Democratic Ad Targets Collins' Votes
Congressional votes are prime fodder for attack ads — which sometimes don’t tell the full story about why a lawmaker cast a particular vote or how votes on other legislation reveal a more nuanced position than what’s conveyed in a 30-second TV spot.
That’s the case in a Democratic ad attacking Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine. It claimed that she voted “to raise healthcare costs and raise insurance premiums,” as well as give President Donald Trump “a blank check for his war in Iran.”
As Senior Writer D’Angelo Gore writes, the ad, from the nonprofit issue advocacy group Majority Forward, cites her vote in September against a Democratic bill to, among other things, temporarily fund the federal government and permanently extend enhanced Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies beyond their scheduled expiration at the end of 2025. Collins did support extending the subsidies, with some restrictions, but she said that issue should be addressed separately from a bill to prevent or end a government shutdown.
D'Angelo explains that later, in December, Collins called for legislation to temporarily extend the subsidies for two years, with an income cap for eligibility, and she voted to advance a Democratic bill to extend the tax credits for three years. That legislation failed.
As for the war in Iran, it's true that Collins voted multiple times against war powers resolutions that would stop military operations in Iran until Congress officially declared war or authorized the use of force. However, she said in mid-April that her position would “very likely” change if the conflict continued for more than 60 days. And on April 30, she was one of two Republicans to vote in favor of a war powers resolution that would require congressional approval for military action to continue.
That resolution failed, and the vote came about a week after the Majority Forward ad against Collins hit the airwaves. But it was still running in Maine as of at least May 3, according to AdImpact.
The Maine Senate race is one of several key races we'll follow during the midterm elections. Collins' presumptive Democratic challenger is Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran.
Read the full story, "Democratic Ad Attacks Collins on Healthcare, Iran War."
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