I’m tired of hearing that Sen. Susan Collins is responsible for the Supreme Court.

Look at the actual record. Yes, she voted to confirm Republican nominees. She also voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, every one of the court’s three liberal justices. No other Republican serving today can claim that.

Collins’ standard has never changed: a president of either party is entitled to qualified nominees, and each one gets judged on the merits, not on who sits in the White House. The only Supreme Court nominee she ever voted against was Amy Coney Barrett — because the confirmation was rushed through days before a presidential election. Collins said the same rule should apply no matter which party held the Senate, and she meant it.

People who blame Collins for the Supreme Court’s rulings are really just angry that she doesn’t vote the way they would, every single time. But that’s exactly the point of an independent. Someone who agrees with us on everything isn’t independent; they’re just on our team.

The same people demanding Sen. Collins reject every Republican nominee would be furious if a Democratic senator took marching orders from the other side. Consistency is a fair thing to ask for, yet Collins has delivered it for nearly 30 years.

People can disagree with a vote here or there. But the moment anyone looks at the “yes” votes, idea that Collins is a reliable partisan on the courts collapses.

Maine deserves a senator who thinks for herself. We have one.

Maeann Bush
Belgrade

Read the letter: centralmaine.com