title:  Susan Collins Bucked Party, Voted To Protect Kids, Seniors, Women and Entitlements
text: Even though Senator Susan Collins voted with the Senate GOP to move the Obamacare repeal effort forward, it should be noted that during the amendment process   in which Democrats unleashed a flurry of provisions to protect those who rely on Obamacare the most   she bucked her party almost exclusively to side with Democratic proposals (members who are independent but caucus with the Democrats are considered Democrats for the sake of their proposals).Perhaps this may give a hint as to how Senator Collins will vote when the actual repeal comes to the floor.Here are the amendments Collins voted for:The Gillibrand Amendment [Kirsten Gillibrand, New York]   To protect women s health care from ACA repeal by keeping in place provisions that:The measure failed.The Brown Amendment [Sherrod Brown, Ohio]  To prevent children, especially those in low-income families, from losing coverage if Obamacare were to be repealedThe measure failed.The Casey Amendment [Bob Casey, PA]  To ban discrimination in coverage based on pre-existing conditions.The Sanders Amendment [Bernie Sanders, Vermont]   To prevent Congress from cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid under an Obamacare repeal.The measure failed.The Hirono-Donnelly Amendment [Mazie Hirono, Hawaii & Joe Donnelly, Indiana]  To prevent Congress from further cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid from the reconciliation process, mirrored that Sanders amendment after it failed.The measure failed.The Baldwin Amendment [Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin]   To allow individuals aged 26 or lower to stay on their parent s insurance plan.The measure failed.The King Amendment [Angus King, Maine]   To ensure access to affordable healthcare insurance for people who work in high-risk occupations like fishing, public safety (police, firefighters), forestry and farming.The measure failed.The Manchin Amendment [Joe Manchin, West Virginia]   To ensure rural hospitals and healthcare providers do not lose or miss out on crucial funding that has been established by the Affordable Care Act.The measure failed.Measure after measure, parts of Obamacare that Republicans said they  agreed  with were shot down in a vote-a-rama in the wee hours of the morning. In other words, Republicans told the public one thing and then voted another way when they thought no one was looking.Susan Collins, however, voted with the Democrats on every single amendment they offer, minus four (Menendez, Wyden, Nelson and Kaine s amendments). Democrats offered 12 amendments, and Collins voted for eight.All of these amendments were no brainers. Yet in three of the eight, Collins was the only Republican to side with the Democrats. In four, she was one of two. The only Democratic amendment that saw more than two Republican votes was Manchin s, which received four.Collins has not yet responded as to why she voted for the final passage of the resolution, but the fight isn t over yet. This is why it s important to call, email, show up in person, etc.Call Senator Collins, thank her for bucking her party, but keep the pressure up:The Hon. Susan Collins413 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Main: (202)224-2523 Fax: (202)224-2693Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images