Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)It appears Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) thinks we can either have same-sex marriage or the Democrats’ inflation reduction package, but not both. Continue reading “Susan Collins: Democrats Inflation Bill Could Kill Same-Sex Marriage Bill”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said in a statement today the report that the Supreme Court is prepping to overturn Roe v. Wade concerns her because such a decision would be “completely inconsistent” with her interviews with Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh prior to their confirmation. Continue reading “Sen. Susan Collins: Gorsuch & Kavanaugh Told Me Otherwise Regarding Roe”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took to Twitter Monday night to accuse three Republican U.S. senators of being ‘pro-pedophile’ for supporting Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Continue reading “Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls 3 GOP Senators ‘Pro-Pedophile’”
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (screen capture)Sen. Susan Collins will vote ‘yes’ to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, according to the New York Times.
The senator from Maine is the first Republican to announce her intent to approve Jackson’s nomination. Continue reading “Sen. Susan Collins Will Vote To Confirm Judge Jackson To Supreme Court”
Fitness guru Marc Burgum (via Instagram)Some news items you might have missed:
• InstaHunks: It’s Friday night and fitness guru Marc Burgum (above, proving clothes are sexy) asks, “If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be?” Follow him on Instagram here.
• Washington Blade: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), whose support for the Equality Act is seen as crucial to winning Republican votes for the LGBTQ non-discrimination bill, has laid out the proposed revisions she’s demanding in exchange for her support.
• Stonewall Gazette: Check out the short film Sauna the Dead where two men must overcome prejudice during a night at the sauna by joining forces in taking down a horde of towel-wearing zombies. Who will live to see the dawn?
• Andrew Christian Blog: The underwear and swimwear designer offers five reasons why he believes bulges are sexier than seeing naked peen.
• WLTX: South Carolina’s hate crime bill got its first round of approval Thursday, but with an amendment that may exclude the LGBTQ community???
• Instinct Magazine: DC Comics will celebrate this year’s Pride Month with the release of an anthology series titled DC Pride which will include “LGBTQIA+ characters from all corners of DC’s ever-expanding Universe, including cameos by fan favorites Batwoman, Renee Montoya, Alan Scott, Midnighter, Apollo, Extraño, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Constantine, and more.”
‘Superman’ #32 Pride variant cover (Credit: David Talaski via DC Comics)• Pink News: Following the enormous success of his new series “It’s A Sin,” creator Russell T. Davies is looking at a reboot of his 1990s series “Queer As Folk.”
• Twitter: The hashtag #CancelFox was trending at number one this afternoon as the Twitterverse noted the irony that Fox News is all upset about ‘cancel culture’ while professing to love the ‘free market.’
Fox News is obsessed with cancel culture, the idea that cartoons have first amendment rights. The irony is, Fox is all up in everyone’s sh*t over what they profess to love: the free market. RT if you agree it’s time to #CancelFox
Video by Really American Host @chipfranklin pic.twitter.com/rslT9gN8V1
— ReallyAmerican.com 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) March 12, 2021
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)In the aftermath of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has issued a statement saying the Senate should not vote on a new SCOTUS justice before the upcoming presidential election.
“In order for the American people to have faith in their elected officials, we must act fairly and consistently – no matter which political party is in power.
“President Trump has the constitutional authority to make a nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, and I would have no objection to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s beginning the process of reviewing his nominee’s credentials.
“Given the proximity of the presidential election, however, I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election.
“In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the president or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment the Supreme Court should be made by the president who is elected on November 3rd.”
My statement on the Supreme Court vacancy: pic.twitter.com/jvYyDN5gG4
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) September 19, 2020
Breaking: Maine Senator Susan Collins became the first Republican to break ranks with GOP leadership and President Donald Trump to say the next Supreme Court nominee should be selected by whoever is elected president on Nov. 3.https://t.co/7gvRULawjQ
— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) September 19, 2020
SUSAN COLLINS: “Given the proximity of the presidential election, however, I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election.”
She says the winner should pick the next justice. https://t.co/FGnQKGpymK
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 19, 2020
One thing that’s not addressed in @SenatorCollins‘s statement is how she would vote if McConnell does hold a vote despite her opposition to holding one. Theoretically she could not vote at all and deny the nominee needed support without opposing him/her. https://t.co/sZUBeZgSnE
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 19, 2020
Maine’s Susan Collins is 1st R to break ranks to say next SCOTUS nominee should be selected by the person elected in Nov. But she doesn’t say she’d vote against.
McConnell can lose 3 GOP senators and still confirm Trump pick to replace RBG. Can’t lose 4.https://t.co/zbyEODq6o5
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 19, 2020
And of course she's left herself a lot of wiggle room. She could have said "I will vote no on any vote before the election, and on any vote held during the lame duck in the event of a Trump loss." She didn't. But the statement reflects the bind she's in with the voters of Maine.
— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) September 19, 2020
On the day after the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it’s interesting to revisit the words of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) from just a few years ago:
“This is the last year of a lame-duck, and if Ted Cruz or Donald Trump get to be president, they’ve all asked us not to confirm or take up a selection by President Obama. So if a vacancy occurs in their last year, of their first term, guess what, you will use their words against them. You will use their words against them.
“I want you to use my words against me. If there is a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said ‘let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination,’ and you could use my words against me and you’d be absolutely right.”
The Washington Post reports that in 2018, when Graham was in line to take over the committee with jurisdiction over Supreme Court nominees, he said that ‘if an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait till the next election.’”
Graham is in a tight race for reelection himself this year – the most recent polls show him tied with his Democratic challenger, Jaime Harrison. How will his state react if he supports a vote on RGB’s replacement before the election?
LINDSEY GRAHAM on March 10, 2016:
“I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination." pic.twitter.com/DYXou0KEI8
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) September 19, 2020
Collins and Murkowski are on record saying they wouldn't support a nominee this close to the election
Barring a reversal, one more defection would force at least a tiebreak >>> pic.twitter.com/GaZB29m0we
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 19, 2020
Two other Republican Senators have signaled opposition to confirming a new justice so close to an election.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told The Hill in August of this year: “When Republicans held off Merrick Garland it was because nine months prior to the election was too close, we needed to let people decide. And I agreed to do that. If we now say that months prior to the election is okay when nine months was not, that is a double standard and I don’t believe we should do it. So I would not support it.”
And Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), also in a tough reelection campaign, told the New York Times‘ Jonathan Martin earlier this month, she would not seat a Supreme Court justice in October.
“I think that’s too close, I really do,” she said. She added she’d also oppose seating a justice in the lame-duck session if there’s a change in presidents.
News: @SenatorCollins told me earlier this month in Maine that she would not seat a Supreme Court justice in October.
“I think that’s too close, I really do,” she said.
She said she’d also oppose seating a justice in the lame duck if there’s a change in presidents.
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) September 19, 2020
L-R Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sara Gideon (images via campaigns)Quinnipiac University Polling released a new poll today showing 4-term Republican Senator Susan Collins trailing her Democratic challenger Sara Gideon by a whopping 12 points (54-42).
From the latest survey:
• 89% of likely voters who selected a candidate in the Senate matchup say their minds are made up; 10% say they might change their minds before the election
• Collins has a negative favorability rating (43% approve, 51% disapprove) while Gideon garners a positive 49% favorability rating versus 37% unfavorable
• Asked if the candidates care about average people, 60% of voters say that Gideon cares and while say 51% believes that Collins cares
• 53% of voters say that they would want to see the Democratic Party win control of the United States Senate
Collins won her last election with nearly 70% of the vote.
The same poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 21 points (59% to 38%).
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced during a lengthy speech on the floor of the Senate that she will vote ‘yes’ on confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
JUST IN: Sen. Susan Collins: “I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.” https://t.co/gQzVtunCYT pic.twitter.com/Ix5JykVAsI— ABC News (@ABC) October 5, 2018
Shortly after her announcement, red state Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin also announced he will vote ‘yes’ as well, which appears to give Kavanaugh the 51 votes he needs for confirmation.
Manchin, in a tough re-election fight in West Virginia, is the only Democrat to cross party lines and vote for Kavanaugh.
For decades, @SenatorCollins promised Maine voters she would protect their rights. Today, she broke that promise, choosing Trump and McConnell over those constituents who believed her. This is her legacy vote – and she knows exactly what will flow from it. This is who she is— Joe Sudbay (@JoeSudbay) October 5, 2018
Are you all not, on one level, relieved that Susan Collins has finally revealed herself fully to the people of Maine?People of Maine, please beat her in 2020, and send her into retirement.
— Michelangelo Signorile (@MSignorile) October 5, 2018
Deeply disappointed in @SenatorCollins today. This is the most consequential vote of her lifetime — and of her constituents’ lifetimes. The harms of this vote will last decades.— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) October 5, 2018
Sen. Susan Collins: It is "very difficult for me to imagine a scenario" where I'd vote for the Graham-Cassidy bill https://t.co/VgrzkZXQrv pic.twitter.com/N3QSjYy5Nz— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 24, 2017
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine tells CNN’s Jake Tapper she finds it “very difficult” to imagine a scenario where she would vote for the proposed Cassidy-Graham healthcare bill due to a host of complex issues including screwing up Medicaid and the laws governing pre-existing conditions.