# The situation facing Susan Collins **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 20, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045 "2020-09-20T00:44:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/1 "2020-09-20T00:44:29Z")
Collins likely realizes that at this point she is all but certain to lose in Maine even if she votes against Trump’s nominee; she is currently trailing her rival by 12 percent. As such, she has nothing to lose by voting for a Trump appointee. If she votes against the nominee, she may lose by a lesser margin but she would have torpedoed a lot of her Republican connections and much of her post-Senate future. There would be no electoral consequences but there would be many personal consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/2 "2020-09-20T01:00:38Z")
I’m curious… how bad is life for an ex-senator who annoys their party? I’ve never heard of a homeless ex-congressperson. Are there are senators who aren’t millionaires? Would it kill them to show a little bit of bravery? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/3 "2020-09-20T01:06:19Z")
I looked it up; she’s 67 years old. So what sort of post-Senate future does she expect? I assume that she’ll be able to get a job on K Street like many of her former colleagues. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/4 "2020-09-20T01:17:27Z")
Collins said today: > [@](#): > > “In order for the American people to have faith in their elected officials, we must act fairly and consistently — no matter which political party is in power,” Collins said in a statement Saturday. “President Trump has the constitutional authority to make a nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, and I would have no objection to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s beginning the process of reviewing his nominee’s credentials.” > > “In fairness to the American people, who will either be reelecting the President or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd,” she said in her statement. Source: [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/19/ruth-bader-ginsburg-death/) So, she says, in the same statement, both that (a) Trump should be able to nominate someone now, and that nominee should be reviewed now, but (b) the nomination should be made by the winner of the election in November. I _think_ what she’s saying, between those two statements, is “Trump should nominate someone, but we shouldn’t vote on that nominee unless Trump wins in November.” Maybe. In the past few years, she’s repeatedly voiced initial willingness to oppose the GOP leadership, but winds up toeing the line in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/5 "2020-09-20T01:26:41Z")
yes if she loses she won’t be living under a bridge. She will get a high paying job in DC if she wants one. Higher pay than what a senator makes. Or she will get a high paying job in Maine. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/6 "2020-09-20T02:32:03Z")
This is _vintage_ Collins. She’s not saying she’s supporting the controversial nominee or legislation - no, no, no, far from it! She just supports moving it forward to the next step of the process. And the next step. And the next step. Oh, now it’s reached a final decision? Well, first she wants you to know how truly agonized, how utterly tormented she is over this decision. She laments that the debate has been so bitter and partisan. However, the process having come this far, with heavy heart she casts her vote for the nominee/legislation. But she wants you to know that she feels _really_ conflicted about it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/7 "2020-09-20T06:03:29Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > But she wants you to know that she feels _really_ conflicted about it. Really, _really_ conflicted. It’s just, at this point, such crap. She really ought to be honest with herself and her constituents. “I’m going to do whatever McConnell wants me to do. Same as always. I’m not a ‘moderate’ and I’m sure as hell not an ‘independent thinker.’ I have no principles or convictions - I just think you’ll like me more if I say I do.” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/8 "2020-09-20T07:57:42Z")
She will furrow her brow and assure us that she is “concerned”. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/9 "2020-09-20T15:24:37Z")
Her post Senate future is likely on the lecture and book circuit. Sure, she can have a K street job if she wants one, but she seems to believe in nothing. ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/10 "2020-09-20T15:39:41Z")
She ain’t gonna be doing voice-over work, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/11 "2020-09-20T15:45:02Z")
Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/12 "2020-09-20T15:50:37Z")
Only in politics, would a 67 year old be worrying about their next career. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/13 "2020-09-20T16:02:43Z")
I have trouble believing that she’s really down 12. Though I do think that she’ll be one of those borderline Republican senators swept away in the coming blue wave. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/14 "2020-09-20T17:13:31Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Collins likely realizes that at this point she is all but certain to lose in Maine even if she votes against Trump’s nominee; she is currently trailing her rival by 12 percent. > [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > I have trouble believing that she’s really down 12. She isn’t. One poll, which isn’t even the most recent poll, has her down 12. The race is much closer than that. [538’s senate model for Maine](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/senate/maine/) projects Gideon 50.4% over Collins 49.6%. That’s incredibly close. Probability-wise it is basically a coin flip slightly favoring Gideon (53% chance to 47% chance). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/15 "2020-09-20T17:17:50Z")
She will hold steady as long as her superiors think they have enough votes without her. I’ve seen this happen over and over again where a number of Republicans claim to go against the grain, but when push comes to shove that number dwindles to a just enough not to make a difference in the final vote. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/16 "2020-09-20T17:25:42Z")
I have just contributed to Sara Gideon’s campaign. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/17 "2020-09-20T17:38:28Z")
What the heck, I also just donated to Amy McGrath. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/18 "2020-09-21T00:53:56Z")
Make it a hat trick and donate to Jaime Harrison like I did. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/19 "2020-09-21T01:54:27Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > yes if she loses she won’t be living under a bridge. She has an estimated net worth in excess of $4 million. > **[Susan M Collins- Net Worth - Personal Finances](https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/net-worth/Susan-M-Collins?cid=N00000491&year=2018)** > > Susan M Collins's estimated net worth for 2018 is $4,124,043. Learn more about their investments and assets. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045/20 "2020-09-21T04:20:52Z")
Oh, yes. I donated to several people today! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-situation-facing-susan-collins/921045.md?page=2)