Another Snowe day
October 14, 2009Jon Brooks Comments OffMuch is being made of Sen. Olympia Snowe’s lone Republican vote in favor of the Senate Finance Committee health care bill. From the New York Times:
“Is this bill all that I would want?” Ms. Snowe said. “Far from it. Is it all that it can be? No. But when history calls, history calls. And I happen to think that the consequences of inaction dictate the urgency of Congress to take every opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to solve the monumental issues of our time.”
Ms. Snowe’s remarks silenced the packed committee room, riveted colleagues and thrilled the White House. President Obama had sought her vote, hoping that she would break with Republican leaders and provide at least a veneer of bipartisanship to the bill, which he has declared his top domestic priority.
So what do those who are invested enough in the debate to write something about it think? Well, as usual, most of the posted opinion is negative. Out on the information superhighway, road rage reigns. Just a smattering:
From Daily Kos
By voting yes, Snowe remains relevant–the Baucus bill passes with that shiny “bipartisan” sheen that seems still to matter in Washington. But don’t forget that she has her finger on the “trigger”–her trigger that would kill the public option… (S)he’s kept the Baucus bill alive, and through it the best chance of making what now seems inevitable–reform of some kind–as watered down as possible.
———————————————————————————————————————
The fact that she voted for the bill in and of itself does not make it a bad bill, but it’s a real good indicator.It means she’ll have leverage further along in the process to make the final bill even weaker.
Her vote is bad just as Baucus’s bill is bad…it contains no public option. It isn’t single payer. It implements mandated insurance. Add that all up and you get Insurance hikes from now until the end of time–and…the end of a Democratic majority for just as long.
———————————————————————————————————————
From comments on Ezra Klein’s Washington Post blog…if (Snowe) manages to improve the bill in any substantial way, she may manage to singlehandedly take the Republican Party out of the hands of the wingnuts. As Obama said on a different subject, “know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.”
———————————————————————————————————————
So this senator whom everyone knows is a RINO votes for the bill and that’s supposed to be a big deal? The Democrats already had all the votes they needed to get the bill passed out of committee. But for some reason, this person’s single vote is sooo important? Is it because the Democrats want to say it was a bipartisan effort (because) they are afraid to take responsibility for it on their own?…One vote, particularly from a RINO, does not make this bombasm of a bill a bipartisan effort…
———————————————————————————————————————From Red State
Olympia Snowe has sold out the country. Having been banished to our world after Aslan chased her out of Narnia, Snowe is intent on corrupting this place too. So we should melt her.
What melts snow? Rock salt. I’m going to ship this 5 pound bag of rock salt to her office in Maine. It’s only $3.00. You should join me. It is a visible demonstration of our contempt for her. First she votes for the stimulus. Now this.
———————————————————————————————————————
From Crooks and LiarsThe Senate Finance Committee, which was designated by the Pope of Hope as the ostensible central authority in this Kabuki Theater rendition of health care reform, has crafted a bill so bad that one of the Republicans could actually support it.
This is done under the false flag of bipartisanship in order to gain political cover, (which) will be needed when the full ramifications of this sell-out to corporate interests becomes more widely understood.
