As a former resident of Bangor, a University of Maine graduate and someone who has been deeply connected to Maine for 40 years through my work with former Congressman, Senator and Defense Secretary Bill Cohen, I am writing to comment on the column by author Stephen King criticizing Sen. Susan Collins and supporting her Democratic opponent.
I begin by saying that I am a devoted fan of King, both for his unparalleled gifts as a novelist and for his evident love of Maine, including his many acts of philanthropy such as his amazing support of the Bangor Public Library. Maine can be very proud to have King as one of its most visible native sons.
However, having read his comments about Collins with care, and with full respect for his views, I think Mr. King would be well-advised to stick with fiction rather than nonfiction. King made a number of specific points about Collins’ record which require correction and amplification.
Collins has dedicated herself to working to help keep Americans safe from terrorism, while also protecting our civil liberties. Regarding the Patriot Act and questions of intelligence oversight, Collins created the federal Privacy and Civil Liberties Board that passed as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, and she has worked closely with Sen. Angus King to increase oversight of the NSA. Also, she was one of the few Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee to vote to declassify parts of a long-delayed report on the CIA’s defunct detention and interrogation program, again joining with King in an effort to note that torture is wrong and at odds with basic American values.
Collins has made it clear that she supports a responsible increase in the minimum wage and is working with the Common Sense Coalition in the Senate to come up with a compromise that could actually pass. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that raising the minimum wage by 39 percent, to $10.10 as advocated by Stephen King, would cause as many as a half million people to lose their jobs, an outcome that he likely would not want to see either.
On the related issue of pay equity for women, Collins clearly supports equal pay for equal work, which has been enshrined in law since 1964, and she voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Act to strengthen legal remedies. Like Sens. Olympia Snowe and Angus King, she opposed the Paycheck Fairness Act, which could be more accurately named the Frivolous Litigation Against Small Business Act.
Concerning the Keystone Pipeline, Canada is going to increase its production of oil whether we like it or not — the question is whether this oil gets shipped to the US or China. Collins wants to lower our energy costs, and having access to oil from a friendly neighbor will continue to reduce our dependence on less reliable, Middle Eastern energy sources. Collins also has been a strong supporter of alternative energy, whether it is deepwater, offshore wind, pellet stoves or tidal power.
Finally, concerning independence and bipartisanship, the widely respected National Journal magazine rates Collins as the most bipartisan member of the US Senate. She led the way out of the disastrous government shutdown by developing a plan and founding the bipartisan Common Sense Coalition, and she has proven that she will work with both Republicans and Democrats to do what’s right for Maine and our country.
For good reason, Stephen King is one of Maine’s most beloved figures. His rich imagination has produced works of fiction which have endured and will continue to endure over the years. But in the more prosaic world of government and politics, it is important to state the record clearly. King has actively supported Democratic candidates in the past, so it’s no surprise that he would support the Democratic Senate candidate this year. But though he is certainly entitled to his own opinions about Collins, he is not entitled to his own facts.
Robert S. Tyrer is co-president of The Cohen Group and a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Maine’s School of Policy and International Affairs.