Press release from the Collins for Senator campaign:

TOM ALLEN VOTES (AGAIN) TO JEOPARDIZE THE SAFETY OF AMERICAN PEOPLE

Congressman Tom Allen chose politics over the safety and security of the American people by voting Friday with a small minority against a bipartisan compromise that would modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. FISA is one of the most important tools in the war against terror, allowing our nation's intelligence community to conduct lawful surveillance of suspected terrorists. FISA has helped our intelligence agencies protect our country, and our military troops in the field, by granting these agencies the authority to intercept terrorist plots. The compromise bill provides our intelligence agencies with the tools they need to help protect against possible terrorist attacks, while protecting civil liberties.

"Tom Allen had a chance to help protect our nation's safety and security. Unfortunately, he caved in to the pressure of partisan special interest groups and voted to deny our intelligence community the necessary resources to continue monitoring foreign-based, terrorist communications," said Kevin Kelley, spokesman for Collins for Senator.

WHAT TOM ALLEN'S DEMOCRATIC COLLEAGUES ARE SAYING ABOUT FISA LEGISLATION:

• SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI (D-CA) "Our troops in the field depend on timely and reliable information." "Good intelligence is necessary for us to know the plans of the terrorists." "This bill does not allow warrantless surveillance of Americans."
• HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER STENY HOYER (D-MD) "This bipartisan bill balances the needs of our intelligence community with Americans' civil liberties, and provides critical new oversight and accountability requirements," said Hoyer. "It is the result of compromise, and like any compromise is not perfect, but I believe it strikes a sound balance. Furthermore, we have ensured that Congress can revisit these issues because the legislation will sunset at the end of 2012."
• HOUSE ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN IKE SKELTON (D-MO) "This bipartisan compromise strikes the right balance between providing our intelligence community with the tools they need to find and fight terrorists and protecting our constitutional rights."
• SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV) "At its core this historic, bipartisan agreement to modernize FISA is about providing an essential tool in the fight against terrorism. It meets our dual obligations to make our Nation safe and restore the privacy protections and civil liberties Americans require."

TheAtlantic.com's Marc Ambinder published "The first in an occasional series of posts ranking the competitive Senate races."

Ranked by competitiveness, Maine's race was listed dead last:

Mainers don’t seem to be in the mood to kick out Sen. Susan Collins; it’s a stretch to label her a “Bush Republican,” as Democrat Rep. Tom Allen is finding out.

Our campaign website won TechMaine's 'Best of the Web' award for the Corporate Image category the other night, here's the press release:

COLLINS FOR SENATOR CAMPAIGN WEBSITE TAKES TOP HONORS AT TECHMAINE AWARDS

www.susancollins.com Wins First Prize in Corporate Image Category

Portland, ME – Portland’s Eastland Hotel was the scene last night for the annual TechMaine Technology Awards Gala. It was also the site of an on-line victory for the Collins for Senator campaign. The TechMaine awards honor excellence and accomplishment in the state’s technology sectors. TechMaine gives five awards in the area of technology and four under the heading of Best of the Web. All entrants were winnowed down to three finalists each in the categories of Corporate Image, Arts & Entertainment, Non-Profit, and E-Commerce.

www.susancollins.com won the Corporate Image category. The site was lawded for incorporating “great multi-media” and integrating “the top social networking sites, making it easy to contribute to the campaign”. Also cited for excellence was “a great blog from Susan Collins herself.”

The site is the work of Lance Dutson, the Collins for Senator Internet Communications Director and owner of Maine Coast Design, a Maine-based web marketing company.

“Considering the ever-increasing role of websites and the Internet in political and corporate life, I’m delighted that the effort we’ve put into a strong online presence was recognized in this manner,” said Senator Collins. “I commend Lance for the great work he’s doing in directing our on-line communications – and, of course, I urge everyone to visit us at www.susancollins.com .”

More about TechMaine (formerly MESDA) >>

The Washington Post's Chris Cilizza has downgraded the Maine senate race to #10 in a list of Senate sets likely to change hands this fall. Once regarded one of the most competitive races in the nation, the Allen- Collins matchup is now pretty universally regarded as a might-have-been for Democrats:

10. Maine: There is a simple fact dominating this race: voters like Sen. Susan Collins (R) and overwhelmingly approve of the job she has done in the Senate. Unlike some Republican incumbents working hard of late to distance themselves from President Bush, Collins has a long record of moderation. Rep. Tom Allen (D) is a good candidate and has a very solid team around him. But, it's hard to see why voters would fire Collins. (Previous ranking: 9)

from the AP, via Seacoast Online:

Several small business owners formally launched a referendum challenge aimed at repealing new taxes on sodas, beer and wine adopted with a goal of bolstering funding for Maine's Dirigo Health program.

The Fed Up With Taxes coalition says the tax increases were approved without any public hearing in the final days of the legislative session.

Here's the latest from Tony Payne at the Alliance for Maine's Future:

First they "cut" $200 million then they raised beverage taxes and increased fees on vehicle registrations by $215 million!

After all the hand wringing and posturing, a majority of legislators actually raised more taxes and fees than they cut. The Alliance for Maine's Future had asked legislators not to raise taxes and fees, use accounting gimmicks or shift unfunded mandates onto other levels of government. However, a majority ignored the request and added to the cost of living in Maine.

The Maine GOP sent out this press release today, detailing the fact that Susan Collins continues to hold a strong lead in fundraising, cash-on-hand, and poll numbers.:

Some interesting numbers on the Maine Senate Race

Financial Reports released today show that:

1.Senator Collins beat Congressman Allen for the 5th consecutive quarter; and

2.The Collins campaign has $1.8 million more cash-on-hand than the Allen campaign.

The Polls:

Latest from Tony Payne at the Alliance for Maine's Future:

Idling fines up to $500; Queen of taxes; New state employees top list of end-of-session mischief

No Idle Threat:

Only in Maine would you expect drivers of non-passenger vehicles (read:business) to risk fines of $150 to $500 for allowing vehicles to idle for more than 5 minutes. (LD 2056)

Press release from House GOP:
House Republicans Blast Democrats' Plan to Abolish OPEGA
Say politics, not budget savings, is the real agenda

AUGUSTA - As the budget debate moves to center stage in the Legislature, House Republican leaders today urged the Democrats to strip out a provision that would abolish the independent agency that investigates and exposes government waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. The watchdog group - the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) - has been targeted for shutdown as part of the majority party's plan to reduce the state budget by $190 million.

"It seems clear that the Democrats trying to kill OPEGA don't like independent investigators exposing wasteful spending and shoddy management," said Rep. Bob Crosthwaite (R-Ellsworth), the assistant leader of House Republicans. "If I were a liberal Democrat, I'd like to get rid of OPEGA, too."

Press release from Maine Senate GOP, h/t to AMG:

For Immediate Release
March 25, 2008

Democratic Leaders’ Flip-Flop Baffles Senate Republican Leaders

AUGUSTA – Elizabeth Mitchell, Senate Democratic Leader and Chair of the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, recently and unexpectedly joined the opposition to the government oversight committee she chairs and has Senate Republican Leaders scratching their heads.