As a recent article in “The Nation” suggests, Mainers are ready for a real challenge against Susan Collins as she faces her third reelection (“Senator Collins is the Barrier to Transparency, Accountability on Drones” http://www.thenation.com/blog/177342/senator-susan-collins-barrier-transparency-accountability-drones#).

           Two women are vying for a Maine seat in the U.S. Congress, and both have very different opinions about drone warfare. Women in politics are often accused of being “too soft”, and like Susan Collins and Hilary Clinton, decide to take a “hawkish” attitude toward all military actions.  Collins has continually voted to keep troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  While Americans are struggling in the “Great Recession”, half of our FY budget is approved for the Pentagon every year.

          Holding the seat in Congress since 1997, incumbent Susan Collins has supported several ongoing wars, surveillance of Americans, and drone strikes upon our own people. Collins has continually supported the “Patriot Act”, which goes down as one of the most embarrassing and undemocratic acts passed in US history. More recently, she has come under pressure after she voted against legislation that would require the government to report on the number of civilians killed by drone strikes.  For years now, the US has been launching drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, and other countries around the world.

          While with the ACLU, Shenna Bellows worked to support legislation in Maine that would have banned law enforcement agencies from using drones for surveillance unless they had a search warrant. If Bellows wishes to win the seat from Collins in 2014, her campaign must rail against Collins’ strong support of the Military Industrial Complex. Bellows’ history in the ACLU is in perfect contrast to Collins’ support of never-ending wars and the deaths of innocent children to US drone strikes.  Challenging a long-time incumbent can be difficult.  To defeat Collins, the Bellows campaign needs look no further than to expose Collins’ unbridled support of all things war.