Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Collins Losing Maine Media?

It's not just BDN. All of a sudden, even PPH has the audacity to allow criticism of Sen. Collins in its pages.

Greg Kesich unloads on the junior senator today.

Remember: Since Richard Connor's early flirtation with Collins skepticism, the Portland daily (like BDN) has handled her as a kind of sainted celebrity, keeping its pages totally free of sentiments critical of Collins.

So what to make of today's about-face? And the fact that it comes the same day that BDN is taking a break from its pro-Collins posture?

Interesting stuff.

Anyway, here's Kesich:

Sen. Susan Collins wrote a column for this newspaper explaining her objections to the package that she voted against in the Senate on Christmas Eve. ("Cost control essential if health care reform is to succeed," Feb 1)

Collins said that she would not vote for the bill because it didn't do enough to control costs and listed several areas in which it could be better...

[But] voting against this health care reform package because it doesn't control costs is like voting against Social Security because it's not nice enough to old people.

Despite a few polite words now and then, partisanship is the order of the day. Collins...is right in the middle of it.

Her ongoing critique of the Obama administration's handling of terrorism does not look like someone trying to find common ground. She lambastes Obama for decisions with which she had no problem when Bush was making them. And she is so dismissive of FBI interrogators, you'd think they'd handed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab over to ACORN for a few questions last Christmas.
It's not entirely clear, but it would appear that Collins' demagoguery about the Christmas Day bomber is what pushed Kesich over the edge. (We unpacked her disingenuous health care critique at greater length here.)

In any case: Bet they're having a wonderful day over at Collins HQ.

1 comment:

CBabcock said...

I cancelled my home delivery to PPH, and got a refund for unused portion. The day after the State of the Union address, the PPH editorial went after President Obama for not accomplishing anything, basically, without mentioning the complicity of the two senators from Maine (I won't say "our" senators, as I feel no sense of ownership) in nothing happening. Not once have they stepped up and done what is right for the people of Maine. These "moderates" have been in lockstep with the party of No.
It's time to make the republicans actually filibuster, actually take turns reading the phone book, while nothing gets done!!