Snowe Job [Reader Post]

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I heard the news while on break at work; “Olympia Snow Retires” It was out of the blue and a rambling about partisanship was the reason given. Though she was prone to being a loose cannon who was part of a clique that loved to be coddled and pandered too when votes of significance were coming up, she was after all a number. A number that the Republican Party needed to be able to gain control of the Senate. Yet Olympia Snowe had decided that she had enough of the “partisanship” and was going to retire leaving just 16 days for potential Republican heirs to find 2000 signatures to fill her spot on the ballot. Which leaves one question with several possible correct answers: Why?

First if it is health issue that Mrs. Snowe wishes not to speak of, I wish her well and hope the best for her. Barring that, there is much more to it than a aversion to “partisan” politics. I don’t buy it. The Lewiston Sun Journal, a local paper provided a possible clue

Was there more trouble with her husband John McKernan’s business, Education Management Corp., which is the subject of a multi-state lawsuit headed by the U.S. Department of Justice? Documents from the lawsuit suggest McKernan had mostly inoculated himself from the EDMC controversy. The couple has vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

However, Snowe’s political opponents suggested there was more to the story, citing the couple’s reported assets from EDMC, which in 2009 were valued at between $6 million and $25 million and divided among her and McKernan’s stock options and common stock holdings.”

This I would think is the most reasonable answer to the question. Maybe Snowe’s “Spartan” persona was about to prove to be a false front. Could she have been tipped off, or recently made aware, that soon EDMC was about to become a house hold name, and not in a good way? Definitely possible.

Another possible reason is that Ms. Snowe was losing her conservative base in Maine. To be honest though, she never seemed to care before, why now? It’s not as if since she announced she was going to run for re-election the bottom dropped out from under her. She would have won. Matter of fact ,she was ramping up for re-election according to the Bangor Daily News

Until Tuesday, Snowe had never given any indication — publicly, at least — that she did not hope to serve another term in the Senate. She had hired a campaign staff, appeared at GOP caucus meetings throughout the state earlier this month and had amassed a campaign war chest of more than $3.4 million as of the end of December.”

With that information before you can one honestly read and hear Mrs. Snowe’s recent statement as to why she is bowing out and not raise the brow of curiosity? Where are the reports of fellow Senate Republicans trying to persuade Snowe into reconsidering? Are they yet to come? Was she informed that she would be losing some committee member positions? Who knows?

Let me add this little bit to the intrigue. From Poynter

“ Lots of folks touting Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree as a potential replacement for suddenly retiring Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe. Dylan Byers writes about Pingree’s media connection: Her husband, Donald Sussman, is an investor in and on the board of MaineTodayMedia, which owns several newspapers in Vacationland: The Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal, the Waterville Morning Sentinel, the Coastal Journal, and the Maine Sunday Telegram, the Press Herald’s Sunday paper. Last Wednesday, MediaWire’s morning roundup pointed you to an editorial by Roger Katz in the Bangor Daily News that worried about Sussman’s influence.”

Chellie Pingree is a Democrat. Her husband has major ties with Maine Today Media which controls almost every major newspaper in Maine. Having lived here I can say without hesitation that finding a conservative viewpoint in any of them is about as rare as an albino lobster on a Rockland dock. I wonder what those little flying monkeys of MTM have been up to?

Eh-Yup!

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A sad day for Democrats, even if they elect a Democrat, the new Senator will never be as reliable for an assured vote, on important issues, as Olympia Snowe, the Supreme RINO.

I had to endure Madcow praising Snowe over at MSLSD when I was visiting some friends yesterday.
A mutual friend who collects antiques absolutely cracked me up when she asked if Snowe was going to sell her cauldron or haul it back home.

Let’s see if DOJ drops the investigation or case or doesn’t pursue it agressively losing it. The IRS is going after the Tea Parties tax deductiblity so it’s not that far fetched that a deal was cut here. But who know’s you’d have to trust Holder and his Justice Department to keep their word in a political deal to knock out a Republican Senator after they are no longer running

Could it be that the Obama Administration controlled “Justice” Department is doing witch hunts on Republicans and their spouses prior to the elections? Considering the “ends justifies the means” attitude of the Chicago crowd, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me. Kind of reminiscent of the IRS audits of Paula Jones and the lawyer’s representing her that were purely coincidental (Nod, not, wink, wink, say no more, say no more.)

On the other hand, maybe they can find an actual Republican to run this time.

This kind of writing is the legacy of Brietbart: Idle speculation about various scenarios as to why a person does what they do. Sometimes they turn out to be true, sometimes false. Sometimes they prove to be hurtful, sometimes not. But they always thrill their audience until the die.

Liberal1, you do enjoy the role of fomenter, don’t you? Heated reactions make for good entertainment. Right? It appears Andrew Breitbart and you have something in common, after all.

I though I heard her say that the senate does’nt work as the founders intended. That is very true. The senate is supposed to represent the states. The 17th amendment needs to be repealed.

Term limits anyone?

@Liberal1 (objectivity):

No, Lib1, it is not the “legacy of Breitbart”, as you stated. It is simply a style of writing exhibited by many people, of all political stripes, meant to engage readers in thought and opinion about why a thing is as it is. In this case, due to the lack of information regarding Ms.Snowe’s decision, all anyone is left with is to wonder why she decided as she did. “Idle speculation” in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing, Lib1. It only becomes destructive when people continue to engage in that in opposition to factual evidence. At that point it starts to head towards the land of conspiracy.

Why you would attempt to link Breitbart to this style of writing is beyond me, other than maybe because of his recent death and your obvious hatred for him. I think in this case, maybe, you are simply expanding Rahm Emanuel’s credo of “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste”.

Pingree is a clown who lost her roots years ago. Angus King is a con artist who is scamming Maine with his wind turbine scams, after leaving Augusta with a $1 Billion shortfall. Baldacci? A meatball sandwich vendor with no clue how to create jobs.

Sadly, this state has no real Republican alternatives.

Personally, I didn’t give Ms. Snowe and her “exit, whining” announcement a second thought. Certainly, when it comes to actual voting records, she is a staunch Democrat.

The only value in her Republican status comes down to it being an additional seat that affects the recognized majority and control of committee chairs. Other than that, who’ll actually notice, or care, that she’s gone?

And she’s certainly not the first Congressional elected one to leave, complaining about partisan battles. All I can say to her is, get in line. So are all of us. But of course, we’re not confining it just to one party.

There’s seven Senators not seeking re election this year… five of them are Dems. Nelson, Akaka, Kohl, Bingaman, and Webb. The two Republicans are Snowe and Kyl. Somehow I’m not seeing AZ replace him with a Democrat. Nor do I see HI replacing Akaka with a Republican. If CML has his own state right, it’s hard pressed to tell a Dem from a Republican there anyway.

That leaves everyone wondering if AZ can stay red, and see VA, NM, NE and WI also replacing their retiring Dems with a Republican, picking up three add’l seats they didn’t have before.

Frankly, i’m ASHAMED, the Repubs, LACKED the NADS, to BOOT her from the party, as a RINO….. GOP is run by the meek and gutless these days.. sad….