Even though she had a far weaker record on environmental issues than her opponent? Even though local Maine LCV officials were lining up against her? And even though the organization was unable to articulate why its own environmental scorecard--"a nationally accepted yardstick"--should be ignored in her Senate race?

Good times.

Fifteen months later, LCV is out with its first new scorecard since the election. And in a Senate where 51 members scored a 100 rating, the junior senator clocks in with a disappointing 64.

So much for rewarding bad behavior.

But does LCV at least regret its decision, in light of a year's worth of new information? Is the organization ready to repent and change its ways?

Of course not.

Rather, LCV Deputy Legislative Director Sara Chieffo told us in a phone interview that she remains, "comfortable" with the Collins endorsement. She touted the junior senator's environmental record as compared to other Republicans. (Talk about grading on a curve!) And she said she was "encouraged" by Collins' "engagement" on environmental issues.

One of the things going on here, of course, is that LCV--a nominally "non-partisan" organization--practices affirmative action for Republicans. That makes it easier to solicit donations from independents and green conservatives, and (ironically) to frame the organization as indifferent to partisan politics.

But another thing that's at work here (and let's hope it's the main thing) is that LCV is trying to make nice to Collins in advance of the climate change legislation debate that's coming later this year. Or in 2011. Or sometime.

The background: Collins has put forward a "cap and dividend" proposal that some people of good will think isn't terrible on substance. So the hope is that she will negotiate in good faith to amend the Kerry-Lieberman-Graham proposal, perhaps incorporating some of her ideas. And that she'll then vote for cloture and final passage.

Of course, the question with Collins is whether and to what degree she's being disingenuous--whether she might just be looking to delay, dilute and/or kill progressive legislation without appearing to do so. Mainers, after all, have been taught for years by the local media to listen to her rhetoric and ignore her actions.

On the climate issue, there's already some reason to suspect Collins of bad faith: In 2008, just months before she faced Maine voters, she supported cloture to advance the Lieberman-McCain cap and trade bill, which had no real chance of passing. But after the election, Collins seemed to change her tune, saying, "It's a complicated issue to tackle at a time when the economy is weak."

In any event, we'll be watching. And we'll be among the first to congratulate LCV if their multi-year, standards-shredding effort to cultivate Collins pays off with a big environmental victory.

But I wouldn't bet on it.

All members of Congress should be concerned that the body routinely passes measures that aren't paid for. But, it seems odd to hold up a $10 billion bill that would help working-class families and the elderly, but not take a similar stand against measures that have added trillions of dollars to the deficit. Sen. Bunning voted for the tax cuts proposed by President George W. Bush and for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I'm all for it. But it does raise the question: Since the junior senator votes for all the spending and all the tax cuts, wouldn't it make sense for someone to ask her how she proposes to balance the budget?

She likes to have it both ways. And that's why they call her a moderate.

Today she went to the floor to make it clear that she disapproves of his filibuster.

Tomorrow, who knows.

Hundreds of jobless Mainers woke up today with the looming threat of losing their unemployment benefits. Benefits expired this weekend, and a measure in Congress to extend them for another month is being held up by one senator, Jim Bunning, a Kentucky Republican.

[...]

But Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, says both parties share the blame for the gridlock. "Had Sen. Reid included it in the bill that we passed earlier this week, we would not be in this situation," she told Capitol News Service.

Shame on Harry Reid!

Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME-1) is circulating a letter amongst her colleagues that urges Majority Leader Harry Reid to end the current practice of "silent filibusters" so the Senate can vote on the 290 bills that have already been passed by the House.

The full text of her letter is below. I ask you to contact your Congressman and ask them to sign onto it; only through real pressure will the Democratic Senate leaders change this rule and make Republicans actually work at their obstructionism.

UPDATE: I was asked if there was a list of those Rep's that have signed on. To date (5:00 p.m. EST), here it is:

Chellie Pingree
Phil Hare
Peter Welch
Anthony Weiner
Jim Moran
Michael Michaud
Carol Shea Porter
John Bocceri
Jared Polis
Nikki Tsongas
Barbra Lee
Betty Sutton
Alcee Hastings
Mazie Hirono

Call and give them some props!

It’s tempting to look at the recent gay marriage defeats in Maine and California, and say at least we’re on the “right side of history.”  The opposition is running on borrowed time, as young people increasingly support marriage equality.  But the trend is not moving fast enough, and it’s clear that gay marriage supporters have been losing the “swing vote” in every election.  Same-sex couples have largely won the battle for civil unions, but there’s something about “marriage” that makes moderates uneasy – and it’s time that we speak directly to their concerns.  Third Way, a Washington DC based think tank, conducted a poll of 600 Maine voters right after Question One passed in November – which holds important conclusions we should build upon.  As we look at repealing Prop 8 in California, going straight to those voters so we can win and finally move on to other battles is key.  None of us want to wait until the old generation dies out, and nor should we have to.

In order to win over Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, the Democrats removed $83bn of short-term spending from the [stimulus] bill at the cost of 400,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics.

The support for Crist, in particular, puts the junior senator at odds with conservative activists.

It's $15 billion cost is also a mere fraction of what Collins and allies stripped from the Recovery Act, at a time when every additional dollar of stimulus was sorely needed.

So let's be frank: Her support is little more than a token gesture.

This isn't a centrism; it's a feint toward centrism. Though it's almost certain that the junior senator and her friends in the Maine media will pretend otherwise.

With the exception of the stimulus bill--which she worked hard to water down--the junior senator has voted with the Republicans on every single major piece of legislation over the last 9 years.

Anyone who thinks she's interested in advancing serious reform rather than killing it is either incredibly--almost willfully--gullible or just hasn't been paying attention.

Looks like Susan Collins is hearing directly from the horse's mouth on skyrocketing healthcare costs, and it may be just the push needed to help pass healthcare reform with her and the other maine senators help. They know they need those voters and if the healthcare costs continue to skyrocket and they didn't do anything about it or obstructed progress by blocking reform they will go down in flames in their next election, because despite the rhetoric, premiums will continue to skyrocket.  

I do wonder where he got that picture.

"It's a bad sign," Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told me about Bayh's retirement. "The loss of someone like Evan speaks volumes about people's frustrations with the Senate and our failure to work in a bipartisan fashion."

"The Obama administration appears to have a blind spot when it comes to the War on Terrorism.

“And, because of that blindness, this administration cannot see a foreign terrorist even when he stands right in front of them."

Collins is 100% as conservative as she can be AND win re-election in the dystopia that is Maine. Cut some slack.