Olympia Snowe getting ready to jump ship?

[ciphergoth]

We Didn’t Have to Lose Arlen Specter

IT is disheartening and disconcerting, at the very least, that here we are today — almost exactly eight years after Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party — witnessing the departure of my good friend and fellow moderate Republican, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, for the Democratic Party. And the announcement of his switch was all the more painful because I believe it didn’t have to be this way.

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), NYT 2009-04-28

With Specter switching sides, Snowe and her Maine colleague Susan Collins are the two most moderate Republicans in the Senate.

I can't help but notice the total absence of anything to say that Specter made a mistake, or did something he should be castigated for. Rather, the Republican party are the sole focus of her blame and anger, for forcing Specter out. Is this Snowe getting ready to jump? The GOP are were in a very bad place a week ago; since then they've conceded a special election in NY-20 that they were supposed to win, and lost a senator to the other side. They're likely to force out disastrous RNC chairman Michael Steele over the NY-20 defeat soon, and they don't have anyone good to replace him with. If that's followed by the loss of another senator, or two senators, the Grand Old Party could be in its worst state since FDR took office. What's going to happen next?

Comments

[adjectivemarcus.livejournal.com]

I feel sorry for Al Franken! How long has that taken now?

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

If Coleman wants to run again for anything ever, he'll give up when the Minnesota Supreme Court chucks it out. The earliest that can happen is June - so he'll have delayed the result by seven months, and kept Franken out of the Senate for over four months. It'll be a bit of a shame if the Ds already have a 60-seat majority by the time he gets there, but it will still make a real difference - one more lefty Senator means throwing bones to one less DINO in the event of a close vote...

[palmer1984.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't say lefty!

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Relatively lefty, then :-)

[dglenn.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity, what lefties do we have in the legislature? I'm not as well informed as I really ought to be, but all the Dems I know much about are centrists or conservatives-who-only-look-liberal-next-to-Republicans. Whom should I be cheering on?

[palmer1984.livejournal.com]

I don't really know. I'm not an American. AFAICT pretty much all Democrats are centrists!

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Nearest I know of is Barney Frank?

[actionreplay.livejournal.com]

My heart bleeds for them. And FDR was a good president...

[evil-c.livejournal.com]

Nothing to do with this post, but randomly... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[bileandvitriol.livejournal.com]

Snowe doesn't face anything like the challenge Specter faced from Toomey.

Specter left because he faced near-certain defeat in the primary - he's been trailing among registered Republicans by over 10 points for a while now - while Toomey would be crucified by, I dunno, anyone really, as long as they were a moderate with an donkey badge. Now, that moderate Democrat will be Specter, and I expect him to really enjoy it.

Club for Growth et al are unlikely to be able to oppose her among Maine Republicans, because Maine's caucus system won't exclude moderate party members. Exclusive-membership electoral law (IANAL and all that) in PA will prevent those Republicans who changed to vote in the Clinton/Obama primary from taking part in the midterm GOP primary battle.

[cos]

Aside from her referring to Jeffords, her statement overall is very very similar to the statement she made back when Jeffords switched. And then 8 years passed and she stayed a Republican. What's to push her now?

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

There's a lot less profit in being a Republican now than 8 years ago.