Free Republic

They won't let me post the link, because it's THE DAILY KOS!!! But it's a poll done for the Democrats, so this is really bad news. If the 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, would you to reelect Susan Collins, would you consider voting for another candidate, or would you vote to replace Collins? Reelect 55 Consider 20 Replace 21 If 2008 election for U.S. Senate were held today, for whom would you vote for if the choices were between Tom Allen, the Democrat, and Susan Collins, the Republican? Collins (R) 56 Allen (D) 33

WASHINGTON- Internet giant Google has banned advertisements critical of MoveOn.org, the far-left advocacy group that caused a national uproar last month when it received preferential treatment from The New York Times for its “General Betray Us” message. The ads banned by Google were placed by a firm working for Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ re-election campaign. Collins is seeking her third term. Earlier this week, Google told Lance Dutson, president of Maine Coast Designs, that the ads he placed for Collins had been removed and would not be allowed to resume because they violated Google’s trademark policy. Google’s Web site states,...

Whether it’s comparisons between the United States and the Soviet Union or George Bush and Saddam Hussein, the far left has always specialized in false moral equivalence.In the latest example of this, Daily Kos proprietor Markos Moulitsas has been trying to shift the spotlight that’s now being shined on the numerous vulgar and hateful remarks for which his site is famous over to conservative sites, implying that the right is just as full of hate as his followers.Trouble is, that’s just not the case. As NewsBusters pointed out earlier, left-wing blogs and their commenters are much more likely to use...

Senator Susan Collins ignored thousands of letters delivered to her office beseeching her to allow gays in the military, and polls suggesting that as many as 79 percent of Americans believe gays should be able to serve openly in the armed forces. And though her office was barely cajoled into issuing a bland two-sentence statement for a Phoenix story three months ago (see “Ducking the Question,” by Tony Giampetruzzi, May 11), she’s starting to sing with the choir now, crediting a gay retired admiral from Maine who recently sat down with her to tell her his thoughts on “Don’t Ask,...

WASHINGTON -- Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has teamed up with a Democratic colleague in drafting legislation to force a halt to U.S. combat missions in Iraq. Collins and Ben Nelson of Nebraska said their binding amendment to the defense policy bill would order the U.S. mission to focus on training the Iraqi security forces, targeting al-Qaida members and protecting Iraq's borders. The Maine senator said her goal is "to redefine the mission and set the stage for a significant but gradual drawdown of our troops next year."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Last fall, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., came to Connecticut to help Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont in his bid to unseat veteran Sen. Joe Lieberman. Lamont is now returning the favor. He and the Massachusetts Democrat are teaming up to target Republican senators they say are blocking efforts to end the Iraq war. Lamont, a political novice whose anti-war views fueled his summer primary win over Lieberman, sent out a fundraising pitch on Friday to about 3 million people on Kerry’s national e-mail list. "Last year, Connecticut Democrats heard my call for an end to the war...

WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans pushed back Monday against President Bush's decision to deploy additional troops in Iraq, some voicing opposition while others called for the administration and Iraqi government to be held accountable. In the Senate, three GOP lawmakers joined one Democrat in unveiling nonbinding legislation expressing disagreement with Bush's plan and urging him to "consider all options and alternatives" to the planned increase of 21,500 troops. In the House, members of the leadership drafted a series of what they called "strategic benchmarks," and said the White House should submit monthly reports to Congress measuring progress toward meeting them. The...

Senator Susan Collins introduced legislation on Aug. 3 to help crack down on illegal sales of tobacco to children by banning the shipment of cigarettes and other tobacco products through the U.S. mail. Specifically, the bill would add cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to the U.S. Postal Service's list of restricted, non-mailable products. A first violation of mailing such a product would be liable for a civil penalty of up to $5,000 or 10 times the estimated retail value of the tobacco products, including all federal, state, and local taxes, whichever is highest. Civil penalties of up to $100,000 would...

If John Kerry becomes President he will find himself on the horns of a dilemma - which close friend to ditch when he chooses a new Secretary of State. According to today's Washington Post, Kerry would pick his national security team within a few weeks after winning the White House and two of his closest friends, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) or Richard Holbrooke reportedly want the job of running the State Department.

The Talk Shows Sunday, March 5th, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Michael Brown, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; National Weather Service Director David Johnson.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Pace; former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and former Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y., co-chairmen of the Council on Foreign Relations' task force on U.S. policy toward Russia. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.; Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.;...

Journal Editorial Report (Paul Gigot) - FNC show page Meme: Iran is the real problem and we can't win in Iraq because we haven't "taken care" of themBush made a very important foreign policy trip - did anyone notice? Topics: Is Iran outsmarting the U.S. in the fight for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people? (per FNC web page)Is Iran waging war against Americans in Iraq? (per Opinion Journal web page)President Bush makes history abroad, but is dogged by controversy at home (per FNC web page)A debate over President Bush's South Asia trip and his nuclear deal with...

If Sen. John McCain runs for president in 2008, fellow Republican Susan Collins of Maine will serve as one of his Senate advisors. A spokesman for Sen. Collins confirmed that McCain asked her if she would be one of his advisors if he decides to seek the White House. The spokesman, Kevin Kelley, said Collins told McCain that he would. The Arizona senator is regarded as a likely potential candidate for the Republican nomination.

Collins, a Republican, said Alito has excellent qualifications and has received the highest possible recommendation from the American Bar Association. She said she was impressed with testimony on Alito's behalf during his confirmation hearing from seven of his colleagues on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Maine's other U.S. senator, Olympia Snowe, was still weighing the nomination and has not announced her decision, said spokeswoman Antonia Ferrier.

Senator Susan Collins of Maine has announced her intention to vote for Alito. Collins was one of three Republicans whom some saw as possible votes against Alito. The other two — who haven't yet announced their positions — are Collins's colleague from Maine, Olympia Snowe, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. One other Republican who is expected to vote yes, Senator Stevens, apparently also hasn't announced his position.

PORTLAND, Maine -- U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and two of her Senate colleagues are headed to Antarctica to meet with leading researchers studying climate change. Collins left Washington Tuesday for what will be an eight-day visit to McMurdo Station. She's joined by fellow Republicans John McCain of Arizona and John Sununu of New Hampshire. <snip>

Senate hearings on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U. S. Supreme Court will not begin until Jan. 9, but the campaign both for and against him has already begun in Maine. Television ads from interest groups are being shown in this state. The targets are Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, two moderate Republicans who cannot be counted on as automatic votes either in support of or opposed to Alito. The commercials are designed to persuade Mainers to pressure the senators to sway their votes. Conservative organizations are paying for ads supporting Judge Alito's nomination. Groups concerned...

Republicans in the Gang of 14 As a reminder, these are the Republicans who explicitly rejected the use of the filibuster against judicial nominations except in "extraordinary circumstances." Lincoln Chafee (Rhode Island) 202-224-2921 Susan Collins (Maine) 202-224-2523 Mike DeWine (Ohio) 202-224-2315 Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) 202-224-5972 John McCain (Arizona) 202-224-2235 John Warner (Virginia) 202-224-2023 Olympia Snowe (Maine) 202-224-5344 Call them and make sure they know that Samuel Alito is not an "extraordinary circumstance."

We suppose NARAL Pro-Choice America has to do something with the funds it's raised for an anticipated battle over President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, but it may find that the vicious national TV ad that starts airing today may backfire. The ad practically screams: We're so desperate to find something to pin on John Roberts that we're not above making things up. The ad focuses on a friend-of-the-court brief then-deputy Solicitor General Roberts filed in 1991 in the Supreme Court case Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic. It accuses Judge Roberts of siding with "violent fringe groups and a convicted...

AUGUSTA - A Hampden state senator staged a losing one-woman debate Wednesday night in an attempt to convince the Maine Senate that parents should be consulted before abortions are performed on their minor children. Following the lead of the Maine House, which rejected LD 1575 Tuesday, the Senate voted 21-14 against the measure which included a fiscal note of $241,000 for court-related expenses associated with any resulting judicial review and appeal of a minor's court-approved abortion. Sen. Debra D. Plowman, R-Hampden, told her seatmates that "as a woman and a mother," she would want to know if one of her...

The filibuster isn't a noble institution, it's a tactic - and one with a checkered past, at that. Liberals decried it in the 1960s when segregationist Southern Democrats used it to thwart the will of the majority to block civil rights legislation. But at least that tawdry application of the filibuster was consistent with its purpose in the United States Senate as a procedure to force legislative compromise.