Democrat Betsy Sweet Wants To Boof Susan Collins From Senate

And we're here to help.

Good news, everyone! We have a Democratic challenger for lousy Maine Sen. Susan Collins. Former Maine gubernatorial candidate Betsy Sweet announced her candidacy Thursday, and we confess we'd be more thrilled about it if she weren't a "former" candidate. That's sort of like when an actor's billed as "Oscar nominee." All we hear is LOSER! and we need closers if we're going to retire Collins.

On the upside, her campaign announcement video struck the right tone and hit all the key points. It begins with a clip of Collins declaring on the Senate floor that she planned to vote for Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. As Sweet drives through a picturesque Maine town, we hear news reports of the continued right-wing onslaught against abortion rights. It gets us pissed off at Collins all over again.

Collins likes to claim she's pro-choice, but the evidence for such a claim is lacking. Putting Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court only excited anti-choicers and advocates for the privileged and rapey. Collins also claims she supports working people in Maine, but she also voted for Donald Trump's tax scam bill. Massive tax cuts for the rich somehow only managed to benefit rich people, as those of us who could count were saying all along.

SWEET: We are being told every day how divided we are as a country. But I don't think it's a division between neighbors. I don't think it's even a division between right and left. The real division is between us and the politicians -- politicians like Susan Collins who forget who they are and forget where they come from.

It's a smart move to define this race as the people vs. the political elite rather than Democrat vs. Republican. Maine is not some hippie haven. It's reliably blue during presidential elections but statewide it's elected racist kook Paul LePage. (Okay, with an assist both times from third party splitters; ranked choice voting seems to have driven a stake through that black heart.) The rural areas are why Trump was able to hold Hillary Clinton below 50 percent there in 2016. He even walked away with an electoral vote from its second congressional district. Trump will campaign hard for Collins, who will play both sides as part of her moderate masquerade. We're not sure why anyone takes her seriously anymore. Yes, she voted against repealing the Affordable Care Act, but she can't coast forever on that one hit single. She's otherwise been a reliable supporter of Trump's agenda.

FiveThirtyEight.com 

Democrats need to hold Collins accountable. She's not a moderate. It's not like she represents West Virginia. Maine can do better. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is concerned about a possible upgrade, so it's trying to paint Sweet as to the left of Castro.

NRSC SPOKESPERSON NATHAN BRAND: Susan Collins has the most bipartisan record in the U.S. Senate because she works with members of both parties to deliver results for Maine families. Meanwhile, lobbyist Betsy Sweet is a radical left-wing activist committed to making the loony policy dreams of Nancy Pelosi a reality.

Those are a lot of lies in two sentences. Collins likes to boast that she's the most bipartisan member of the Senate, but the proof is in the plutocracy. She helps advance the conservative agenda in every way that matters. Mitch McConnell then tosses her a few "bipartisan" bones for show. If the Republican Party genuinely thought she was "bipartisan," they would've stopped supporting her long ago.

Sweet's "radical left-wing" agenda involves founding Moose Ridge Associates in 1990. Her firm promotes "state legislation supporting the interests of women, people with disabilities, victims of abuse and discrimination, and the environment." Why is it that unless you're opposing abortion, conservatives define actual "pro-life" activism as "loony policy dreams."

Republicans also need to take Nancy Pelosi's name out of their mouths when trying to attack another candidate. Maybe they were just too busy having their asses kicked to notice, but this tactic failed to work in 2018. It won't work in 2020. We'll see your Pelosi and raise you a McConnell, who isn't even popular in his own state.

The more we learn about Sweet, the more we like her. We especially like the part where she's not Susan Collins. Lawyer Bre Kidmandeclared their candidacy in April. We support both of them as a drastic improvement over Collins. Whoever ends up as the Democratic nominee will have access to roughly $4 million in "Fuck You, Susan" money.

Let's do this, folks.

[ The Hill / Press Herald ]

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