Leftist Religionists Occupy Sen. Collins' Office Demanding Redistribution
Faith and Force:
Religious leaders occupying Sen. Collins’ Portland office...
"A group of religious leaders protesting Sen. Susan Collins’ support of the tax reform effort is spending the night in her Portland office, refusing to leave..."
"“Bottom line is she’s doing great work … but it’s just not enough,” one member can be heard saying..."
"More than a dozen people were crammed into the small waiting room... The group had been live-streaming their peaceful [sic] sit-in throughout the day, and people responded by sending them pizza and chocolates."...
"Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill, ... said the group appreciated the senator’s work to block Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now, they’re calling on her to do the same to the tax bill...
"'We’re here because our faith compels us to be here,' Ewing-Merrill said. 'We think this tax bill is immoral and unjust and harmful...'"
“'Senator Collins meets with thousands of Mainers every year,' [Collins’ Communications Director Annie] Clark said. 'She appreciates hearing from her constituents and respects their right to protest.'"...
"Rev. Jim Gertmenian, a retired United Church of Christ minister... , criticized the tax bill as being 'a massive redistribution of wealth' that would be dangerous for the country.
'''It gives away huge amounts of money to those who need it least and takes money from those who need it most,' he said. 'It’s that simple equation that is part of a massive of redistribution of wealth from the bottom to the top that we think is dangerous to our democracy and our country and it’s an affront to God who cares most for the needy.'”
http://www.pressherald.com/2017/12/07...
Five protesters arrested at Collins’ office in Bangor
"They oppose her support of the Republican tax cut plan in the Senate and refused to leave her office in the federal building.
"Bangor police arrested five people on criminal trespass charges Monday night after they refused to leave Sen. Susan Collins’ office in the federal building.
...
"“They were very peaceful [sic],” said [Sgt.] Warner, who read a dispersal order..."
"'I always welcome hearing the views of my constituents,' Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement. 'This is an opportunity for me to let them know that a single mom with one child earning $35,000 would receive $1,100 back from the government, rather than owing income tax.'
"Collins said the Senate bill means a family with an income of $24,000 would no longer pay income tax."
"'This bill gives massive tax cuts to the rich on the backs of working people,' added 39-year-old Nick Paquet,... who also was arrested. 'It was written by the rich and powerful for the rich and powerful.'”
http://www.pressherald.com/2017/12/04...
Religious leaders occupying Sen. Collins’ Portland office...
"A group of religious leaders protesting Sen. Susan Collins’ support of the tax reform effort is spending the night in her Portland office, refusing to leave..."
"“Bottom line is she’s doing great work … but it’s just not enough,” one member can be heard saying..."
"More than a dozen people were crammed into the small waiting room... The group had been live-streaming their peaceful [sic] sit-in throughout the day, and people responded by sending them pizza and chocolates."...
"Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill, ... said the group appreciated the senator’s work to block Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now, they’re calling on her to do the same to the tax bill...
"'We’re here because our faith compels us to be here,' Ewing-Merrill said. 'We think this tax bill is immoral and unjust and harmful...'"
“'Senator Collins meets with thousands of Mainers every year,' [Collins’ Communications Director Annie] Clark said. 'She appreciates hearing from her constituents and respects their right to protest.'"...
"Rev. Jim Gertmenian, a retired United Church of Christ minister... , criticized the tax bill as being 'a massive redistribution of wealth' that would be dangerous for the country.
'''It gives away huge amounts of money to those who need it least and takes money from those who need it most,' he said. 'It’s that simple equation that is part of a massive of redistribution of wealth from the bottom to the top that we think is dangerous to our democracy and our country and it’s an affront to God who cares most for the needy.'”
http://www.pressherald.com/2017/12/07...
Five protesters arrested at Collins’ office in Bangor
"They oppose her support of the Republican tax cut plan in the Senate and refused to leave her office in the federal building.
"Bangor police arrested five people on criminal trespass charges Monday night after they refused to leave Sen. Susan Collins’ office in the federal building.
...
"“They were very peaceful [sic],” said [Sgt.] Warner, who read a dispersal order..."
"'I always welcome hearing the views of my constituents,' Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement. 'This is an opportunity for me to let them know that a single mom with one child earning $35,000 would receive $1,100 back from the government, rather than owing income tax.'
"Collins said the Senate bill means a family with an income of $24,000 would no longer pay income tax."
"'This bill gives massive tax cuts to the rich on the backs of working people,' added 39-year-old Nick Paquet,... who also was arrested. 'It was written by the rich and powerful for the rich and powerful.'”
http://www.pressherald.com/2017/12/04...
But what does "Republican" mean? People refer to "Republican in name only" (RINO) but exactly what are they referring to? The name of what? How different is Collins from a McConnell or a Romney (who aside from being a failed Republican presidential nominee who stood for nothing had also been governor of Massachusetts where he pioneered Obamacare).
Maine also a peculiar fantasy about being "independent", which usually means unprincipled Pragmatist with leftist premises. It goes back to the "independent" legacy of Margaret Chase Smith.
Collins is a lot like Olympia Snowe was, and Bill Cohen had the same tendencies. Their "independence" has meant not openly ideologically progressive like a Clinton or Obama, but compromise any principle on anything in the name of "bringing people together" -- more and more to the left as the compromises accumulate and become more destructive.
Snowe for example would vote for laws like the Endangered Species Act and then make a big show of standing up for her constituents abused by it -- what did she expect? -- then going back and voting to expand the same laws to satisfy viro emotions. They want to be thought of as supporting everyone and liked by all for their alleged neutrality and seeking "solutions" -- solutions to the problems they cause themselves.
Snowe said she left the Senate because it had become too "polarized" -- there was no place left for her brand of "compromise" pretending to be practical and above the fray. They fancy themselves as being non partisan "middle" just seeking "solutions", with no concept of their unacknowledged progressivism. They are a classic case of progressivism historically based on Pragmatism in which any government force is regarded as a potential "tool" available for "what works", thereby building statism into the nature of government in the name of a neutrality, without acknowledging the leftist statism.
Collins has become so dippy in her destructive attempts to "compromise" for its own sake that on every important issue she comes up with something to gum up the works just to gum up the works in the name of not being for any side, satisfying no one. The high school-like popularity contest isn't working any more, and she wanted to leave just like Snowe did, but didn't want to give up the power she feared losing completely.
Angus King, a former governor of Maine who before becoming governor sounded almost libertarian before flipping, replaced Snowe as an official Independent (neither Republican nor Democrat), but "caucuses" and votes with the Democrats, which now means ideological left. He doesn't even pretend anymore to be "moderate". He's a real snake who is now owned by the viros. (Between being governor and running for the Senate his viro cohorts helped him made a killing on politicized investments in windmill energy with government subsidies -- part of the Orren Boyle crowd.) Yet he postures himself as being a Maine "independent".
So that is the background in Maine politics and what Collins is all about.
Collins has threatened to vote against the tax plan if Congress does not separately reinstate government funding for insurance subsidies that would themselves further disrupt the insurance market. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-s...
The occupation of Collins' Portland, ME office Thursday night (12/7/17) resulted in the arrest of nine religious leaders after they refused to leave. It was followed by another 'protest' by students swarming into the office the next day, but none were arrested. http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/12/0... Similar occupations were staged in Collins' office in Bangor, Maine, resulting in arrests. One group againt tax cuts calls itself "American Atrocities Against our own People".
The 'protestors' have praised Collins as they try to pressure her into blocking the tax plan for all the wrong reasons. Collins has pandered to them, calling their occupations peaceful while boasting that the tax bill removes more lower income people from taxes, subsidizing them with 'credits' for taxes they do not pay. The protestors' objections to the tax plan attacked tax cuts for business, corporations and the "rich" because they are cuts. The 'peaceful protestors' were arrested for criminal trespass but released on minimal bail.
The latest student occupation copied antics from the 1960s, chanting slogans like “Hey, hey, ho, ho, tax scam has got to go”, adding to the irrationalism of the religious leaders who insisted their 'faith' had compelled them to take over the office. One of them pronounced that tax cuts are a "redistribution of wealth from the poor and working class to the wealthy". They have no objections to the tax increases on ordinary taxpayers or the new higher marginal rate of almost 50% on the "rich".
On Saturday (12/9/17) a mob of leftists "marched" against tax cuts in southern Maine. Ex MA Rep Barney Frank exhorted the mob, "This is an important decision and it is simply unfair to all of you". He predicted "it will increase the federal deficit and will mean deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other programs vital to citizens" http://www.fosters.com/news/20171209/...