Republican Senator Olympia Snowe announced on February 29 that she would not seek a fourth term due to an “atmosphere of polarization” and a “my way or the highway” attitude in the Senate. She will not be missed. While frequently cited as a “centrist” who often voted with Democrats, Snowe showed her true colors in 2009 when she abandoned her longstanding support for health care reform and aligned herself with Republican obstructionists responsible for the poisoned atmosphere she now condemns. In September 2010, Snowe also joined her GOP colleagues in blocking the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by use of the filibuster. My colleague Paul Hogarth detailed Snowe’s hypocrisy in a September 21, 2009 piece, “When Has ‘Compromise’ with Olympia Snowe Ever Been Good?” Snowe lacked the political courage to challenge her fellow Republicans “my way or the highway” approach to President Obama, and it’s good she is moving on.
