MDP Executive Director on SiriusXM: “Susan Collins is at a Level of Vulnerable That We Have Not Seen Before”

Maine Democratic Party Executive Director discusses Collins' votes, her vulnerability, and voter backlash on SiriusXM

Augusta, Maine - In case you missed it, Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson joined the SiriusXM POTUS channel today to discuss Susan Collins' vulnerability, new reporting on Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman funneling $2 million to a PAC backing Collins right before she cast a decisive vote to advance the toxic GOP budget bill, and how Collins is failing Maine after hundreds protested her on two separate occasions last week.

Here are some key moments:

Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson:

• What we're seeing right now is Susan Collins is at a level of vulnerable that we have not seen before in past election cycles. Remember, this is her first election since the Dobbs decision where she cast the decisive vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh. And we've seen the devastation play out across our country as a direct result of that.

• We've also got RFK Jr. who's in the hot seat right now - and very validly so - and not only did she vote to confirm RFK Jr. knowing his long history and well documented history of anti-science values and beliefs, but she's also offered zero regrets for taking that vote even as we've seen him cut cancer research, we've seen him gut healthcare agencies that are focused on keeping Americans safe and healthy. We've seen him eliminate Maine jobs that Susan Collins' constituents hold and cancel $91 million in funding for Maine public health programs. And this is all a direct result of Susan Collins' vote that she's taken.

• What we're seeing on the ground here is that Susan Collins' approval rating is double digits underwater. And just to give you some reference to all of our listeners, in 2019, a year out from election day, she had a positive approval rating.

• She recently went to a local ribbon cutting, which was one of the only public appearances that she made, and she had 200 protesters show up in the hopes of asking her questions and holding her accountable for some of these votes that she's taken, very specifically this vote that she took to advance the GOP's toxic budget bill. [...] She ended up voting against it in the end, hoping to score political brownie points with Mainers, but they saw through that.

• We have this reporting as well [...] that basically outlines, one of her top donors donated $2 million - he's the CEO of a private equity firm - to a PAC that has supported her. And she got that money right before she took that vote to advance the toxic GOP budget bill to a floor vote. And this is the same CEO who bankrolled her 2020 campaign and who stands to have tax giveaways as a result of this budget bill.

• So all of this is coalescing on the ground to folks here really seeing through this political charade that she's attempted to put on for us, and it's just not going to work this cycle.

• This is less about partisan politics and more about the fact that she's bending to the will of Trump's agenda [...] the harmful policies that are coming out of the Trump administration are directly impacting Mainers in a negative way. We talked about this budget bill and what Mainers stand to lose is 61,000 of us are now at risk of losing our health care because of this bill. We've got 31,000 Mainers, including kids and seniors, who are at risk of losing their SNAP food assistance benefits - and that's all because of Susan Collins' vote.

See more: BREAKING: "Susan Collins Raked in Wall Street Cash Before Advancing Trump Tax Bill" [Rolling Stone]; What They're Saying: "Private Equity Firm Gave Millions of Dollars to a PAC backing Collins Right Before She Cast a Vote to Advance Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill.'"; ICYMI: Collins Dodges Questions on Support for RFK Jr.; What They're Saying: Backlash at Collins Event "Not a Great Sign" for Her Reelection Efforts; ICYMI: Collins AGAIN "Met with Protests," as Backlash Against Her Gains National Attention; What They're Saying: Collins "Met with Loud Boos and Hundreds of Protesters" at "One of the Few Public Events on Collins' Calendar"

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