LAST WEDNESDAY, in an interview with Fox News, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) accused her Democratic challenger, former state Senate President Troy Jackson, of being soft on crime. She warned viewers that months earlier, Jackson had “welcomed the support of Democratic Socialists of America” while running in the Democratic primary for governor.
Then, during a debate broadcast Thursday evening on PBS stations in Maine, Collins did not say a word about the DSA. Instead, she distanced itself of Donald Trump’s policies. Highlighting her influence as chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she claimed she used that position — as well as her access to administration officials — to compensate Mainers for some of the costs imposed by the president.
Friday night, Collins was back on Fox News. And, suddenly, she began to worry about socialism again. “It’s interesting to me that Bernie Sanders went to Maine to campaign with (Jackson). Elizabeth Warren is coming this week. AOC is coming next week. I think that tells you a lot about where Troy Jackson stands,” the senator said. said Sean Hannity. She concluded that Jackson had “gone to the far left on many issues.”
This is Collins’ re-election strategy. To Trump voters, her message is that she will stick to the left. For everyone else, his message is this: If you are unhappy with Trump and the Republican Party, only Susan Collins – by being powerful and a Republican – can reduce your suffering.
It’s dark territory. Collins essentially concedes that the pain inflicted by her own party will continue and all she can do is alleviate it. The question his candidacy poses to Mainers is whether they will accept this grim bargain or give their seats to a party that will take on Trump for real.
DEMOCRATS HAVE TRIED TO MOVE Collins for many cycles. They have always failed. That’s because her formula — presenting herself as a moderate lawmaker who delivers on her constituents’ expectations — has proven compelling with Maine voters. But this time, his speech about legislative effectiveness could be overwhelmed by voters’ anger at Trump. At a minimum, his destructive presidency has prompted far greater scrutiny of his support approach.
In recent months, Collins has given three interviews that illustrate his view of his work. In June, Fox News host Martha MacCallum request tell him about his three decades in the Senate. “In 1996, you said you would only run for two terms,” MacCallum noted. “And yet, you’re running again (for a sixth term). Why? And did this break a promise you once made?”
Collins said she changed her mind and decided to stay when she realized how much power she could amass. “I underestimated how important seniority, experience and knowledge are in the Senate,” she told MacCallum. “When I look at what I could do as a freshman senator, versus what I can do as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the most powerful committee in the Senate, there is a huge difference.”
But what did Collins do with this power? In April, during a forum organized by Semafor, she boasted of
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