Olympia Snowe Retirement Is Devastating for the Senate

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She was one of the few in the Congress that voted for the country and not the party. I'll miss her and I want to wish her a long and happy retirement.

Duke Saco of KS 2:54PM March 16, 2012

cathy of ME:
Olympia Snowe is wealthy, mainly, because of her marriage to the former Governor of Maine and his business holdings. This does not take away from Senator Snowe's representation of her constituents, who are close to 80% on welfare. Maine's main "industries" are logging fishing and tourism, and all of the above are mostly seasonal. So those on welfare work very hard, but hold low-paying jobs. Senator Snowe has done her best to serve her constituents by representing them and their needs.
What does her wealth have to do with her work for those she represents in Maine? She could easily have became an example of "American greed" by being bought off by corporate money, and align herself with the Majority of Republican politicians who accept corporate money, and belong to the (formerly secret) organization: The American Legislative Exchange Council, who work with corporations and lobbyists to pass legislation at the state level without revealing to the general public of their complicity with corporate citizens and lobbyists. These ALEC members also gain much additional cash for their affiliations with and cooperation with corporate power. Olympia Snowe did not work to be paid off by nefarious means.
I am from Michigan but from a long line of descendants of a large Maine family. Our family greatly admired Margaret Chase Smith, and admire Olympia Snowe, and Susan Collins. You will notice that all three women are/were Republicans, and I consider myself an Independent, but there was no denying that these three women put integrity and ethics first, and served the citizens of Maine first, before they served the the wishes of their political party.

ann keenan of MI 12:39AM March 07, 2012

THEY COME, THEY GO...
Nothing devastating about that. That's life.
15-plus trillion in federal debt though won't go away all by itself.
We're caught in a baby-boomer generational bind right now in the never-ending-to-date inflationary curve as generated by inseparable perpetual-warfare/perpetual-debt. When people Susan Milligan's age and outlook* inevitably start dying off -- as part of they-come/they-go -- much less than a critical mass will be left to clamor for continued public-till raiding.
That's the good downward part of the curve.
The bad upward part is the number of mid twenty-somethings who in ten years will be mid thirty-somethings that still can't afford to move out of mom and dad's house (and insurance coverage) and start their own families, because of interrelated inflation* and federal debt -- and the taxes inevitably needed on the current trajectory from both the under and over $250K crowd to pay it off.
Instead those mid thirty-somethings will be increasingly pressed to take care of mom and dad on their golden-years way out.
Sounds cold-hearted to describe things in a straight-forward manner. But it's true.
It won't be until those two parts of the curve cross that the current unsustainability of inflation and federal debt is apparent to even the dimmest of bulbs. Or those whose opining livelihoods are based on intentional dimness.
The somewhat ironic part is that Rep. Paul, a seventy-something, is the only candidate for the next president that offers solutions to the big federal problems we face in a way that would cushion the particular upcoming and inevitable blows twenty-somethings through seventy-somethings each will face in the next ten years.
The young would be rescued from clear unsustainability and the old wouldn't have the rug pulled out from under them to do so.
One main obstacle to that scenario are both the lefty/righty party shills, such as best displayed in one place at USN&WR.
------
*inflation:
Do your own food shopping?
*outlook:
The perpetual-warfare/perpetual-debt cycle is maintained ***100%*** by lefty, Get Off My Damn Obama Lawn shills like Susan Milligan. For one, we didn't hear a peep from her on Obama's kinetic non-war Libyan war.
Then there's Leslie Marshall who's now walking on eggshells over whether Obama will now drag us into Iran and/or Syria, blaming Israel - not Obama - in advance if Obama drags us into Iran. As if Israel - not Obama - is the president of the US.
The same and like-minded excoriated Bush for war-n-waste -- still do! -- but go deaf, dumb and blind as to Obama's Bush II war-n-waste.
The same also lambasted Bush for $2.50/gallon gasoline yet now cry foul if anyone tries to pin $5.00/gallon gasoline on Obama.
Even though lefty USN&WR shills like Milligan and Marshall -- with honorable mention of course to Cap'n Brad Bannon and PFenn, though both are tanking as lefty shills -- are ***100%*** responsible for continuing the perpetual-warfare/perpetual-debt cycle, that's only HALF the story.
The OTHER ***100%*** of the perpetual-warfare/perpetual-debt cycle is maintained by the righty shills at USN&WR, chomping at the bit to give us Romney, Gingrich or Santorum as the pseudo alternative and pseudo improvement to Obama.
When each lefty/righty shill side is giving ***100%*** in the effort to keep the PW/PD cycle going, each in their own way, it really is deficient logic to ascribe only half the credit to each.
So if you thought I was going to lump it all on the dem lefties -- and were either happy or pissed for it -- time maybe for you to look for something better than your own unsustainable bias. Then you'd be that much closer to recognizing Rep. Paul as the much-needed middle ground for 2012.

dom youngross of OH 11:04AM March 01, 2012

Friend Schaefer of CA. Judas was a pragmatist? That's your argument? Maybe you haven't noticed, but the country has been drifting right for quite some time now. Obama is no LBJ. What exactly is your alternative idea? To vote for do nothing obstructionist ideologues? To think Congress and the Presidency will ever belong to the tea party denies political reality. Better to get some of what you wanted than nothing at all. My niece has a two year old. When he doesn't get what he wants, he cries and whines. Someday, he'll grow up and realize, you don't always get what you want, but hey, if you're lucky, you might get some of what you want. You want a balanced budget and a reduced debt? Then you better start compromisng, because doing nothing will never get you to where you nor I want to go. I have yet to vote for anybody I have agreed 100 percent with and I'm an old man.

bing of AL 7:24PM February 29, 2012

Senator Snowe is leaving with a multi million dollar net worth and full benefits while she's leaving us with a $15 trillion national debt. how do you thank someone for that?

cathy of ME 6:02PM February 29, 2012

Sadly....
Compromise and pragmatism tend to move the political default setting ever more leftward.
Judas was a pragmatist. How'd that work out?

R.L. Schaefer of CA 4:12PM February 29, 2012

Odd, right-wingers would rather lose the Senate than keep a moderate Republican. Classic "cutting off the nose to spite the face" attitude. Keep it up Pubs, the smaller your tent, the less chance you have of controlling anything. Right wingers do not live in political reality. The reality is, you're a minority. So get used to being disappointed. Sen. Snowe voted with Pub party plenty of times. She was not a liberal, she was a pragmatic, i.e. somebody who helped get things done. That's what we need more of. Go ahead, run a tea partier in that election and watch them get clobbered. Is that what you really want? Nobody wants to vote for a do-nothing ideological obstructionist. Us moderates and independents want people who actually legislate and get things done. That's what all these wave elections are about. It's not about a mandate, it's about, kick the bums out and get somebody in there who will do something.

Bing of AL 2:56PM February 29, 2012

Sen. Olympia Snow is one of the last great politicians. Congress is so divided now that most people have very little faith in our government.
The Democrats were in control for many years and then the Republicans gained control. Now the Republicans want to exert their power and are unwilling to compromise while the Democrats are so bitter about defeat they are doing the same thing.
Someone should be able to step in and stop their pay until they do their jobs!

Leslie Flanders of ME 2:36PM February 29, 2012

Snowe is a Liberal
Pro abortion, anti-energy, money spending, green-socialist Progressive.
She even voted against the partial birth abortion ban, banning human cloning, voted against criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during commission of other crimes, and notifying parents of minors who get abortions.
No Snowe is just not a liberal/progressive - she's a moral monster - just like our president.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 1:42PM February 29, 2012

Senator Orrin Hatch is a moderate too. I don't know how it was ever an argument that if we didn't send him back to D.C. the Finance Chair would be under the control of "more liberal" persons. Orrin Hatch has 17 votes to raise our debt = 7.6 trillion dollars. Hatch has supported individual mandates, www.hatchrecord.com
And he supported the bailouts, wrote the Patriot Act, and dumped the Constitution for the NDAA

Errin Hatch of UT 1:14PM February 29, 2012