Snowe notices a chill

Olympia Snowe is crying the blues:

"I've always been on the outside looking in, in the world I live in. When you're a minority, moderate, New England, woman, Republican woman, you don't get more outside than that. Do you? I'm a minority within a minority," Snowe said laughing, "I've been fighting my whole life."

What’s a poor moderate to do? The electorate has just gotten so mean lately. Well, let’s take a look at that “moderate” record of Ms. Snowe:

• Voted NO on restricting UN funding for population control policies. (Mar 2009)
• Voted NO on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP. (Mar 2008)
• Voted NO on prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion. (Mar 2008)
• Voted NO on barring HHS grants to organizations that perform abortions. (Oct 2007)
• Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007)
• Voted NO on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. (Jul 2006)
• Voted NO on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime. (Mar 2004)
• Voted NO on banning partial birth abortions except for maternal life. (Mar 2003)
• Voted NO on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions. (Jun 2000)
• Voted NO on banning partial birth abortions. (Oct 1999)
• Voted NO on banning human cloning. (Feb 1998)

• Voted YES on $192B additional anti-recession stimulus spending. (Jul 2009)
• Voted YES on modifying bankruptcy rules to avoid mortgage foreclosures. (May 2009)
• Voted YES on additional $825 billion for economic recovery package. (Feb 2009)
• Voted YES on $60B stimulus package for jobs, infrastructure, & energy. (Sep 2008)
• Voted NO on paying down federal debt by rating programs' effectiveness. (Mar 2007)
• Voted NO on $40B in reduced federal overall spending. (Dec 2005)

• Voted YES on addressing CO2 emissions without considering India & China. (May 2008)
• Voted YES on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies. (Jun 2007)
• Voted YES on making oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. (Jun 2007)
• Voted YES on factoring global warming into federal project planning. (May 2007)
• Voted YES on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR. (Nov 2005)
• Voted YES on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%). (Jun 2005)
• Voted YES on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Mar 2005)
• Voted YES on removing consideration of drilling ANWR from budget bill. (Mar 2003)
• Voted NO on drilling ANWR on national security grounds. (Apr 2002)
• Voted NO on terminating CAFE standards within 15 months. (Mar 2002)
• Voted NO on preserving budget for ANWR oil drilling. (Apr 2000)
• Establish greenhouse gas tradeable allowances. (Feb 2005)
• Sign on to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. (Jan 2007)

• Voted YES on $2 billion more for Cash for Clunkers program. (Aug 2009)
• Voted YES on confirming Gale Norton as Secretary of Interior. (Jan 2001)
• Voted YES on more funding for forest roads and fish habitat. (Sep 1999)
• Voted YES on transportation demo projects. (Mar 1998)
• Make EPA into a Cabinet department. (May 2002) (Thanks-that turned out to be soooooo helpful!)

• Voted YES on Congressional pay raise. (Jul 2009)
• Voted NO on requiring photo ID to vote in federal elections. (Jul 2007)
• Voted YES on allowing some lobbyist gifts to Congress. (Mar 2006)
• Voted YES on establishing the Senate Office of Public Integrity. (Mar 2006) (Because bureaucracy makes everything better)
• Voted YES on banning "soft money" contributions and restricting issue ads. (Mar 2002)
• Voted YES on banning campaign donations from unions & corporations. (Apr 2001)
• Voted YES on funding for National Endowment for the Arts. (Aug 1999) (Because taxpayers should pay for insightful works of art like “Piss Christ”)
• Voted YES on favoring 1997 McCain-Feingold overhaul of campaign finance. (Oct 1997)

• Voted YES on continuing federal funds for declared "sanctuary cities". (Mar 2008)
• Voted YES on comprehensive immigration reform. (Jun 2007)
• Voted YES on establishing a Guest Worker program. (May 2006)
• Voted NO on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security. (May 2006)
• Voted YES on giving Guest Workers a path to citizenship. (May 2006)
• Voted YES on allowing more foreign workers into the US for farm work. (Jul 1998)
• Voted YES on visas for skilled workers. (May 1998)
• Voted NO on limit welfare for immigrants. (Jun 1997)
• Rated 25% by USBC, indicating an open-border stance. (Dec 2006)

It appears that Ms. Snowe and I hold differing opinions on the definition of “moderate”. However, we may have more common ground than you would think. Consider this from Ms. Snowe:

"What works in South Carolina and Delaware may not work in Maine. We all have different views. We're independent," Snowe responded, "I can't go back to the people of my state and say, excuse me, I have to be one hundred percent ideologically pure because someone has dictated that from another state. It just wouldn't wash," she said.

She may be right about her state and I absolutely agree with her that it is up to the people of Maine whether or not she is suitable as their representative. However, like Mike Castle, she may be wrong about what the voters of her state our currently looking for. It may be that after decades of tax and spend coupled with unaccountability on the part of DC that voters in even the bluest states are fed up and ready for a change. If that is the case, Snowe, like Castle, could find herself out in the cold.