Sen. Susan Collins’s tenure on my list of courageous Republicans has been terminated. It is a huge loss, for me personally and for our nation.
Long an admirer of Collins, of Maine, I was struck by the difference between her speech on the Senate floor during the Brett Kavanaugh proceedings and that of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican.
Thoughtful, polite and gracious, Murkowski spoke about wishing things could be different, explained at length why she voted “no” on a procedural move, then asked to be recorded as “present” at the confirmation roll call to avoid having to vote “no.”
And then there was Collins: 45 forceful, unapologetic minutes of why she was voting “yes” on Kavanaugh. She launched with plausible concerns about preserving the integrity of the confirmation process. But in short order, Collins dispatched any doubts about Kavanaugh by validating, then patronizing, and finally dismissing the courage and integrity of Christine Blasey Ford. Just as her all-white male Republican colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee did.
Which speech got the media spotlight? The reasoned attempt at persuasion or the “doubt the woman, give the benefit of the doubt to the man” declaration? The latter, of course. Our country and its media seem to have a fascination with this turbo-charged testosterone-type of behavior.
I would like to have asked Collins this: “If, at a small gathering of inebriated Senate colleagues, you were to be pulled into a bedroom, pushed down, mounted and silenced by a hand slapped over your mouth, would you remember accurately in a year, ten years, even after 30 years, who those assailants were?” (I’m not suggesting that any of the honorable Republican senators would do such a thing. But just for the sake of discussion, imagine that they had.)
Or, turn the tables. Ask Mitch McConnell, “If, at a party, you were assaulted by two rogue female senators, what would your recollection be in a decade or even fourscore years from now?”
I think we know the answer.
What gave me pause was the realization that this Trump-led, older, white, male-dominated Republican regime is terrorizing women no matter what route they take.
Murkowsi knew she was committing political suicide when she stood tentatively against her party on Kavanaugh. The words were barely out of her mouth when Donald Trump declared that he will see to it personally that she will never recover from crossing him on the nomination. Nevertheless, she stood up and spoke out.
Speaking with a contemporary strong female voice doesn’t fare any better. Witness “Lyin’, Crooked” Hilary Clinton, “Jezebel” Anita Hill, “Pocohontas” Elizabeth Warren and “poor, confused” Christine Blasey Ford. They also stood up and spoke truth to power clearly, courageously and unapologetically.
Men have long been validated just by opening their mouths and making assertive statements, regardless of content. Women have just as long been dismissed simply by asking to be taken seriously. Often, men don’t even have to say anything to wield their power.
John McCain turned the tide on health care in the Senate with a simple “thumbs down” gesture. No speech, no apology, just a flip of the wrist. Such is the comparative state of male-female authority in our government.
This is the situation: Neither women nor men speak with one voice, one style, one opinion. It’s what each individual stands for that counts. The important thing is that women have been speaking and continue to speak with as much credibility as men for a long time now. And we still get knocked down whether we speak deferentially or assertively, often just because we stand up and speak at all.
In this era, only buying into the white male misogynistic power game aligns a Republican woman with power. Collins deliberately made a pact with the devil to smokescreen her role in a blatantly partisan and hypocritical SCOTUS confirmation process (read: Merrick Garland).
I would like to think this was a calculated move toward a higher purpose: She needs to preserve her Senate seat because she intends to go on to correct the deeply destructive course our government is on. But I have to dig deep to find that sort of faith.
Stand up, women. Stand up without apology. Say what you have to say any way you feel comfortable. Be quiet, gracious and thoughtful, or be loud, outspoken and extemporaneous. But don’t sit in silence and resignation. If they knock you down, get up and stay up.
It took 100 years for us to get the vote. Don’t squander that hard-earned power now.
(Bonnie Christie lives in Hopkinton.)