Dear Senator Collins,

As we well know, Senator Margaret Chase Smith stood up to Senator Joseph R. McCarthy and brought to a close his unjustified, unconstitutional witch hunt for Communists which he suspected lurked everywhere. McCarthy's bullying ruined the lives of many Americans and scared even more. Senator Smith's leadership is lauded today, over 70 years later, and Maine is proud to claim her as one of ours.  

Now it's your turn.  

Our country is in turmoil. The president has threatened and is carrying out retribution. Federal employees are being fired for doing their jobs while their important government agencies are being taken over by individuals with no ability, experience, or expertise whose goal seems to be to gut or close the agencies entirely.  Criminals convicted of storming the Capital have been released from prison without serving their sentences; many people wonder whether the rule of law even stands any more. Others wonder if this country is going to continue fulfilling the promises of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 

The people calling for these actions don't seem concerned about the repercussions - national or international, intentional or otherwise. 

It's now your turn to show the entire country, and Maine in particular, that you put our country before your party. 

You need to show everyone that you can't be intimidated into voting for unethical, immoral, inexperienced and downright absurd people to head various departments. 

More than that, you need to stand for what's right and just and against the outrageous and often unconstitutional actions of President Trump and Elon Musk. 

Your challenge is to be your most courageous self and lead others to be the same.

In the past you have often attempted to find middle ground. I don't think that's appropriate here. You need to be "all in" in order to turn around this attempt to gut our country.

I believe you have it in you to do all this, and I believe that should your most courageous self prevail, you will be remembered in Maine and throughout the country, as is Senator Margaret Chase Smith.

Mary Orear lives in Rockport