Myers Watch

In the wake of the notorious Halloween party incident, Sen. Collins--in a rare show of openness and clarity--has gone ahead and taken a bold, decisive stand on the nomination of Julie Myers to head the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

Hooray!

Well, not so fast.

Because it turns out that Collins has taken exactly the wrong position: She says she'll vote to confirm the thirty-six year-old lawyer.

"Sen. Collins has concluded that Ms. Myers recognizes that she made serious mistakes in judgment. She clearly regrets the incident and has apologized. Despite this incident, Sen. Collins believes that Ms. Myers has done a good job leading ICE," said Collins' spokeswoman.

This is a big deal.

Remember, Myers arrived at ICE in 2006 without any relevant immigration or managerial experience. Connections were her main credential: She's the niece of retired Joint Chiefs Chair Richard B. Myers and the wife of Michael Chertoff's then-chief of staff.

Two years later, the Halloween incident--with Myers' display of casual racism and staggeringly bad judgment--gives Collins the perfect opportunity to withdraw her support for a nomination that should never have been put forward in the first place.

And yet, as red state Republicans abandon ship, Collins still stands with the Bushies.

Not last year. Not last month. Today.

With everything the country's been through, she's still content to side with cronyism against competence; with stunningly bad judgment at the expense of professionalism; with racial insensitivity--at the top of an immigration-related agency, no less--and against accountability.

Has the junior senator learned nothing over the last seven years? From the Iraq fiasco? From the Walter Reed mess? From Hurricane Katrina?

Simply put: When is enough enough?

This is about abetting political sleaze, to be sure. It's about political favors and horsetrading and nepotism. But it isn't just about that.

Because ICE is one of the most important agencies in the executive branch.

It's charged with one of the trickiest and most important jobs in government: Protecting our borders and keeping Americans safe while at the same time allowing goods and people to move smoothly and efficiently over national boundaries.

It's pivotal, in other words, to both our national security and economic well-being.

Especially to Maine, with its $4+ billion trading relationship with Canada.

So how else to read Collins' support for Myers but as a repudiation of Maine voters and their interests?

And if the junior senator is willing to thumb her nose at constituents during a contested campaign, what can Mainers expect from her after she wins re-election?