Meteorologists are predicting a storm and a cold snap in the next couple of days that might even bring some of the white, flaky stuff to parts of the Northeast, but snow (in the form of Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine) reached the Senate Finance Committee early, making it possible for the Committee to pass its version of a health care reform bill yesterday with the claim of bipartisan support. This is certainly a major hurdle, but of course there is much work yet to do to reconcile the five different House and Senate versions of "reform."
"Bipartisan" is nonsense, of course, and Snowe herself said that her vote could change depending on what ends up in the final bill, but her role in all this, as laid out by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post, raises some interesting points:
All of us should admire Snowe, not for her place in this health care drama, but more generally, for reminding us there once was a time when there was a political center in American politics. Lukewarm as her support seems to be, Snowe's grudging "yes" vote earns her a place in history as the sole remaining Republican anywhere who may be able to evaluate proposed legislation with an open mind. We know that there are a few other Republican Senators once credited with being "moderates," but they mostly caved in to their party's right wing, which remains intent on judging everything not by its merits, or its essentiality, but by who wrote it.
Which brings us to the G.O.P. (Geezers Obstructing Progress). We might hope that a few of them would see the attention lavished on Snowe, the concessions and changes she was able to wring from Democratic drafters, and consider the opportunities they themselves lost to influence, and be a part of, some of the most significant and essential legislation to come down the pike in years. Will they see the error of their self-imposed isolation? I doubt it.
The Democrats, meantime, should have learned that continued striving for bipartisanship is a lost cause; in its pursuit, a lot has been given away, but compromise has all been on one side and there surely is no reason to continue the effort.
Finally, as for Snowe herself, should she be worried about her political future? Maine has always been a bit sui generis. I would guess that she knows her constituency well enough by now to know, or believe, that her views are tracking with her voters'. Still, it seems likely she won't be getting a lot of campaign money from the Republican National Committee in her next election. There was a great photo somewhere this morning of Snowe, Baucus, and Orrin Hatch, with Hatch staring daggers at Snowe, but now all I can find is this different exposure, with Hatch looking at Baucus. Snowe is also not one of the extremely diverse menagerie of up-and-coming "Republican women" whom commentator Kathleen Parker believes could save the Republican Party, though that may be to Snowe's credit. I hope Maineac voters won't desert her; that would put the last nail in the coffin of Republican bipartisan spirit.
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