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Loading...Senator Olympia Snowe To Retire
There’s no place left in the Senate for moderates, it seems. Tired of the partisan bickering and the constant gridlock, Republican Senator Olympia Snowe stunned her colleagues by announcing she would not seek reelection. The moderate Republican stated, “With my Spartan ancestry I am a fighter at heart; and I am well prepared for the electoral battle, so that is not the issue. However, what I have had to consider is how productive an additional term would be. Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term. So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate, which is what a fourth term would entail.”
Snowe, who had served in the senate for nearly two decades, leaves a seat that could have the potential to flip to the Democrats. It’s an opportunity the party isn’t taking lightly. Talking Points Memo notes, “A Democratic source in Maine told TPM that the state’s two Democratic members of the House, Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree, will likely be looking at the race now. It is too early to say, however, whether there would be a primary or if one would yield to the other. (Pingree, a former state senate majority leader, previously ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2002, against the entrenched incumbent Susan Collins. So she might take another bite at the apple.)”
The state filing deadline is March 15th.
Read more: 2012 elections, maine, olympia snowe, women candidates
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I pray that Sarah will have a full recovery.
Thanks Jeff.
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+ add your ownYeah no sense having moderates that can actually compromise and actually get something done eh?? We will just all sit in out corner with our ideals and refuse to compromise on anything. That way we can ASSURE no progress is ever made in out country again.
Landing on the moon could have never happened under the present republican parties views,
The Hoover dam could't have happened. The federal highway systems that created the I's.
Lets just sit here and fester forever and refuse to cooperate with each other. That sounds like a good plan.
Hooray! Olympia Snowe is gone.
Dems should be unhappy, not excited about this. She often sided with them and was instrumental in ObamaCare actually getting out of committee in the Senate and onto the floor. That history and a very strong primary challenge posed a fight she was afraid of losing. The line about the bitterness of politics is just that, a line. She loved that power to screw over the people like most pols to want to give it up-she just knew her record had finally caught up with her.
MIchaud has proved to be a reliable pro government drone for his entire history. The question whether that is enough anymore in a slowly awakening state like Maine is the question. Maine's fate under Dems and Dem clone "indies" for years now has been pretty dismal, more of the same may not work anymore. Pingree as you note is an unsuccessful runner (also a different district with Collins...she won't be from the district Snowe was from) and not well known in a state increasingly divided regionally
People back home don't seem sad about Snowe giving up. The President and his Administration are not popular there, we'll see if the Dem candidate can prevent the Repub one from making this a race on Obama...
A loss to the nation as well as the State of Maine.
I have always respected Senator Snowe. She seemed to always vote according to what the legislation would mean for the People, instead of the Party. (This does not mean I always agreed with her) I do not doubt that it truely is the obstructionistic disregard for the People and this Nation that has made her decide to stay home. Hoping You a Wonderful Life Olympia Snowe! You will be missed!
James,
I think a fiscally conservative Libertarian would be best for the current state of our nation.
We are currently drowning in 15 trillion dpllars of debt, and a Constitution which is being trampled upon.
Both of these situations must change immediately or our nation may never recover.
Because I still have some respect for you Senator Snowe, I am glad to see that you have finally decided to no longer stay in the room with those other embarrassments from you sad party. Good luck to you in the future.
Now, let's find and elect a Female Progressive Democrat in her place! Yeah!
Oh good! Now perhaps we can have a real Republican replace her?
She will be missed!! Thanks Senator for telling the truth!!!
If there is no place for Olympia Snowe in government, we're in deep do-do.
One of the few remaining moderate republicans in the Senate. The republicans have lurched so far right, Reagan would be considered to liberal.
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