It’s been nearly two months since we last heard from Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), yet in that time she clearly hasn’t gotten any wiser when it comes to doing the right thing and taking a principled stand against the extremists in the Republican Party.
You probably recall that after Collins voted not to convict Donald Trump in the Senate impeachment trial, she made a ludicrous statement that she was confident the president had learned from being impeached, commenting:
“I believe that the president has learned from this case. The president has been impeached. That’s a pretty big lesson.”
On Monday, Sen. Collins took to the floor of the Senate during debate on a coronavirus relief bill that was little more than a massive handout of trillions of tax dollars to large corporations, including a $500 billion slush fund that would be controlled by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who wouldn’t have to reveal who had received the money for six months.
Her voice filled with fake outrage, Collins declared:
“I cannot believe the objections to proceeding to this package. Is this package perfect? No, but that’s why negotiations are still going on. But don’t we want to act quickly to provide relief to the American workers?
“This is disgraceful. We do not have time. Time is not on our side. Let’s get the job done for the American people.”
Sure! Let’s throw trillions of dollars at the largest multinational corporations in the world and give $1,200 to workers who are without a job and may not have one for months to come. Apparently Sen. Collins think the majority of us are willing to take the crumbs that fall off the table while the richest Americans enjoy a seven-course feast.
As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DNY) noted after Collins spoke, none of us need more “crocodile tears” from a hypocrite like the Maine senator:
.@SenatorCollins can keep her crocodile tears.
She voted & fought HARD to strip pandemic prep funding. She helped drive the lack of preparation that we had leading up to this.
What’s actually disgraceful is her “I’m a Moderate Lady” dance to cover up brutal policies and votes. https://t.co/sY2Iv4y3fT
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 23, 2020
Susan Collins is all but guaranteed to lose come November. She could have gone out with dignity. Instead, she chose to be remembered as a whiny partisan hack who won’t be missed in the least when the voters kick her to the curb.