538 bravely tells the truth Atlas ignores: Susan Collins is a moderate

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-real-republican-maverick-maine-sen-susan-collins/

[Chief Justice Keef]

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Man, only 85% of the time? Wow, real moderate.

[RINO Tom]

Who says she isn't a moderate?  I mean, sure, to be a true moderate in the eyes of your political opposition, you probably need to be two decades dead, but Collins usually is billed with the classic "for a Republican in 2017, she is a moderate" label.

[Santander]

What is so brave about calling Susan Collins a moderate?

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

^ Many Atlas members insist that she isn't a moderate.

[Chief Justice Keef]

^ Many Atlas members insist that she isn't a moderate.

She's not. Voting 85% of the with the Republican president instead of 90% of the time DOES NOT make you a moderate.

[publicunofficial]

Collins only votes against her party when she'll be the 48th or 49th vote. Never the 50th, if you get what I mean.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Collins only votes against her party when she'll be the 48th or 49th vote. Never the 50th, if you get what I mean.

This is the going theory in ME Dem politics.

And it's the sort of thing that 538's brand of sterling #analysis usually fails to capture.

[Figueira]

I mean, by definition any party can be divided into a "moderate" wing and an "extreme" wing. Collins is obviously one of the more moderate Senators. But that doesn't really mean anything significant.

[Hoosier_Nick]

Collins only votes against her party when she'll be the 48th or 49th vote. Never the 50th, if you get what I mean.

[MAINEiac4434]

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Man, only 85% of the time? Wow, real moderate.

She gives good quotes and that's it. She's good at purporting herself as a moderate. She has great constituent services. But, especially since Olympia retired, she's become just another John McCain - votes in virtual lockstep with her party.

[MAINEiac4434]

Collins only votes against her party when she'll be the 48th or 49th vote. Never the 50th, if you get what I mean.

This is the going theory in ME Dem politics.

And it's the sort of thing that 538's brand of sterling #analysis usually fails to capture.

For example, DeVos. Voted her out of committee. She could've killed the DeVos nomination right then and there. And she didn't.

[Lachi]

Lol, Atlas still denying it. Have one look at her policies, she's is moderate.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Lol, Atlas still denying it. Have one look at her policies, she's is moderate.

Have one look at her votes; she's conservative.

[Adam Griffin]

She's only a "moderate" if you base her voting record off of the veritable orchestra of raving lunatics that comprise the rest of her party, and even then barely so: "I disagree with my party barely 10% of the time, and even so, it's usually not on major or controversial issues!" does not a moderate make - even in some simplistic, relative sense.

...Americans and their persistent desire to make up their own definitions for all things political that are independent from the rest of the world - SAD. We wouldn't be having this discussion anywhere else in the democratic world and for good reason.

[Lachi]

Lol, Atlas still denying it. Have one look at her policies, she's is moderate.

Have one look at her votes; she's conservative.

Since when did votes determine ideology?

[MAINEiac4434]

Lol, Atlas still denying it. Have one look at her policies, she's is moderate.

No she isn't. She votes in lockstep with her party. That makes her a conservative.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

Lol, Atlas still denying it. Have one look at her policies, she's is moderate.

Have one look at her votes; she's conservative.

Since when did votes determine ideology?

They're an expression of policy preference and political loyalty that point towards what you want the country to look like, and what problems you believe the country faces? All of which are dependent upon how you view and interpret the world, which is a commonly accepted notion of ideology?

[MAINEiac4434]

Lol, Atlas still denying it. Have one look at her policies, she's is moderate.

Have one look at her votes; she's conservative.

Since when did votes determine ideology?

Actions speak louder than words.

[Cruzcrew]

^ Many Atlas members insist that she isn't a moderate.

She's not. Voting 85% of the with the Republican president instead of 90% of the time DOES NOT make you a moderate.

This is based off of only 19 votes. She ordinarily votes with the GOP only 60% of the time, so once we get past cabinet members, she's probably going to have a more moderate looking percentage vote with Trump.

[Lachi]

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Man, only 85% of the time? Wow, real moderate.

You're picking and choosing data. If you have read the whole article, you'll see that she has actually voted against her own party on average 40% of the time over the last 18 years, and the fact that in some terms, she voted against the GOP nearly 60% of the time. That's a lot, considering she has NEVER missed a single vote in her career

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

She's a Republican hack, this isn't really debatable tbh.

[Xing]

I love how some people think terms like "moderate" aren't subjective.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

I love how some people think terms like "moderate" aren't subjective.

Well yeah there's that. Most ideological terms are pretty much useless (cf: the giant Democratic kerfuffle over what the heck anyone means by 'progressivism').

But I think what's abundantly clear is that Sen. Collins is not meaningfully independent from Republican Senatorial leadership, and generally gets away with appearing 'different' from your average Republican by bailing on pre-won/pre-lost votes.

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

I love how some people think terms like "moderate" aren't subjective.

Collins, on average, in past congresses, has only voted with her party 60% of the time. If that doesn't count as moderate, then NOTHING does.