Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is very surprised that the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court that she helped entrench is on the cusp of killing Roe v. Wade after then-nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh apparently convinced her that they wouldn’t do that.
It has always been thus… She projects a certain image (or tries in any event). Nevertheless, the only reason she draws such attention is that enough of the conventional wisdom amplifies that perception so she always appears to be persuadable, reasonable, etc. She’s Maine’s version of Joe Manchin without the coal dust.
“If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office,” Collins said in her statement.
The senator dodged when CNN asked if she’d been misled by Kavanaugh.
Senators Collins and Murkowski need to meet with Schumer right now and indicate they will vote to change the Senate rules for the filibuster for legislation codifying Roe and passing Voting Rights.
That will be the start of their atonement for going along with Gorsuch and Coney Barrett.