Olympia Snowe votes for the healthcare reform bill

  Today Republican senator Olympia Snowe sided with the Democrats and voted in favor of the healthcare reform bill sending it to the floor for debate. She has voiced concern of the legislation in the past but when push came to shove she voted for the bill even though she claims that she has apprehensions about the bill.

  She still claims that she has issues with this bill but thought that it would be best to “move the process forward” in order to make sure that her apprehensions are addressed in the senate debate. Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed today that Olympia Snowe still has reservations about the healthcare reform bill.

Sen. Snowe called me this morning to let me know that while she continues to have serious, substantive policy reservations with this proposal, she wanted to keep the process moving. I share her concerns about the direction of this bill once it leaves the committee, and her call for transparency before we vote to proceed to any bill on the floor

  It would seem to me that this logic is backwards. If Olympia Snowe did in fact truly have serious reservations with this bill than it would have been more beneficial to her to try to stop this bill and address her concerns before it made it to the senate floor. If she truly had serious reservations about this bill how wise is it for her to let this bill get one step closer to passage?

  In fact, Olympia Snowe showed us who she really is today. Most of us knew that she was a RINO before her vote today but this should confirm it to anybody who refused to believe it before.

  While Olympia Snowe’s defection is being called a big victory for President Obama her vote did not affect the outcome in the slightest. Her vote made the final outcome 14-9, if she really had reservations she could have voted against the bill and it still would have passed. 

  The truth is that Olympia Snowe is in favor of this bill, she did not do it because she felt it was important to “move the process forward,” she did it because she agrees with the legislation.

  Now Republicans are supposed to trust her when the vote comes before the full senate? I don’t think so. We know where she stands and we are watching. The outcome of this vote was never in doubt but Olympia  Snowe’s support of this bill was in doubt. Today she removed all doubt, Olympia Snowe is in favor of this healthcare reform bill, regardless of her protests to the contrary.