The Collins Crisis

4 mins read
John Frary

It was easy to identify the low point in the Judiciary Committee’s Kavanaugh nomination deliberations.

I refer, of course, to Sen. Cory Booker’s stump-speech histrionics. Lacking H.L. Mencken’s talent, I will swipe his reaction to Warren Harding’s oratory and apply it to the Newark Spartacus’ blather. It fits nicely.

“It reminds me of a string of wet sponges; it reminds me of tattered washing on the line; it reminds me of stale bean soup; of dogs barking idiotically through endless nights … It drags itself out of the dark abysm of pish and crawls insanely up to the topmost pinnacle of posh. It is rumble and dumble. It is flap and doodle. It is balder and dash.”

Is this an exaggeration? I look forward to a defense of this driveler. Hopefully the Bulldog’s editors will provide space, if space is needed.

For me, Lance Harvell, and others of our kind, the high point of this depressing conflict was provided by Senator Collins’ speech explaining her intention to support the nomination. I provide a link for those interested enough the form an independent opinion on its substance.

Seth Lipski, editor of the New York Sun summarizes the speech’s merits in an Oct. 6 editorial.

Here’s the part of the speech that especially interested me: “To my knowledge, Judge Kavanaugh is the first Supreme Court nominee to express the view that precedent is not merely a practice and tradition, but rooted in Article III of our Constitution itself. He believes that precedent “is not just a judicial policy … it is constitutionally dictated to pay attention and pay heed to rules of precedent.”

This is the first time I’ve heard this argument as well. Whether valid or not it should have been part of this nomination debate. Apart from our senator’s reference it was never heard. More, almost nothing was said about conflicting methods of Constitutional interpretation. Arguments on and off the committee concentrated on the results they expected or desired not the means by which Justices arrive at their decisions. A debate which should have concerned itself about an “originalist” ended up being about a “rapist.”

Oh well, never mind all that stuff. Now that Justice Kavanaugh is seated on the bench, the fury has shifted to Senator Collins.

Here’s a message just received by my new friend, Katie Mae Simpson, Executive Director of the Maine Democratic Party: “John — Susan Collins turned her back on women when she cast her vote for Brett Kavanaugh. We’re holding her accountable, starting NOW … Mainers have had enough of Susan Collins.”

She boasts of support from Democracy for America, a part of the extra-terrestrial wing of the Democratic Party.
They want donations. The Democrats have a healthy head-start. According to Rolling Stone, a Maine People’s Alliance Crowdpac raised $2 million to support a still unknown opponent if Collins supported Kavanaugh. The Washington Post reported that it had raised $3 million by Saturday morning.

This is a huge sum to have on hand two years before the election process even starts. But Paul LePage told me last Wednesday that he had already called Collins and told her that he planned to turn his coat, register as a Democrat, scoop up the Crowdpac treasure, and spend the whole sum on the primary election.

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11 Comments

  1. I feel so bad for Susan Collins…..she was not quick to judge and based her vote on facts not emotions. Anyone with hard feelings towards her should be ashamed!!

  2. Another gem of unbiased writing. Your approach to each subject
    without a clear agenda is refreshing. Oh wait, John Frary wrote the above
    article-please disregard

  3. I don’t know when Sen. Collins made up her mind, just when she announced her decision. Every Democrat on the committee, probably every Democrat in the Senate, made up their minds and announced their decision before the nominee was even named. It was not based on emotion, just ideology, using Ford as cover.

  4. Some contributors show up as usual, blunderbusses charged. All they have to do is pull the trigger and blast away somewhere along the circuit of the compass. If they were capable of formulating an argument they could read the links and attempted a response. Paranoid Right-wingers, seeing uniform reactions in the media and across the Internet, imagine conspiracies (Soros money at work, etc.). It’s the herd instinct in action, not distinct brains. I’ve studied that instinct for forty years while rotating in academic circles.

  5. Taking note of the scorched earth tactics, violence, death threats, doxxing and other lunacy of the left…how can anyone support the Democrats?? 20% of people who had voted for Obama went on to vote for Trump. Walk away, don’t be part of a group that acts like this.

    You may not like Kavanaugh, but he’s right about one thing: the actions done by the Left will follow this country for decades. With Franken, there were photos, Frostproof…I know you feel people (conservatives…) should not have the presumption of innocence anymore, but really…would you guys PLEASE stop trying to undo our system of justice and constitutional rights, and PROVE things like “Trump’s hundreds of more serious offenses”???? Over 2 years of Mueller – nothing. Wow – totally off the rails. If we don’t get back on, bad things will come this nation’s way, for SURE.

    By trying to tear down those structures, you Lefties are doing more to cause oppression than all Republicans that ever lived – so ironic!!! You came into the “Trump Era” whining about dictatorships when nobody was doing a thing to you, and now you’re building the foundations for one, ha ha!

  6. Hello, everyone. This is Frostproof, the real one. Yesterday at 4:24pm, someone posted using my nickname. It was the silly comment, now mercifully withdrawn (Thank you, Mr. Editor), about Franken and about Collins’ rabid partisanship, etc. Please take note, WalkAwayDems.

    Allow me to apologize for the boorish behavior of the impostor, because he never will.

    So, sorry for the interruption. We all may now resume our usual partisan bickering.

  7. As anticipated, no liberal could be found to analyze and dispute the Collins statement. Look at his column and you will find a critique from Al—it was long an rambling.

  8. As anticipated, no liberal could be found to analyze and dispute the Collins statement. Look at his column and you will find a critique from Al—it was long an rambling. I have to wonder if he actually read it.

  9. Thank you for the link to Senator Collins’ speech. I was pleased that she seems to understand the importance of the very real and terrible issue of sexual assault while still making an opinion based on due process. My biggest frustration in this has been the number of people so willing to make hateful and misinformed statements about sexual assault survivors.

    Sexual assault is not a liberal or conservative issue. Our country’s well-being is not a liberal or conservative issue. Shame on anyone who makes it that…no matter what “side” you’re on. I, for one, am SICK TO DEATH of reading “libs this” and “GOP that.” Try thinking for yourselves; it’s liberating.

  10. Yaknow,,,,
    The more that kooks like Susan Feiner show how hysterically flawed they are,, the clearer it is “who to reject”.
    Feiner is the nutty professor who “deceived” her employer (very forth right and honest),by setting up a fraudulent course to act like an idiot by going to Washington and harassing senator Collins because she disagrees with her decision concerning kavanaugh.
    And so she’s can say is, it’s USM S LOSS after the college banned her… even a Liberal college had to draw a line.. haha.
    THE NUTTY PROFESSOR IS THE LAUGH OF THE WEEK…

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