The Last Republican
Olympia Snowe may not be out of a Frank Capra movie but, as an independent-minded Republican in an era of hard-line party politics, she is certainly an anachronism.
When Time Magazine picked her as one of “America’s 10 Best Senators” in 2006, it noted: “Because of her centrist views and eagerness to get beyond partisan point scoring, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe is in the center of every policy debate in Washington.”
As the Senate Finance Committee votes today on health care, Snowe is in the spotlight, wooed by Democrats including the President and being blackmailed by GOP colleagues threatening to deny her chairmanship of a powerful committee to which her seniority entitles her.
But as a Republican who supports legalized abortion and gay rights, voted against the impeachment of Bill Clinton and supported Obama’s economic stimulus, Olympia Snowe, whichever way she goes today, is a throwback to the last century when party label did not require a member of Congress to go brain-dead.
In those days, there were Senators like Republican Jacob Javits of New York and Democrat Henry “Scoop” Jackson of Washington, universally respected for independence and bipartisan on issues where their views did not conform to the party line.
Snowe’s life story, which has suddenly become media fodder, suggests what shaped her.
23 Responses to “The Last Republican”
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I miss the days of the influential moderate Republican. I found much more admirable in Snowe, Specter, Shays, Amo Houghton, etc., than many of those in currently leadership positions with the Dems.
It is a shame that this extraordinary woman, and Senator, will very soon become the butt of Republican innuendoes, insults,sleaze, and just pure hate. (And, yes—I admit—I like and admire her because of her moderate views and positions)
Of course libs on this lib Web site are fans of her. “Moderate” or “centrist” is routinely misused (at its most vigorous, it means “spayed or neutered” when prepended to “conservative” or “Republican,” and gets farther left from there.) If she were honest, she would join Specter by becoming a Dem formally as well as informally.
We just read the first barb: “if she were honest.” I would change that to “because she is honest she is joining the Democratic vote” And I do hope that she will eventually run as a Democrat. We welcome her.
I wonder how much Snowe's own personal hardships in her past are influencing her politics:
“Snowe said she learned self-reliance at an early age. When she was 8, her mother died of breast cancer. A year later, heart disease killed her father, a Greek immigrant who ran a restaurant.”
Perhaps we shall see a post from a forthright lefty blogger entitled “Why Snowe arguably is more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than Obama.”
“We just read the first barb: 'if she were honest.'”
I wouldn't change it to mean something incorrect, though.
Instead, I might add “and more courageous,” but to continue to correctly to refer to being honest about what kind of politician she is, rather than having the word “courageous” also misattributed to approval of the Baucus legislation. (It's not as if this is the only instance where she would vote the way she has.)
If libs were more honest, they'd add a word when describing her, a word I just supplied correctly on another thread when describing her, the word you need to prepend to “Republican” or “non-liberal” (if not “conservative”) — a “seizure,” but a correct application of the word in question:
[Olympia Snowe and likewise] “Acceptable Republican”
I'll drink to that!
The Republicans of the old confederacy will punish her and she will decide that those Republicans don't represent her or the Republicans of her own state. She will become an independent and probably caucus with the Democrats and the Republican party will officially be a party of the Old South and the Mormon West (Utah and Idaho).
You hit the nail right on the head, Ron.
Independent, Democrat, Republican, she'll be re-elected by the fine people of Maine.
Good for her!
It was only a week or two ago that liberals in here were raking Snowe over the coals for her role in cutting $100 billion from the stimulus package. Judging by the way Blue Dog Democrats are treated Snowe is probably going to receive criticism from whatever party she ends up a part of. Partisan Democrats hate moderates as much as partisan Republicans do.
Expect Snowe to start getting the same types of attacks from the right that Blue Dogs got from the left for not supporting a public option. The left and the right are remarkably similar in their mistreatment of their moderates. Also look for the same people who will praise Snowe on the left as being the ones who throw barbs at their own moderates. This type of hypocrisy is the norm.
You're absolutely right. Unfortunately, all we have to do is look at the trials and tribulations of one Sen. John McCain to know what eventually becomes of moderates in the senate. Yes, I'm being cynical.
I don't quite know which way you are being “cynical” Almoderate, but your comments brought to mind the ferocious attacks on the Senator (McCain) by one of “his own,” Mr. Limbaugh…
That is exactly what I was thinking when I got to your comment.
“Of course libs on this lib Web site are fans of her.” ~ DLS
In this context I believe the word, “lib” is interchangable with the word, “adult”, afterall, we're talking here more about mature behavior than we are positioning on someone's imaginary, ideological measuring stick.
Of course, you don't think there such thing as moderate. Absolutists paint everything in the world as black and white, and good (conservative/liberal) and bad (everything not conservative/not liberal).
Moderates live in the real world where some conservative and some liberal principals and policies are effective and appropriate in certain situations. I can't imagine what you think of Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Nelson Rockefeller, (arguably) Richard Nixon, and the Mitt Romney (the gov, not the presidential candidate).
Then again, why should anyone pretend posting at TMV is related to living in the real world.
Can't argue with that… nothing as surreal as the blogosphere.
TMV is a champion of mediocre thinking and poorly informed opinion.
TMV excels at nothing more, or less.
One's view of Olympia Snowe's decision to votes against the rest of her party on this vote is naturally going to depend on what your views are on the current Health Care Insurance Reform legislation in question. If you support the legislation, you will no doubt see this as the courageous action of one senator standing against her party. If you oppose the legislation, you will no doubt see this action as yet another example of a Republican caving to the whims of what is popular as opposed to what is fiscally responsible and constitutionally warranted.
If Olympia Snowe is to be considered “the last Republican” for standing against her party on this issue, then Joe Lieberman might as well be considered “the last Democrat” for standing against his party of the issue of the Iraq War. Afterall, the Democratic Party, at one time, was much more hawkish that it is now, and some have argued that Lieberman's views are more in keeping with the traditional Democratic position on foreign policy prior to the Vietnam War.
Personally, I cannot see Lieberman's actions as all the heroic, since I believe the Iraq War was a horrible idea; and what some people see as an act of courage in standing up to his party, I see merely as an example of a politician supporting a flawed foreign policy supported by the status quo.
A similar view could be taken by Snowe coming from a fiscally conservative standpoint.
Conservative Republicans don't have as great a track record of supporting the Constitution as they would like to believe–particularly when their party is in party. However, there is a tendency for Republicans to return to their fiscally conservative roots when they are the party out of power; thus, what Democrats might see as partisanship, conservative Republicans probably see as merely returning to their core principles.
There are also a handful of fiscally conservative Republicans–albeit a small handful–who actually do believe in limiting the size of government and refusing to support any legislation that they deem unconstitutional. Ron Paul is probably the best example since his positions don't change depending on which party is in power.
Thus, it could be argued that Olympia Snowe voting against her party is no more heroic than fiscally conservative Republicans who vote against this legislation on the genuine belief that this legislation is neither fiscally responsible nor constitutional.
Just something for some of you to keep in mind. Politicians who vote against their party have a tendency of seeming heroic when their position coincide with your own. Funny how that works.
When I think of the letters “lib” as signifying “adult” it has to have an “e” stuck in and be talk of Joe Lieberaman, another much maligned by his own former party moderate. moderates are the adults, the far left Liberal wing of the Democratic Party and the far-right Conservative wing of the Republican party are just so many children.
Well said ModDem72