Ben Nelson

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has released an ad hitting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) for supporting the Iraq War.

Collins is being challenged by U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland).

“Susan Collins voted to give George Bush a blank check for Iraq, billions to rebuild their country, while we should be rebuilding ours,” the narrator in the ad said.

This weekend, the Collins campaign responded, citing legislation Collins has sponsored with U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) that requires Iraqis to take responsibility for reconstruction costs.

Campaign spokesman Kevin Kelley said: "…Tom Allen and his partisan, out-of-state allies, are desperately trying to distort Senator Collins' record and mislead Maine voters. The problem is, their attack is not only wrong, it blatantly ignores Senator Collins' bipartisan efforts in the Senate to address the very issues they complain about."

CQ Politics has examined all of the roll-call votes during the seven-and-a-half years of President Bush's two terms.  The chart is a fascinating look at how congressman have voted during the Bush administration.  

Not surprisingly, both Senator Snowe and Senator Collins have the distinction of voting against the President more than any other Republican in the Senate.