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Michael P. Bacon is a retired oceanographer living in Westbrook.
I would like to make an appeal to Sen. Susan Collins.
There is deep anxiety throughout the country over the extreme chaos we’ve been plunged into these past few weeks. There are fears that we are at serious risk of losing benefits and services that are vital to all of us and of losing our friends around the world because of the president’s insulting behavior toward them and his daily affronts to human decency. There are even growing fears that the republic we know and love may cease to exist in recognizable form.
We are in crisis, but we have a president who, gauging from past experience, handles crises poorly. Moreover, he is the actual cause of the present one. We cannot rely on him and must plead for leadership from other members of his party. Congress must reassert its authority and independence and regain its dignity, which the president, by his words and actions, insults every day.
A Feb. 4 Bangor Daily News story quoted Sen. Collins as being “very concerned” about the recent actions of Elon Musk, who seems to be operating without any supervision by the president or anyone else. Her statement to reporters might be somewhat reassuring, but what I see as weak expressions of concern from our leaders are not enough at a time of fear and despair. She must do more to alleviate the anxiety of her constituents. Our times demand candor and straight talk.
At a minimum, I believe this would mean a letter to all her constituents giving a frank assessment of the state of the party and the country and of what the future holds for us. It would be better if she would address the whole country. Even better would be a TV interview. I’m sure one of the networks would grant her airtime if she asked for it and told them what it was about.
But what the country really needs is a serious speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate in the spirit of Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, a Republican who, in 1950, spoke out against a fellow Republican, Sen. Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was another vile demagogue, who, like our president, rose to fame by teaching Americans to hate other Americans. It would be especially fitting because Collins holds the same Senate seat that was held by Smith.
A speech could start much as Smith’s did: “Mr. President, I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition. It is a national feeling of fear and frustration that could result in national suicide and the end of everything that we Americans hold dear. It is a condition that comes from the lack of effective leadership either in the legislative branch or the executive branch of our government.” Every American should read this speech for the truths that still apply today.
I know that what I am asking would be difficult for Sen. Collins because she appears to prefer to operate in a bipartisan way behind closed doors, which she often does very effectively to serve her constituents. But I am not asking for more than we have a right to expect of an experienced United States senator.
The leadership we need must come from a Republican. They are the ones in power. Fifty years ago, they stood up to Richard Nixon, another president who scoffed at the law and violated his oath. If they search their souls, I hope that maybe at least a few can find the courage to stand up to today’s supreme bully.
A crisis can present opportunity. If Sen. Collins would stand up to the president, I believe it would thrill many of her supporters and gain her new ones. If she could rise to the occasion, I believe she would receive an outpouring of admiration and gratitude today and would be remembered tomorrow as a true hero.
