Reply #12: People in Maine love Susan Collins

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I have lived in Maine for 20 years, and Susan Collins' incredible popularity mystifies me. She somehow manages to convince people she is reasonable and independent, while voting time after time along party lines. Needless to say, I will be voting for Tom Allen, and I will be voting for the losing candidate.
This statement about the McCain Robocalls is typical. Calls like this don't go over well with Mainers, and she knows it. It's yet another way she can convince her constituents that she really is an independent voice in the Senate.
She has run a good campaign, with effective TV advertising that portrays her as an independent champion for the people of Maine. Tom Allen hasn't run an effective campaign; he has not been able to chip away at what I see as Collins' weakness, the fact that, despite how moderate and reasonable her words are, she has voted in lockstep with Bush policy for 8 years.
I do think that if Obama takes the White House, and the Democrats pick up more Senate seats, Collins will vote more often with the Democrats. Or maybe I'm just wishing, because I know we're stuck with her for six more years.