Sen. Susan Collins again claims to be a moderate Republican by voting to hear witnesses in the impeachment trial. But she toed the party line and voted to acquit with the thinnest justification: that President Trump had “learned from this case.” Yes, he learned that he can act with ever-greater impunity.

Even if you grant that Sen. Collins is the most moderate Republican, is that a good-enough reason to re-elect her? What do we get when we vote for the most moderate Republican? Mitch McConnell. Neil Gorsuch instead of Merrick Garland. Brett Kavanaugh. Tax cuts for large corporations and the wealthy. Skyrocketing federal deficits.

We get a Republican majority that: walks in lockstep behind Trump; that throws the environment under the bus, in favor of corporate profits; that adamantly denies climate change and most mainstream science; that actively seeks to destroy America’s safety net; that seeks to undermine your health insurance because the wealthy can afford higher premiums and co-pays as long as their incomes continue to grow faster than ours do; that is willing to accommodate despots, plutocrats and human rights violators; that is fomenting divisions based on race, religion and ethnicity; that turns a blind eye to abuse of power, as long as it’s their guy doing the abusing.

Is it good enough to vote for the most moderate Republican? No. It really is time to say “no more” to Sen. Collins and the Republican Senate majority.

Thomas Baiocchi

Gray