Susan Collins reminds us of the rationale for ‘country before party’ | Letter

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Apparently Sen. Susan Collins doesn’t adhere to a guiding principle many Americans learned
in their youth. “Remember, country always comes before party,” my Republican father admonished me — long before I was of age to vote.

Sen. Collins, in an August 2016 Washington Post op-ed, described her attachment to
the Republican Party: “Being a Republican is what defines me as a person.” In the same op-ed, Collins declared Donald Trump not qualified to be president, and did this in no uncertain terms.

Yet, she now asks us to reelect her to the Senate, where she would vote for Trump’s Republican Party. This would add greatly to Trump’s power as president, a position she did not believe he was qualified to hold in the first place.

Sen. Collins provides a clear case of placing party before country — and a clear reason why Americans have long believed in placing country before party.

Parker Albee, Jr.
Falmouth

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Tagged: election 2026, letter to the editor, senate 2026