Snowe Job, Part 3

The Hill is reporting that the GOP will exact revenge on Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe should she back the Baucus Bill.

A Senate Democrat on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee said Republicans on the panel are threatening to vote against Snowe, who is in line for the senior GOP post that is about to come open.

“Wake up,” the Democrat told a reporter last week when questioned if the Republicans would retaliate against Snowe for crossing party lines.

Snowe, a potential swing vote on the Senate Finance Committee, could give Democrats a major boost Tuesday when that panel holds a final vote on Chairman Max Baucus’s (D-Mont.) bill. She could also support the bill in the coming weeks on the Senate floor.

“A vote for healthcare would be something that would weigh on our minds when it came time to vote,” said a Republican on Commerce, who said Snowe would otherwise be assured of the ranking member post if not for the healthcare debate.

Every other GOP member of Finance is expected to vote against the healthcare bill.

In other words, Snowe votes yes, her "friends" on the GOP will kick her to the curb. You can't blame them for playing hardball like that. The Republicans have gotten themselves into a position where if health care reform passes, they're goners for a generation. They know this. Collectively, they're dead if they vote for it as the base will vehemently attack anyone who jumps ship like Snowe might. Individually, they're dead if they vote against it, because they will get the blame from general election voters for voting against health care reform.

So how will Snowe go? Is this article to raise sympathy for her or ire against her?

[UPDATE 11:55 AM] Then again as Aimai observes at NMMNB...

Take a lesson from the Democrats, why don't you? We even let Lieberman play with us and he's stabbed us in the back so many times we look like Swiss Cheese. And its working! We have a majority and we get everything we want...?

Then again, sometimes the Dems need to play hardball too.

[UPDATE 2 3:14 PM] Olympia Snowe has voted yes. Noam Schieber at TNR smells Snowe shoveling.

On the other hand, now that Snowe has voted for the bill in committee, she can basically dictate the terms of the final bill. (Anyone wondering about the havoc she might wreak need only look at the stimulus.) That's because, if you alienate her during the forthcoming negotiations, her defection from the final bill would be disastrous. Just imagine the atmospherics of Olympia Snowe getting up on the Senate floor and saying she was so serious about passing health care reform she voted for it in committee, but that she can no longer support the bill because it's moved too far to the left.

I'd have to agree. Trojan horse time for all.

[UPDATE 3 3:28 PM] On the other hand, Jon Cohn says Olympia Snowe's vote is now vital because Joe F'ckin Lieberman is about to try to screw the entire process over.