Gordon L. Weil
Susan Collins now has her chance for her place in
history.
No, it wouldn’t be from being elected six times to the U.S.
Senate. It would arise from her taking a
stand in favor of traditional American and Republican values. She should show courage and principle even if
it brings crude denunciation by President Trump.
Sen. Collins has prided herself on being a moderate Republican, true
to the values of limited government, free enterprise with a commitment to equal
rights and environmental protection. She comes from a Maine political family
closely identified with that brand of Republicanism.
Donald Trump has stolen that party away from her. The Trump GOP has crushed
her ambition to become a major influence on public policy in the Senate,
while reducing her power by using the functionally stunted Republican Senate to
rubber stamp his policies. The only use
the GOP and its president have for Collins is her vote to maintain his
unquestioned control of the Senate.
Collins has made political sacrifices to advance the
interests of the nation and Maine and her political career. When her integrity clashes with Trump’s
excesses, she temporizes by cloaking her positions in expedience
or dubious superior knowledge, as compared with the rest of us, of how the
system really works.
She occasionally
breaks with Trump and his demands for blind loyalty, and that is to be
commended. But she seldom either recruits
support or casts the deciding vote. This
is leadership by gesture, not by consistent and assertive application of her
principles.
Maine and the country may be shortchanged by her approach. Now is the time that demands her vindicating
the courage of her convictions as a moderate or being held accountable for
having misled us about her principles.
She likes recalling the story of Sen. Margaret Chase Smith’s
Declaration
of Conscience, her public stand against Joe McCarthy, a Republican
colleague intent on destroying political decency. That took courage, yet she made a partisan
speech, making clear her belief that real Republicanism could defeat the
Democrats without McCarthy’s vitriol.
Margaret Chase Smith ultimately lost re-election. But her electoral defeat is not what we
remember. Her assured place in history
derives from that single statement of her principles in defiance of her party.
The nation needs a functioning two-party system, operating
through compromise. The majority party should dominate decision making, but it
should accommodate views of the minority to promote a sense of unity of
purpose.
Instead, we have a nation divided. The two sides appear beyond any hope of
compromise. The war is on, not only for this presidential term, but for the
indefinite future.
The Democrats are dazed by finding themselves in this
situation and remain unable
to pull themselves together with a coherent policy under strong leadership. While the times demand a bold alternative to
Trump, they rely simply on the slim hope that opposition to him and his
ego-based politics will produce their electoral victory.
The country not only needs the Democrats to find themselves
but the recovery of the traditional Republican Party. If this is the great nation that we believe
it is, that’s the result of the historical interaction of the two parties. The nation needs two strong political
parties; neither now qualifies.
Susan Collins can do more for her country by keeping the
spark of Republicanism alive and giving it oxygen than by mere futile gestures. She may not turn the Party around, but in the
current crisis, she can play a strong, visible and independent role in preserving
and promoting the traditional GOP.
Collins v. Democrats
The Trump Republican Party is likely to see Collin’s
situation differently. It wants to retain
at least 51 seats in the U.S. Senate to ensure that the president can pursue
his personal agenda without interference from Congress. That’s the same reason for the Texas redistricting
aimed at picking up five more GOP House seats, which otherwise might fall under
Democratic control.
Collins is not loyal by Trump standards, though she has
either backed him on critical matters or opposed him with meaningless opposition
when he could prevail without her. But
she casts one critical vote – to keep the Trump Republicans in control of the
Senate. It is doubtful if Maine could
find another person who could hold the seat for the GOP.
That means the Maine campaign could boil down to a single
question: which party will control the Senate?
If it’s the GOP, Trump could have a blank check for his entire second
term. If it’s the Democrats, he may be held
to account or face somewhat limited powers.
The challenge for the Democrats is simple. They need to find a candidate who can defeat
Collins. She successfully overwhelms
lesser-known candidates. Polls showing her popularity is fading are not
a basis for Democratic optimism.
The best hope for the Democrats is Gov. Janet Mills. She is widely known and is more
favorably viewed by Maine voters than Collins. She is a right-of-center Democrat, entitling
her to be considered a moderate. With
the chance to defeat Collins, liberal Democrats would likely support her,
despite past differences.
The problem with Mills is her age, now 77. She would be the oldest new senator ever; she
would begin when most senators retire.
With Sen. King at 80, Maine would probably have the most geriatric U.S.
Senate duo ever.
The Democrats could elect the next governor at the same time
as a Mills’ victory, who could appoint her replacement, if necessary. To ensure their hold on the Senate seat, the Democrats
would need the next governor to serve as their insurance policy.
No matter the governor’s affiliation, the Legislature could
adopt a law requiring that any replacement must belong to the same party as a
departing senator, as is done
in 10 states.
In either case, Mills could serve less than a full term,
secure in the knowledge that her seat would go to another Democrat. (The Legislature could also require a special
election to fill a vacancy, as is done in five states.)
