There are more frequent diaries about Susan Collins in the last few days, and I find myself making the same comment on each — don’t they get it — then I got to thinking, I may end up needing to write this over and over, so I will get it off my chest, maybe once and for all.
The comments have taken on an aura of disparaging the voters of Maine for supporting Ms Collins over the years, and compared Maine to Appalachia, for gosh’ sakes.
Why O why did she vote for Kavanaugh!
I think I know. My theory borders on C.T., perhaps, but — hear me out.
We all know that Oct 8th, right after the Kavanaugh vote, people set up a Crowdfunding campaign that raked in four million dollars for Collins’ eventual opponent. It’s still there. We all know that Collins claims to have had a surge in her own donations since then, and her opponents are quick to point out that Collins’ money comes mostly from large out-of-state donors.
But there has been speculation as to whether Maine is “red” or “blue” and what the mood of the people may be. Right here on DailyKOS.
Hey: Ask Bill in Portland Maine. He’ll give you the straight T.
So here is the part I made a comment about the other day, and which we all need to burn in our memory. It bears repeating. You may not think of Maine as being dependent on military contracts, but the Pine Tree State is lined up at the public trough. And I think that Collins was strong-armed into her vote by a threat to the thousands of jobs in Maine that rely on federal defense money.
This is not what we think of when we conjure up the iconic Maine coast. Lobsters and lighthouses, yes. State-of-the-art military shipbuilding? no, but it’s right there and you can see it from Route One. (that’s the Zumwalt, by the way).
I am referring specifically to Bath Iron Works. This is a shipyard that builds the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers for the Navy. At the height of their business I think they employed 14,000 people as shipfitters.
On September 27, 2018, Bath Iron Works was awarded a 3.9 billion dollar contract (over five years) to build four Navy destroyers.
Bath Iron Works has been awarded a $3.9 billion contract to build four additional DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, ensuring a robust workload for the Bath shipyard through 2022.
Still, BIW was bested by its primary competitor, Huntington Ingalls Industries of Pascagoula, Mississippi, which was simultaneously awarded a $5.1 billion contract to build six of the U.S. Navy destroyers. Typically, new contracts for Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have been split evenly between BIW and Huntington Ingalls.
September 27 was the same day Dr. Christine Blasey Ford gave her testimony.
The Kavanaugh vote was Oct 6th, 2018.
December 26th, 2018, after the Kavanaugh vote, the Navy announced a supplemental award of $910 million dollars to go with the 3.9 billion already slated for work at BIW, for the purpose of adding a fifth destroyer to Maine’s list. This is a substantial chunk of change for a state like Maine. There are few other states that support this category of shipbuilding; Mississippi and Louisiana if I recall correctly.
With the severe cutbacks in the paper industry in Maine, there are fewer such smokestack-industry jobs in the Pine Tree State, and closure of BIW would be a major blow to the economy of the state. (be sure to read that link!) On some other Collins-related diary here, a commenter suggested that Collins got an outright bribe of tens of millions of dollars. I asked for the source of the info, but the commenter did not reply, so i assume it means it was not provable, and there was no source. (If anybody else read anything similar to that anywhere, please share).
Hardball
I think McConnell and Trump played hardball and put the fate of BIW on the table if Collins did not comply. That would be some major-league arm-twisting.
There are two other federal installations of note in Maine. The VA Hospital at Togus (near Augusta) and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard ( on the border with Kittery). Each of these also brings in federal dollars. Then there is the medicare money that goes to the state’s 38-odd hospitals. ( under LePage, Maine refused to expand medicaid). Because Maine is among the most aged states in the nation, in many of the towns that support a community hospital, the doctors and nurses might as well be on the direct federal payroll.
And all these persons, even the socially conscious liberal ones, will vote according to their paycheck. Does that make them “red?” I tend to think that maybe the economics is still up for grabs. The Democratic nominee needs to somehow signal that coming the federal money coming is a priority.
I am about as lefty as they come. There is not much of the progressive agenda that I don’t support (can’t think of anything, actually… and I wish AOC was already 35 years old….)
Culture Warriors?
I am deeply in favor of replacing Collins, but I am worried that the Maine Democratic Party will nominate a person whose is perceived to have a sole focus on the culture-war issues, and not able to articulate an economic strategy that will win over the shipbuilders who are going to vote with their pocketbook. I think that is why it has taken so long for a strong candidate to come forward. We’ve had some stalking horses such as Susan Rice, but…..
I think Sara Gideon has the best chance of being that person.
In the interest of full disclosure: I now am teaching in Asia for the summer, and my residence is Florida. In 2016 I voted in Maine. I lived in Maine for 27 years and was politically active. Most recently, I have met Collins in person in the Bangor Airport in 2017. She was in a wheelchair at the time due to an ankle issue; this seems to be better. I thought she was looking a bit frail.
Incidentally, Senator Angus King was on the same plane but the two of them did not sit together or speak from what I saw. I have a better relationship with Senator King since I was President of the nurses association of Maine when he was Governor. Back along, I’d sent Senator King an email regarding Peace Corps health policy abroad which he recalled ( and which contained suggestions that got acted upon) and we discussed that.
Back to Collins. Her votes on Kavanaugh and everything else are unconscionable, but I keep saying there has to be an explanation. This is the best I can come up with. I do think she is subject to political pressure due to the BIW situation and McConnell is not afraid to use every tool available to him.
I’ll leave you with an old saying in Maine politics.
“There are only three arguments that take place at the State House in Augusta.
“North versus south;
“Coastal versus inland; and
“Portland versus everybody else.”