear.

But it would be interesting to hear the junior senator explain how Borras' credentials and foibles stack up against those of former Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) head Julie Myers.

Myers, you'll remember, was the 36-year-old niece of retired Joint Chiefs Chair Richard B. Myers and wife of Michael Chertoff's chief of staff who was elevated to her ICE leadership post via recess appointment by the Bush administration--even though she lacked any relevant immigration or bureaucracy management experience.

As Myers' awaited confirmation, she raised further questions about her fitness for the post by famously awarding a racist Halloween costume first prize at an agency Halloween party. Then she allegedly destroyed evidence of the incident.

Talk about bad judgment.

So what did Susan Collins think of all this? You guessed it: She stood by Myers and her thin resume. Collins supported her confirmation.

Of course, it's not possible that the junior senator has different standards for Republican administrations than she has for Democratic ones.

Is it?

BDN: Public Option Essential

They write editorials:

Without the public option--Democrats are now calling it the "consumer option" and "competitive option," to explain its raison d'etre--the health care bill is a partial fix, something like putting three new snow tires on the car.

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, whose vote for the Finance Committee's version of the bill without a public option was gratefully embraced by the Obama administration, is now signaling her disapproval of the revival of the government-run plan. Her GOP colleague, Sen. Susan Collins, also appears likely to abandon the reform effort if it contains a public option.

Of course, on the other hand, Sens. Snowe and Collins have interesting biographies and seem like really nice people...

Missed This

The Lewiston Sun Journal has some thoughts:

As soon as Sen. Olympia Snowe voted for health care reform, the nation's eyes turned toward her counterpart, Sen. Susan Collins. Hijinks ensued.

[...]

On Oct. 14, [Collins] released a long statement that essentially said she endorses health reform that produces more affordable insurance options and doesn't cost too much money. But this is not particularly helpful because, regardless of partisan sensibilities, everybody wants that. The question is how it's done.

[...]

Poker faces are valuable in politics, we understand. On this issue, however, Collins shouldn't be concerned about making detailed sentiments on reform clear. In fact, as the former state insurance commissioner, her opinions would be quite valuable to this process.

[...]

We know Collins has strong positions on health care reform, yet in the context of the pending legislation, nobody quite understands what they are, and she isn't saying...Her position as a U.S. senator requires her to let her constituents know what she thinks.

(Via Al Diamon.)

Memo to Maine Media

A public option that anyone can purchase is now supported in Maine by a margin of 61%-28%.

That's a landslide--and an even bigger margin than the last Research 2000 poll.

Short Term Memory

Sen. Collins now:

Maine Senator Susan Collins is demanding to know why there are shortages of the H1N1 vaccine...In her letter, Collins said the tight supplies of the H1N1 vaccine is [sic] "alarming."

Collins this spring:



She also thinks the Obama administration is "not doing a good job of preparing the nation for a biological weapons attack by terrorists" though I don't remember Collins criticizing her feckless pals in the prior administration for their half-hearted approach to homeland security.

In short, utterly shameful.

Something to Watch

Matthew Yglesias writes:

One good way to tell the difference between a member of congress who’s genuinely concerned about the long-term budget deficit and a hypocritical jackass is to ask them where they stand on the Kyl-Lincoln $250 billion budget-busting giveaway to the children of extremely rich people.

Of course, Sen. Collins' voting history strongly suggests that she'd support such a measure, irresponsible as it is.

But Collins works really hard and has great family. So I guess that makes it okay.

Diamon: PPH Story Not Journalism

At Downeast.com:

On Oct. 25, the Maine Sunday Telegram...did its own story, by staff writer Matt Wickenheiser, that incorporated some of the [Washington] Post's material, but added another round of fawning interviews--again, without a single critical opinion.

Collins has a great work ethic, we’re told, because of her background growing up in northern Maine. She has an excellent resume, and she's beloved not only by members of the GOP, but by Democrats and independents. So much so, apparently, that no one could be located who took a less positive view.

This isn't journalism. It's public relations.

PPH or People Magazine?

Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram runs a health care-pegged profile of Sen. Collins today that reads more like a canonization brief than a piece of legitimate journalism.

The article, full of glowing praise from Collins fans, includes not a single skeptical-sounding clause about the junior senator; no critics are heard from; and all context about the, um, evolution of Collins' position on health care is omitted.

The piece also privileges biographical detail over legislative substance, the implicit message being that Collins is first and foremost a celebrity--and only incidentally a legislator.

Of course, this kind of friendly, uncritical approach is what we've come to expect from PPH, whose former editor is now a Collins staffer.

When the new ownership arrived, an early editorial hinted that a more healthy, less cozy relationship between the paper and the senator might develop. But since then, Richard Connor has raised the white flag and returned to the fawning approach adopted by his predecessor.

It's not just a shame--it's a betrayal of the paper's readership. Or what's left of it.