Although it is always exciting when a last-second play wins a big game, we are wrong to think that it was actually the game-winner. That last basket or goal is really no more important than all of the others; it is only the total score that matters in a win.

The same is true of the recent Senate vote that confirmed Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Our own Sen. Susan Collins’ vote was seen as critical, but it was really no more or less important than any of the other votes cast.

Although Sen. Collins’ ultimate decision was not what I had hoped for, she did at least take the time to try to explain herself, unlike most of the other senators whose affirmative votes were equally responsible for Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Were their votes based on more than just party loyalty and self-serving attempts to secure their own re-elections? Were they not troubled by Judge Kavanaugh’s embrace of conspiracy theories in his written opening statement or about his decidedly nonprofessional demeanor in response to questions during the hearing on the sexual-assault allegations? Were their decisions to ignore the passionate public outcry and the unprecedented statement from a retired Supreme Court justice based solely on their blind devotion to getting a conservative majority on the court no matter what the cost?

Instead of focusing just on the “deciding” vote of Sen. Collins, we should be considering why and how only 50 out of 100 senators could be responsible for placing such a controversial nominee on the nation’s highest court. It is time to re-establish the requirement for a supermajority in confirming Supreme Court justices and thereby reduce the likelihood of last-minute decisions “at the buzzer.”

James Norton

South Portland

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