Howard Fineman: Obama's Pointless Pursuit Of Olympia Snowe

Newsweek:

On Mount Olympus in Greece there were many gods, but on Mount Olympia in the District of Columbia there is one: Snowe of Maine, daughter of Spartan immigrants (yes, that Sparta). A Republican of the rarest type--a "moderate" willing to truck with Democrats--she is being feted, almost prayed to, by President Barack Obama and his party's leaders as they struggle in the Senate to amass a filibuster-proof 60 votes for "health-care reform." In the halls outside the chamber, every Democrat seems to have just come from, or be on the way to, another "meeting with Olympia"--if, that is, she isn't too busy talking to the president on the phone.

Read the whole story: Newsweek

Comments

[dragonmaster]

Fineman is totally correct- Mrs. Snowe will vote against the interests of her constituents in Maine- in order for allow the Insurance Industry to support the GOP with huge amounts of money.

Obama was naive and wasted too much time and effort for her support. She wants reform that helps the insurance industry profits and not the health and economic well being of Americans.

[kimleehan]

Actually a super majority of Maine residents support a Government funded public health insurance option, A new poll by Pan American SMS group reports that 57.4 favor, 5.5 undecided, 37.2 oppose, If you divide the 5.5 undecided = 2.75 + 57.4 = 60.15% a super majority. Maybe Maine residents might want to point it out to her and Collins.

[jeannie35]

The Obama administration is hiding behind their demand for bipartisanship as a cover for their disdain for a "robust public option." I am a huge Obama supporter; however, I believe I am finally seeing through their mirage. I won't forget the health care debate for at least 4 more years when I am in the voting booth considering for whom I should cast my vote. Definitely not a Republican, but maybe no one.

[LiberalDemIda]

The Obama Administration is letting Congress do what the Constitution demand they do and what they are being handsomely paid to do, but what they've been avoiding to do in the past eight years under the Ch3n3y/Bush presidency: legislate.

Eight years of an unprecedented, powerful Executive Branch (WH under Ch3n3y/Bush) made them lazy and had them forget what their real role in government is: to draft, deliberate, debate, and create new laws, and not just to pick up those juicy corporate checks and perks for their friends, fam, and themselves.

They are a CO-EQUAL branch of our three-branch government, and it's high-time they remember.

[jeannie35]

Look, you don't get it. I am a very aggressive and defensive Obama supporter. I have been behind him all the way. However, he has insisted publicly on Ms. Snowe's support. He has praised Nancy Pelosi and has publicly insisted on the public option in his speeches, but we must look at Obama's actions, not just his words. Words are cheap; actions matter. He has virtually made Ms. Snowe a stand-in pseudo-President. If she doesn't like the plan, Obama is not throwing his support behind it. I respect you for your support of Obama; however, blind support ain't doing anybody any favors. You, too, must hold Obama to his campaign promises the same as I am.

[jeannie35]

It is becoming pretty clear to me that the demand that Olympia Snowe vote in favor of a health care reform plan is cover for the Obama administration. I believe that the Obama administration is closely aligned to the type of reform that Ms. Snowe would write if she were in charge. More plainly, Obama supports health care reform with a very weak public option. I have supported health care reform from the start but I am beginning to understand that my support has been taken for granted. My vote, however, will not be given to Dems merely because they are a Dem. If the progressive movement is not taken seriously, I will take my support elsewhere, even if it means not voting for anyone.

[dmsdzinr]

Shovel the Snowe! Get ON WITH IT Already! With a STRONG Public Option. Snowe's trigger idea will only delay the inevitable and when the trigger needs to be pulled it will take another 6 months to a YEAR!
Why does our government do EVERYTHING Half-@$S???

[ChelseaC]

Not only pointless, but pathetic.

[Agent420]

Why is have one ugly repub vote more important than preventing people dying? Why are we trying to pass a health insurance profit bill instead of a save people from dying bill?

[kevwells]

It is absurd to think (or for the Obama administration to care) about ONE, lone Republican vote for some watered-down version of health care reform as being important, singaling something, etc. One vote is not "bipartisan support" Tell Snowe to get on board for the sake of her constituents, get out of the pocket of big business and do the right thing. The public option is perhaps the only factor in the entire package that will bring the for(massive)profit health insuarance industry to any semblance of acceptable when it comes to managing costs and profitablility that can be measured as reasonable, not egeigious.

We, who voted for Obama, dont give a tinker's you know what about the massive profits of the health insurance companies. Why is he? We want ddecent health care at a fair price and no "gotchas". How hard is that for the White House to comprehend.

Send a message to the Republithugs--get out of the way of the people or get run over. Now.

[TheIndependenceParty]

In ancient mythology, Sparta and her allies, offered a gift of "peace" to Troy after a lengthy war. Akin, perhaps, to the Statue of Liberty from our ally, France, the "Trojan Horse" was given to Troy as a sign of friendship. Inside, of course, were the seeds of ruin, ... dozens of soldiers, hiding as the horse was wheeled inside the city's gates. The rest is history, or at least mythology. So goes Snowe's vote in favor of reform, ... her "Trojan Horse" to the Democrats on her committee and the Senate at large.

Snowe's vote to approve the healthcare plan out of committee came with an almost immediate caveat by her that she would not support any public option. One threat revealed! What else she will condemn by her withholding her vote, remains to be seen.

It is clear she is no ally to Progressive and Moderate Democrats on healthcare. For all the threats from conservative Republicans that they will strip her of her committee assignments, perhaps they have told her that sabotaging healthcare reform is a way to "re-make her bones" in the Republican Mob. I believe she is preparing to do just that.

[Paulo1]

Snowe is doing more damage to Obama than Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly and Savage combined.

By holding out for some pie in the sky idea of bi-party deals she has forced Obama to abandon almost everything he ran on and turn traitor to the Progressive movement. When Obama wakes up to ask why he was a one term President he can sum the whole thing up simply "He got Snowed"

[nick1936]

When is Obama going to start acting like a winner instead of kissing these repuk's asses in the end they are all going to vote NO>

[cloudmaker]

Why are we wooing this old crone? Why do we have to kowtow to her to her to do what she shoudl do in the first place? The people of Maine want health reform the same as most of the country. What they may not want is this old bat playing coquette much longer.

[2good4u]

From the looks of it, she is collecting medicare and social security. If it is alright for her it should be alright for everyone. What a hypocrit. What really angered me about her was the other week someone interviewed her about he trigger and why she proposed it and she said with a big smile that that is the way they handled drug prices with a trigger and the it was never needed because it was never triggered. (I probably did not say that too well) BUT in this country we pay the highest drug prices so what was she trying to say??? The trigger did not work because of the monopolies and price fixing in this country. Of course it wouldn't get triggered.

[timberdoodle]

Maybe the American public is to blame for the lack of domestic policy that goes towards helping Americans within the confines of the United States.

History shows the American public, for generations, has allowed it's government to spend the lion's share of their tax dollars on their military complex as well as arming other countries, dictators of other countries like Saddam, terrorists like Bin Laden against Russia in Afghanistan.

It isn't likely much will change as long as the public keeps allowing their government to spend all the money on wars, invasions etc. and ignore the plight of their citizens on such basics rights as the right to live as long and suffer as little as modern medicine will allow.

[dimplesmile7]

Howard Fineman is right. It is pointless and I wish the media would stop making such a big deal out of Snowe's vote. We don't need her at all to get health care reform passed.