A Rare Actual Example of IDENTITY POLITICS in the Pejorative Sense
By 
Act One: “Moderate” [sic] Maine Senator Susan Collins accuses people criticizing her for touting an obviously unenforceable promise to pass legislation to offset the repeal of the ACA’s mandate of sexism.
Act two: Collins concedes the deal she secured was completely worthless:
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), in the face of staunch GOP opposition, is letting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slide away from his promise to pass legislation stabilizing health insurance premiums before year’s end.
Collins previously said she had an “ironclad” commitment to get it done before the new year, but with Congress set to recess in a few days, time is running out.
The proposal to pass legislation subsidizing insurance companies to soften the blow of repealing ObamaCare’s individual mandate ran into stiff opposition from House conservatives, who insisted on anti-abortion language.
Collins acknowledged on Wednesday that McConnell and Vice President Pence won’t be able to keep their promise to enact the insurance stabilization legislation in exchange for voting for tax reform.
IRONCLAD!
To be Scrupulously Fair, Collins is right to say that she wasn’t duped. She’s a con artist, and her marks are Maine voters and any reporters desperate against all evidence to find moderates in the Republican conference. What is not true is that it’s sexism to point out that Collins justified her indefensible vote for an atrocious bill with arguments she knew to be false.