Thomas Daffron showed Susan Collins how control disguises itself as protection while advancing its own interests, a lesson that set into method.

In 1974, Daffron, a married father of three and chief of staff to William Cohen, pulled a 21 year old's internship application from a desk drawer and hired her. That decision launched a career he later managed. His firm collected nearly $60 million from her political committees. The contractor became the husband. The arrangement held as Collins refined and scaled the model across three decades. The same result followed.

The performance never changes. Concern appears on cue. Shock registers for cameras. Each vote aligns with the same outcome. In March, that outcome reached 69 million American women.

On Tuesday, March 17, the Senate voted 51 to 48 to advance the SAVE America Act to floor debate. Republicans held 53 seats, could afford to lose three, and lost only two: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted no, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina did not vote.

Collins voted yes. The bill cleared that threshold without her, but she is the reason that threshold was ever within reach.