Department of Huh?

From Sen. Collins' op-Ed in The Boston Globe--co-authored by none other than Sen. Joe Lieberman (CFL-CT)--touting her work on the homeland security front:

Another important provision for inclusion in the final bill would encourage the general public to report suspicious activity.

Glad they're focusing on the really difficult stuff...

CapeDem has more.

They Write Editorials

Yesterday's Portland Press Herald, in an editorial on Iraq policy, offers a succinct summary of the current landscape:

For Snowe and Collins, the choices remain difficult.

Surely, they want to be supportive of a Republican president, and they don't want to alienate conservatives who believe pulling out of Iraq would be tantamount to surrender. But just as surely, they feel pulled in the other direction by the truth.

Collins Q2

Via My Two Sense we learn that Sen. Collins raised $1.26 million during the second quarter.

(That's more than Rep. Allen's $1.1 million total--but not much more.)

On the Air

The DSCC launches a new Collins ad, slated to run in Portland and Bangor.



Wouldn't call it elegant, exactly. But it does get the point across.

Thoughts?

It's Too Late

When you look at Sen. Collins' recent public comments, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that she's getting ready to pivot on Iraq.

It could take several weeks--although I wouldn't be surprised if it happened within days. But sooner than later, it seems likely that the junior senator will get behind a congressional measure that seeks to force a change in Iraq policy.

And those of us who've been calling for just such an about-face need to think about how to greet a Collins reversal.

Naturally, the first thing to say is that it would be welcome: Any effort to dislodge the current Iraq policy will be difficult, and those of us urging change need all the votes we can get.

But that, of course, isn't the whole story. It's not even half of the story.

Because the fact is that Sen. Collins' conversion, when it comes, will represent the opposite of leadership.

Instead of speaking up in 2004, 2005 or 2006, Collins will have waited until scores of her Republican colleagues have stated the obvious: That our Iraq policy is broken; that change is desperately needed, even if it needs to be forced down the President's throat.

And so instead of acknowledging these stark truths back when it might have saved lives, Collins has timed her conversion to blend into the woodwork.

Instead of risking something by getting out in front on the most important issue of the last several years, the junior senator has waited to crawl out of the President's pocket until the overwhelming risk was in not distancing herself.

As we said just over a month ago:

At a certain point, the weight of the evidence that the Bush administration was fundamentally dysfunctional...became overpowering.

And at that point, those supporting him on Iraq were no longer just guilty of wishful thinking. They were enabling--and participating in--a political, economic, diplomatic, humanitarian and human catastrophe of staggering proportions.

That was the time for people of good will to stand up...

That was when giving the Bush administration the benefit of the doubt became an act of political malpractice. And that was when senators and house members who failed to use their public platforms--and their votes--to confront the administration became guilty of moral cowardice.

Maine's junior senator is on the wrong side of those divides. When the stakes were high, when the crisis arrived, she failed the test.

Sen. Collins may be rethinking her position--and that's welcome news.

But it's too late to undo the damage that she and her silent colleagues caused over the last four years.

Way too late.

UPDATE: Looks like the pivoting has already begun.

The key thing to keep an eye on, in the coming weeks, is whether Collins is willing to show any flexibility.

Or is her amendment designed to fail, and to allow her to continue to stand with the President in opposition to those mean, partisan Democrats?

Allen Q2

Rep. Allen raised roughly $1.1 million in the second quarter, according to his campaign, from 9000 contributions averaging $122.

Obviously, it will be interesting to see how the junior senator's numbers stack up.

The Opposite of Leadership

As Senate Guru notes, Sen. Collins has penned a column for today's Lewiston Sun Journal on the subject of Iraq.

(Hmm. And no time for even a soundbite about the Libby commutation?)

Her take-away message?

At this point, Congress should consider all options.

And:

The time for partisan politics to determine the direction of our policy in Iraq is long over.

If Collins is more interested in forcing a change in policy than she is in skirting the tough questions via empty bromides--and by playing the tired "partisanship" card--she sure has a funny way of showing it.

Silence on Libby?

By July 3, Rep. Tom Allen had publicly condemned the Libby commutation, telling the Associated Press:

The words engraved over the door to the Supreme Court read 'Equal Justice Under Law.' The president's action yesterday amends that to 'unless you're Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff.'

But five days later, I'm still unable to find a statement about Libby from the junior senator. (Anyone else find one?)

At a certain, one has to assume she doesn't have a problem with it.

Collins Comes Alive

Her 2008 campaign website is up.

The Education of Sen. Collins

First: Welcome, Daily Kos readers! And thanks to MissLaura for the link.

Senate Guru has an excellent post up at Turn Maine Blue detailing the junior senator's about-face on the importance of the Iraq issue to Maine voters.

But I would add the following point: Even as Collins escalates (slightly) her rhetoric on Iraq--bemoaning the failures of the current policy, expressing concern about the lack of progress, etc.--there's still no evidence that she's willing to act on these misgivings.

The question we must continue to ask is not whether Sen. Collins is capable of stringing together a few moderate-sounding, sensible-seeming sentences. It's whether she's willing to cast the kind of votes that will force a change in policy.

Quote of the Month

Many of you probably caught this while we were away. But in case it didn't make as big a stir as it should have, here's Sen. Collins, via Hot Air, talking to the Los Angeles Times about Sen. Joe Biden's (D-DE) plan to decentralize Iraq's government:

"It’s essentially giving federal approval to ethnic cleansing," Collins said. "On the other hand, nothing seems to be working."

Then again, this is what passes for serious foreign policy analysis in George W. Bush's America.

Brief Thoughts

The word "Iraq" cannot be found in Sen. Collins' eNewsletter dated June 22, 2007.

Will Iraq make the cut next time? We'll be watching.

Get Out of Jail Free

Where does Sen. Collins stand on the Libby commutation?

Just asking.

An Inconvenient Truth

It's good to be back. And it'll take us a while to get caught up.

But for starters, here's a piece from Wired News that caught our eye:

Much of this apparatus, including the recently revealed NSA eavesdropping and phone record-mining programs, has no oversight...

Senators have abdicated their Constitutional duty to provide checks and balances on the executive branch...

Today, Senator Susan Collins, a moderate [sic] Republican with a fairly strong privacy record, met with Gen. Michael Hayden, the former head of the NSA who has been nominated to lead the CIA.

The best Collins could muster after her meeting with the man who ran a program the Administration says Congress has no right to oversee was that she was "pleased he was nominated," but "the administration must be more forthright with Congress about these programs so we can exercise our oversight responsibilities. These surveillance programs should also be subject to the confines of law to ensure oversight and judicial review."

(Emphasis added.)

These programs "should" be subject to the law? Ya think?

I'm all for careful, measured discussion, but we're not talking about a scuffle over the highway bill here. We're talking about an out-of-control administration hellbent on breaking the law--and in a way that violates the fundamental rights of Americans.

And yet Senator Collins is basically asking the administration to stop acting like a dictatorship, pretty please.

Would it be so hard for the junior senator to muster up some stronger language? Would it be a such a stretch for her to convey the impression that she views executive branch lawbreaking as a deeply serious problem, and not a mere inconvenience?

Off The Grid

Collins Watch will be on hiatus from late Wednesday through the end of June. So this may be the last post of the month. In July, things will pick up more or less where they've left off.

It's been an interesting ride so far, and the biggest questions about the 2008 race remain unanswered:

Will the junior senator try to lurch back toward the center once the campaign begins in earnest? Will Maine voters let her get away with it--will they hold her accountable for her actions and not just her words?

As Lucky sez, time will tell.

See you in July.

Gonzales Watch

How about that.

The junior senator flips, not only voting for cloture on the failed Gonzales no-confidence resolution, but also saying:

I think his continued tenure does not benefit the department or our country.

I'm ready to call that progress.

On the other hand, I can't find evidence anywhere--including on Collins' website--that she went a step further and actually called for the Attorney General to resign.

It would be the logical step to take--why not call for the resignation of an official who you think is harming the country by remaining in office?

But the Collins camp is nothing if careful. And they've proven to be adept at teasing the rhetoric apart from the reality in a whole host of areas.

Which is to say that when it comes to whether Collins went the full distance, did the right thing and called for Gonzales' resignation, I'll believe it when I see it.

Gonzales Watch

A highlight from today's Firedoglake chat with Rep. Allen:

Chris from Maine @ 36: The Senate will vote on a no confidence resolution for Attorney General Gonzales on Monday. If you were in the Senate Congressman Allen, how would you vote and do you think the Attorney General should resign?

[Allen:] I would vote for the no confidence resolution, and I will continue to urge the Attorney General to resign. This is not just any Executive Branch position. The Attorney General is responsible for the faithful execution of the laws and once chosen by the President, should conduct himself and his office to be above politics. Certainly, Janet Reno gave President Clinton fits at times. The apparent attempt to intimidate U. S. Attorneys from pursuing legal cases against Republicans is clear cause for removal of Gonzales.

Will Sen. Collins vote against allowing the Gonzales no-confidence resolution to come to the floor?

Will she try, in other words, to keep her tacit support for Gonzales off the Senate record? Or will she come clean? Stay tuned.

Allen Online

As Turn Maine Blue readers already know, Rep. Allen will be answering questions at Firedoglake on Saturday at 2pm.

Click here to join the conversation.

The Connecticut Factor

One of the interesting subplots to the 2008 Maine race will be the rhetorical--and actual--role of Sen. Joe Lieberman (CFL-CT).

When Sen. Collins camp loudly announced that Lieberman would co-host a fundraiser, she surely believed that the endorsement would be a net plus.

And yet Rep. Allen's camp seems just as sure that the Lieberman association can be used to its advantage.

It's a genuine clash of perspectives about the nature of the race, and it raises a number of interesting questions. Among them: How are Maine and Connecticut similar--and how are they different? How will the political climates of 2006 and 2008, relating to Iraq in particular, be similar--and how will they be different?

And how does the presence of a tested, popular challenger play into the mix?

Collins.com

Via Turn Maine Blue we learn that Lance Dutson of Maine Web Report has joined the Collins campaign as Director of Internet Strategy.

Good for him, and I hope it works out well for him. (Up to a point.)

But Dutson (who I've corresponded with via e-mail in the past) goes overboard when he writes:

Senator Collins has set a fine example over the last decade of how to maintain integrity in a world that has caused so many others to compromise their values.

Really?

To cite but one example of behavior that doesn't exactly ooze integrity: Collins' decision to seek a third term in the first place, after pledging in no uncertain terms not to. Unprincipled, dishonor, dishonesty--those are the words that pop into my mind. But integrity?

Dutson and the rest of the Collins camp are free to make whatever arguments they want in support of her re-election.

But my advice would be not to play the ethics card too early or too often.