Maine Senator Susan Collins has long been known as one of the most liberal RINOs in Washington, D.C. On Thursday, she proved to be as bad as her critics have argued for years — and even worse — by announcing that she will vote in favor of calling new witnesses in the impeachment trial in the Senate.
“I believe hearing from certain witnesses would give each side the opportunity to more fully and fairly make their case, resolve any ambiguities, and provide additional clarity,” Collins said in a statement released Thursday. “Therefore, I will vote in support of the motion to allow witnesses and documents to be subpoenaed.”
“If this motion passes,” she went on to say, “I believe that the most sensible way to proceed would be for the House Managers and the President’s attorneys to attempt to agree on a limited and equal number of witnesses for each side. If they can’t agree, then the Senate should choose the number of witnesses.”
I will vote in support of the motion to allow witnesses and documents to be subpoenaed. My full statement: https://t.co/VuhZv6CO5e pic.twitter.com/LhQlnvPaoc
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) January 31, 2020
Some conservatives on Twitter are willing to cut Collins some slack because she’s from a blue state. Perhaps, they argue, she’s just trying to hold on to her seat and believes this is one of the best ways of doing so. See, for example, Human Events’ Will Chamberlain:
Mitt Romney is a yes on witnesses because he hates President Trump
Susan Collins is a yes on witnesses because she’s trying to hold on to her seat in a blue state
I’m ok with the latter, not the former https://t.co/U9BZuoGvtn
— Will Chamberlain 🇺🇸 (@willchamberlain) January 31, 2020
That sure sounds great, but there’s one minor problem: Collins’ record in the Senate has been overwhelmingly liberal. Her Liberty Score is a paltry 12% — an F. Of her last 50 votes, 44 were liberal. That’s comparable to Democrat Congressman Pete Aguilar. His Liberty Score is 11%. Of his last 50 votes, 42 were liberal. And wait, not only is he a Democrat, he also hails from California. The only reason that his score is lower than Collins’ is that he missed some votes.
If we limit ourselves to the Senate, there are Democrats there — outspoken liberal Democrats from blue states — who are more conservative than Collins. Cory Booker’s score, for example, is 18%. Of the last 50 votes, he voted liberal 36 times. Compare that to Collins’ 44 times.
Even Sen. Kamala Harris’ Liberty Score beats Collins’: 21%. Like Aguilar, Harris represents California, a blue a state as they come.
Then there is Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand from New York. Her Liberty Score? 16%. That’s right: She’s doing 4 percentage points better than Collins, a supposedly “moderate” Republican.
Heck, radical-left Elizabeth Warren’s record in the Senate is more conservative than Collins’. I kid you not! Her Liberty Score is 22% with 36 liberal votes versus 10 conservative votes.
And I’m not even done yet. Sen. Edward Markey, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Sen. Joe Manchin… all of them are Democrats, and they all have less liberal records than GOP Sen. Susan Collins.
It’s insane to argue that she is only voting in favor of calling new witnesses — like John Bolton — because she’s trying to protect her Senate seat. This woman is an out-and-out liberal. She’s to the left of Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, but we’re supposed to believe she’s just being strategic on this one particular vote?
Give me a break.
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