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Refusing To Back Abortion Rights Bill, Collins Shows True Colors At Last
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) is under mounting criticism for refusing to support a Democratic bill that would make access to abortion the law of the land, as the U.S. Supreme Court, experts believe, prepares to reverse its historic 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade.
Senator Collins, who repeatedly claims to be pro-choice, is being criticized after years of supporting then-President Donald Trump's judicial nominees at every level of the federal judiciary, including two of his three Supreme Court picks.
According to the progressive group Suit Up Maine, Collins voted to confirm of 208 of Trump's judicial nominees. She voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, but against Amy Coney Barrett, reportedly because she felt the vote should not take place so close to an election. But Collins did vote to put Barrett on the federal bench in 2017.
The anger against Collins on social media has been palpable Wednesday, but it may be about to get worse.
According to NBC News affiliate News Center Maine, Collins just endorsed former Maine Republican Governor Paul LePage for a third term. LePage was term-limited after two consecutive terms, but announced in April he is running once again.
For those who don't remember, LePage is a Trump acolyte known for making outrageous and vulgar remarks, is anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ, and pro-death penalty. He opposes legalization of marijuana, opposes renewable energy, supports "school choice," opposes ObamaCare, wants to reduce the number of hospitals in the state, and has made racist remarks.
This was Gov. LePage in 2016:
"As Maine recovers from the pandemic, Paul is the best candidate to grow our economy," Collins said Wednesday in a pre-recorded video endorsing LePage, who once called himself "Baby Trump."
The outpouring of outrage against Collins is tremendous.
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French President Emanuel Macron, left, and US President Joe Biden
Reprinted with permission from Creators
About France and its submarines: Australia's decision to cancel a $60 billion contract to buy them and purchase American nuclear subs instead had to hurt. In response, France's foreign minister called the U.S.-backed move a "stab in the back," and President Emmanuel Macron recalled his ambassadors from both Washington and Canberra.
The backstory should take precedence over the drama flowing from the rift between America and its oldest ally. It centers on a growing alarm at Chinese aggression in the Pacific and how seriously the U.S. and its Pacific allies are taking it.
Australia's Defense minister denied charges that the United States and Australia schemed in secret to cut France out of the sale. He said his government had been "frank, open and honest" with France about its concerns — also that the work was overbudget and behind schedule. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insists that U.S. officials had also spoken with the French about this before it was announced.
Any diplomatic failure aside, the harsh reality is that American submarines are the superior machine for patrolling the Pacific. Nuclear-powered subs can stay underwater longer and at high speeds. France's diesel boats need to surface periodically.
What about President Joe Biden's predecessor? Former President Donald Trump was, in many ways, a gift to the Chinese. He did ban U.S. investment in Chinese companies tied to China's military or surveillance, a policy Biden has largely continued. But much of his confrontation with China took the form of verbiage.
Chinese elites saw him accelerating what they considered America's decline. They considered Trump "ignorant, erratic and tiresome," according to The Economist. They liked that he wouldn't condemn Chinese repression and that he opposed military action abroad.
It must have also pleased them that Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The trade deal was designed to help its members — which included Canada, Japan and Australia — compete with China. America's exit from the TPP helped China advance its economic domination of Southeast Asia.
Biden has vowed to engage in "extreme competition." China is plowing huge amounts of government money into building a massive semiconductor industry. Computer chips are the brains that run airplanes, mobile phones and cars. You can't have a modern economy without them, and a semiconductor shortage is hobbling American manufacturing.
The U.S. is joining with Japan, India and Australia in developing their own semiconductor supply chains. One reason we and our allies need strong defense capability in the Pacific is fears that China would invade Taiwan, which produces over 60 percent of the world's computer chips.
The administration seeks to greatly expand American manufacture of lithium-ion batteries. Used in electric cars and for storing renewable energy, these batteries are essential to a green economy. China has 93 "gigafactories" that make them. The U.S. has four.
Australia has had its own battles with China. When it called for independent investigators to be let into Wuhan to study the origins of the virus, China retaliated against billions in Australian exports. The Biden administration called the move "economic coercion."
What pains France must also pain the U.S. France does join our fights. In August, a French drone strike in West Africa took out an Islamic State mastermind of attacks that killed four U.S. soldiers and six French aid workers. France maintains a significant military presence in the Indo-Pacific.
You can understand the blow to France's arms industry and pride in having such a huge submarine contract so publicly ripped up. But defense needs should be the No. 1 consideration. The United States has concluded that China has graduated from mere economic competitor to military rival and must act accordingly.
Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.
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