The circus came to Boothbay this week.

No, there was no big top, huge elephants, snarling tigers, or daring high wire walkers.

Instead, on a bright Sunday afternoon, Boothbay Harbor was treated to the modern version, a snippet of the nation's traveling political circus when a crew from MSNBC dropped in to chat with the locals at Brady’s, Jen Mitchell's popular harbor side restaurant.

That was the preliminary act. On Monday morning, the highly rated cable TV news/talk show did a live segment hosted by national correspondent Chris Jansing.

Sunday’s cable gang wanted to find out what real live voters who do not live in the nation's capital thought about the presidential impeachment and what it might mean for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R - Maine. The team included a cameraman, a sound man, and a producer who declined to be identified, saying she was not an official spokesman. The crew all stayed at the Sullivan family's comfortable Bayside B&B.

Why did they pick Boothbay Harbor? Did some computer whiz spin an algorithm that spits out some scientific formula that would provide an accurate snapshot of the overall electorate? Not so. Nothing so fancy.

“We knew it was offseason. And we found out that Lincoln County voted two times for President Obama then switched to President Trump so that it would be a good mix," said the unidentified producer.

And that is just what they got.

First up to bat was a table featuring Dawn Gilbert, Estelle Appel and her daughter Judith White.

As the camera peered over their lunch dishes, they were asked if they thought Sen. Collins should vote to seek additional witnesses for the impeachment proceedings. Just for the record, the three women said they supported Sen. Collins, and Estelle and Dawn thought they had seen enough witnesses while Judith thought it would be a good idea for more.

Estelle suggested that Collins might want to keep her opinions to herself. For example, she pointed to the fight over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“Susan said she wanted to listen to all sides and meet with (Kavanaugh) before making up her mind. But when she does that, people (meaning the press) interpret it as being against his nomination. Then she voted for him.”

Dawn, a longtime political activist, admitted she was having trouble rounding up support for Collins but asserted she is still in her corner. “She has done a lot of good for the State of Maine.” Judith, also a Collins supporter, said she admired the incumbent for her willingness to vote against the Republican party.

And she praised the eatery’s special grilled cheese sandwich.

As the afternoon wore on, the producer gathered together the last table of voters. Then the questions began.

Laura Honey, GOP stalwart, said she thought additional witnesses were not needed for the impeachment proceedings. But she volunteered that it was time to enact term limits for our elected officials.

Then the producer turned to Doug Gimbel. “Have you lived here all your life,” she asked. Of course, Gimbel couldn't resist a chance to jump on that question and gave her the usual semi-official Maine answer given to questioners from away: “Not yet,” he said.

As the table chuckled, the cameraman halted the session as the crackling sound of the cook cleaning the grill overwhelmed the conversation. “Let's wait for the cook to finish cleaning the grill,” he said.

“I prefer to believe it is the sound of bacon frying,” snapped Gimbel. Then he got serious. “No matter how it (the impeachment proceedings) goes, the country has to come together. We are all Americans. Can I get an amen for that?”

Did you vote for Trump, he was asked. “I'll take the Fifth,” was his reply.

Sally Bullard was up next. As she waited for the sound man to lower the microphone, she held tight to a roll of shiny grey duct tape. “This is to put over my mouth in case I say something out of line,” she said with a wide grin.

“I am a raging liberal and voted for Susan several times, but I am not sure we are on the same page anymore.”

“I think he (President Trump) did it, but I don't know if it is enough to remove him from office,” said Pam O'Conner. Stevie Colburn looked straight into the camera and said she didn't like the political games that each side was playing. “I am afraid it will play out without us knowing all the facts,” she said.

Carole McCarthy identified herself as an active Republican.

“I think the whole (impeachment) thing is a waste of time.”