A Bangor Daily News editorial (Aug. 24-25) quibbled with Democratic interpretations of Sen. Susan Collins’ voting record, as represented in television ads focusing on votes on prescription drugs, Medicare and patient’s bill of rights.

As much as the Collins campaign would like to suggest otherwise, the Collins record on these issues is far from a stellar one. Even more damning, her continuous siding with partisan Republican plans to kill or weaken important health care proposals suggests a record that is simply bad for Maine.

Take, for example, her votes on a patient’s bill of rights. Although Sen. Collins eventually voted for final passage of the bill, she voted five times, for five separate amendments, to either kill or weaken the bill. Collins even voted for an amendment that said that if the Patient’s Bill of Rights (PBOR) passed, she would deny its source of funding. This is Washington, D.C. politics at its worst, when a politician trumpets her support for causes in cheery television ads, then repeatedly votes against those very causes.

Meanwhile, Maine seniors wait in vain for genuine health care reform to be addressed. The last thing they need is a senator who says one thing in Maine, then votes another way in Washington.

John Carr, President

Maine Council of

Senior Citizens-Alliance for Retired Americans