Puppet and master.

Weeks ago, a report surfaced that Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins had greenlighted Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court before it was time for a final Senate vote. She trotted out her spokesperson to deny the claims, but every action and word she's taken thus far have done nothing to refute the claim that the fix is in with her—including this from today:

x I hope that Dr. Ford will reconsider and testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. It is my understanding that the Committee has offered to hold either a public or a private session, whichever would make her more comfortable. — Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) September 19, 2018

What would make Dr. Ford more comfortable would be the knowledge that the supposedly pro-choice, pro-woman Collins has her back. She most emphatically does not, which is made obvious by the Republican talking points Collins spewed in a Maine radio interview Wednesday, quoted in a series of tweets.

"[M]uch to my surprise it now appears she's turning down all three options even though her attorney said earlier this week that she would come testify." […] "I just don't understand why the hearing shouldn't go forth," she says. […] "I'm very troubled and perplexed that Sen. Feinstein withheld the letter." […] "It seems the way it was handled was unfair to both the judge and the professor because it casts this cloud of doubt on both of them." […] "The timing [of the allegations] is certainly very unfortunate and I think unfair."

Collins hit all the Mitch McConnell-approved talking points in that one interview, questioning Dr. Ford's veracity with the "cloud of doubt" remark, a cloud that's all the Democrats' fault, and why isn't she willing to come be skewered by a panel of old white Republican men with less than a week's notice? What has she got to hide?