Thanks For The “Squishy" Support Sen. Susan Collins; But Girls, Women Need A Backbone From You In Trans Fight
Things are looking up. Even "squishy" Republicans are coming around.
America is coming back, and I wake up every day being thankful for our nation’s current leadership. Relieved, too.
Thank goodness President Donald Trump is back in the White House. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
America Still Recovering From Biden And The Dems
But with some of the lunacy of the Biden years still polluting our national head-space, and, unfortunately, our collective reality, I tend to ask myself, as I'm taking in cable news or reading the latest crazy headlines: "How on Earth did we get here in the first place?"
It's a rhetorical question, of course. Like you, I know darn well how we got here.
Liberal policies and ideologies and tolerances for insanity have created a world that would have been incomprehensible 10 years ago, even five years ago.
It’s a world in which Americans are supposed to be A-OK with things like open borders for un-vetted illegals and criminals, as well as men and boys in women’s and girls' sports and private spaces.
Democrats got destroyed in the 2024 election on issues such as an open border as well as a denial of basic biology and boys and men in girls and women's sports and private spaces. And so far, those crazy Dems haven't let up. Top: (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images); Bottom left: (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images); Bottom right: (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images).
Dems, go figure, still seem willing to die on those very unpopular hills. Thankfully, President Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are trying to restore sanity, and have done meaningful work already in both the border and trans lanes.
Now, we’re even starting to see some of the "squishy" Republicans, like U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, fall in line.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is a "squishy" Republican. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Breakthrough T1D)
There Are MAGA Red Republicans, And "Squishy" Pink Ones
"Squishy" Republicans (that’s just something I call them) are Republicans in name, and when it’s convenient. During the Trump years, they have subtly, and sometimes not-so-subtly, resisted Trump’s agenda because it’s, well, Trump. (Orange Man BAD!!....Mean Tweets!!!...You know the drill!)
Collins has a reputation of being a staunch Trump antagonist. She has spoken out against him, said she wouldn’t vote for him (in the 2024 election), tried to block some of his agenda and came out hard against cabinet nominees such as Pete Hegseth.
And until now, Collins has been strangely quiet on the trans athletes in women’s sports issue, even though the issue is literally blowing up her state and causing serious Title IX debates and federal funding issues there.
But, alas, the 72-year-old Collins, who has been in Congress since 1996, is up for re-election in 2026. And, possibly sensing the need for some acts of self-preservation, she is pushing back against the lunacy happening in her state.
Kind of.
Maine Senator Susan Collins Is Overly Measured On Trans Issue
Like the squishy Republican she is, Collins spoke out, but showed barely a backbone in a declaration about the topic, which was posted on X (formerly Twitter) Friday.
Collins wrote:
"The conflict between how the State of Maine and the Administration interpret Title IX needs to be resolved. I agree with the federal government’s position that biological males should not compete in girls and women’s athletics. Policies to the contrary violate the original intent behind Title IX. People who are transgender deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. But that does not change the fact that Title IX mandated equal access to athletic resources and facilities on the basis of sex – not on the basis of gender identity. Safe and fair athletic competition has been one of the keys to the success of Title IX. While I will continue to advocate strongly for federal funding for Maine, I disagree with the state’s position and instead support the original intent behind Title IX."
So what prompted Collins to finally use her voice on this?
Well, the Democrat-led state of Maine just couldn’t help itself and has doubled-down on its defiance of Trump’s executive order of keeping boys and men out of girls' and women's sports. States that don’t comply risk losing millions in federal funding. Maine is on the chopping block, and we all remember the touchy exchange between Maine Governor Janet Mills and Trump at the White House in February.
What In The World Is Going On In Maine?
Mills is intent on dying on the hill of allowing biological male trans athletes in women’s sports, and told Trump in front of every governor in the country that she will "see him in court." To which Trump basically said: Bring it.
Colleges and universities in Maine got smart and dutifully backed down a month later, announcing that they would comply with Trump’s executive order. Funding restored for them.
But the rest of the education system in Maine (the K through 12 kids) is still being held hostage by Mills and the rest of the crazy lawmakers there.
Those Dems are not backing down.
According to WMTW, the ABC affiliate in Portland, Maine, the state’s Attorney General’s Office has recently indicated that it will not comply with Trump’s executive order (for K-12). So now, the U.S, Department of Justice will be getting involved, again with millions of dollars of funding for those young students in Maine on the line.
READ: Maine Will Not Sign Title IX Resolution Agreement With Department Of Education
WASHINGTON, DC - Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) challenged U.S. President Donald Trump over trans women in sports as Trump addressed a meeting of governors at the White House on February 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Give Collins Her Flowers…But Not A Full Bouquet
Getting back to Collins: Credit where credit is due.
She is speaking publicly about this latest development in her state because it is getting harder and harder to hide from fact and reality. (And also…big money is on the line!!) Seemingly, Collins has joined Team Sanity. Good for her.
Of course, having this position now is not as brave as it would have been even six months ago, but OK, we’ll give it to her. Bravo, Susan.
Frustrated and disheartened residents of Maine, and others on X who responded to her post, were also willing to give Collins her due.
Even Pamela McNabb, the mother of Payton McNabb, left a positive review. Payton McNabb is the North Carolina young woman whose life was changed in high school when a volleyball rifled from the arm of a trans opponent hit her in the face and caused temporary paralysis.
But let’s face it. This "trans in girls and women’s sports" issue isn’t going to be solved by Republicans (who need to vote Trump’s EO into law) who simply serve up lukewarm X posts. Like Collins did.
In her acknowledgment, Collins tap-danced, trying to hang her convictions on simply the need to stay true to Title IX. Yes, it's all about Title IX, Susan. God forbid you offend anyone with a real opinion, or, gasp!, THE TRUTH.
In reality, a much stronger argument from Collins would have been: "Boys and men are not girls and women. It’s a biological fact. Therefore, boys and men do not belong in girls and women’s sports. Period."
There. Fixed it for you, Susan. That’s making a statement that is truthful, impactful and tells us exactly where you stand. No "squishiness" about it.
Look, the people agree with me!
Also, and this is a BIG, HUGE also with me: Collins makes sure to give a "squishy' Kumbaya nod to the trans community, while completely ignoring the girls and women who are her constituents as well.
Remember, she said:
"People who are transgender deserve to be treated with respect and dignity."
Can We, For Once, Care About The Feelings Of Girls And Women, Too?
As a former college and high school athlete, and as the mother of a daughter who played sports from grade school through high school, this is one of the things that drives me craziest, and gets me the most upset, about this issue.
Politician after politician, after media talking head, after your neighborhood leftist liberal, are always talking about the feelings and the rights and the dignity of trans athletes.
WASHINGTON, DC - Demonstrators cheer during the speaking program at the "Our Bodies, Our Sports" rally for the 50th anniversary of Title IX at Freedom Plaza on June 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
But what about the feelings and the rights and the dignity of the girls and women who are being backed into a corner here? What about the girls and the women who are, quite shockingly, being forced to affirm and make accommodations for the delusions of trans athletes and individuals who are denying the truth of basic biology?
Susan Collins: What about the "respect and dignity" of girls and women? Why didn’t you mention that in your post?
I’m all for kindness and compassion. We should all strive for that. But it shouldn’t go only one way in this debate that, let's be honest, shouldn’t even be one.
The people agree with me on this, too.
It’s great that "squishies" like Susan Collins are coming around to sanity and reality, whatever her motivations are.
But to truly protect our girls and women, to truly put an end to this trans in women's sports madness, to get something to stick as law, Americans need our leaders to stand up straight, speak the truth in no uncertain terms, and show a freaking backbone.
Enough is enough with the "squishiness."
Can our elected politicians be trusted to protect girls and women? E-mail me: patricia.babcockmcgraw@outkick.com.