Dear Sir:
It was with great disappointment that Allan Kerr, a person I almost always agree with, has decided to continue to support Senator Susan Collins. In his September 20th opinion piece, Mr. Kerr seemed to overlook many of the times Sen. Collins has supported Donald Trump in ways that were contrary to the best interests of Maine and America. He gave a great deal of credit for supporting the Bath Iron Works (BIW) and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY). He also praised the Senator for her support of the Thresher Memorial. It took absolutely no political courage on her part, or cost her any political capital to support the BIA, PNSY or the Thresher Memorial. Any other person serving in her position would have done exactly the same thing for the obvious political, economic and patriotic reasons. The only person who I can think of that may not have supported the Thresher Memorial would be Donald Trump. After all, he considered those killed in service to the nation as “losers and suckers,” and he might say that he preferred submarines that did not sink, like when he said that “I like people who weren’t captured,” in reference to former POW John McCain.
While Mr. Kerr does give Sen. Collins due credit for voting to hear from witnesses during the Trump Senate impeachment trial, he failed to mention that Sen. Collins voted to acquit Mr. Trump, even though she never heard from the witnesses she voted to hear testify. While he did take exception to the Senator’s support of the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh, he seemed to dismiss this grievous action as a minor blemish on her record, when in fact, this may have been one of her worst actions as a Senator, especially considering the current vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the death of Judge Ginsburg.
Senator Collins has much too often spoken out of both sides of her mouth, and her actions do not always align with her words. I sincerly hope that the voters of Maine decide to send Sen. Collins to a retirement that she greatly deserves.
Rich DiPentima, LTC, USAF, Ret.
Portsmouth, N.H.