Senator Cites Gridlock as Reason for Departure

Last week, Olympia Snowe (R) of Maine revealed that she will be giving up her seat despite the fact that she is pretty much guaranteed a win for the next term. “I am well prepared for the electoral battle, so that is not the issue. However, what I have to consider is how productive an additional term would be,” said the moderate senator who, unlike most of her colleagues in the Senate, has not been driven solely by party ideology.

During the last few years, it seems as though moderate Democrats or Republicans are a dying breed. Politicians seem to stand by their party and back absolutely everything it stands for, whether it be same-sex marriage, immigration policy, tax policies or any number of other issues. Snowe, however, stood out, frequently casting votes that went against the favor of the Republican Party.


Just last month, a survey by the National Journal named Snowe and Senator Susan Collins, also of Maine, as the two most liberal Republicans. Within in the Senate Finance Committee, Snowe’s ‘yea’ on the healthcare vote was certainly not in accordance with the opinions of other Republicans. She was also involved in organizing the bipartisan Gang of 14 to maintain the minority’s ability to filibuster judicial nominations. The Gang of 14 was established at a time when Democrats were in the minority. During President Clinton’s impeachment trial, Snowe and Collins were behind a motion that would ultimately have enabled lawmakers to find Clinton guilty without removing him from office.

Despite the fact that she did not always vote along party lines, conservatives had no intention of ousting Snowe in favor of a more conservative senator. To do so would be to risk losing the seat to a Democrat. Yet, with Snowe’s retirement, it is possible that the crucial seat will be filled with a Democrat in a year when control of the Senate is up for grabs.

“Maine is now a top pick up opportunity for Senate Democrats. Democrats not only hold a strong registration advantage in the state, but this is a state that the president won by 17 points in 2008 and will likely win by a significant margin this year as well,” said DSCC spokesman Guy Cecil. At this point, it appears as though the Democrats are placing their hopes in Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine.

Regardless of which party takes the seat, Snowe does not have much hope for drastic change in the near future. “Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term.

“We are becoming more like a parliamentary system, where everyone simply votes with their party and those in charge employ every possible tactic to block the other side,” said Snowe last week.