Related Stories
Snowes departure may fuel anger at Congress that puts partisanship before solutions
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Washington Post
Posted: March 6th, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/analysis-snowes-depar...
The surprising retirement of moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine moves congressional centrists a step closer to extinction and highlights the great paradox of American politics. Even with her party standing a good chance to regain the Senate majority, Snowe wanted no more of the endless gridlock that has rendered Congress barely able to carry out the most basic functions, such as keeping the federal governments doors open. She expressed frustration that an atmosphere of polarization and my way or the highway ideologies has become pervasive in campaigns and in our governing institutions. Snowe is one of the few remaining moderate Republicans, a group that once dominated the Northeast and vied for control of the national GOP under leaders such as Nelson Rockefeller. She was instrumental in forcing President George W. Bush to limit the size of his 2001 tax cut. She was one of three Senate Republicans who backed President Barack Obamas 2009 stimulus plan. She just quit in disgust, even though she easily could have won a fourth term this fall, said Matt Bennett of the centrist-Democratic group Third Way. By some measures, Snowe is the Senates most liberal Republican and Ben Nelson of Nebraska is its most conservative Democrat. Both are retiring this year, raising serious possibilities they will be replaced by less moderate members of the opposite party, further widening the chambers partisan divide.
Related Stories
Latest News
Key News Articles from Years Past
