n this context I believe the word, “lib” is interchangable with the word, “adult”

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.

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.

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).

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.

Independent, Democrat, Republican, she'll be re-elected by the fine people of Maine.

Good for her!

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 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.”