Kolbert: Collins Crossed A Bright Line

Kathryn Kolbert--the woman who argued successfully at the Supreme Court for Planned Parenthood in Planned Parenthood v. Casey--thinks Sen. Collins lapsed into extremism, voting against reproductive freedom, when she backed the Alito nomination:

By the time he was nominated to the Supreme Court, Justice Alito had clearly shown how little respect he had for a woman's constitutional right to choose. Senator Collins knew that a vote for Alito would be a vote against reproductive freedom, but she chose to support President Bush instead of standing up for women.

In fact, on a host of issues, the vote for (or against) the Alito nomination is a clear, bright line between moderation and extremism. The Roberts-Alito Court has already been devastating for choice, workers rights, voting right, the environment, and consumer protections. Mainers need to understand that Susan Collins’s votes on judicial nominees have enabled President Bush and the right wing of the Republican Party to gain unprecedented power over the lives of ordinary Americans.