Line Drawing

From the beginning I've assumed that Sen. Collins would vote in favor of the final stimulus bill. And that still seems extremely likely.

The more interesting question, it seems to me, is if--in the meantime--she's interested in working to make the legislation more effective. Or if she'd prefer to water it down.

Sadly, her vote on the Murray amendment reinforces the idea that the latter is the case.

Remember, Collins has been calling for more infrastructure spending. And the junior senator voted for literally trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the rich under President Bush.

But an extra $25 billion in highway, mass transit, water and sewer spending is where she draws the line?

Of course, she's a moderate bipartisan centrist, so I'm sure she had a good reason.