Olympia Snowe

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Adios to the Quirks of the 112th Congress

Say goodbye to this Congress' puppies, purses, and ponytails

(Newser) - As more than 80 members of the legislative branch prepare to pack up their bags and hit the road, the New York Times takes a look at some of the quirky characters and characteristics of the 112th Congress that are leaving us for good:
  • No more fluffy dogs: North Dakota
...

Maine's New Senator to Caucus With Democrats

Not a shocking move for independent King, but strengthens Dems' hold

(Newser) - Maine's independent senator-elect, Angus King, will caucus with Democrats, increasing the left's hold on the Senate to a 10-vote advantage, reports CNN . The former governor until now refused to say which party he'd caucus with, though both sides expected the left-leaning King to go for the Democrats....

Lame-Duck Congress Back as Fiscal Cliff Looms

Postal Service, Sandy relief may also be on agenda

(Newser) - Congress is back in Washington today, bracing for battle over how to avoid the fiscal cliff. Legislators have seven weeks to hit on a deal, with tax cut extensions taking center stage, notes Reuters . But analysts warn that "the longer it takes the president and Congress to negotiate a...

Obama Plans Drastic Cabinet Shake-Up

Clinton, Geithner, Panetta, Holder all could be gone

(Newser) - After a first term almost devoid of Cabinet shakeups, President Obama is now working on plans to replace virtually his entire team. Hillary Clinton and Tim Geithner have both publicly announced their exits, but Leon Panetta, Eric Holder, Ray LaHood, Steven Chu, Ken Salazaar, and Lisa Jackson are all expected...

Even Congress Hates Congress
 Even Congress 
 Hates Congress 
THIS JOB SUCKS

Even Congress Hates Congress

And that has many of them jumping ship, finds Politico

(Newser) - Also on the list of people who aren't too keen on Congress these days: members of Congress. Consider the woes they now face: fewer freebies (darn ethics rules), pay frozen at a meager $174,000, increasingly expensive campaigns, no earmarks for those back home, and a seeming lack of...

Olympia Snowe: I Quit Because Senate Is Hopeless

Maine senator says it's become a depressingly partisan knot

(Newser) - Olympia Snowe has had it with the Senate's intractable partisan gridlock. In a Washington Post op-ed, Snowe explains her impending retirement , and she doesn't mince words. "Simply put, the Senate is not living up to what the Founding Fathers envisioned," she writes. "The greatest deliberative...

Will Olympia Snowe Join Third-Party Ticket?

Sounds like she could be a candidate for Americans Elect: Jonathan Chait

(Newser) - What's Olympia Snowe up to? Her surprise decision to retire from the Senate came with what Jonathan Chait at New York magazine sees as an "unusually specific" statement about her desire to try to fix DC's partisan ways. "I intend to help give voice to my...

GOP Senator Olympia Snowe to Retire

Big setback for Republicans in Maine

(Newser) - Republican Olympia Snowe said today she will retire from the Senate rather than seek re-election, reports the Kennebec Journal . The Washington Post sees it as bad news for her party in the very blue state of Maine. Democrats will likely be favored to take the seat the moderate Snowe has...

Senate Passes Aid Bill, Drags House Back
 Senate Passes Aid Bill, 
 Drags House Back 
SNOWE, COLLINS DEFECT AGAIN

Senate Passes Aid Bill, Drags House Back

State aid bill makes it through filibuster

(Newser) - The House is headed back to Washington early, after Senate Democrats unexpectedly broke through a Republican filibuster on their much-delayed state aid bill. The bill provides $26.1 billion to prevent state worker and teacher layoffs. Democrats got Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to once again cross the aisle and...

Brown, Snowe Give Dems 60 Votes to Pass Wall Street Bill

GOP yeas mean they don't need Byrd replacement

(Newser) - With New England Republicans Olympia Snowe and Scott Brown on board, Senate Democrats appear to have the 60 votes they need to pass the Wall Street reform bill. The move by Snowe and Brown means Dems won't have to wait for the appointment of a successor to the late Sen....

GOP Focuses on Single Word in Financial Reform Fight

And the bill's offending word is: 'significantly'

(Newser) - Republicans have found another reason to oppose financial reform: They claim it will impose regulations on dentists, florists, and plenty of other small businesses, all because of a single word: “significantly.” The Senate bill states that the Consumer Protection Agency will only regulate those who provide significant consumer...

Republicans the Tea Party Hates, Loves
 Republicans 
 the Tea Party 
 Hates, Loves 


BIG MAC ATTACK

Republicans the Tea Party Hates, Loves

John McCain, you are not Mr Popularity. Michael Steele, neither are you.

(Newser) - Republicans hoping to ride the Tea Party wave this year and beyond might end up soaked. Politico surveyed leaders of the movement nationally, and found that almost every single prominent Republican was on the Tea Party's bad list. The party whipping boy? 2008 GOP nominee John McCain, underscoring the disconnect...

Scott Brown Changes the Senate Math
Scott Brown Changes the
Senate Math
NATE SILVER

Scott Brown Changes the Senate Math

Moderate GOP votes up for grabs mean 56 could be Dems' new 60

(Newser) - Yesterday's Senate vote to end debate on the jobs bill showed that losing the supermajority may not be such a disaster for the Democrats after all, writes Nate Silver. Scott Brown joined four other moderate Republicans in voting to end a filibuster on Harry Reid's jobs bill, suggesting that a...

Dems: GOP Are Hypocrites on Health Spending

Same Republicans Supported 2003 Medicare 'Giveaway'

(Newser) - Democrats are calling out Republican opponents of the health care reform bill as hypocrites, pointing out that 24 of them voted for the major Medicare expansion six years ago, when they controlled the Senate, the House, and the White House, that has added tens of billions of dollars to the...

Axelrod: Dean Not Insane

 Axelrod: Dean 
 Not Insane 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

Axelrod: Dean Not Insane

White House adviser softens rhetoric in health care spat

(Newser) - David Axelrod and Howard Dean took their health care smackdown to the Sunday dial today, with Axelrod conceding that OK, maybe the former Vermont gov isn't crazy. “I didn't say he was insane," the White House adviser told This Week. "“What I said was, it would...

Joe Lieberman Nixes Medicare Buy-In Plan

Gives Reid new a new obstacle on path to passing health bill

(Newser) - Joe Lieberman will stand in the way of the Senate health reform bill if it includes the Medicare buy-in provision for people over 55, he told Harry Reid yesterday. Lieberman delivered the bad news face-to-face after he and fellow centrist Ben Nelson went on Face the Nation to bash the...

Health Bill Snags on Opposition to Medicare Buy-In

Snowe, Lieberman, Nelson skeptical

(Newser) - Three senators uneasy about the proposed Medicare expansion in the health care bill could derail Harry Reid's hopes of getting the bill wrapped up before Christmas. Olympia Snowe, Ben Nelson, and Joe Lieberman—a Republican, a Democrat, and an independent—have expressed varying degrees of misgivings about the proposal and...

Reid Needs Snowe's Vote
 Reid Needs 
 Snowe's Vote 
Analysis

Reid Needs Snowe's Vote

Health care unlikely to pass without moderate Republican

(Newser) - Harry Reid’s leaky supermajority probably won’t hold together well enough to pass health care reform without an assist from Olympia Snowe. Though Reid announced yesterday that “consensus has been reached” among Democrats, any number of them could still peel off, including Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, or Independent...

Senate Safeguards Mammograms
Senate Safeguards Mammograms

Senate Safeguards Mammograms

Vote on amendment kicks off legislative debate on health care

(Newser) - The Senate cast its first votes on remaking the nation's health care system today, approving an amendment to safeguard coverage of mammograms and preventive screening tests for women. The 61-39 vote on a provision by Democrat Barbara Mikulski and Republican Olympia Snowe was the first substantive ballot in an acrimonious...

Senators to Watch in the Health Care Debate

Reid, Snowe, Lieberman, Burris, and more to star

(Newser) - The Senate’s health care debate heads to the floor this week, in a show that figures to star a cadre of colorful and influential characters. USA Today breaks down the senators to watch:
  • Harry Reid: The man in the middle of it all, Reid will have to keep his
...

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