In the Senate voting rights debate Jan. 19, I was proud of one of my senators and embarrassed by the other.

When Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., invited Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, to “colloquy” about changing his mind on the filibuster, King accepted, explaining that the filibuster should not be used for “fundamental structural changes that … are compromising the ability of our people to express themselves in a democracy. … If I have to choose between a Senate rule … and democracy itself, I’m going to take democracy every single time.”

Subsequently, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, engaged in a back-and-forth with Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., accusing him of impugning her for being inconsistent in her support of the Voting Rights Act. In retaliation, she made a snide remark about his age: “I’m not sure that the senator from Georgia was even born in 1965.”

In his rebuttal, Ossoff – the youngest sitting senator – did not take the bait but praised Collins’ “reputation for bipartisanship” and her “thoughtful … approach.”

She replied with a petty complaint about the bill’s page count, and in a final fit of pique, admonished Ossoff to “review exactly what he said” on the floor earlier that evening – words she admitted she had not even been on the floor to hear.

When Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., finally called for a vote on the filibuster, he said, “If … you want people who want to debate to have to show up to debate, support the talking filibuster.”

I guess Sen. Collins supports the “secret silent filibuster.”

Kelley McDaniel
Portland

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