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“I think it’s virtually impossible anymore to be a moderate in the Republican Party and survive politically,” says Tom Jensen, of Raleigh, N.C.–based Public Policy Polling, which conducted a poll last month finding that Maine Republicans would favor an unnamed conservative challenger to Snowe by a 63–29 margin. “If Snowe and Collins are committed to being elected as Republicans, it is in their interests to move to the right.”

Two years ago, Barack Obama and congressional Democrats rode a wave of voter disenchantment into power. Many Republicans, even in some traditional strongholds, were swept aside. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was an exception. She didn’t defeat Democrat Tom Allen. She trounced him, 61-39 percent of the vote, a landslide victory political analysts attributed to Collins’ popularity with moderates, a standing shared by her Maine colleague, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, also a Republican. Two years later, the same moderate image that protected Collins from the blue wave could make Snowe vulnerable to the red one advanced by the tea party....

Twenty. That’s how many rhino are being lost to South Africa every month through poaching. A creature that first emerged during the Eocene and lumbered through the aeons to walk the Earth today is being shot and hacked in numbers that are truly terrifying. The horn that makes it among the most distinctive creatures on the planet — the one we knew instantly back when the icing on Iced Zoo biscuits was applied with greater finesse — is also the mark that sentences it to death. It’s not as easy to get emotional about rhino as it is about elephants...

After seeing what tea-party-backed candidates did to moderate Republicans in primary elections, moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe is taking no chances. The Maine senator is talking up the tea party movement, even though she’s not up for re-election until 2012, Roll Call reports. “I’ve been a Republican for all of my political life, since I was registered to vote,” she told the paper. “I’ve been at the forefront of a number of anti-spending initiatives [and] fiscal issues. I agree with tea-party types when they say that the Republican Party lost its way. I agree. I was arguing that case for...

(snip) Visibly sad, Snowe called Castle "an outstanding public servant who was committed to the common good of his state and country." The longer Snowe talked about the state of the GOP and the Tea Party movement, the more riled up she got. "Understand, there are a lot of issues that, for example, in the Tea Party that they raise that are legitimate issues. Did we abandon our basic principles of fiscal responsibility? Absolutely. I was arguing those points during the Bush administration," Snowe said emphatically, "I made those very arguments." "Congress isn't working right and it's not working well,...

4:50 p.m. - Few Republican lawmakers were as stung by Rep. Mike Castle's surprising loss to his conservative GOP opponent as Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe. In a hallway just off the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, she sounded off about her place as a moderate in the GOP, and voter anger she says she understands. Visibly sad, Snowe called Castle "an outstanding public servant who was committed to the common good of his state and country." The longer Snowe talked about the state of the GOP and the Tea Party movement, the more riled up she got. "Understand, there are...

Last November, right after she supported the health care bill in committee, we found that 59% of Maine Republicans wanted to replace Olympia Snowe with someone more conservative while only 31% said they would support her again in 2012. The passage of 10 months hasn't done much to soften the ill will toward Snowe with members of her own party. Now 63% of them say they would support a more conservative alternative with only 29% saying they're committed to Snowe. Moderate Republicans love Snowe. They give her a 70% approval rating and a strong majority say they'd vote to nominate...

List of Republicans who voted for the Stimulus House of Representatives No Republicans voted for the bill Senate Collins (R-ME) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) *

Senate passes bill to save teacher, police jobs – WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation to provide billions to save the jobs of teachers and other public workers is on track to pass the Senate, helped along by the votes of a couple of GOP moderates. Democrats cracked a GOP filibuster on Wednesday, and the House was being called back from its summer break for an expected final vote next week to help cash-strapped states and school districts. The $26 billion measure would help states ease their severe budget problems and, advocates said, stop the layoffs of perhaps 300,000 teachers, firefighters, police...

The more it looks like the Senate will confirm Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court, the more gun owners should worry. Yesterday, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine became the fourth Republican to stand behind President Obama's nominee on the phony basis that Ms. Kagan supports gun rights. Mrs. Snowe explained in a press release that, "as a longtime, ardent supporter of Second Amendment rights, it was critical that [Solicitor] General Kagan stated during her testimony that the precedents set by the Supreme Court in the Heller and McDonald cases - which upheld a personal right to possess a firearm...

WASHINGTON—The Senate approved a wide-ranging overhaul of the nation's financial regulations Thursday, handing President Barack Obama his second major domestic-policy victory of the year. The legislation passed, 60-39, largely along party lines. Republicans Sens. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both of Maine, joined Democrats in supporting the bill. Sen. Russ Feingold (D., Wisc.) was the only Democrat to vote against the measure.

WASHINGTON – Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine says she will vote to overhaul financial regulations, pushing the legislation to the verge of final passage and a victory for President Barack Obama. Snowe becomes the third Republican to announce support for the bill, almost guaranteeing 60 votes to overcome procedural obstacles to the legislation.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe says Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan appears for now to have the qualifications and balanced approach to be a justice.

Senate Passes Massive Financial Regulation Bill In its broad sweep, the massive bill would touch Wall Street CEOs and first-time homebuyers, high-flying traders and small town lenders. WASHINGTON -- Prodded by national anger at Wall Street, the Senate on Thursday passed the most far-reaching restraints on big banks since the Great Depression. In its broad sweep, the massive bill would touch Wall Street CEOs and first-time homebuyers, high-flying traders and small town lenders. The 59-39 vote represents an important achievement for President Barack Obama, and comes just two months after his health care overhaul became law. The bill must now...

WASHINGTON BUREAU -- Members of the Senate kept viewers in suspense Wednesday as they voted on limiting debate on a substitute version of S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act bill. The initial cloture motion vote -- on a motion to invoke cloture on S.A. 3739, a "manager's amendment" to S. 3217 -- failed by a 57-42 vote, according to Senate Democrats. S.A.3739 was developed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and by other senators, such as Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the highest ranking Republican on the Banking Committee. S.A....

In my father's and grandfather's time there was a description for a certain kind of woman. A woman who listened to sweet talk and was despartely easy to pursuaded into compromising postions. She would have "roundheels" which meant that she would tip over backwards easily and "give it all up" easily. The more I consider Olympia Snow (RINO) (Maine) the more I feel compelled to ask her to slip off her shoes so I can checkher heels. By gorry Father would have been right, roundheels really exists, and it lives in Maine. Actually it is supported by Maine. Roundheels does...

She is solely responsible for the Health Care Reform Law. Without her vote the bill doesn’t get out of the senate finance committee and we wouldn’t be facing this Liberal Democrat Europeanization of America via Health Care law. Now Democrats want to permanently bailout the financial institutions which incidentally they demonized as the bad guys responsible for the global financial meltdown (but were only to big to fail), and now who is it that Democrats look to so that they can proceed with the one Republican vote need to put their plans into action? Why the Senator from Maine Olympia...

A Senate Republican has called for the "strongest" derivatives rules, signaling that Democrats may get the votes needed to start debating their sweeping financial regulation bill on Monday. Just days before the Senate was due to vote to start working on Democrats' legislation, Senator Olympia Snowe said that strong derivatives regulation goes to the heart of an effective financial reform bill. "If we are to effectively regulate the derivatives market, we must start the Senate floor debate with the strongest proposal we can craft and defend against the inevitable attempts to weaken it," Snowe told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid...

Both Maine Senators declined the White House's invitation to attend President Obama's event in their home state today, according to White House spokesman Bill Burton. Burton said the Maine Republicans decided not to attend Obama's healthcare speech in Portland, Maine. A spokeswoman for Snowe said the senator "had a full day of events already planned today long before we learned of the President's trip to Maine last Friday." Meanwhile, Collins is overseas visiting U.S. Central Command in Qatar, and her office says it's not clear she was invited in the first place. Of course, both Snowe and Collins opposed the...