Over at PredictIt, Collins and Murkowski's chances of voting for "Brett" are back up to around 70 cents on the dollar each, as of this morning. Without Ford giving public testimony, the GOP will continue to rally around their dudebro rapist because they've got so much practice at rallying around a dudebro rapist at this point. Roughly two years! So, what's going on with Collins?
Right before the rape story broke, I posted this about Collins and her propensity for getting duped, and how that has played out with "Brett." Essentially, she calls herself "pro-choice," but she seems to revel in letting people dupe her into behaving as a "pro-life" Senator.
Look, abortion is a tricky issue, and it is an odd quirk of history that it lines up with the rest of modern liberalism and conservatism. The central question is the question of when life begins. If life begins at conception, then abortion is murder. If not, then it's not murder, and abortion restrictions are restrictions on a woman's right to control her own body. Which is it? That depends on your assessment of when life begins. Why does that line up with anyone's assessment of the proper tax rate? Weird quirks of history. Another story, the best source of which is Hans Noel's Political Ideologies and Political Parties in America.
Why do "evangelicals" support Donald Trump, the most un-christian politician in American history? Part of it is "negative partisanship," as Alan Abramowitz and Steven Webster call it. They hate Democrats, and Trump is partisan hatred personified, but a big part of it is a deal with the devil. They support him, and he reciprocates by giving them conservative judges, with the aim of banning abortion and trying to turn back the clock on gay marriage and other issues, although that one would be harder for a variety of reasons. Abortion, though? That absolutely is on the table. "Brett" is why they support him. Either they are getting duped, or Collins is. Collins and the evangelicals can't both be OK with "Brett," unless Collins is also full of shit when she says she's "pro-choice."
Why support a rapist, or even reject so much as the possibility of rape, unless you are getting something in the deal? If you believe that life begins at conception, then abortion is murder. How many murders are there to be stopped? What would you give up to stop them? If your goal is to ban abortion, you put "Brett" on the Court, and rejoice. Then, you rationalize your choice by telling yourself that "Brett" must be innocent because it's easier that way.
If you are Susan Collins, and you really are pro-choice, you have to ask yourself: why are all these social conservative evangelical-types still supporting "Brett?" Am I the one getting duped here? "Brett" can't both support and oppose overturning Roe v. Wade, and isn't there anything fishy about this guy? Collins even made some noise about how if "Brett" lied about Ford, that's disqualifying, but her chances of supporting "Brett" are, according to betting, back up to around 70%.
Why? Because she is getting duped. Susan Collins is an idiot.
Look, I can understand a party loyalist just doing the party loyalty thing. I can even understand a social conservative rallying behind the conservative nominee. Susan Collins, though, is just a moron. Or, as I put it last week, a "dupeshit."