Opinion: Susan Collins still isn’t listening

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2026

We all knew what would happen once Brett Kavanaugh was on the Supreme Court. Everyone knew, it appears, but Sen. Susan Collins. In the fall of 2018, when the 17 of us went to Sen. King’s and Sen. Collins’ offices to ask them both to vote no on Brett Kavanaugh, only one met with us face-to-face. Sen. King made the time. He listened. He voted against Kavanaugh. Collins didn’t give us five minutes. She never even said hello. Over 200 Maine attorneys shared their concerns about how Kavanaugh’s voting could affect environmental laws and civil rights. Sen. Collins’ platitudes and assurances made on the Senate floor before she cast her deciding vote were a slap in the face to all of us who warned what his appointment meant. ~ Maureen Terry, Gorham, former Maine House majority leader, and Bev Uhlenhake, former mayor of Brewer