YouSaid · the spoken record

Susan Collins

lines on the record: 53
first: 2016-06-30
most recent: 2016-06-30
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Well, you've certainly done your research. It amazed me shortly after I was re elected in twenty fourteen people started coming up to me and saying would you consider running for governor? I had never even thought of it because I'd just been reelected to the Senate. A sufficient number of people have come up to me and posed that question that have decided that to not rule it out and I've learned in politics to never rule anything out because you never know what's going to happen. But right now I'm just concentrating on being Senator from Maine and doing the best job I can for my constituents.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Until a person's in a job or whether you know them personally and have seen them in a setting, it's difficult to make that judgment, but he certainly has shown success in the business world. His focus on jobs and economic issues and trade resonate with me as they do with many of my constituents who have been harmed by trade deals that have been poorly negotiated in my view over several administrations. Whom he chooses as his vice president to balance out some areas of foreign policy where he does not have experience will be important to my determination.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Your mother's experience is what I would like to see more of, where the individual's wishes are respected and the family can be there and she can have those good final.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Extraordinary means to keep people alive. For example, many people have do not resuscitate orders as part of their choice when they do their advanced directives”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“First of all, let me make clear. I know your bill is not assisted, so I know. I know I am not for assisted suicide, so I want to be very clear on that. But there is nothing wrong with drawing”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“To perhaps go to palliative care rather than curative care or both even. But right now federal regulations make it very difficult. You have to make a choice between curative care and palliative care. Hospice is only available for those whom doctors can certify in the last six months of life while for many diseases like Alzheimer's disease it's very difficult to know exactly what the trajectory of the disease will be. So I think we need better federal policies that respect the wishes of people for their end of life care.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We had a hearing just last week which focused on what Dr. Gwandi calls living a good life. He says rather than talking about a good death, let's talk about a good life for people. And this is an issue that I've been involved in for many, many years. I've been a big supporter of hospice care, and every survey shows that most Americans would rather die at home surrounded by their family and loved ones, and yet most of them die in hospitals. Now, sometimes you need to be in a hospital and hooked up to those high tech machines, but sometimes prolonging life and causing pain and discomfort is not the goal of individuals. It is in fact”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, it's going to be difficult because we're out of session a great deal. I think we should be in session more, but the conventions and different The elections obviously interfere, but there's growing support, and that's a good sign.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That is the highest number that there has ever been. So I'm still working with members and the House counterpart was introduced by a Republican, I would note, from Florida, and it's bipartisan. So maybe we haven't seen the last chapter of this”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I'm not sure they are. I don't think that's quite fair. I think that, first of all, we got a record high number of Republicans signing on. Now, I realize it wasn't many.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, first of all, I represent a state that has one of the highest gun ownerships in the country. And I'm finding that my constituents, whether they're NRA members of which we have many or not. Believe that what I've put forth is common sense. So I think there may be a disconnect between the leaders of the NRA in opposing my amendment and some of their membership”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There are many people in my caucus who have been very concerned that this is a constitutional right and that you need to build in even more due process. And it's possible we'll come up with some sort of confirmation.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I supported the mansion to me compromise on background checks that we considered a year or two ago. I thought it was well drafted, it excluded family transactions, and it would have closed the so called gunshow loophole and applied to private sales among non family members. And I do think that's part of the answer as well, but keep in mind that we'd already understood.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Right. So what we said is if you're denied a purchase, you can go to your local district court and if you prevail, the burden is on the government to prove why you should be on the list and denied a purchase of a firearm. And if you prevail, the government pays your attorney's fees. We also included in direct response to the perpetrator of the massacre in Orlando a five year look back so that if you were on the broader terrace screening database and you bought a firearm, the FBI is immediately notified. I believe that would have caused the FBI to reopen its investigation of Omar Matin, and perhaps it would have prevented, who knows, but perhaps it would have prevented the terrorist attack in Florida.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Watch list. That's what's called the terrorist screening database. And it has derogatory information about individuals that is not verified, not investigated, not corroborated. In my view, it was not right to use that larger list because it hasn't been winnowed down. So I thought a good compromise and be focused on the list where there is credible information that's the standard that these individuals belong on these lists. We also gave robust appeals process in case.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“In my judgment it should be obvious that an individual who is too dangerous to board an airplane is too dangerous to buy a gun. So what I did is I focused on the no-fly list of known and suspected terrorists who are believed to have the capability to launch an attack in this country or overseas. What's called the Select E list, the second list that is drawn from the terrorist database that includes people who need extra intensive screening before they're allowed to board a plane. Those combined lists are about $109,000 individuals of whom twenty seven hundred are Americans. That is very different from The original Democratic proposal, which has one point one million people on the list, again the vast majority are foreigners, but”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I didn't rank beyond third. But I decided that what I would do is not make another endorsement. I want to just look and see what happens. This evolves daily. There are surprises daily. And I'm going to see what happens at the convention. It's going to be very important to me whom Donald Trump chooses as his running mate. And that is arguably the most important decision that a candidate can make.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Thank you. I'm glad to hear that. But I still believe that he was the best qualified of all the candidates to be our next president by experience and temperament. Donald Trump was not my second choice. He was not my third choice. But the Republican voters did choose him.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Since I have been in politics, and I was a very early supporter of Jeff Bush. I campaigned twice for him with spectacular lack of success in New Hampshire. And I still believe...”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, he's apparently limited it to certain countries and so I'm unclear where he stands, but it is clearly poor policy and contrary to our American values.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“My point is that he and I were chair or ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee for 10 years. And we wrote in the wake of 9-11 the terrorism prevention and intelligence reform act of 2004. We actually had a hearing on the issue wasn't solely on this issue, but we heard from New York City police. We heard from terrorism experts. And one of the frustrations we had is no one was in charge of counter messaging within the administration to reach out to the Muslim community in this country, get them involved in helping us to counter the extremist perversion of a great religion. And we I'll never forget one expert saying to us if you won't name the threat, you can't effectively counter the threat. And that's why I think it does matter.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“One of my closest friends in the Senate was Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and I realize he's probably not your favorite. No, I like Joe. I knew him well.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Absolutely. We have Muslim Americans so as patriotic as anybody, and I believe nine thousand of them are serving in our armed forces. So I felt that his comments would not only alienate countries like Jordan whose help we need in fighting Islamic extremism. And I don't understand why the president will not say that phrase, by the way. We need the help of countries like Jordan, but also we don't want to cast a shadow over the millions of patriotic Muslim Americans in this country.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, first, let me say that I think the more appropriate historical analogy with Margaret J. Smith because was a presidential race that you've referred to in nineteen sixty four was with Barry Goldwater. She was less than enamored with the fact that Barry Goldwater was the Republican candidate. She did not campaign for him and she said she voted for him, but she definitely was not enthusiastic about the choice. And I think that is the more appropriate historical parallel. Having said that, I spoke out six months ago when Donald Trump called.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't like that Donald Trump calls anyone names. I think that that is unprecedented and not worthy of the kind of public discourse that we should have. And I have been critical of him for criticizing Hillary Clinton for quote playing the woman's card. I think that demeans her accomplishments as a woman I'm particularly concerned when someone demeans the accomplishments of a person who has done a lot in her life even if I don't agree with that person. And I should make clear that Hillary and I have very different philosophies when it comes to The role of government And we disagree on some major issues, but that doesn't mean that I didn't work well with her when she was in the Senate. I did.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I don't mean Doverstate how well I know Hillary Clinton because I don't know her well. I know her as a professional colleague, and I know her through the dinners that the women in the Senate have periodically together, and she often participated in those dinners. And in those dinners, it's a more relaxed environment because we have three rules, no press, no staff, and no memos. And nobody's ever broken those rules. And so I've seen her in a more relaxed environment, but she is. She is understandably on guard, I think most of the time, I don't know how she is with her closest friends. I'm not in that category.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's true, although we usually had a reporter on the bus. I clearly don't attract the hordes that Hillary does. And, you know, it's very difficult for any presidential candidate being out there day after day after day and worry the one mistake could be. Cause you to decline or now this has been this year in many ways has been an exception to that rule because it's been the most unpredictable and unusual campaign year that I've seen. But generally when you're out campaigning, whether it's for the Senate or for president, you're a little bit on guard because you know that any mistake you make will be blown way out of proportion”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“She herself has said that she is not a natural campaigner. I like campaigning, I like getting on my buzz and doing a tour of little towns in Maine, and I have infinite curiosity in going through plants where they're making things. I think I'm a frustrated engineer at heart. And I love. She probably does too.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“She's very well prepared on policy issues and She was diligent. She was not a show horse. She did the work, she came to hearings, and even though she was very down in seniority, she was If she did the work”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I did. And so we both had a common interest in that area as well. And I worked with her when she was Secretary of State on the issue of trying to empower Afghan girls and women and a real passion for both of us.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Exactly. It was very much where I went to school is very much like Northern Maine. And we talked about cluster development.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“When Hillary was elected to the Senate, she made a real effort to reach out to members on the other side of the aisle, not just moderates like me, but conservatives as well. And she would come to our office, identify areas where we could work together. were the initial co-chairs of the Alzheimer's Task Force, which I founded. And she was good to work with. I had a very good relationship with her in the Senate working on Alzheimer's in particular, but also on some economic development issues. Both of us were interested.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So you're speaking to the responsible party. He probably agree with you. I apologize. No, that not at all. But what was lost was the amount of the recovery act that went to tax reductions for middle-income families in this country. And that got totally lost.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, first let me say that I have a good personal relationship with my colleagues and I agree with the Republican position most of the time, but not all of the time. This was a case when our economy was in a deep recession, and I did believe that we needed the Recovery Act to get us out of it. I thought the president's initial proposal was too high and too expensive, and I worked very hard with the administration and with my colleagues to bring down the number. What people have forgotten about the Recovery Act, and I really must say I think that President Obama did not do a good job in selling the benefits of the actual.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Correct. Really, really well. In fact, Angus endores me in twenty fourteen when I ran for reelection. We have a true partnership, and I use this as a story when I'm speaking to young people that your opponent one day may be your ally the next. And it's an important lesson that we need to learn.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, and there still are. Main is an interesting state in that there are more independent voters than anything else. Republicans actually rank third in registration in Maine. But what Maynor's share, and I'm thankful for this, is they want to send people to Washington to get things done and who are pragmatic and less ideological.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No Republicans much less have them as friends or interact with them rural America has become more conservative and more Republican.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Center needs to rise up in this country and make its voice heard. I think the problem is in both parties The activists from the far left and the activists from the far right tend to dominate primaries. So when a sitting member is challenged in a primary, it's almost always going to be from someone who is from the more extreme part of the party. And that is apparel for our country. I want to go back to a very interesting point that you made, and that is that the polarization in parties and Congress reflects society at large. I firmly believe that is true. If you look at demographic patterns from where people live, you will see changes such that Democrats are living in cities and more urban areas with other Democrats. They may not even know.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“He was always warm and generous, remember his giving me a book written by his mother for my mother because they had Irish heritages in common, and that kind of friendship that can transcend at times brutal political debates are rarer today, but they do still exist. I think that there is an impression in the country that nothing ever gets done in Washington and that all we do is fight when in fact last year, for example, Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray teamed up to do a rewrite of a major education law, no child left behind, and President Obama signed it into law. So the The feeling of working together toward a common cause is not there as much as it was, and certainly the sentence of a more polarized and more politicized place, but those cross the aisle friendships and accomplishments still do exist.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The best example I can give you is the kind of personal relationships that Ted Kennedy had with many of us on the other side of the aisle. I remember Ted and I vigorously debating on opposite sides of an issue, and his coming over after the debate ended, clapping me on the back and saying I'm really not sure that everything I said was exactly right, but we had a wail of a debate, didn't we?”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“When I first worked for Bill Cohen, both in the house side and on his successful Senate campaign and then most of the years in the Senate, the Congress was a less partisan place. I remember Bill working with Congressman Claude Pepper on issues affecting seniors when he was in the House and when he came to the Senate, one of the Democrats, in addition to Gary Hart, whom he worked most closely with was Carl Levin. Ironically, when I took over the seat that Bill had held, Carl Levin was my ranking member on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There were nine of us Mary Landrew and I were both elected that year, and I'll never forget Barbara McCulsky taking both of us under her wing and giving us a workshop on how to be effective in the appropriations process. And she said to me about a year after that, you have the kind of personality that would be really good on appropriations. So try to get there someday. And now I am. She sized you up, huh? She did. And she's been wonderful to me.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I make it a point to speak to every group of students who come down here and I've visited more than two hundred schools in the state of Maine. And I do so for that very reason. I want them to see that a young girl who was born and grew up in a small community in Northern Maine can grow up to be a United States senator. And I also tell them about the disappointments and obstacles on the way because I want them to know that it is not easy but the Jew should pursue your dream whatever that may be.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I went to see her when I ran for Governor unsuccessfully in nineteen ninety four, and I went to see her at her home and library in Skowegan, Maine. I also have some letters from her that date back to the nineteen seventies that are framed and in my office, and my mother just gave me two additional letters that when she was cleaning through some files. But there was a period of years where I did not have contact with them.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It was exhilarating for me to meet her. And although I didn't know it at the time in retrospect, I do believe that that was my first step in my journey to the Senate, and twenty five years later I ran for a seat that she once held that was held by my mentor Bill Cohen, and today I said at Marco Chasemith's desk on the Sunday.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Was so kind to me she spent nearly two hours talking to me. She never once talked about what it was like to be the only woman in the Senate. She instead talked about her work on the Armed Services Committee, her famous Declaration of Conscience, issues like full employment which was a big issue back then, and she was just wonderful to me. I remember leaving her office, clutching her declaration of conscience in my hand and thinking that women could do anything to young girls and young women today, this was back in nineteen seventy one, and we weren't quite sure about that in nineteen seventy one.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“When I was a senior at Caribou High School, I was one of two students who was chosen from the state of Maine to participate in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Senate Youth Program, which still exists to this very day. And I had never been on an airplane. I'd never been to Washington, D.C., and I'd certainly never met a United States Senator. While Maine had extraordinary senators, Margaret J. Smith, the legendary senator from Maine, who was the first woman elected to the House and the Senate in her own right, and Edmund Musky. So I knew I had the best senators of any of the delegates to this conference. Margaret J. Smith, for reasons that I will never understand,”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's true. But no, I had to run just like everyone else. And of course, when you're a teenager, you think you're not supposed to vote for yourself. And so I don't even recall whether I voted for myself, but I won. And I was very active in school organizations. But in response to your question, I never, ever thought that I would end up as the United States Senator, even though I was interested in public service and had several pivotal experiences in my life that directed me in that direction.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“He was and indeed four generations of my father's side have represented caribou in the main legislature. My mother was head of the school board when I was a senior in high school. In fact, remember, she signed my high school diploma and she ultimately became the chair of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees, a position that my younger brother holds today. So I come from a family with a strong tradition of public service.”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's correct, and I grew up in a household where I was taught that you should get involved and that your voice would be heard, and that you had no right to complain if you stayed on the sidelines. Both my parents were very active in the community and in the state, and”
2016-06-30 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 62 - Sen. Susan Collins · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source