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Collins: Anti-Kavanaugh opponents trying to ‘buy votes and buy positions’
The Hill ^ | 10/07/18 | EMILY BIRNBAUM

Posted on 10/07/2018 4:25:11 PM PDT by yesthatjallen

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Sunday criticized the Maine progressive groups that have pledged millions of dollars to her 2020 opponent in opposition to her vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Collins on CBS's "60 Minutes" on Sunday called the crowdfunding effort an attempt to "buy votes and buy positions." She said it did not influence her decision to vote in Kavanaugh's favor.

"This is a classic quid pro quo as defined in our bribery laws," Collins said. "They are asking me to perform an official act and if I do not do what they want, two million plus dollars is going to go to my opponent."

"I think that if our politics has come to the point where people are trying to buy votes and buy positions, then we are in a very sad place," she said.

The groups began fundraising several weeks ago, hoping to encourage Collins, a Republican swing vote, to vote "no" on Kavanaugh over his record on women's rights. The crowdfunding effort was supercharged by Collins' hesitance in the face of the allegations of sexual misconduct against the high court pick.

The effort hit $3 million in contributions over the weekend even as Collins voted "yes" on Kavanaugh. He was confirmed as a justice on Saturday.

The campaign was organized by Be A Hero Team, Maine People's Alliance and Mainers for Accountable Leadership.

They say their goal is to get her out of office when she is up for reelection in 2020, given her vote for Kavanaugh.

"Maine deserves a Senator who would recoil at the idea of confirming a proven liar, an emotionally unstable partisan, to the Supreme Court," the groups said in a statement last week. "Maine deserves a Senator who will believe survivors, who will listen to their stories, and who will represent them with honor. Susan Collins is no longer capable of that."

Collins has previously called the effort a "bribe."

The campaign in September said in a statement to The Hill that Collins' claims of bribery were "politics as its worst."

"We absolutely have the right to prepare to unseat her given everything Judge Kavanaugh would do on the Supreme Court to make life worse for Maine women, Mainers with pre-existing conditions and Mainers who care about fabric of our democracy," Marie Follayttar, co-director of Mainers for Accountable Leadership, said in a statement to The Hill.

Though some have floated the possibility of challenging Collins, no one has officially announced a campaign to oppose her.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Maine
KEYWORDS: beaheroteam; blackmail; bribery; campaignfinance; collins; dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; emilybirnbaum; extortion; kavanaugh; maine; mediawingofthednc; partisanmediashills; presstitutes; quidproquo; rico; smearmachine; susancollins; thehill
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To: yesthatjallen
"I think that if our politics has come to the point where people are trying to buy votes and buy positions, then we are in a very sad place," she said.
Psst! Senator Collins.

Google "Tammany Hall".

21 posted on 10/07/2018 5:02:31 PM PDT by Bratch ("The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke)
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To: Lurkinanloomin

She stated that she absolutely believes Feinstein did not leak the letter. Collins stay does not know what the Rats have become.


22 posted on 10/07/2018 5:03:45 PM PDT by gibsonguy
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To: Fred Hayek
Senator Collins surprised me with her vote.

Susan Collins did the right thing. She did her due diligence, she weighed the facts and acted on them. She did what she was hired (voted) to do, She did her job which is not what alot of congress critters will do. Maine should be proud that she weighed the facts and voted yes to Kavanaugh.
23 posted on 10/07/2018 5:05:12 PM PDT by ratzoe
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To: yesthatjallen

GoFundMe and CrowdPac, etc. are essentially money-laundering sites. This is how the left bribes public office holders and government employees.


24 posted on 10/07/2018 5:16:50 PM PDT by T Ruth (Mohammedanism shall be destroyed.)
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To: yesthatjallen

Senator Collins deserves the support of all Republicans and any American who believes in the rule of law. I contributed to her.


25 posted on 10/07/2018 5:17:14 PM PDT by kaintucky
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To: vigilence

That’s all well and good but the issue is are these crowd funding websites doing anything illegal.


26 posted on 10/07/2018 5:20:36 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
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To: GOP Poet

That’s true. Some of these mushy GOPers were just hypocrites, but no doubt some of them genuinely thought that always compromising with the Dems was for the good of the country, etc., etc. And suddenly they’re seeing the reality, which is that they were dealing with the Devil, who has no interest in the good of the country. And they’re finding that Old Scratch gets really mad when people want to stop dealing with him.


27 posted on 10/07/2018 5:21:31 PM PDT by livius
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To: Wally_Kalbacken
NICE CATCH---the conspicuous number of hand-delivered communications observed going to Judiciary Democrats,
reveal that the colluders had an eye on avoiding mail fraud and wire fraud culpability......
there is plenty of civil RICO liability out there to take down all of those who facilitated this charade.
I’m sure several DC law and PR firms have their DNA all over this......

28 posted on 10/07/2018 5:21:34 PM PDT by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
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To: All
Cong Collins on CBS's "60 Minutes" called the crowdfunding effort an attempt to "buy votes and buy positions."
"This is a classic quid pro quo as defined in our bribery laws," Collins said.
"....asking me to perform an official act and if I do not do what they want, $two million plus dollars goes to my opponent."

The groups began fundraising several weeks ago, hoping to encourage a Republican swing vote, to vote "no".
The effort was supercharged by Collins' seemingly initial hesitance WRT allegations of sexual misconduct against the high court pick.

29 posted on 10/07/2018 5:28:01 PM PDT by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
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To: All
Sen Collins, whose vote was crucial in confirming Kav, said she believes his accuser was sexually assaulted but doesn’t think he was the one.

Even before Senators voted, Collins told reporters if Kav lied to them, that would be a major problem.

30 posted on 10/07/2018 5:40:41 PM PDT by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
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To: yesthatjallen

Just as Trump, money spent by the opposition will not matter in her race. Everyone knows who and what she stands for. Just more bunk.


31 posted on 10/07/2018 5:48:02 PM PDT by ALX
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To: livius

Yes. Their eyes have been opened. If she wins her primary, help fund her.


32 posted on 10/07/2018 5:56:52 PM PDT by ZULU (MAGA)
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To: yesthatjallen

Collins just learned what happens when you feed the alligator hoping to be the last one to be eaten.


33 posted on 10/07/2018 6:14:14 PM PDT by rdcbn
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To: faithhopecharity
Yes, but it was a close call, too close for comfort. Collins needed to experience an obscene direct blackmail onslaught in order to wake up. Not a good sign to be that obtuse and have a vote in the Senate.
34 posted on 10/07/2018 6:36:02 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard (Power is more often surrendered than seized.)
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To: yesthatjallen
Anti-Kavanaugh opponents...

Kavanaugh proponents?

35 posted on 10/07/2018 6:42:17 PM PDT by FreeReign (Rudy: Sessions is recused from everything)
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To: Mouton

I give her tremendous credit here
Her speech detailing all the exhaustive research she did on Kavs rulings showed SHE actually DID her homework


36 posted on 10/07/2018 9:08:02 PM PDT by Truthoverpower (The guvmint you get is the Trump winning express !)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
"This is a classic quid pro quo as defined in our bribery laws," Collins said. "They are asking me to perform an official act and if I do not do what they want, two million plus dollars is going to go to my opponent."
She's going to come out of this shining clean, IOW, we're stuck with her. Gotta like that she's been forced to move over and stand with us though. :^) The Shill, er, Hill, piece was a shill piece by a Partisan Media Shill -- most of the "article" was just a regurgitation of the leftists' talking points.

37 posted on 10/07/2018 9:16:29 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (and btw -- https://www.gofundme.com/for-rotator-cuff-repair-surgery)
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To: FreeReign

My exact reaction!

Grammar and sentence construction have gone by the wayside.


38 posted on 10/08/2018 4:30:42 AM PDT by VMI70
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