I can only hope, at this point, that all of this 'fondness' for Olympia Snowe has to do with the PR value of being able to proclaim: Bi-partisan! Bi-partisan! as a means to keep the momentum and public support going.

A comment on the linked article said 'stick a public option in the bill and dare Snowe to filibuster it. I'm betting she won't'.

That sounds good to me.

Exactly! I'm hoping that once they let her know that there will be a public option, she can just hit the road. It's her party that is powerless and she's sitting at the table like she's the queen bee.

The Dems should put an end to this shit right now! They all need to know that we don't give a damn about bipartisanship.

The sooner we send Snowe back to her party of losers, the better this bill will be. Stop praising her and get rid of her ass before she destroys this bill.

Clearly, they will reap what they Snowe........

the fact that her entire state is being sued right now by the healthcare industry because maine won't let them raise their rates as high as they want to seems like a good motive for her vote for reform. at least she can look good to her own voters, even if she doesn't really want real reform.

Sprinkle, why do you think she voted for the Baucus bill anyway!? She's in trouble in Maine.....I think the Dems expect Snowe to back out once the public option is written in to the combined bill. She won't have to vote for reform in future. And that's okay with Dems and with Snowe (She looks bipartisan, makes more of her constituents happy, and post-bill she has more leverage with Dems than any other Rethug). Yeah its a gamble for her but if she comes through it, she might be the next party leader.....

Last night on the Rachel Maddow Show, Chuck Schumer said that if Reid puts the public option in the reconciliation bill, it would take 60 votes to take it back out. $20,000 Question: will he do it?

I can see no reason why he wouldn't/shouldn't other than htat he's a panty-waisted, useless piece of "leadership" for progressive Democrats.

There was an interesting bit on NPR's talk of the nation today where Ezra Klein pointed out how having Olympia Snowe in the committee serves two-fold:

1. it serves to call the final senate bill "bipartisan" and gives obama leverage there

2. dealing with snowe in committee instead of having baucus (which is how Klein described snowe's presence) is actually a benefit since baucus or nelson or some of those other "democrats" are actually more conservative than snowe in many respects. also, maine's in huge support of the public option and a maine republican is not a typical republican if for no other reason than that they support the public option overwhelmingly.

bonus 3rd: snowe's seat at the table may buy additional "bipartisan" support from collins.

i actually hate baucus so much, i think snowe might actually be a better choice to take this to committee and make actual, reasonable progress.

Snowe needs to go! I just saw her on a repeat of today's Hardball and she admitted that she couldn't support the bill with a public option unless there is a trigger. She also said she could't support raising the money to pay for healthcare by taxing the wealthy. She's lost her mind and her party.

I did not vote for Olympia Snowe for President or Senator. If she is allowed to dictiate what does or does not go into this bill, then why the fuck did we all vote for the Democrats?

I didn't vote for Republicans because I don't want their fucking hands anywhere near any legislation.

irish girl, i guess what i was trying to say was that she's obviously just using this opportunity to make herself look good back home. her vote wasn't necessary, it would have passed anyway, but now she gets to act like a big deal. she obviously won't vote for a public option without the stupid "trigger" attached to it. i just thought it was strange that the media, in their hurry to glorify her "bravery", never bothered to mention the lawsuit and her motive. i'm actually surprised that collins didn't get on board, too. i agree it's a gamble, but i don't see the republicans giving her a leadership position for going against them. although, they have no leadership and seem to flock to whoever is getting good press, so anything is possible i suppose.

If the Dems do not pass a health care bill with a public option they will be dead in the water in 2010.
65% of Americans support the public option.

What is it the Dems don't undersand?

I am so sick of this debate.

We won! Just get it done!