The larger of the two was attended by over 1,400 people, the vast majority of whom spoke in support of the National Monument.

At this meeting, supporters of the Monument outnumbered opponents 4 to 1.

There are two big hurdles. One is the rise of ideological-driven groups on both the left and the right who are requiring one hundred percent compliance with one hundred percent of their views one hundred percent of the time.

People punish you if you work with the other side. That's the biggest problem in politics right now.

Well, President Trump spoke very clearly to those people in Maine, particularly in the northern part of the state, who had lost their jobs, in part due to poorly negotiated trade agreements. And he's right about that.

The polarization of Washington in many ways reflects the divisions in our country.

I was disappointed in the president's speech last night because he's still in campaign mode, talking strictly to his people.

Anytime he makes a move, in fact at the beginning of this session, he talked about, you know, 'We're going to try to work with the president when it's necessary and when we believe he's right.' Huge reaction from the Democratic base.

I don't think it's the personalities of the leaders, but I think you're onto something in the sense that the pressures on the leaders to be partisans first is very intense.

I think what you learn is to listen. And I think, I remember-- You know, everybody thought Hillary was going to win in the day before. And I remember saying, 'If and when she wins, she's got to do some serious listening to the people who…

We again applaud Chairman Collins and Ranking Member Casey for holding the first congressional hearing on social isolation and loneliness among older adults.

America's families and friends and neighbors--again, what we call the 'informal support network'--are unsung heroes.

In Maine, at our VA hospital at Togus, we have a wonderful new women's center, and I think it's made a real difference in encouraging women to come to the VA for care.

I'm very concerned that we're not seeing the kind of progress among suicides for women veterans compared to the adult civilian population.

How can Congress help address this very serious problem of pilot shortages, which ultimately is going to have a serious impact on our readiness?

I still remain somewhat concerned that you end up with a trove of data that involves American citizens, that can then be queried without further intervention by the court, which to me is the essence of the Fourth Amendment.

I do not believe that number is 20 percent.

I think we all need to study the Thucydides Trap with regard to China.