Democrats are looking to punish Sen. Susan Collins for failing to accede to the demands of anti-Kavanaugh protesters, so they’ve proposed boycotting Collins’ state until the state dumps Collins.
The Portland (Maine) Press-Herald reports that angry leftists are organizing against Maine — planning to “boycott” the state by canceling scheduled travel and avoiding Maine’s signature products, from blueberries to lobster.
Leftist commentator John Fugelsang initiated the boycott, asking his followers on Twitter to “vote against” visiting Maine until something is done about the state’s non-compliant senator.
“Dear Susan Collins – I really struggled with this but my tourist $ just voted against ever visiting Maine while you remain in office,” Fugelsang tweeted. About 22,000 Twitter users answered his clarion call, some threatening to take their luxury winter vacations in Vermont or New Hampshire instead, and some pledging to forgo pricey Maine lobster dinners.
But if the response was robust, the results seem to be anemic: so far only one Fugelsang follower has reportedly canceled his winter holiday (at the $2,200-per-week Point Sebago resort), and while one Maine lobster fisherman admitted he’s lost a few customers, it doesn’t appear the industry as a whole has been markedly affected.
L.L. Bean, the national clothing retailer based in Maine, didn’t comment on the news of a planned boycott.
With the notable exception of leftists on social media, Collins told the Press-Herald that response to her vote has been “overwhelmingly positive,” not that negative reactions seem to faze her.
Almost as soon as Brett Kavanaugh was announced as the Supreme Court nominee, Collins became a target of progressive activists who mailed thousands of wire hangers to her office, and at one point appeared to try to bribe the Maine Republican with $2 million in campaign funds if she voted “correctly” on Kavanaugh’s appointment.